6. Dan
CHAPTER 6
DAN
D an smoothed his suit jacket and glanced at Leah. She was wearing a professional blouse and a pair of slacks, as always, with her hair pulled back in a clip. She gave him a slightly nervous smile.
“Are you ready?” Dan asked.
Leah took a deep breath. “I can’t believe we’re really doing this. But yes, I think I am.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll do great.” Dan peered out from behind the curtain where they were standing. “And speaking of which, I think it’s time.”
As one, they stepped onto the stage. The audience was full of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. Dan and Leah’s presentation was one of the first of the Midwest Medical Science Conference, a prime slot since the attendees were still fresh. Leah knitted her hands together as Dan cued up the first slide of their presentation.
“All good?” he asked. Leah nodded, and Dan stepped up to the microphone to begin.
After all their rehearsing, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the presentation went off without a hitch. They ran through the material they’d prepared, Leah’s nerves melting into confidence that Dan admired, then took a series of questions from the audience. The attendees seemed excited about Forenal and their questions were overwhelmingly positive. Leah batted the scientific and medical questions out of the park easily, while Dan took the questions about marketing, costs, and Forenal’s place in the overall pharmaceutical industry.
“We have time for one more question,” Leah said. A woman near the back raised her hand and Leah called on her.
“I run a fertility clinic in Chicago,” the woman said. “The Blossom Center. As you know, in about thirty percent of cases, the fertility issue is a problem only with the man, not the woman. Can Forenal still be beneficial for these couples?”
“That’s a great question.” Leah smiled. “And the answer is yes. Since Forenal increases the window in which the woman ovulates, this can increase the chances of pregnancy even when there are issues with sperm count or motility.”
“Thank you.” The woman smiled and sat down. Dan held out his hand for the microphone, and Leah passed it to him.
“Thank you all for attending.” Dan paused. “We at RMA Pharmaceuticals are excited about the benefits of Forenal, and we hope you are too. Once again, I’m Dan Marley and this is Leah Adams. Please feel free to come up to us after the session if you have any further questions.” He raised his hand to applause from the audience.
As he and Leah exited the stage, she looked up at him, her eyes wide with enthusiasm.
“Oh, Dan, that went so well. Even better than I’d imagined! They really seemed excited about Forenal. Thank you so much for coming.”
“Hey, I helped with a single presentation. You conceived the drug, created it, and trialed it. This is your success, Leah.”
Leah glowed at the compliment. “Thank you, Dan. I’m really over the moon about this.”
“I’m glad.” Dan felt his heart warm at her happiness. “What do you say we grab some lunch and discuss this a little more?”
“I’d love to.” They headed for the door but were waylaid by the doctor who’d asked the final question.
“Hi. Sorry to disturb you.”
“You’re not disturbing.” Dan stopped in front of her. “What can we help you with?”
“I just wanted to say that this drug could make a real difference for our patients. I work with so many wonderful couples who struggle for years to conceive. A drug like this, with a range of applications and few side effects, could be a real blessing for those couples.”
Leah pressed a palm to her heart. “Thank you so much for saying that. I really hope it will help people.”
The doctor smiled and left but was quickly replaced by another with equally positive things to say. Dan let Leah lead the conversations. She deserved every word of praise and enthusiasm the fertility community had to offer.
When the last person had departed, Leah and Dan finally headed to lunch. Leah couldn’t stop smiling.
“I really hope that Forenal is going to make a difference.”
“I really think it will.” Dan went to squeeze her hand, then quickly held himself back. He would never take the hand of one of his employees, and despite the closeness he felt with Leah and the plans they had, they were only colleagues. It wouldn’t be appropriate. Even though he’d held her hand once before.
They sat down for lunch in the hotel’s dining room. Leah ordered a salad, and Dan went for soup and a sandwich.
As the waiter left, Leah leaned forward. “You were so wonderful when you answered that question about how Forenal is better than its competitors. I think the guy asking worked for another company, and I could see him deflate after what you said.”
“No, you were wonderful. You answered so many questions so well. I think the audience really understood how the drug works — even the less technically minded like myself.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You understand a lot more of the nitty-gritty of drug development than a lot of people in your position would. I’m always impressed by how much you understand.”
“I try. But I could never do what you do.” Dan paused. “Do you like your job? I mean, working in a lab most of the day? Doesn’t it get… boring?”
