Chapter 14 #3
“Cool?” Ethan sputtered. “It’s not… It doesn’t even come close to…” He fought back the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. “Imagine if I found out vampires were real and just said ‘cool.’ No matter what you’re feeling, ‘cool’ is so far from an adequate response.”
Tressa bit her lip. “Um… I’m not sure what you’re looking for here, Ethan. While I find your enthusiasm to be absolutely adorable, it’s just a flower.”
“Just a…?” Ethan couldn’t even bring himself to look at Tressa until he calmed down, so he spun around and stared at the plant that shouldn’t exist on this side of the Atlantic.
His fingers itched to reach out and touch it, to caress the petals, yet at the same time, he was terrified of the oils from his skin damaging the delicate cell structure.
“Hey,” Tressa said softly, gently tugging his chin around to face her. “I didn’t mean to sound like I don’t care. I do care. If it has you this flabbergasted, I want to know more. Teach me, Ethan. Tell me about this plant.”
Ethan gazed into her brown almond-shaped eyes that shone with not only an internal glow and warmth, but also genuine interest. She really wasn’t placating him. She had no idea what the plant was, but for some reason, she legitimately wanted to learn.
He couldn’t help but lose his heart to her just a tiny bit more. He might have taken a job in pharmaceutics because it was the shortest path to what he wanted to achieve, but a not-so-small part of him had considered academia for a while since he loved to teach.
“Okay,” he said, his annoyance fading into the excitement that always built inside him whenever he got to share the wonders of the botanical world.
Grabbing her hands, he tugged her closer to the plant but stopped a few feet away so she wasn’t tempted to reach out and touch it.
“I wasn’t exaggerating when I said it was the most rare flower in the world.
I’ve been trying to get a cutting for years so I could propagate it here in the States, but neither of the owners are parting with them.
They probably like the prestige of the rarity.
Which is damned selfish because the pharmaceutical possibilities for this flower are endless.
It has immense antioxidant properties which could lead to serious breakthroughs in treating cardiovascular disease and even some kinds of cancer. ”
He turned away from her and analyzed the bush in front of him.
So many blooms with vibrant petals and healthy stamen, the plump anther ready to release its pollen.
His brain swirled with all the possibilities this flower could offer to his research.
If they had it growing successfully, he could probably transplant some cuttings to breed even more.
And with such a large supply, he could conduct an endless number of tests.
Fuck, he could potentially find a cure for heart disease altogether with this flower.
He started mentally compiling all the various steps he would need to take to get a lab up and running.
VieTek would fund the whole thing in a heartbeat when he explained the situation.
Or maybe he could cut them out entirely and get his own private lab going so he could control what happened with the medication.
He would need a loan to do that which would be hard without a job, but…
His hopes came screeching to a halt when his brain landed on the most important thing any pharmaceutical botanist needed—a competent organic chemist.
He rubbed at his chest as the ache deep inside blossomed anew.
Jake had been his chemist. For years, they’d worked together, researching side by side with the goal of developing a medication that could truly change the world.
They’d become brothers in all but blood.
He should be here. He should be at Ethan’s side, embarking on this incredible new journey with him.
Only he wasn’t.
Because of the vampire.
Jake’s dead eyes, staring for eternity, pleading, accusing.
His ideas swirled down the drain in his head as he remembered his true priority. The vampire needed to die first. Then, and only then, could he allow himself to think about developing a new medication.
“Hey, Earth to Ethan,” Tressa said, waving a hand in front of his face. “Where did you go just now?”
Ethan removed his glasses and wiped them on the hem of his borrowed Linkin Park T-shirt while he composed himself enough to answer.
“This plant…” he began, placing the glasses back on the bridge of his nose.
“The potential it could offer the world is incredible, but Jake should be here for this. He was my partner. He was the chemist to my botanist. He kept me tethered to the world.” Ethan paused, and a small grin tugged at his lips.
“Jake is the reason I have that rose tattooed on my ass.”
Tressa’s eyebrow quirked up. “Go on…”
“Let’s just say I lost a bet over how many hydrogen atoms are in the chemical formula for caffeine. In my defense, it was two in the morning and we’d been drinking.”
“Why Ethan, who knew you had such a wild side?” Tressa teased, bumping his hip with hers.
Ethan stumbled slightly but caught himself before he accidentally fell into the Middlemist Red Camellia.
Straightening up, he said, “Yeah, but that was years ago. Lately it’s been all work.
The medication we were developing together had the real potential to significantly decrease fatalities from cardiovascular disease.
But this”—he gestured to the Camellia—“this plant could let me develop a treatment that might eliminate them altogether.” His voice choked up.
“And Jake will never be around to see it happen.”
“I’m so sorry,” Tressa whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I know what it’s like to lose people. Why don’t you tell me more about him? Or tell me about that medication you were working on.”
Ethan sighed. “There’s really nothing more to mention beyond what I’ve said, and the mechanism of action would probably just bore you.” He gave her a small smile. “Unless maybe you’re a doctor on top of being a vampire hunter?”
He was only partially teasing, but honestly, she seemed intelligent enough that he wouldn’t be surprised.
“Not quite,” Tressa said, but she didn’t seem as interested in playing as she had before. “Why don’t we continue on? There’s a lot of the garden left to see.”
Ethan drug his eyes away from her face to stare at the pink flower for another second, reminding himself that it was real and in good shape.
She laughed and tugged on his shoulder. “It’s not going anywhere, Ethan. I promise.”
Reluctantly, he let Tressa lead him deeper into the garden. An assortment of other rare plants greeted him, but he’d pretty much shot his load with the Middlemist Red Camellia. Nothing else could even come close.
His mind drifted once more to the possibilities of the exotic flower, and he vowed he would return for it.
Just as soon as he got revenge for his partner.