Page 10 of Trip Me Up
“I need an author’s name to put on the cover.”
“Why does it need to be my name?”
She exchanged a glance with Martell. “Because of your connection with the book. It’s simpler that way.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What’s simpler?” Mother’s simple things—like Saturday’s fundraiser—always had a complication, like Winford Whosit.
“As an incentive”—Martell leaned forward—“I’d be willing to fast-track your dissertation approval. There would be no need to complete the original scope of your plan. You could start writing your dissertation now based on what you’ve done.”
“Now?” I massaged sensation back into my fingers. I’d save myself months of work on CASE, finding and fixing the bugs that made it write such flowery words. There’d be no question about walking across the stage next spring, taking my diploma from the university president’s hand, then hopping on a plane with Bilbo Baggins—two or three planes would be even better—to some remote university, where I could start again. Without the dark history and mistrust, I’d be free to make a difference in the world on my own terms. If I could work the bugs out of CASE, maybe it would help researchers.
Bonus: I’d escape Mother’s machinations forever.
The happy thought must’ve shown on my face because Heidi leaned back. “There’s one condition to our deal.”
“A condition?” I leaned forward.
“You will say you wrote the novel. You will not make any connections betweenMagician in the Machineand CASE or artificial intelligence until I announce it.”
I hated lying. Besides, no one who knew me would believe it. I pictured my mother’s face across the table at Sunday brunch saying, “Samantha, how didyouwrite a novel?”
But in the end, the lie would get me out of a lot of Sunday brunches. And setups with guys like Winford. Like Stephen.
“Can we use a fake name?”
“Of course we can use a pen name. All I need is for you to be the person behind the name.” Heidi steepled her fingers under her chin.
It was for science. For CASE. I could take my original idea to a different lab, far, far away, and make it into what I’d envisioned: a timesaver for scientists. It would fast-track so many investigations. Like heart disease prevention. To keep other little girls from losing their daddies.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
Heidi’s lips curled up into the approximation of a smile. “Excellent. I’ll send the papers to John for your signature.”
That sounded like dismissal to me. “Can I go now?” I asked Martell. My skin felt tight the way it had when I’d run out of Kyle’s apartment while he stood in his boxers in the doorway with his eyebrows scrunched.
“Of course, Samantha. I’m sure you agree this will be an excellent opportunity for the department and the university.”
“Sure.” At that point, I didn’t care about the department or the university. I ignored the heaviness in my gut. For science.
But I should’ve cared. I should’ve cared about the papers I was about to sign without reading them and about the lies that were already starting to wrap me up like prey in a spider’s web.
