Page 27 of I Still Love You (Citation Needed)

“Let me help,” Mason said, taking the remote from Heather.

I noticed the young professor’s body tighten.

“Take a breath and count to ten,” Mason said in a low voice. I was sure we would have missed the comment if he hadn’t been wearing a microphone. I had friends with kids who often used this technique to help them calm down when on the verge of a meltdown.

Heather’s face got bright red, and I could see how tense she was from the back of the room. Now she was embarrassed on top of being flustered and ill-prepared. She sat down next to Lois as Mason continued the presentation as if he had created the slides himself. I was confused about why Heather had given control to Mason. Had I missed something or had she simply not prepared?

“Are there any questions?” Mason asked at the end.

Hands flew into the air and, unlike in February, none had to do with using this work to get tenure.

“How can we help faculty simplify their research so that people new to a topic can understand?” someone asked.

“That’s a great question,” Mason said, and a smile spread on his face. “WikiAcademia does a lot of great work to help students learn to write for an encyclopedia and to see their efforts directly impact the world. I think something similar needs to be done to train faculty. It can be done as a way to get them to work with groups like WikiAcademia for classroom assignments. Certificate programs and funding opportunities are a great way to entice faculty with continuing education opportunities.”

My breath caught in my throat. Hearing him talk like this reminded me of the nights I spent in his arms planning to start an organization like WikiAcademia. We had never gotten as far as this, but clearly he had never stopped building the idea. I looked at Cooper who had a wide grin on his face. I realized this was what Cooper also wanted for WikiAcademia but couldn’t do himself. If this was what Mason could develop in a terrible environment, imagine what he could do in a place that valued him.

“This is why he needs to run WikiAcademia,” Cooper said. “This is the next phase of the work.”

I felt tears fill my eyes, and I wiped them away. “I tried my best to get him to reconsider. I hope it worked.”

“I want to add one thing!” Heather said, getting to her feet as the questions ended. “You need to do a better job of respecting the expertise faculty bring to the table. They’ve been treated-”

“Sit down,” Mason said through his teeth. “And shut up.”

The room was silent for a moment before applause broke out. I didn’t know if they were clapping for Mason’s presentation or for him telling Heather to shut up. I clapped for both things. When it died down, most people got up to go to the next session, but a few went up to talk to Mason. They all ignored Heather and Lois who continued to sit at the front of the room.

“Before you go,” Cooper said as I started to leave, “I may not see you again today but you’re coming to the WikiAcademia reception tonight, right? We booked that restaurant on the top floor. They have a wonderful private room with a lovely view of the city.”

I looked over at Mason.

“I’m inviting him too,” Cooper said with a low chuckle. “I’m not giving up yet. I need to tell him not to bring Heather or Lois though.”

Chapter Twenty-One

This was the last full day of the conference. Like in Lacock in February, the last day would be people collaborating on next phases of projects or starting new ones. I had enjoyed dinner with my team as we got closer to wrapping up my first WorldWikiMania as executive director. After that, I had gone back to my room to rest and change for the WikiAcademia reception. It was going to be drinks and desserts, so we could mingle and chat with people. I was thrilled to be invited because I had worked with so many of the people there and was interested in meeting the new people involved with the organization.

Now that I was thinking of Mason again, it was hard to avoid wondering what it would be like to have him next to me at these events. I hadn’t seen him since his session ended a few hours ago. It made me take extra care as I got ready for the WikiAcademia reception. I took a shower, put on a pretty dress, and even added a bright red lipstick to my makeup routine.

“You’re going to love the sticky toffee pudding they make here,” Nadia told me when I exited the elevator. “I was inspired by all the pastries when we were in Lacock. This place is famous for their desserts.”

“I saw them mentioned on some webpages,” I said as Nadia walked with me into the reception room. In the middle was a buffet table filled with desserts.

“I wanted to go with a Jane Austen theme, but I realized she never really talked about food. She mostly wrote about home,” she told me as we made our way around the table.

Most of the desserts were in shot glasses which allowed people to sample a little bit of everything they wanted.

“The waiters gave me a tray you can clip to the arm of your chair so you can load it up with the ones you want,” Nadia told me and pointed to a large tray as wide as my chair.

“That’s really sweet, Nadia,” I said with a smile, “and very smart, but I have a smaller one in the bag in back of my chair.”

Nadia went to the bag and pulled out a smaller acrylic tray that looked like something you would find in a classroom.

“I should have remembered you had that!” she said as she brought it around and helped me attach it to the arm of my chair. “I’ve been watching you use it in meetings all weekend.”

“I sincerely appreciate that you thought to make sure I would have something and that the restaurant accommodated the request. Maybe someone else will need it,” I said as I made my way back around the table and placed a variety of shot glasses on my tray.

I left Nadia to go back to greeting people while I found a few people to talk to.