“Come, come, Miss Chase. Don’t tell me you’re a luddite.”
She shook her head. “I’m not.”
Although, admittedly, she might be a fool for paying so much for her cell phone plan.
However, phone records were not her only objection. “There’s another problem with your plan.”
“Do tell.”
“How will I get your work? Am I supposed to break into your old apartment and steal your research notes and your computer?”
He smiled, which turned into a deep chuckle. “Miss Chase, have you never heard of the cloud? Everything, notes, research, manuscripts, is stored online where I can log in and access it from anywhere.”
Crud. He might be correct. She was a luddite. She’d never even considered that. “Okay, fine. So I’m not as tech savvy as I should be.”
“It’s quite all right. I find your provincial ways quite charming. And perfectly fitting given you chose to be a purveyor of bound books.”
Was that a compliment? From the Nasty Professor? Dammit. She didn’t want him to start being nice now. It would make it harder to say no.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t see how I’ll have time to add finishing your book to my To Do list. There are only so many hours in the day and?—”
“I’m willing to sweeten the deal, as they say.”
It was one surprise after another with this man. And dammit again, she was intrigued. She needed to hear what he had to say. “Go on.”
“I’ve been looking over your collection of ephemera. At least, what was visibly laid out on the tables in the adjoining room there,” he began.
The Mudd and Axtell papers they’d found. Interesting…
“I’m willing to admit there is some information contained within compelling enough to perhaps support, in a limited way, your claim that I might have underestimated the Mudd family’s influence as founders.”
It was convoluted and non-committal. But his long-winded statement, when distilled down to its core essence, was saying she was right and he and his research were wrong.
“Thank you,” she said with satisfaction. “And as much as I appreciate it, it still doesn’t change my answer.”
“What if I were to publish the new findings?”
“You mean like a reprint of your Founding Families book?”
“No. Don’t be ridiculous. The publisher would never agree to that.”
And with that Professor Rude was back...
“I was thinking more like an article. A follow up containing recent findings. Published in one of the more respected journals.”
“With the byline reading the ghost of Lionel Graves? Who’s going to believe that?”
“Again, as my new partner, you would have knowledge of and access to my unpublished articles.”
“You’re putting great faith in my acting and lying ability.” She hated to tell him, both sucked.
“No. I’m putting faith in academia. The historical community and their thirst for knowledge. So, Natalie, do we have a deal?”
“To be clear, I help you finish your book and submit it to your publisher and in exchange you’ll print a retraction?—”
“Update. Based on newly uncovered research.”
“Fine, an update to the Founding Families book?”
