Harmony laughed without humor.“Withdrawing my application, unfortunately.There’s no way I’ll finish my thesis in time.My recovery is not quick.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.Are you healing?”
“Slowly.The pain is pretty intense at times, and I need to take more breaks than I want to.Someone is forcing me to rest.”Harmony glared at Damien.
Damien shrugged, not feeling guilty at all for taking care of her.“You need to heal.”
“Are you planning to finish your Ph.D.?”Dawn asked.
“Yes, but it’ll take me another year.I have to have it turned in by Friday, and I’m only about ninety-percent done.”
“How long do you think it’ll take you to finish?”
Harmony shrugged.“It doesn’t matter.I won’t make the deadline for this year.I’ll have plenty of time before next year.”
“Well, there are extenuating circumstances, and I happen to know the committee doesn’t review all documents the day they come in.There is an order.”
“I already asked for an extension and was told I couldn’t have one.”
“Let me worry about that.How much time do you need?”
Harmony met Damien’s gaze.He saw the excitement in her eyes.He was worried about her, but he wanted her to succeed.After all she’d been through, she needed a victory.
“A week.Two would be better.”
“I’ll make it happen.And when you defend your thesis, I want you to come work for me.”
“What?”
“I’ve been bugging my buddy Walker to introduce us for a week.I finally showed up at the office today and refused to leave until he brought me over here.”
“Why?”Harmony asked.
Damien slid a look at Walker.Walker shrugged.“She’s relentless.”
“I have been in your shoes, Harmony.I know what it takes to do everything yourself.You have proven that you are reliable and dedicated to your work.You have also shown that you are a good person, and we need as many of those around as possible.If you are open to working with me, we have a tuition reimbursement program that would retroactively cover your education expenses for the last ten years, assuming they support the career we are hiring you for.We also have excellent medical coverage and a generous compensation structure.”Dawn delivered her news as if it wasn’t life-changing for Harmony.
Harmony sat on the couch with her mouth hanging open.
“Say yes, Harmony,” Damien stage-whispered.
“Yes.Holy crap.Yes.I am honored that you would offer all this.”
“You’ve more than earned it.You are an amazing person.You’ve been through hell, and when it came down to it, you still chose to help others.”Dawn’s eyes welled up.“The money you donated went to a cause very dear to me.At a time when you probably could have used it more than most, you still chose to give it to others.”
“I didn’t feel right keeping it.It was never really meant for me.It was intended to silence me, and I couldn’t use it.I… Shelter in the Storm is always helping people.I knew they would do something good with it.”
“Frannie will,” Dawn said.“It’s hard for her to get funding, and she doesn’t let me donate as much as I’d like to.It was a huge help for her.”
“You know her?”
Dawn smiled.“She’s a very good friend.”
“I’ve never met her, but Captain Patrick is very kind.”
“I think maybe we need to change that.Get everyone together.You would have made a good Curvy Vigilante.”
“A good what?”Harmony asked.