“Not at all. Lab work is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. Sure, there are hours and hours of doing the same little thing over and over with no results, which isn’t the most thrilling. But then I have a breakthrough and I realize that an idea I came up with in my head is really backed up by the laws of science. There’s nothing like it.”
“That does sound nice. I just can’t imagine not working with people.”
“People?” Leah wrinkled her small nose. “I like people, but I couldn’t work with them. You never know what people are going to do. Chemicals and formulas, though, always work in predictable ways. If something happens that you don’t expect, you can always find a logical explanation for it.”
“Sure, but the unpredictability of people is the fun part. Sometimes they can surprise you. You can work with a person for years and never realize just how spectacular they are.” Dan pulled up short. He’d been about to compliment Leah specifically, but he knew that was a bad idea. Luckily enough, their food arrived at just that moment and they dug in.
As they ate, conversation turned to the rest of the conference.
“I’d love to check out the session on complementary therapies for infertility,” Leah suggested. “Though it’s not my field, I think it’s always good to broaden my horizons.”
It wasn’t the kind of topic that Dan would usually be interested in, but he found himself nodding. “I’d attend that with you. There’s nothing wrong with seeing some other perspectives. I was also thinking of attending the seminar on pain management in chronic conditions. We have a few pain medicines, but it’s an area I think RMA needs to look into more. So many pain medicines have such negative side effects.”
“True. I know very little about pain medicine, but I’d be interested in checking it out with you.”
“And then we can maybe hit the mixer,” Dan suggested. “It could be a good chance to spread the word about Forenal on a personal basis.”
“That’ll wrap up the afternoon and bring us to dinnertime. Will you be attending any of the evening sessions?”
As serious as these conferences were, major conferences were also known to be big party centers. Attendees from across the country were all staying together in one hotel, which often led to drinking, dancing, and late nights at the hotel bar. In the distant past, Dan had enjoyed this side of conferences, but lately he’d been more likely to spend his time in his hotel room, looking over his work and planning for future sessions. Maybe it was a sign that he was getting old.
Now, with Leah around, he was even less interested in the party scene. He’d rather spend the evening getting to know her better.
“I probably won’t, but feel free to join in on the festivities if you’re interested. Otherwise, I was thinking that we could grab dinner and start learning more about each other.”
“Right! Our arrangement.” Leah nodded. “I’d be happy to.”
“Great.” Dan wasn’t sure he loved the way Leah said, “our arrangement,” but he wasn’t about to say anything. It was a business arrangement. He had no reason to take issue with her calling it that.
The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur of talks and panels and the mixer. Dan enjoyed the session about complementary therapies more than he’d expected and even scribbled down a few notes. It was clear people were more interested than ever in natural remedies. Perhaps RMA could capitalize on that. He’d have to ask Leah about it later.
Leah also seemed to enjoy the pain-management session. As they left, they chatted about what the organizers had told them. The conversation took them all the way to the mixer, and it was with a heavy heart that Dan bid Leah goodbye to go mingle with others.
As he spoke with the professionals about Forenal and about RMA in general, Dan found himself musing about Leah. He’d traveled to conferences with colleagues numerous times, but he’d never been so interested in talking to his colleagues that he was willing to pass up the chance to network and advertise. Today, he almost had.
When they met up again after the mixer, Leah was smiling. “That was great. Everyone seems so excited about Forenal.”
“As they should be.” Dan gestured for her to head towards the hotel’s restaurant, then hesitated. “Should we eat here or go out?”
“As you prefer.” Leah smiled. “I’m happy with anything.”
“Let’s go out, then. Cleveland had lots of good restaurants. How do you feel about Mexican?”
“Great.” They turned and headed for the parking lot. Earlier today, they’d driven to the conference together in Dan’s car. That conversation had been mostly focused on the presentation and the conference, so Dan decided to stick with what was comfortable.
“What sessions would you like to attend tomorrow?”
Leah made a slight face. “Do you mind if we talk about something else? I’ve been focused so much on Forenal that I’d be excited about any other conversation. Plus, we should be getting to know each other, right?”
“That’s a good point.” Dan hesitated. He needed to know as much about Leah as he could, and vice versa, if they were going to pull off their ruse. Yet he also didn’t want to dive into anything too personal. In that moment, he realized that he really had grown further and further from the dating scene — and from personal relationships outside of work. He settled for the rather awkward, “Tell me something about yourself.”
