Chapter 23
Two days after her successful defense, before Emmy had even fully processed that she’d passed so she could begin thinking of her next steps, she received an email from a prominent genetics corporation with the subject, Employment Opportunity, Genetic Engineer.
Ms. Drake,
Congratulations on your successful thesis defense. We’ve been following your research with great interest and would like to discuss a position with our company. Would you be available to visit our Boston headquarters this Friday? We’re happy to provide private air transport from Anchorage.
Best regards, Dr. Gareth Thornwood, CEO, GeneSynth BioTech
Emmy stared at her laptop screen, coffee halfway to her mouth.
She read it again. Double-checked the headers. Looked to make sure the IP address came from Boston. Checked the corporate website to make sure this was the actual CEO.
They want to fly me to Boston, she telepathed both of her men.
Who does? Spence asked.
GeneSynth BioTech. They followed my thesis defense somehow and want to talk about a job. They’re offering to send their plane, but they’re in Boston. I can’t move to Boston.
You should hear them out, Zander responded. Tell them you’ll come, and let them know you’ll be bringing your personal security. I’ll send Delaney with you.
She wanted to argue, but didn’t bother.
And Zander was right. Even if she couldn’t move to Boston, she should hear them out. Knowing what they were offering would only help her when she negotiated an offer she could actually accept.
An hour later, she had a confirmation letter: flying out Thursday and being driven to a nice hotel, where her dinner that night and breakfast the next morning were included, an early appointment at their corporate headquarters Friday, a catered lunch, and then flying home that evening.
The GeneSynth plane was sleek and expensive. Not Zander-level luxury, but close. Emmy settled into a leather seat with Delaney across the aisle, both of them dressed professionally.
Delaney was reading a book on her e-reader, something written by an ex-CIA operative, which didn’t surprise Emmy in the least.
Emmy also had reading material, but she’d decided to go for a murder mystery, to hopefully get her out of her own head for a while.
The flight took just under seven hours with a fuel stop, so she made it through all of one novel and most of another. Thankfully, they were fed on the plane, but Emmy was hungry again when they landed at a private airfield outside Boston.
A company car drove them into the city and to their hotel. She and Delaney got checked into their room and immediately went downstairs to eat.
She’d been given the option of one room or two, but one was fine. Delaney would get more rest if she could keep her eye on Emmy.
The following morning, Emmy put her hair in a bun at the back of her head, did the intensive full-face makeupless look, but then added more eyeliner and mascara, with a slightly deeper lipstick. She wore a dark green pantsuit with flowing wide legs, a tapered jacket, and sky-high matching heels.
GeneSynth’s headquarters occupied a gleaming tower in the financial district, all glass and steel, impressive as fuck.
A man in a suit met them in the lobby and introduced himself as Dr. Thornwood’s assistant.
They followed him to the elevator, but instead of going to the top, they stopped on the twelfth floor.
“Dr. Thornwood thought you’d like to see our genetics lab, and our state-of-the art facilities.”
The lab was several levels above state-of-the-art and included equipment Emmy had only dreamed of using — clean rooms with positive pressure systems, sequencers that could process hundreds of samples simultaneously.
Researchers moved efficiently between stations, and Emmy’s scientist heart sang with want.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” a voice said behind her.
Emmy turned to find a man in his early thirties with an athletic build, wearing an expensive suit as if it was a second skin. Dark hair, sharp eyes, and … she breathed in.
Wolf .
And not just any wolf. This was an alpha. She could scent the pack on him, oathed and locked.
“Dr. Thornwood,” Emmy said, offering her hand. “Thank you for the invitation and welcome.”
His handshake was firm, and his smile knowing. “Please, call me Gareth. And thank you for coming. Your defense was remarkable, as is your data.”
“Please call me Emmy, and your facilities are absolutely impressive.”
She didn’t ask how they’d gained access to her thesis or her defense presentation. She knew her father could access just about any data on the planet, and this company had the resources to hire people who were just as good.
He nodded to Delaney and commented, “Drake Security, I presume, which means you are trustworthy with what you learn here.”
