“I know, but I just can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t right. I know it’s silly, I worked hard to get here, but I can’t help but think this tips the balance the wrong way,” she said, then sighed. “Does that even make any sense?”
Kendra was silent for a second. “I think so, but…” she paused. “Well, are you sure you’re not just feeling bad for him because you like him? Not that I blame you, he’s hot and he was definitely interested in you, I saw it in his eyes. I didn’t know if you noticed.”
She felt her cheeks turning red. “That’s silly, we were only together for a few minutes, you couldn’t have seen that,” she said, trying to ignore the thrill that shot through her. “I feel bad for him because he’s worked hard, and none of this was his fault. He got cheated, and I got the benefit of his loss, that’s all there is to it.”
“Okay, sorry, I was just checking,” Kendra said, shrugging her shoulders, but she didn’t look the least bit convinced. “I don’t know what you can do to fix the situation; you don’t exactly have internships to hand out.”
“I know, and that’s the problem, there’s not really any way I can help,” she said, then sighed. “It’s frustrating, but I guess I’m just going to have to accept it and move on. Life really isn’t fair.”
“Never has been and never will be,” Kendra said, then glanced down at the appointment book in front of her. “Your last meeting of the day is in fifteen minutes downstairs in the café.Dr. Fairchild is always early; if you want to beat him there, you should probably head down now.”
“Thanks, Kendra, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said. “Remind me to give you a raise.”
“I’ll put it at the top of my to-do list,” the other woman said, grinning at her.
She was just setting down the tray with two coffees and a selection of sweets on a low table between two chairs when she spotted Dr. Fairchild coming toward her. “Stephanie, good to see you,” he called, a big smile on his face. “I hope you’re ready for some hard work, this site is going to test your limits.”
“I can’t wait,” she said, smiling back at the older man. “I’ve been dreaming about this day since I was six years old.”
“Well, you’ve earned it,” he said, taking one of the chairs. “Let’s get right to it, we have a lot to discuss.”
The coffee and pastries were long gone by the time Dr. Fairchild handed her the last folder from the pile he’d pulled out of his briefcase. “This is all the financial information for the dig, you’ve got a decent initial budget to get you going,” he said. “You should be able to hire a second assistant, a couple of full-time people, any experts you need, and still have money for at least eight interns. Once you’ve finished your preliminary survey of the site, we’ll talk more about a long-term budget. If this find turns out to be as big as I think it is, you’re going to be here for several years. You and your staff should be able to think about settling in for a while.”
It struck her again how thankful she was to have been given such a big opportunity, and promised herself that she’d work her butt off to make it a success. “Dr. Fairchild, I just want to thank you again for assigning me to this site,” she said. “I appreciate your faith in me, and I promise you’ll be proud of the work my team and I do. All of our names will go down in history.”
Dr. Fairchild smiled at her, “That sounds wonderful, my dear,” he said. “I have no doubt that you’ll make me proud, but remember I’m only a phone call away. Don’t hesitate to call me anytime, I’ll always be available to answer questions.”
“That’s good to know, I’m sure I’ll be taking you up on the offer,” she said, patting the stack of papers on the table. “There’s a lot to sort through in here, and I don’t want to miss anything.”
When Dr. Fairchild was gone, she tidied up the tray and returned it, packed up the papers, and headed home to the motel room, exhausted but excited to get started. As she drove, she couldn’t help but replay the evening in her head, and she thought back to everything Dr. Fairchild had told her, and then it hit her. She was going to have enough money to hire eight interns, and the only logical place to get them would be from right there at the college. If she hired Cooper, it would solve everything; she could stop feeling guilty, he could graduate on time, and hopefully learn something about ancient architecture in the process.
CHAPTER 3
***COOPER***
Cooper’s eyes were gritty with exhaustion. He rubbed them as he walked down the hallway to his advisor’s office, wishing he could go home and take a nap instead of going to this meeting. He’d managed to turn in five applications and had five more in the works, but with only thirty-six hours to go, he might have to cut that number down, especially since he hadn’t planned on taking time out to meet with Mr. Unhelpful.
He stumbled into the office half asleep, hoping Professor Youst would keep it quick, relieved when his assistant sent him in right away. “Ah, Coopper, you look exhausted,” the older man said, a big smile on his face. “But I have good news, someone has requested you for an internship, and it qualifies for your graduation requirement.”
“You’re kidding,” he said, sinking into a chair, his head throbbing with exhaustion. “Is it one of the places I sent an application?”
“No, the truth is, the request came from an unusual source, but I think this could be an excellent opportunity,” Professor Youst said. “I want you to give it your full consideration before you make a decision.”
He had a bad feeling, but he was also desperate. “What kind of an internship is this?” he asked. “You’re not making it sound very appealing.”
“It’s not bad, just different, although I’m still not sure why she requested you. I can’t quite put it together,” the professor said, then shrugged his shoulders. “But it does solve your internship problem, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”
“You still haven’t told me anything about it,” he said, getting frustrated. “I can’t make a decision if you don’t tell me what it is.”
“Right, right,” Professor Youst said, then started shifting through the papers on his desk until he found the right one. “Ah, here it is, this explains everything.”
He took the page from the older man, scanned it quickly, then paused, a bit confused, before reading it through a little more slowly. “This is an internship at those ruin things they found,” he said. “I’m not an archeologist, I’m an architect, this isn’t right.”
“That’s what I thought at first as well, but I spoke with Dr. Warner and she explained that they often hire architects on sites like this one to help with technical drawings and other things,” the professor said. “It is a branch of our discipline, just not one very many of us embrace, but this could be an opportunity for you to stand out, to do something different that will catch someone’s eye.”
“I don’t know anything about ancient structures, I only had one class, and I didn’t really enjoy it that much,” he said, shaking his head. “I have other options; I sent in five applications already.”
“You would be a fool to turn this down, Cooper,” Professor Youst said. “There will be hundreds of candidates lining up to take one of the eight available spots. Don’t be a fool, take this opportunity and run with it.”
