Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Grace
Nerves coursed through me as I went down to the Compass BioTek lobby. Why was I so nervous? I literally wasn’t this nervous yesterday when I took my motorcycle test, which I passed.
Creed, Pippa, and Nate walked through the door. Pippa was here. Yay. Not. She might seem on the surface to be the voice of reason, but she was very critical of Verity, which I didn’t like one bit.
I waved them over.
“Sis.” Creed picked me up and hugged me.
“Creed.” I hugged him then turned to Nate. “Thanks for coming.”
The professor gave me an awkward hug. He wore suspenders with beakers and flasks on them. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Pippa, hi. You’re joining us?” I hadn’t expected it, given she disliked Compass BioTek and called Spencer that Greek man.
“Sadly, no. I have a meeting. But I’ll be back.” The stately British alpha female gave Nate a kiss. “Have fun, Dear.” Pippa looked at Creed. “Good luck.” It felt a little forced.
Creed was just going to go to human resources and meet with a few people before he officially started next week.
But his parents hadn’t been thrilled about the job.
Fortunately, no one had actually tried to stop him.
My brother also was an adult who’d finished engineering school, so there wasn’t much they could do about it.
“Thanks, Mum.” Creed gave his mom a hug.
I got their badges and took Creed to HR. “Have fun.”
“I’d rather go on your tour. Oh, Verity sent you cake pops.” Creed handed me a little handled paper sack.
“Oh, she did?” Inside were pink heart-shaped cake pops. Immediately, I texted her my thanks.
“See you later.” Creed grinned and left us.
“So, this is where you work?” The professor looked around.
“Yep. Let me give you a tour. I’ve been practicing so I can help with the interns,” I told him. “Let’s get started.”
I showed the professor around, telling him about Compass’ programs and products.
He frowned. “I can’t believe you have such a complex in the middle of the city.”
“Manufacturing and the warehouses are elsewhere.”
“Do you like it here?” Nate glanced around.
“I do. They gave me a chance, Professor. If we can do this, it will be extraordinary,” I replied.
The professor nodded. “Chances are good. I know that sometimes we don’t get the ones we should. Still, what are you doing here? What is Creed going to do here?”
“Let me show you. I got permission. You’re speaking at a conference here in Rockland?”
His eyes shone with excitement. “I am. It’s a little silly. It’s literally a chemistry professor conference that Rock Tech is hosting. I’m presenting on teaching best practices.”
“That’s amazing and not silly at all. From what I hear, you’re everyone’s favorite professor.” I led him out of the elevator.
He beamed. “People say that?”
“They do.” I took him down a warren of halls and locked doors as he told me about the conference, what he was presenting on, and what he hoped to see.
“Welcome to Special Projects. This is less biotech and more like The Thanukos Incubator for Interesting Projects. Let me show you our particle accelerator.” I swiped my badge.
I showed him around, telling him about some of our projects.
“Oh, I’ve heard about the nano-computing project from one of my students in the Daedalus Society chapter I’m advisor for,” he mentioned.
“Maybe they should apply for an internship next year. Would you like to see?” I took him through that lab, introducing people, and showing him the work. “This is where Creed’s going to be working.”
“That is incredible,” he breathed. “Creed’s on this project? Are you?”
“Not me.” I waved to everyone, and we went to Margie’s lab.
“Awww, is this your dad? Hi Grace’s dad!” Tish waved.
“This is Professor Nate Thorne. If you think we look alike, you should see my brother. He’s joining Narif’s project,” I told her. “This is Tish.”
We finished our tour and ended up at my little office-lab.
“When the project officially kicks off, we’ll have a bigger space, but here’s my lab for now.” I brought him inside. There were equations and papers and boxes everywhere. “Sorry, our new super computer was delivered. I’m making my interns put it together.”
Like particle accelerators and super colliders, super computers were much smaller here.
Blaise, who’d started back from parental leave part-time, was going to teach them about quantum coding. We also had some simulations to run. It would be fun, even if Creed wasn’t going to be working with us.
“What is your job here?” Nate looked around.
“We’re attempting to make a virtual super collider. That’s why I was interested in the modeler at Marquess University and was seeing it that day that I ran into you at the cafe,” I explained.
Nate whistled. “That’s incredible.”
“If we can do it, it will be.” I grinned. Excited by the prospect.
We finished our tour and ended up in the cafeteria and grabbed our free lunch. The professor updated me on my siblings.
