Sapphire Falls: Going Gets Hot (Kindle Worlds Novella) (My Country Heart Book 4)

by Rachelle Ayala

  Dr. Forster is leading the team and recommended Amber Myers for the second spot. Her work in epigenetics is invaluable to both Chad and Dr. Forster’s proposed projects.

  The rest of you, please continue to look at the areas we spoke about. I’m sure other opportunities will arise, especially in the US Department of Agriculture., and I want you to be ready to submit your proposals at a moment’s notice.

  Mason

  “Why didn’t he call a meeting?” Amber wondered out loud. Not that it would have gone down any better, but at least she would be in a room with Chad and Dr. Forster and not be outnumbered and ambushed first thing in the morning.

  “Whatever,” Samantha said. “I thought you were cool, but I see it’s every man for themselves, and every woman at their disposal.”

  Anger lit a fuse under Amber, and she whirled around, standing to face the other woman. “I get you’re disappointed, but lobbing sexist statements at me isn’t going to help. My project has merits of its own. My master’s thesis was the top one in our graduating class. You going around insinuating anything other than merit is a disgrace for the sisterhood.”

  “You’re not my sister.” Samantha huffed. “Come on, guys. We know where the lines are drawn in this hick town.”

  “Yeah, I should have gone to San Francisco,” Harrison said. “They didn’t even give us a chance.”

  The three of them turned their backs on Amber and went back to their computers.

  Of course, Kiran, who hadn’t turned in his work, had nothing to say. But still, it was galling that they refused to see that she’d been chosen for the merit of her proposal, and that Samantha, of all people, would immediately throw the most sexist and denigrating thing on her.

  There was no sense arguing with them. Amber had another email from Dr. Forster asking to meet with her about the proposed research trip, followed by a meeting with Mason and Chad.

  She replied to Dr. Forster and headed to his office. She needed to declare a truce with him, if she was going to work together with him and Chad at the same time.

  She knocked on his door and he called for her to step in.

  “Did you get the good news?” He pulled a chair at his tiny round table. “You and Chad are going with me to Haiti.”

  “Yes, I’m honored to be selected. It was a surprise.”

  “Indeed.” He formed a steeple with his fingers and peered at her. “I trust we’ll have no trouble with you behaving inappropriately with Chad?”

  “I, uh, will behave professionally at all times.”

  “Good. Then I trust we’ll get along.” He sounded reasonable, but as he’d shown in the past, even when he apologized for going too far, his nasty streak would come out again.

  “Great. Let’s talk about the project.” Amber placed her laptop on the conference table. “I have some ideas that can jumpstart the experiments we want to do with those parasites.”

  Her heart was beating like crazy, but she didn’t want Dr. Forster to see her sweat. If he could behave appropriately and not pursue her any further, she could also let bygones be bygones.

  * * *

  Chad received a text from Mason asking him to stop by his office as soon as he got to work. He wasn’t quite as late as the day before, but he was no early bird.

  Everyone was already in the lab when he rushed in, and he detected a cold shoulder. Amber wasn’t at her station, but her bag was there, so he figured she was somewhere in a meeting.

  After putting his briefcase down, Chad made a beeline for Mason’s office. Waking up to the email that he and Amber were selected to be on Dr. Forster’s team was both good and bad news. Obviously, it was a real boon to his career, as well as Amber’s, but if Dr. Forster was still interested in Amber, things could get really uncomfortable—especially if he found out their relationship was a ruse to deter his interest.

  Mason looked up from his computer when Chad appeared at his door. “Lucky for you you turned in your work in the nick of time.”

  “Yeah, I had to rush back after the fireworks and get it done,” Chad said, pulling a chair to sit.

  Mason raised an eyebrow and nodded, as if assessing him. “Must have been a long walk back from Klein Hill.”

  “Wasn’t too bad. I got to see some of the places my mom told me about.”

  “Showed Amber around much?”

  “No, sir. We came straight back to town, and I dropped her off at her sister’s, before coming back to work.” Chad felt his heart rate pick up. “She didn’t help me with my report.”

