Chapter 14 #2
I carefully placed my tote bag beside the professor’s workstation and pulled out my notebook to write down his instructions.
As I did so, a figure cast a shadow over me.
Glancing up, I found Professor Maxwell towering over me.
His eyes were on my open notebook. The page was scribbled with my feeble attempt at taking notes.
“You took terrible notes today.” He didn’t state the sentence as an opinion, but rather a fact of life, and I knew he wanted an explanation for my poor skills.
My mind blanked. I couldn’t admit that his attention made me too nervous to focus.
When no other excuse came to me, I shook out my right hand, and whispered, “My hand cramped up, and laptops aren’t allowed, so…
” I trailed off when I saw Miles subtly shaking his head.
Admitting I couldn’t keep up with his demanding lecture was a terrible idea.
He already thought we were too incompetent for this advanced course.
The brunette from yesterday wore a smug smile. The other research assistants seemingly held their breaths, waiting for the professor to lay it on me thick. Everyone had hounded him to teach, and now that he was doing his job, I hadn’t held up my end as a student.
To my surprise, there was no anger in his voice as he called out for his teaching assistant. “Miles.”
“Yes,” Miles replied like a well-trained soldier.
“Send an email to the class. They can use their laptops from now on.”
The thermometer Miles was holding slipped from between his fingers. “Sure thing,” he said slowly before his gaze fleeted to me.
The people around us went completely still, waiting for the punch line. There were also some stunned whispers.
“Dr. Maxwell just said he would allow laptops in class.”
“But he hates the clicking sound of keyboards.”
“I don’t get it.”
Professor Maxwell didn’t react to the background noise as he handed me a task sheet. “Today’s assignment. Measure and separate the formulas in the labeled vials. The quantity specifications are noted for each item.”
I quickly read through the instructions. It was a straightforward job.
“So, you like to bake.”
I stopped breathing. I had hoped he wouldn’t bring up last night, but that was wishful thinking.
The other research assistants were pretending not to eavesdrop, but I could feel their eyes on us.
Their gazes might as well burn a Scarlet Letter A onto my forehead.
My anxiety started to spike but it disappeared when I saw Professor Maxwell’s easy grin.
“I look forward to your next homemade creation.” He was smiling, and the sight was too enticing.
I covered my eyes with my hand, then slowly lowered it. Why was he entertaining me and accepting my gestures when he had shunned anyone else to try, including his own twin? Professor Maxwell was an anomaly.
When his phone buzzed, he pulled it out of his pocket and checked the screen. Raising the phone to his ear, he turned toward his office. He stopped midway, as if remembering something important, and spoke over his shoulder. “By the way, my favorite flavor’s red velvet.”
I didn’t know what type of cake you liked.
I had made the comment in passing, never expecting Professor Maxwell to share anything personal about himself.
I wasn’t the only one taken aback by this unusual behavior, his staff was equally bewildered. Throughout the lab, I caught snippets of their hushed conversations and various theories for the sudden personality transplant.
At least it dissuaded their resentment toward me. Professor Maxwell was the law around here, and his team implicitly trusted his judgment. If he endorsed my late-night cake delivery service, they would, too. If he deemed my efforts appropriate, so would they.
Suddenly, I was no longer a vixen, and everyone wanted to be my friend.
Many of the research assistants dropped by my station, offering to help with my meager tasks.
The amount of interest and the influx of questions were overwhelming.
Not to mention, I couldn’t provide them with any useful advice as I didn’t understand it myself.
Taking an interest in a student, especially a female one, was out of character for Caden Maxwell.
They assumed I must be a wonderkid for him to overturn the unwritten rule.
Many of them desperately needed an in with the professor and wanted to learn from me.
A recommendation letter from the revered scientist, paired with working at his lab, would secure them the brightest of futures.
I had dreamed of achieving the same and was just as much in the dark on how to make that happen.
I was good at school but nowhere near good enough to meet Professor Maxwell’s high expectations.
As for gaining his favor, I hadn’t done anything other than bake a silly cake and accidentally flash him my scars.
His staff didn’t buy it and dragged me to the break room during their lunch.
They even brought out the leftover cake from the fridge to try out my baking.
The mood was generally jovial. The only people who weren’t smiling were the brunette—her name was Shelby—and a couple of her friends who looked more like her cronies.
They had the whole Mean Girl vibe down to a science.
“I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work,” Shelby said snidely after we returned to our stations. The tone of her voice gave her away. She didn’t believe the narrative spun by her teammates and wanted to uncover the truth about what was developing between me and the professor.
I gave her my back and kept measuring the supplies. Nothing good would come from engaging with Shelby. Clearly, she had a thing for Professor Maxwell and planned on making my life hell for catching his attention.
She huffed with irritation when I ignored her. “Just so you know, you’re not the first girl to deliver food to him in tight clothes.”
My heart began racing. It wasn’t Shelby making me nervous, but Professor Maxwell’s whole package. He couldn’t do anything without being watched or revered. It meant anyone in his orbit would also be under a constant microscope.
“You look like a smart girl, Rose,” she continued. “You should know Professor Maxwell sees right through people’s shit. He’ll be livid if he finds out that you made it seem like he encouraged your advances.”
I glanced at her, perplexed.
Her lips pursed as she rolled her eyes. “You obviously ate some of that cake, then stuffed it in the fridge to make it look like he tried out your baking.”
Seriously? She thought I ate a quarter of a cake just to make everyone believe Professor Maxwell hadn’t spurned my efforts. I had to admit, the insight into her thoughts was fascinating. It would be a great way to save face. If only I possessed such a diabolical mind.
Normally, I could barely make eye contact with people or speak at will, but her words made me defensive enough to mutter, “He ate the cake.”
She scoffed. “I’m not falling for your innocent act. I know you’re a liar.”
My spine straightened at the accusation. She noticed the tense posture.
“I don’t mean to be harsh, Rose. But you can’t go around making up stories about a teacher with a reputation to uphold. I’m saying this for your own good. Tell the other research assistants the truth before anyone gets the wrong idea and thinks Dr. Maxwell is entertaining your little crush.”
“I’m not lying.” I shouldn’t engage, especially since I didn’t care what she thought of me. For some reason, her insistence that Professor Maxwell thwarted my efforts got under my skin.
“Cut the crap. I know for a fact that Professor Maxwell didn’t try your cake. I know everything about him, and he’s allergic to strawberries.”
What!?
I didn’t concoct what happened last night in my mind, I was sure of it. I saw it. I saw him eat the cake with my own eyes.
Would Professor Maxwell eat something that could kill him just to indulge me? Was that the reason he looked like hell this morning?
Impossible.
Shelby returned to her station after finishing her spiel.
As soon as she stopped glaring at me, I dashed to the biohazard trash.
If a person ate something poisonous to them but was alive to tell the tale, there must be evidence of the anecdote, and I doubt anyone had the chance to discard the waste, given the time of night I left.
I peeked inside the biohazard dispenser. There was only one item inside. Sure enough, it was an EpiPen, and even from here, I could make out the inscription.
Prescribed to Caden Maxwell.