“You tell them to give you all your stuff back including the drive with Annette’s research. And while they’re at it, tell them you’d appreciate a million-dollar research grant.”
“That might be pushing it, Carly…”
“And I think you’re selling yourself short. You always have. You’re one of the top people in the field. Hell, with Annette gone, you may be the top person in the field. Just tell them that they can have the patents on anything you come up with. Why wouldn’t they agree?”
He jammed his hands in his pockets and took another look around the devastated lab, feeling his anger slowly transform to hope. She was right. Pharmaceutical companies’ decisions revolved entirely around dollars and cents. And based on that, PharmaTan had everything to gain by making a deal and absolutely nothing to lose.
Outside Baltimore, Maryland
April 18
It was two in the morning, and the only sound in the street was the rattle of a collapsing gutter on the house next to him. Light was courtesy of a full moon, occasionally supplemented by a street lamp that had escaped being vandalized by the local kids.
It was the second time Richard had run home that week. He was putting in brutal hours at the lab to try to revive his work, and unfortunately they only had one car. Or maybe it wasn’t so unfortunate. He’d been a pretty decent athlete in college, and the six miles of lung-searing torture was getting him back in touch with his physical side.
So far the long days and late nights were paying off more than he could have reasonably hoped. He’d managed to recover most of his data from offsite backups, and an embarrassing amount of groveling had allowed him to hold onto about half his staff. Mostly the youngest and least experienced—the ones who didn’t care much for authority and still had the luxury of defying it—but all were capable, dedicated people.
He pulled the sleeves of his sweatshirt down to protect his arms from the cold as he cut through a trash-strewn lot a few blocks from his house. He’d promised Carly he’d be home by one thirty, and she tended to worry when he missed his self-imposed curfews.
He’d made his offer to PharmaTan almost a week ago through Chris Graden—everything he and Carly had discussed, plus a sweetener that he hadn’t yet told her about: an offer to sign a ten-year employment contract with very few stipulations. Graden thought it amounted to indentured servitude, but there wasn’t time to screw around with negotiations.
Despite being an offer that no company in its right mind would refuse, though, there was still no word. What the hell were they waiting for?
The light on his sinking front porch came into view, and Richard picked up his pace to the degree his cramping thighs would allow. No point in courting any more of Carly’s wrath than necessary.
His stride faltered when he saw a shadow cross from his neighbor’s yard through the large hole in the fence that he’d been meaning to fix for months. He bent at the waist and put his hands on his knees, breathing hard from exertion and a sudden flair of anger.
That was it—the last goddamn time that dog was going to take a horse-sized dump in the grass where his daughter played. No more friendly reminders. No more reasoning. And sure as hell no more pleading. That mutt was going to the pound.
He crept onto the grass, trying to quiet his panting and stay in the shadows. The dog was nearly as old and fat as its owner, but he wasn’t exactly Speedy Gonzales either anymore.
The fit was tight, but he managed to get through the hole and slip into his backyard. Empty.
Endless years in school, countless academic awards, two PhDs…and he’d been outsmarted by a dog. Again.
Richard started to skirt the house on the way to the front door but stopped when he noticed the screen from Susie’s open window lying in the dirt. Yet another thing that needed fixing.
He padded over and was about to reach for it when he
“That might be pushing it, Carly…”
“And I think you’re selling yourself short. You always have. You’re one of the top people in the field. Hell, with Annette gone, you may be the top person in the field. Just tell them that they can have the patents on anything you come up with. Why wouldn’t they agree?”
He jammed his hands in his pockets and took another look around the devastated lab, feeling his anger slowly transform to hope. She was right. Pharmaceutical companies’ decisions revolved entirely around dollars and cents. And based on that, PharmaTan had everything to gain by making a deal and absolutely nothing to lose.
Outside Baltimore, Maryland
April 18
It was two in the morning, and the only sound in the street was the rattle of a collapsing gutter on the house next to him. Light was courtesy of a full moon, occasionally supplemented by a street lamp that had escaped being vandalized by the local kids.
It was the second time Richard had run home that week. He was putting in brutal hours at the lab to try to revive his work, and unfortunately they only had one car. Or maybe it wasn’t so unfortunate. He’d been a pretty decent athlete in college, and the six miles of lung-searing torture was getting him back in touch with his physical side.
So far the long days and late nights were paying off more than he could have reasonably hoped. He’d managed to recover most of his data from offsite backups, and an embarrassing amount of groveling had allowed him to hold onto about half his staff. Mostly the youngest and least experienced—the ones who didn’t care much for authority and still had the luxury of defying it—but all were capable, dedicated people.
He pulled the sleeves of his sweatshirt down to protect his arms from the cold as he cut through a trash-strewn lot a few blocks from his house. He’d promised Carly he’d be home by one thirty, and she tended to worry when he missed his self-imposed curfews.
He’d made his offer to PharmaTan almost a week ago through Chris Graden—everything he and Carly had discussed, plus a sweetener that he hadn’t yet told her about: an offer to sign a ten-year employment contract with very few stipulations. Graden thought it amounted to indentured servitude, but there wasn’t time to screw around with negotiations.
Despite being an offer that no company in its right mind would refuse, though, there was still no word. What the hell were they waiting for?
The light on his sinking front porch came into view, and Richard picked up his pace to the degree his cramping thighs would allow. No point in courting any more of Carly’s wrath than necessary.
His stride faltered when he saw a shadow cross from his neighbor’s yard through the large hole in the fence that he’d been meaning to fix for months. He bent at the waist and put his hands on his knees, breathing hard from exertion and a sudden flair of anger.
That was it—the last goddamn time that dog was going to take a horse-sized dump in the grass where his daughter played. No more friendly reminders. No more reasoning. And sure as hell no more pleading. That mutt was going to the pound.
He crept onto the grass, trying to quiet his panting and stay in the shadows. The dog was nearly as old and fat as its owner, but he wasn’t exactly Speedy Gonzales either anymore.
The fit was tight, but he managed to get through the hole and slip into his backyard. Empty.
Endless years in school, countless academic awards, two PhDs…and he’d been outsmarted by a dog. Again.
Richard started to skirt the house on the way to the front door but stopped when he noticed the screen from Susie’s open window lying in the dirt. Yet another thing that needed fixing.
He padded over and was about to reach for it when he
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