  “She did stay late yesterday after you missed your deadline.”

  Chad wondered what Mason was getting at. Had Dr. Forster told him what he’d seen?

  “She’s a team player,” Chad said. “But I want to get one thing straight. She has her own research that’s important to her too. You once told me she was to be my assistant, but I see myself as an equal with her.”

  “Frankly, I’m puzzled,” Mason said. “You negotiated a pretty package for yourself—assistant, bonus, advance, but never mentioned she and you were in a relationship.”

  “W-we broke up.” Chad swallowed hard and licked his dry lips.

  “I don’t want any trouble with the crew,” Mason said. “I take it you haven’t spoken to Samantha, Harrison, or Kiran this morning.”

  “Uh, n-no, j-juh-just got in.” Chad tugged at the back of his collar.

  “I need your help.” Mason leaned forward and gave him a stern man-to-man look. “I can’t tell you what you and Amber do in your personal time, but I can’t have obvious displays of affection in the office or lab. Academic jealousy is one thing, but to embroil our team with accusations of sexual favors, expedited work, or favoritism will tear our company apart. I don’t need that complication.”

  “It won’t happen again.” He wondered if Dr. Forster had spilled the beans about what he saw last night.

  “Good. She’s talking to Dr. Forster right now, and after they’re done, I want to see all of you in the conference room. I’ve already told the team not to spread rumors, but you and Amber need to do your part and keep work separate from play.”

  “R-right, I-I agree.” Chad hung his head. “Shall we g-go over the pro-proposal on the HGT theory?”

  Horizontal gene transfer from microbes to multicellular creatures was a new and emerging area of study. If parts of a microbial genome became incorporated into the pest’s DNA, then that pest effectively had the ability to do whatever the microbe was able to do, which would be bad news. Only by altering the environment and playing with the expression or suppression of those genes could the newly endowed pest be controlled.

  Both Mason and Chad were fascinated with this line of reasoning, and before long, they were joined by Dr. Forster and Amber. They took turns brainstorming and marking up the whiteboards, and it wasn’t until lunchtime, that he noticed he hadn’t stuttered in Amber’s presence.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Mason called a team meeting and explained to everyone the important roles they had in the Haiti project, even if they weren’t going out in the field. He had Amber and Chad make presentations and asked Samantha, Harrison, and Kiran to give their input.

  At first, the other three researchers were critical and tried to poke holes in their proposals, but Amber wasn’t fazed. It would only make their work stronger.

  After a late pizza lunch, the atmosphere warmed up as they divided the background work among them. Samantha was still upset at Amber, so she chose to work on Chad’s team, but Harrison and Kiran agreed to take on a few tasks to help Amber get her databases and algorithms working.

  Did Samantha know assisting Chad meant digging around piles of animal dung?

  No matter. Amber would help Samantha categorize her sapsucker pests and the microbial world in their guts that helped them subsist on their sugary diet, and hopefully their team spirit would return.

  Late afternoon, Mason received a call from the Haitian government that their proposal was a go, and everyone che
ered and high-fived each other.

  Around six o’clock, Adrianne and her assistant, Peyton, marched into the conference room with picnic baskets.

  “Dr. Mason Riley,” Mason’s wife announced. “It’s Festival Week. Why are you all holed up here?”

  “We got the grant to go to Haiti again,” Mason said. “And we’re celebrating.”

  Peyton wrinkled her nose at all of the scribbles on the whiteboards surrounding the room. “Are you getting high on whiteboard markers? You guys need to get out there for the battle of the bands and the crowning of the Festival King and Queen.”

  “We never win.” Mason hooked an arm around Adrianne and tapped her nose. “No matter how cute she is and how many sweets she tries to bribe the judges with.”

  “Who knows?” Adrianne bumped Mason’s hip. “I heard the cheerleaders and jocks have some competition this year.”

  “Revenge of the nerds!” Peyton pumped her fist. “You all better come after dinner. The crowning is at eight, and I’ve been tasked to make sure the contestants are present.”