Before Emmy could correct him, Delaney told him, “I was trained by Drake Security, but I am not employed by them. I am Emerald Drake’s personal security.”
He hesitated a brief moment before nodding, and they continued the tour with Gareth pointing out various research projects, introducing her to key personnel. Emmy asked intelligent questions, took mental notes, and tried not to let her excitement show too obviously.
Finally, they reached the executive floor, and Gareth led her into a corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Boston Harbor. Eight people sat around a conference table, and she felt them all sizing her up the instant she walked into the room.
Delaney waited outside in a sitting area, so Emmy was on her own, but that was fine. She could do this.
“Please, sit,” Gareth said, gesturing to a chair at the head of the table. “This is our executive team. We’re all eager to discuss what we can offer you.”
The next hour was a blur of presentations.
The company’s history, their current projects, their vision for expansion into cutting-edge genetics research.
They showed her projected growth charts, talked about their conservative portfolio and their willingness to take calculated risks on brilliant young scientists.
Then Gareth pulled up a new slide, and Emmy’s breath caught.
The salary made her dizzy. $250,000 a year, plus her own team and staff. Full health coverage didn’t mean anything to a dragon shifter, but the potential bonuses sure did.
“Our purpose in hiring you now is to get you on board before someone else grabs you up. We realize you likely have personal projects you feel you need to conquer before you attempt larger ones, so we’ll fund you through those during the following two to three years.
We’d like some input into those projects, to hopefully find something with either tax credits or profits, but we’re in this for the long haul. ”
“This includes equity participation in specific projects,” Gareth picked up.
“For instance, our heritage cattle breeding program. If you can solve the disease resistance problem without sacrificing meat quality, you’d receive three-quarters of a percent of net sales for ten years.
Guaranteed minimum of half a million even if the project fails entirely. ”
Emmy did the math in her head. If it succeeded, if the cattle program took off the way they projected … potentially many millions of dollars.
“That’s incredibly generous,” she managed.
“We value innovation.” Gareth advanced to the next slide.
“We’d also fund a conservation genetics project, and I believe you might be interested in taking on the California condors, where a severe genetic bottleneck has created ongoing issues.
It’s a high-profile species with excellent PR value and significant tax benefits for the company. ”
“I’d love to work on condors,” Emmy said, meaning it. “Understanding avian genetics compared to mammalian and reptile would be invaluable for my long-term research goals.”
“We know.” Gareth smiled. “Which is why we’re prepared to fund whatever you need to learn before tackling your ultimate research interests. Two to three years of directed work on those projects, then we pivot to support your explorations in…”
Gareth glanced at his executive team. “Could everyone except Sandra and James please excuse us?”
Six people filed out without question. The door clicked shut behind them, and Gareth turned back to Emmy.
“We’re aware your ultimate research goal involves understanding dual-shifter genetics.
Specifically, how your mother can be both swan and dragon.
My interests intersect with yours, though for different reasons.
You wish to figure out where biology ends and magic begins.
I want to help shifters of different species choose which species their child will be. ”
Emmy’s mouth went dry.
He pulled up a slide showing genetic compatibility charts.
“Wolf-human pairings produce wolf shifters ninety-nine point three percent of the time. Wolf-deer pairings nearly always produce a wolf child. Wolf-mink pairings favor the stronger parent. Other mammalian combinations have similar patterns.” Gareth met her eyes.
“Wealthy shifters would pay millions to choose their child’s species.
The non-wealthy ones would pay thousands to know what their naturally-conceived infant child will shift into when the puberty hormones hit. ”
Emmy processed that, but before she clarified the specifics, she noted, “Concilio laws prevent scientists from researching magic unless they are on the Concilio’s payroll. The Senatus has mostly copied their rules, with only a few changes.”
“I have contacts on both sides, and will be certain both are comfortable with our work. I have no desire to come down on the bad side of either. The Senatus is drafting wording so trusted organizations and scientists have guidelines to work under. I’m working with them on the wording.”
She nodded. “Excellent. Okay, to the specifics — you want me to develop embryo modification techniques for species selection.”
“And early genetic testing for natural pregnancies, yes. The market is enormous.”