“I’m so excited to see Tru. Thank you for trusting me with her.” We sat at a table with a window to the courtyard. I’d understand if they didn’t.
“Harry is beyond nervous. They’ve never really been away from us other than a weekend with grandparents,” Nate confessed. “The other parents worry that it would be unfair for Tru to get a special trip and not Pax, but honestly, he doesn’t actually care, he just wants a new toy truck.”
“Oh, I don’t want anyone to feel left out. I just know Tru and Mercy a little better,” I agreed, making a note to get him a big truck.
“When I saw the program, I pushed for it. The fact that they have something like this for kids as young as Tru is astounding, and I know she’s going to love it,” he told me.
And if she didn’t, we’d find something else for next year.
“Spencer found it,” I said. “The camp and Compass BioTek are really excited to do the Future Intern program, too. We’re going to run it for a couple of sessions, not just hers.”
He beamed at me. “Thank you for encouraging her. While of course we nurture academics in our house, her love of math is very strong for her age–even more than Verity and her flowers, and it’s hard for everyone to understand that she is serious.”
Oh, she was. I loved her messages.
“I just want to do for her what no one did for me. What I would have given to go to a camp like that.” I took a bite of salmon and spinach salad.
“The alpha parents are still a little wary, though. I mean…”
“You don’t know me. I get it. Feel free to send Verity as chaperone.” We’d started getting a guest room ready.
Nate thought for a moment. “I can suggest it, but we need Verity for the summer to help wrangle all the kids. I’m leading research and teaching summer sessions, and well everyone else has work…”
And Adriana was in jail.
Honestly, from what Verity told me, she could use a week with us. Not to mention, I wanted to spend time with her. Maybe it was the guilt I felt at having a poor relationship with my three brothers growing up, but I just wanted to love all my new siblings.
“In fact, I think we’re going to have to make her cancel a modeling thing she’s doing. We just can’t figure out coverage for the kids without her.” He took a sip of his iced tea.
“No. Don’t do that. Let her go. Just send them all here. There are lots of camps and things,” I offered, horrified they’d make her cancel a job to help them.
But Tru said sometimes they wanted her to miss class.
“I don’t think they make camps for kids Hope’s age,” he chuckled.
“We have an onsite daycare. We saw it on the tour.” That’s where Blaise’s baby would be when they came back to work.
Given everyone in my pack seemed to want a stack of kids, maybe we should borrow some and then see what they thought.
“I’m sure we’ll figure it out. It’s just tough with Adriana in jail. We now have one less income, one less adult. I don’t regret what I did, but it’s affecting us more than I expected, and it hasn’t even gone to trial yet,” he explained.
“Is it going to trial?” I didn’t know how things worked here, and I’d been letting Spencer and Brennan handle both cases–me being trafficked and her stabbing Spencer.
He nodded slowly. “They found Thora’s mom. She turned over the contract and all the details in exchange for a lighter sentence. It was her, Rosalind, and Adriana who did this.”
“Shit.” I hadn’t realized that Thora and Rosalind’s mom was part of this, too.
It could have been her idea. She’d already lost one daughter, so why not save the other?
“Was she surprised that you found me?” I was still curious about who the contact was.
“She was more interested in how her daughter was. Not how I’d expect a grandmother to behave. My parents and siblings send their love. One day they’d like to meet you.” He frowned as he poked at his food.
“Okay. I… I’m trying here, Professor.” This was a lot. Today was a lot.
“I appreciate you trying so much, Grace. What did Rosalind do to you? Those scars…” Pain clouded his eyes as he took a sip of his drink.
“Do you really want to know?” While part of me wanted to spare his feelings because he’d been through a lot, another part of me wanted him to fully understand what his pack did to me. It felt so much worse now that I knew the truth.
I understood Rosalind’s hatred of alphas and her fear I’d upend her life. But still, how could she dislike me that much? Okay, I wasn’t her daughter, but I was her niece. I never asked for that life.
Nate nodded slowly. “She did that to you? Why?”
“Technically, she sent me someplace, and they did it. It was because of Wes. I started dreaming of him when I was ten. I was seventeen when she found out about it and got upset that I was convinced that I had an alpha soulmate out there. That was how they made me forget him.” My voice was quiet as I toyed with my food.
“You and Wes are scent matches, right? She made you forget him?” He sucked in a breath.
“Yeah. For a long time I thought he was a childish fantasy.”
Nate frowned. “Wes didn’t try to find you?”