  “Who, us?” Mason hooked a thumb at himself and his wife. “No, thanks.”

  Peyton whistled and rolled her eyes. “I have it on good authority that this year’s going to be different.”

  She sidled up to Mason and Adrianne and whispered in their ears, causing them to chuckle and glance in Chad’s direction.

  “No way,” Chad said. “I’m not going up there.”

  “Be a good sport and represent us,” Mason said, now that he was clued in. “Every year it’s cheerleaders or football players. It’s about time we have a scientist.”

  “Or two,” Peyton said. “Hurry up and eat your dinners. Adrianne and I aren’t leaving without you.”

  Adrianne opened the baskets and passed out sandwiches. “If you’re looking for chocolate truffles, cocoa-dusted almonds, chocolate cherries, or white chocolate strawberries, you won’t find them here. You’ll have to follow me back to the town square to our booth.”

  “If we have any left,” Peyton added. “We already ran out of caramel brownies.”

  “Ahh … my favorite,” Amber said. “I want to buy a bunch for my dad. He loves caramel brownies.”

  “And my mother loves dark chocolate almond bark,” Chad added.

  “Okay, chocolate wins,” Mason said. “Thanks for bringing us the sandwiches, darling. We’ll wrap up the meeting and head out to the festival together.”

  Amber peeked at Chad, and he looked away quickly, not acknowledging her. If their entire group of coworkers were going to the festival together, did that mean she and Chad had to stay apart, as if they were at work?

  When it was time to carpool to the town square, Harrison and Kiran went with Chad in his pickup, leaving Amber to go with Samantha, Adrianne, and Peyton in Adrianne’s minivan while Dr. Forster and Mason took off together.

  Maybe everything would work out, now that team spirit had returned. In any case, it was good for Chad to make friends with the guys, and she needed to mend fences with Samantha. Meanwhile, Dr. Forster must have realized that the work in Haiti was more important than causing a rift in the team.

  He’d been on his best behavior all day, but she could swear he was watching her. Several times, she’d caught him raking his eyes over her body as she was up at the whiteboard giving her spiel.

  * * *

  Chad had a list of activities he’d planned on taking Amber to, but Harrison and Kiran seemed determined to monopolize his time. Harrison, especially, was outspoken in admiring his Ford F-250 Super Duty King Ranch.

  “Wow, this is a real farmer’s truck,” Harrison said. “Does this mean you’re going to marry a farm girl and settle here for good?”

  Chad shrugged, not sure what to say.

  “I didn’t know you and Amber had a thing going,” Harrison continued, while Kiran stared off in space.

  “We went to the same college,” Chad said, sticking to the script.

  “Wasn’t it weird how Dr. Forster bid on her at the Dance Auction? If she were my girl, I wouldn’t have let anyone bid on her.”

  “I-I accidentally bid on H-Helen, and they, they wouldn’t l-let me ch-change,” Chad said, hating that his voice was betraying him again.

  “Dr. Forster’s a creep,” Harrison observed. “Did you see him checking her out whenever she went to the whiteboard?”

  “It’s not fair.” Kiran finally broke his silence. “He likes her and put her on the team. She doesn’t need to go to Haiti to run her programs, but he wants her there.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking too,” Harrison said. “We know why you have to go, to collect the poop, bake it, sample it, and analyze it. But she’s just matching DNA to databases and categorizing them.”

  “She’s actually studying the expression of genes, not just doing computer work,” Chad said. “I don’t think Dr. Forster put her on the team because he likes her.”

  “He has the hots for her,” Harrison said. “If I were you, I’d keep her under lock and key.”

  “Mason said we all have to be professional,” Chad argued. “I’m sure that includes Dr. Forster.”

  “One thing you’re missing,” Kiran warned. “Once you guys are in Haiti, Mason won’t be around, and it’s going to be your word against Dr. Forster’s. It’s better if one of us goes to Haiti than Amber.”

