“I think we can keep everyone safe for another week,” he said, smiling at her. “Now let’s talk long term. How long are you and your team going to be here?”
“At least six months, maybe longer if the settlement is as big as I think it is,” she said, then paused. “Dean Proctor, you do understand how important this discovery is? Nothing like this has ever been found in New York. People are never going to stop wanting to study it, and I think you should prepare for this to become a part of everyday life.”
“I was afraid of that,” he said, then shook his head. “This little college is never going to be the same.”
CHAPTER 2
***COOPER***
It took every bit of Cooper’s control not to slam the door as he walked out of his advisor’s office. The man was completely useless in a crisis, and he felt like he was all alone. He’d expected something more than just a handful of papers with lists of available internships, most with application deadlines just days away. He had thought his mentor would use his influence to make something happen. It wasn’t his fault that ancient ruins had been discovered at the stadium, and he shouldn’t have to suffer because of it, but now he’d have to spend every waking hour scrambling for an internship so he could graduate.
As he left the building, his stomach began to growl, and he realized that he hadn’t eaten all day. Glancing at his watch, he groaned; it was still hours before dinner, and he’d never make it that long. The thought of grabbing a snack at home didn’t hold much appeal. The last thing he wanted was fruit and granola or one of Hattie's healthy snacks; he wanted some fat and salt, wanted a treat after the horrible day he’d had. Turning right instead of left when he came out of the building, he headed to the student center, the perfect place to find just what he was looking for. He’d look over the papers his advisor had given him andcome up with a plan of action while he ate, and hopefully when he was done a path would be clear to him.
After filling his tray with more food than he should have been eating at that time of the afternoon, he found an empty seat in the sea of tables, then, list in one hand, he began to eat. He was just lifting a cheese-laden tortilla chip to his mouth when he looked up and saw Dr. Warner making her way toward the seating area, a tray of food in her hands. His heart started pumping wildly in his chest, his body began to tingle as he watched her, and the chip slipped out of his fingers, landing with a plop back on the plate.
When Dr. Warner paused to look around, he thought he’d been caught staring for a second and quickly looked away, but couldn’t help but look back over at where she was standing. It was then that he realized there were no empty tables and she hadn’t even noticed him sitting there. She was looking for a table, and before he could stop himself, he stood up and walked over to her.
“I have a table over there,” he said, pointing. “If you’d like to join me, I can apologize for biting your head off this morning.”
Dr. Warner studied him for a second. “I guess that would be okay,” she said, smiling at him, her blue eyes sparkling behind her glasses. “And there’s no need to apologize. I don’t blame you one bit, that had to have been hard news to hear.”
They’d reached his table, and he pulled out a chair for her. “It was devastating, but you don’t want to hear about my troubles,” he said, sitting down in front of his food again. “I’ll find something else even if I have to stay up for the next three days to get it done. There’s no way I’m going to let this stop me from graduating.”
“Oh, no wonder you were so upset, I’m sorry,” she said, putting her hand on his arm, making the skin begin to tingle. “I feel like this is my fault.”
“I’m not sure that there’s anyone to blame, but it’s definitely not your fault,” he said, trying to ignore the way the tingle was turning to warmth. “You were just the messenger. Sorry again about the way I acted.”
“Consider it forgotten,” Dr. Warner said, smiling at him. “So, tell me what other internships have you been looking at? Maybe I can help you in some way. I don’t have a lot of influence yet, but I do have a PhD.”
“Those letters always help,” he said, then hesitated for a second before deciding to risk insulting her. “I was just wondering…well…it’s not really polite to ask, but you seem…well, really young. How old are you anyway?”
She studied him for a second, then sighed. “I just turned twenty-two,” she said. “I’m kind of smart; I graduated from high school when I was sixteen, college when I was eighteen, and I got my PhD last year.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” he said. “But that’s pretty impressive, you must be more than kind of smart.”
“I guess you could say that; I don’t really like to draw attention to it. I hate it when people think I’m different,” she said. “I can’t wait until I’m old enough that people stop questioning me, my credentials, and my experience. It’s a constant battle to be taken seriously either because I’m so young or because I’m a woman. Sometimes it’s both, and I can’t wait until I prove myself so that it all stops.”
He didn’t say anything for a second, the fire in her eyes making it hard to breathe as a huge wave of desire rushed through him. “Oh, Cooper, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say that, I mean, well, my chance to prove myself is coming at your expense,” she said. “I’m such a jerk sitting here rubbing it in, can you ever forgive me? I promise I won’t say another word.”
“It’s okay, I’m not upset, at least not at you,” he said, unable to stop looking at her lips, which were plump and inviting. “I’llfigure something out. I’m going to graduate, but I guess if that’s going to happen, I need to get to work.”
“Thanks for sharing your table,” Dr. Warner said, getting to her feet. “I should probably go; I’ve got another meeting in ten minutes.”
He watched her walk away, a buzz of attraction making his head swim just a little, then forced himself to look away. He’d done the right thing and apologized; now it was time to put the doctor out of his mind. There was a lot of work to do if he was going to snag an internship at the last minute. That was the only thing he should be thinking about, but as Dr. Warner disappeared from sight, he had a feeling it wouldn’t be.
***Stephanie***
Stephanie was still deep in thought when she got back to the office after her late lunch. The situation with Cooper had left her feeling a bit off balance, and not just because she found herself extremely attracted to him. She’d told herself several times on the way across campus that she needed to forget about it, life wasn’t fair, and even Cooper wasn’t that upset anymore, but it was still bothering her when she walked through the door.
“What’s wrong?” Kendra asked as soon as she saw Stephanie’s face. “What happened now?”
“Nothing happened, I just ran into Cooper at the student center, and he’s scrambling to find an internship,” she said. “Did you know that he won’t graduate if he doesn’t find one?”
“That’s pretty common with a degree like he’s getting,” Kendra said with a shrug of her shoulders. “He seems like a nice guy, I’m sure he’ll figure something out.”
“Yeah, he’s got a list of opportunities, I just…well…I feel guilty,” she confessed. “Here I am getting the big break of mycareer, and he’s lost his. I can’t help but feel…I don’t know…like there’s an imbalance or something.”
“His loss, your gain, I get that, but Dr. Warner, you didn’t have anything to do with it. It’s not like you set out to ruin his internship, you were just chosen to lead the dig,” Kendra said. “You have nothing to feel guilty about, you’re just doing your job, you don’t owe him anything.”