Leah chuckled. “This isn’t a job interview, Dan. We’re going to be pretending to be dating. We’re going to have a child together, if all goes according to plan. I think we should try to be a little more personal.”
Dan grumbled. “Maybe you should ask the questions, then.”
“Okay. I’m happy to. Do you have any siblings?”
“Yes, one. A sister. Her name is Jenny and she’s five years younger than me. She lives in California with her husband now, so we don’t see each other much. Do you have siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child. Did you like having a sister?”
They reached Dan’s car, so he took his time answering as he opened the door for her. She thanked him, and Dan circled to his own seat.
“You know, I suppose I do. I’ve never really thought about it, though. It’s just always how things were. Did you like being an only child?”
“Hmm. In a way.”
Leah’s answer was vague, and Dan considered pressing, but decided to leave it be. If Leah wanted to tell him more, she would. He focused on steering the car out of the parking lot.
“What are your hobbies?” she asked.
Dan chuckled. “You’re asking all the hard questions, aren’t you? Honestly, I don’t have many hobbies right now. Most of my life is taken up with work. I try to run or go to the gym when I have free time, but that’s rare, to be honest.”
“That sounds sad.” Leah fixed him with her intense gaze. Dan was glad he had the road to look at.
“It isn’t. I like my life. I like being able to give everything to work without worrying about anything else. And who are you to talk? I’ve seen you in the lab late at night.”
“Sure, I stay late sometimes. But only when I want to. I make sure to set aside time for things I like to do — like time with my friends, running, reading, and traveling.”
“Where have you traveled?” Dan asked.
“Let’s see. I like to take at least one week of my vacation time every year to go someplace I’ve never been before. Last year I went to Hawaii, which was just fantastic. The year before I went to Japan.”
“I was in Japan a few years ago, too.”
“Really?” Leah looked interested. “Why?”
Dan didn’t want to answer. “Well… it was a business trip. We were looking at a partnership with a Japanese pharmaceutical company. But I also took an extra day to explore Tokyo.”
“Wow, a whole day?” Leah giggled, a sound that Dan found strangely appealing. “You must have been panicked that you’d miss something at work.”
“I was not.” Dan gave her an offended glance. “I had my phone with me so that I could check on messages.”
“So, it wasn’t really a day off, then, was it?”
“I suppose not. But as CEO, it’s my sole responsibility to make sure that the trains run on time, as it were.”
“Hmm.” Once again, Dan sensed that Leah was leaving something unsaid, but this time he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“It’s true.” Dan sighed. “I know it might look like I’m a workaholic, but it’s only because I have to be.”
“I believe you.” Leah held up her hands in surrender, and Dan realized that he’d gotten a little forceful with his reply.
“I know. Sorry. I’m just tired of hearing from my dad that I’m not ready to take over the company just because I’m too dedicated to it.”
“I get that. Parents can be hard.”
“Did your parents have a lot of expectations for you?”
Leah smiled. “Not really. I mean, they wanted the best for me and for me to do my best, but I think they were mostly just happy to have me around.”
“That must be nice. Where did you grow up?”
“Wisconsin. Madison.”
“Right. That’s where you said your parents live now.”
“Exactly. We lived there for my whole childhood in a sweet little suburb. We were the kind of family who spent every weekend in the summer camping or hiking and every weekend in the winter cross-country skiing.”
“What did your parents do?”
“My mom was a high school English teacher, and my dad worked in IT, but they’re both retired now. I know what your dad did, or does, but what about your mom?”
“She’s retired now, but she was a teacher too. Third grade.”
“Nice.” Leah smiled. “We should make a note of these similarities. They could come up.”
The reminder that this was no normal conversation but preparation for a lie hit Dan harder than he’d expected. For just a moment, he’d found himself pretending that he and Leah really were on a first date. It was a disturbing realization. Dan would have to be careful to maintain a professional distance between the two of them.
“Good point. So far, we have: moms were teachers, and we both run.”
“True! How far do you usually run?”
“I do a lot of ten Ks and an occasional half marathon. How about you?”
“I mostly run around five kilometers. I’ve always wanted to run a marathon, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
“I’m sure you will someday.”
“I hope so.”