  “Right,” Harrison agreed. “I can tell that old lech isn’t going to leave her alone. He’s just biding his time.”

  “So really, Amber’s safer if she stays here in Sapphire Falls, while you and one of us goes on the trip,” Kiran said. “I did get my sample analyzed and she fixed it for me over the lunch break, so I’m still in the running.”

  Chad’s stomach clenched and squeezed in on itself as he drove the short distance to the town square. They had a point in that her work was mostly on the computer and she could do it remotely. Being out in the field was dirty and time-consuming, and living quarters weren’t the best.

  She’d definitely be safer back here in Sapphire Falls, but then again, she deserved to be recognized for her research, and being invited to the field study was a good experience for her.

  Unfortunately, once someone planted a seed of doubt into his mind, he couldn’t erase it, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  Had Dr. Forster chosen Amber for the slot because he wanted to get into her panties? If so, what was he, Chad, going to do about it?

  Dr. Forster was an important expert in the field, but at the same time, if he put his unwelcome hands on Amber ever again, Chad couldn’t be blamed for punching him out and deep-sixing his career before it even began.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Amber had never been to a small town festival before, and even though she’d been prepared to be snooty about it—after all, she frequented places like Coney Island for the big time amusement park rides and Chelsea Piers for closer-to-home entertainment and intramural sports—she couldn’t help but be charmed by the cuteness of it all.

  The Ferris wheel might not be the tallest, the gazebo was rather small, and the banners over the booths didn’t have corporate sponsors, but nothing could beat the atmosphere.

  Vendors were more interested in chatting and getting to know her than selling her a trinket, and even though the lines were long at Adrianne’s Sweet Treats booth, Peyton passed out samples while they waited.

  A clown made balloon animals for squealing children, and another artist painted their faces. Amber made sure to buy boxes of candies and sweets for her nephew and niece, despite the fact their mother, Honey, had given up all sweets before becoming pregnant.

  She wandered away from her group, since Chad wasn’t paying her any attention, and stopped in front of an artist’s booth selling wood-burned scenes of country life: cows grazing in the pasture, sheep in the meadow, a farmer on his tractor, and a woman baking pies.

  “It’s all really quite charming, isn’t it?” Dr. Forster’s voice landed close to her—so close, she could hea
r his breathing.

  “Do you mean the town or the pictures?” Amber stepped back from the booth where the artist was burning a scene with the Ferris wheel in the background.

  “Both,” Dr. Forster shrugged with his hands in his pockets. “I’m starting to fall in love with this town. Maybe buy up one of the farms and work from here.”

  What was she going to say? She certainly had no reason to encourage him, but at the same time, it was a free country and he could settle wherever he wanted.

  “Ever been up in the Ferris wheel?” he asked, pointing to the piece of wood the artist was putting the finishing touches to.

  “I’ve been to the one on Coney Island,” Amber said. “It’s taller than this one.”

  “Of course, but there’s a certain magic about the one here.” Dr. Forster grinned with a twinkle in his eye. “I’d like to buy you the picture he’s burning.”

  “Oh, that wouldn’t be necessary,” Amber said. “We’re only coworkers.”

  He leaned in close and spoke in a low voice. “I know you’re spooked by all of the office politics, but you can be assured that I can protect you better than that young man. He’s in a precarious position himself—an unknown quantity.”

  “What are you trying to say?” Amber’s pulse raced and sweat dampened her forehead.

  Instead of answering her, he approached the artist. “When you’re finished with that piece, I’d like to buy it.”

  “Would you like me to burn an image of the two of you in front of the Ferris wheel?” the artist asked. “Or put your names on this?”

  “Yes, please. Amber and Vic,” Dr. Forster said. “Will our silhouettes do?”

  “Yes, it’ll be quick,” the young man assured. He peered at Amber and then Dr. Forster as he made the outlines for the two figures standing in front of the Ferris wheel.

  “I really appreciate it, but there’s no need to give me a gift,” Amber said. “Chad’s probably looking for me, and I need to meet up with my sisters.”