“So…do you think you’ll let me come in to watch you tomorrow? Please, please, please!”
I smiled as I pretended to deliberate. “Since you have off school, I guess so…”
“Yes!” she shrieked with joy on the other line.
My six-year-old was like a little science prodigy, and she adored anything to do with microscopes and science books. It was the whole reason I bought the lab close to home. I owned other ones, and I still owned a few science magazines, but I was ready to put some roots down a bit more and focus entirely on Camilla.
“All right, so we need to hang up so that I can call Andrea, okay?”
“Ok, Daddy. See you soon.”
“Bye, honey.”
I hung up and quickly gave Andrea a call, apologizing for not letting her know in advance about the holiday. Once it was all sorted, I checked my watch.
Lunchtime. I think I’ll take lunch out.
I left the office, locking it behind me, and I smiled at Dave on the way out who still looked nervous about what had happened with Cassie. There was a café close by, and I popped over there to grab some food and a cappuccino. When I found a spot, I sat down in a far corner, and then I saw Cassie and another scientist I’d met named Stevie, sitting across from each other.
They hadn’t seen me yet, and I was wondering why I hadn’t chosen another café. I was tired, and I was sick of dealing with these people over the last couple of weeks. Everyone greeted me in the morning, but they all looked either angry or afraid. That was good in some cases, but not if I wanted Camilla to come into the lab often and see what we were all about.
I was able to get at least a few moments of silence as I ate and looked through my phone. But as I stood, Cassie and Stevie looked up, and we locked eyes.
“Have a nice lunch, ladies, but be sure not to stay out too long. Targets to hit, you know,” I said as I got closer to them.
“Right you are, Doc Fox,” Stevie said, and I was just about to leave when that stopped me, and I turned back around.
Stevie had turned bright red. “Dr. Foster, I mean!” she cried, and Cassie just glared at me, not looking embarrassed in the slightest.
I said nothing, just turned around and left.
But I overheard Cassie say, “So, it looks like we’ve both embarrassed ourselves today, haven’t we?”
I put it out of my mind and walked back to the office. Work was what I did best, and work was what I was going to do. Cassie Williams or no.
At least she was embarrassed about what happened.
But I doubted she would be embarrassed for long.
CHAPTER3
BRAD
The next morning,Camilla was full of energy when I woke her up.
“Today’s the day, Daddy!” she said, jumping out of bed, still holding on to her favorite Tiger stuffed animal. “Can Tony come too?”
“Yes, Tony can come too, but you’ll both have to wear the proper protective gear. Do you agree?”
“Yes, he agrees!” she cried and hugged me.
“All right, so you need to get dressed. Breakfast is cooking downstairs, and then we need to get going. You don’t want Daddy to be late.”
Then Cassie will have another thing to put on my list of faults.
“Okay!”
I left just as Camilla scurried to her dresser, and I hurried down the stairs. I had oatmeal on the go, and I didn’t want it to burn. A few minutes later, when I was setting up the table, Camilla came down, all dressed and ready, her backpack on her back.