Dan steered the car into the parking lot of the restaurant. Leah’s eyes widened when she saw the bright fa?ade.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but this place might be a little out of my price range.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
“Oh, no.” Leah shook her head. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You aren’t asking. I’m happy to do it. You’re doing me a huge favor, and the least I can do is buy you dinner.”
“ You’re doing me a huge favor, too,” Leah pointed out.
“Then you can treat me for another meal.” Dan piloted the car into a parking space near the entrance and released his seatbelt. “Shall we?”
“All right.” Leah still looked a little suspicious, but she followed Dan in.
The inside of the restaurant was beautifully decorated. A friendly waiter led them to a table near a picture window and left menus. Dan and Leah sat.
As they perused the menus, Dan cast a surreptitious look at Leah. She’d taken the clip out from her hair, which now fell around her shoulders in a tangle of auburn waves. She really was beautiful.
“Dan?” Leah was looking at him now. “What do you think?”
“Hmm?”
“Splitting nachos?”
“That sounds good.”
The conversation meandered through a discussion of food preferences. Dan was happy to hear that he and Leah shared similar tastes, so they were able to share the nachos and a fajita dish, both vegetarian. Although Dan was a meat eater, he didn’t mind foregoing meat this evening. They also ordered a few margaritas.
After about an hour, though, Dan was no longer sure the margaritas had been a good idea. His guard was lessened by the alcohol, and it seemed that Leah felt the same way. She told a silly story about one of their coworkers trying to use the new color printer that had them both in stitches, which didn’t normally happen to Dan.
“What made you interested in pharmaceutical research in the first place, anyway?” Dan asked, taking another ill-advised sip of his cocktail.
“Well, I told you I was an only child, right? And my mom was already on the older side when I was born, although she’d probably prefer that I didn’t name a specific age.”
Dan wasn’t sure where this was going, but he nodded.
“I was born after over a decade of trying. My parents tried everything, but nothing seemed to work. Maybe with more IVF it would have been possible, but the costs were just too high, and the technology was nowhere near as advanced back then. In the end they gave up — and, of course, that’s when my mother finally got pregnant. They were beyond overjoyed. I was their miracle baby.” Leah smiled a little distantly. “I grew up hearing about how much my parents had gone through to have me and how special it was to have a child. In high school, I loved my chemistry and biology classes, so I pursued those subjects in college. That’s where I realized that medicine could help people like my parents, who wanted so badly to have a child but couldn’t.”
“Wow.” Dan shook his head. “That’s an amazing story, Leah.”
“Not really.” She sighed. “What I really want is to make medicine available to everyone, even people like my parents who couldn’t afford expensive drugs or treatments. I thought about working for a smaller company with that focus, or in a university, but I wouldn’t have been able to receive the funding I needed to make Forenal a reality. It makes me sad to think that, even though this drug exists now, it will probably only be available to wealthier members of society. I think that—” And then Leah cut herself off. Her eyes widened as she looked at Dan.
“Oh, my gosh.” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I completely forgot who I was speaking to. Of course, I think RMA does important and good work. I wouldn’t work for you otherwise. I shouldn’t have?—”
This time, Dan cut her off. “Leah, there’s no reason to apologize. I admire your passion about this. It’s rare to see in a world focused on profits over people — and I include myself in that. You’re inspiring.”
“Thank you.” Leah flushed. “But I still shouldn’t have said that. I really didn’t mean to insult you or your company.”
“Really, don’t be sorry. You weren’t insulting. Affordability of medicine is something we need to consider. It’s certainly something I should think about more.” Dan smiled at her. “Please, never hesitate to share your thoughts and opinions with me. Maybe we can make each other better.”
Leah lifted her eyes to meet his, her mouth curving into a smile. Those forest-green eyes were so bright that Dan found himself unable to look away. Leah Adams really was an amazing woman. Her passion was admirable, as was her kindness, forthrightness, and sense of humor. Plus, she really was beautiful.
For a moment, a strange image flashed through Dan’s mind. It was an image of Leah, cradling a tiny baby with those bright green eyes and her beautiful red hair. A baby who Dan knew was his.
The world seemed to stand still. Dan felt a strong connection to the woman across from him — and to the baby that they hadn’t even begun to create yet. It was an unfamiliar feeling and not exactly welcome, but Dan couldn’t shake it.
Leah was the one who broke their eye contact by raising her margarita. “To making each other better.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Dan clinked his glass against hers and took a long drink. He was going to need it.