cup
of coffee.”
He
must think I’m an idiot. It’s obvious I don’t get out much.
“Oh,
of course. Why don’t we go to the cafeteria? The university has a …”
“Dr.
Drayton, do you mind if we get out of this setting and go somewhere a little
less … sterile?”
My
brow crinkles up as I pull my glasses off. “Yes. Um, we could go to …”
“How
about Port City Coffee House? Does that suit you?” he asks.
I
relax. It’s not often I take businessmen out for coffee. “Yes, that would be
nice. Let me tell John I’ll be gone for a bit.”
After
I let John know, we climb into a black limousine and ride over to the coffee
shop. Once seated, and after our drinks arrive, we begin.
“I’d
like to mention a few things that need clarification,” I start.
“Fine.”
Winston dips his head.
“First
and foremost, I don’t work for you, I work for the university.”
“Agreed.”
“Second,
I answer only to my supervisor, John Corbin.”
“Agreed.”
“Third,
I will only do research that is within my realm of interest and it must always
be ethical.”
“Agreed.”
I
had expected a lot of pushback since I’m dealing with the corporate world and
they always like to be in control, but I get none at all. Winston just smiles
at me, and asks, “Anything else?”
“I
don’t think so, other than I refuse to be pressured on a deadline. My research
is tenuous and not driven by a clock.”
“Understood.”
“Fine.
Then explain to me what I’ll be signing.”
Winston
nods to one of the other gentleman. He smiles and introduces himself as one of
the attorneys from their corporate office. He explains everything in the
contract and I ask if I can have my attorney look it over. Winston doesn’t have
an issue with that.
The
rest of our visit is pleasant.
“I
must say, Dr. Drayton, when I came here, I was expecting to meet someone much
older than you. What a surprise. How did you accomplish so much, given your
age?”
“First
off, please call me Carter. Second, you might say I was extremely motivated and
I guess you could say I’m a workaholic. I finished undergrad in three years,
then I did a combined masters and doctorate after that. I was lucky to meet
John at a seminar and land my position with him. The rest is, as they say,
history.”
“Oh,
I would agree that you are the one that’s making history. Your work is
brilliant.”
I
can’t help but beam. “May I ask you something, Mr. Miles?”
“Certainly.”
“Do
any of these other guys here ever speak?”
The
other men look at him, and then he starts laughing. “I don’t suppose enough.
Maybe we need to change that, huh?”
“Want
my opinion?”
“Yes,
I think I do.”
“They
look a bit goofy.” I lean forward and say, “I think you need to let them use their brains. They might surprise you.”
The
other men gape.
Their
coffee cups are empty, so we board the limo and go back to the lab. I shake
hands with Winston and tell him he’ll be hearing from me very soon. After he
leaves, I wonder about the other guys. Why didn’t they speak? What is Winston
really like? How will I like working with him? I’ll find out soon enough.
John
and I have a lengthy discussion about the contract Winston wants me to sign.
John doesn’t see anything out of order in it, but I still want my attorney to
check it out. At two o’clock, I go to see Uncle Foster. He agrees with John.
There is nothing in the contract, other than StrongMeds will grant me the funds
for research and I will share my findings with them. They will have exclusive
rights to create the drugs resulting from my research and that this contract
will be binding for as long as I work on PD-L1. I will have profit sharing in any
money earned from drugs created from my research in the form of stock options.
Uncle
Foster gives me an odd look. “Carter, I always knew you were smart. Your daddy
talked about it a lot. He always thought you’d go to law school and follow his
footsteps
of coffee.”
He
must think I’m an idiot. It’s obvious I don’t get out much.
“Oh,
of course. Why don’t we go to the cafeteria? The university has a …”
“Dr.
Drayton, do you mind if we get out of this setting and go somewhere a little
less … sterile?”
My
brow crinkles up as I pull my glasses off. “Yes. Um, we could go to …”
“How
about Port City Coffee House? Does that suit you?” he asks.
I
relax. It’s not often I take businessmen out for coffee. “Yes, that would be
nice. Let me tell John I’ll be gone for a bit.”
After
I let John know, we climb into a black limousine and ride over to the coffee
shop. Once seated, and after our drinks arrive, we begin.
“I’d
like to mention a few things that need clarification,” I start.
“Fine.”
Winston dips his head.
“First
and foremost, I don’t work for you, I work for the university.”
“Agreed.”
“Second,
I answer only to my supervisor, John Corbin.”
“Agreed.”
“Third,
I will only do research that is within my realm of interest and it must always
be ethical.”
“Agreed.”
I
had expected a lot of pushback since I’m dealing with the corporate world and
they always like to be in control, but I get none at all. Winston just smiles
at me, and asks, “Anything else?”
“I
don’t think so, other than I refuse to be pressured on a deadline. My research
is tenuous and not driven by a clock.”
“Understood.”
“Fine.
Then explain to me what I’ll be signing.”
Winston
nods to one of the other gentleman. He smiles and introduces himself as one of
the attorneys from their corporate office. He explains everything in the
contract and I ask if I can have my attorney look it over. Winston doesn’t have
an issue with that.
The
rest of our visit is pleasant.
“I
must say, Dr. Drayton, when I came here, I was expecting to meet someone much
older than you. What a surprise. How did you accomplish so much, given your
age?”
“First
off, please call me Carter. Second, you might say I was extremely motivated and
I guess you could say I’m a workaholic. I finished undergrad in three years,
then I did a combined masters and doctorate after that. I was lucky to meet
John at a seminar and land my position with him. The rest is, as they say,
history.”
“Oh,
I would agree that you are the one that’s making history. Your work is
brilliant.”
I
can’t help but beam. “May I ask you something, Mr. Miles?”
“Certainly.”
“Do
any of these other guys here ever speak?”
The
other men look at him, and then he starts laughing. “I don’t suppose enough.
Maybe we need to change that, huh?”
“Want
my opinion?”
“Yes,
I think I do.”
“They
look a bit goofy.” I lean forward and say, “I think you need to let them use their brains. They might surprise you.”
The
other men gape.
Their
coffee cups are empty, so we board the limo and go back to the lab. I shake
hands with Winston and tell him he’ll be hearing from me very soon. After he
leaves, I wonder about the other guys. Why didn’t they speak? What is Winston
really like? How will I like working with him? I’ll find out soon enough.
John
and I have a lengthy discussion about the contract Winston wants me to sign.
John doesn’t see anything out of order in it, but I still want my attorney to
check it out. At two o’clock, I go to see Uncle Foster. He agrees with John.
There is nothing in the contract, other than StrongMeds will grant me the funds
for research and I will share my findings with them. They will have exclusive
rights to create the drugs resulting from my research and that this contract
will be binding for as long as I work on PD-L1. I will have profit sharing in any
money earned from drugs created from my research in the form of stock options.
Uncle
Foster gives me an odd look. “Carter, I always knew you were smart. Your daddy
talked about it a lot. He always thought you’d go to law school and follow his
footsteps
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