“What if it’s money?”Damien wondered about her hesitation.What was she really about to say?
She shrugged.“I… Yeah, I could pay off my student loans, but it feels like I didn’t earn anything.”
“We don’t always have to do something hard to earn something.What you did mattered to him.Maybe it’s not about you.Maybe it’s about him being able to say thank you to a stranger.Him being able to share his wealth with someone he feels deserves it.”
“Do you think that’s what it is?”
Damien shook his head.“I don’t know anything about the man.I’ve never met him, but if that’s what it is, and you really don’t want the money, you can always donate it to a cause you believe in.”
Harmony stared out the window into the alley.The sunshine highlighted the space, leaving nowhere for anyone to hide this morning.
Damien watched her as she considered what he said.After a minute, she popped her last bite of muffin into her mouth and nodded.“Maybe you’re right.”
Damien grinned.“Maybe I am.”
“Thanks for my breakfast, Damien.”
“You’re welcome, Harmony.”
She hesitated for a minute, then grabbed her bag and left.
Holy shit.Damien exhaled, feeling like he was just hit by a truck.
Two
Harmony consideredthe words of the stranger who bought her breakfast for a full week before she finally reached out to Captain Marcus Patrick and said she was willing to meet with the man whose life she supposedly saved.
“He’ll be happy to hear it.I’ll call him right now.”
“Thanks.I think.”
Captain Patrick chuckled.“I think it’s a good thing.”
“Someone else told me the same thing.You can give Mr.Pickens this number if he still wants to reach out.”
“Thanks, Ms.Gibbs.”
“You’re welcome.”
Harmony hung up the phone and wondered what drove her to accept the reward.Even as she questioned it, she knew the answer.
Damien.
The man made her curious.What kind of person buys a stranger breakfast and talks to her for half an hour but doesn’t ask for more than that?
Harmony shook her head.It didn’t matter.She’d never see him again.
Work went by quickly, and without interruption since she wasn’t allowed to have her phone in the lab.Harmony was finishing up for the day when one of the grad students stopped and asked her about the work they were doing.
“Doctor Griffiths said I need to test this again, but I’m not sure why.”The irritation and exhaustion in Parker’s voice were clear.
Harmony looked over the results and smiled.“Everything we do needs to be repeatable.If you get one answer, and think that’s good enough, you’re never going to make it in this business.”
“How many times do I have to repeat a test?”
“As many as it takes to be confident in the answer.”
“Have you done this test?”
