He looked pleased. "Thanks. That means a lot."
She hesitated. "If you’re interested, there’s a place here for you after you graduate. I’d love you to stay on.”
Ted shook his head. "I appreciate it, but I’ve got other plans. I’m going to travel for a bit. See the world."
"Where to?"
"Middle East, for a start," he said. "I’ve got some friends working on a desert greening project and been offered a job there. I’ll take it and see where it goes from there."
Kathleen nodded slowly, masking her surprise. She’d thought he was more of a homebody. "That sounds incredible. I hope it’s everything you want it to be."
"Yeah," he said. "Me too."
“Maybe you might be tending to these plants in the desert one day.”
His eyes widened. “You think you can get these suckers to grow without water?”
She shrugged. “I’ve got some thoughts on that.” She tapped her head. “It’s all up in here at the moment.”
He tilted his head to study her. “Care to share.”
She smiled. “That’ll be for my next helper.”
“I guess so,” he said reluctantly.
She glanced at the plants again, thinking he loved them as much as she did. "Just promise me you’ll stay in touch."
"Of course," Ted said. "That’s a given."
They worked in companionable silence after that, and Kathleen tried not to think about working with someone else. It took so much patience and time to teach them how she liked things done.
An hour later, she was finishing her notes for the morning, when her phone buzzed in her lab coat pocket.
“Hello, Kathleen speaking.”
"Dr. Knowles," the Director of the laboratories said warmly, "the Chairman would like to extend his congratulations in person. Could you join him in the boardroom?"
“I’ll finish up here and and be there in five minutes, sir.”
She stripped off her lab coat and gloves, and called out to Ted as she walked to the door. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”
The boardroom was quiet when she entered, the sun throwing muted light across the polished table through the tinted glass windows. The Chairman stood at the head of it, tall and silver-haired, smiling as she stepped inside.
George Wainwright had been with the Institute for over a decade, a seasoned academic with a background in theoretical physics and a nose for opportunity. He carried himself with authority, less inclined to micromanage than to empower, andformidable when crossed. Kathleen had rarely interacted with him directly, but she’d seen the respect he commanded among the senior faculty.
"Dr. Knowles," he said, coming around the table to shake her hand. "Congratulations. Your publication is nothing short of extraordinary."
"Thank you," she said, still a little awkward in the face of praise. "I wasn’t expecting all this."
"Well, brilliance deserves recognition," he said, gesturing for her to take a seat at the table with him. "I’ve been reading through your paper again this morning. It’s impressive work. You've put the Institute on the map, not only nationally, but internationally."
Kathleen felt her cheeks flush. "That’s very generous of you, sir."
"Not generous—accurate," he said, settling in across from her. "It’s been years since we’ve had something this important come out of our labs. We’re all proud of you."
There was a pause as Kathleen shifted nervously in her chair. The room felt formal, but Wainwright’s tone was warm.
"Eve read the article last night and said, 'You’ve got a genius on your hands.' And she’s not easily impressed," he said with a chuckle.
