It was early evening, not even six o’clock. I needed to contact them early, to convey myprofessionalconcerns and avoid it seeming like something different.
I’d also spent the whole train ride home crafting the perfect text.
Hi, it’s Bridget from the study. I have some important information to share with you. Please give me a call at your earliest convenience.
I read the message three times. It was professional, informative, and efficient. Perfect.
As soon as I sent the message, I flung the phone across my room. It landed with a soft thump on my bed. I stared at it from my desk chair, willing it to ring but also terrified that it would.
I didn’t have to wait long. My phone started buzzing just a couple of minutes later.
“Hi.” My voice was too breathless to be mistaken for casual. I hoped he wouldn’t notice.
“Hello ‘Bridget from the study,’” Andrew said, taking me off guard. I’d been expecting Gabriel. The deep, sultry timbre of his voice set me pacing to offset the drop of molten pleasure that settled inside. “Should I be offended, or is that how you text everyone?”
I blushed, but kept my voice steady. “I don’t send many texts, honestly. And I wanted you to know who it was.”
“It was very effective. So, what’s this important information? Gabriel is here, too.”
“Ciao, carissima.”
Since I now knew Andrew was attracted to me, it was easy to read flirtation into everything he said. It was unfair, but then I was the one who had asked them to call me.
I launched into an explanation, leaving out some of the finer scientific details. My heart pounded the whole time, not just because of my audience. This was crossing a line, and I couldn’t take it back. I tried not to think about what Nathan would say if he knew.
“The foundation of the study is wrong. We’re operating under the assumption that these Omega cells are mutable, but that’s not true anymore. In your knee, the complications probably wouldn’t be dangerous, but with how unpredictable the immune response has been, I’m nervous about how your body will react long term,” I finished.
In the silence that followed, the part of my brain that had been holding onto the secret relaxed, and relief flowed in. My shoulders drifted away from my ears as I resolved to contact the rest of the subjects anonymously, maybe using that fake email I’d created to contact Axion Biostorage.
“Well. This sucks,” Andrew said.
“I will not say I told you so, amore,” Gabriel muttered, then continued, “Thank you, Bridget. I told him before that this treatment would not be a miracle, no matter how much he paid for it.”
My brain snagged.
“Paid for it?” I repeated. I must have heard incorrectly. “This is a research study.”
“Yeah, and Dr. Davis said it would be a hundred grand per injection to take part,” Andrew said, as if this wasn’t a tremendous revelation.
A wave of dizziness rushed over me. “No. That’s so… wrong. None of the other participants are being asked to pay.”
Oh god, what if they were?
I could hear Gabriel muttering darkly in Italian.
“That’s such a huge ethical violation that I kind of feel like I’m going to pass out,” I said. Was I hyperventilating? My short-lived peace of mind evaporated as quickly as it had come. A hundred thousand per injection? If all the subjects were being asked to pay, and if Lisbeth knew…
No wonder she didn’t want the study to be derailed.
“Bridget. Hey. Deep breaths,” Andrew said, dropping his voice into an almost-growl that cut through my panic a bit. I inhaled through my nose and held it for four counts before slowly exhaling.
“I’m sorry, I have to go.” I needed to tell Nathan. Would he dismiss me, tell me he’d ‘handle it’? He couldn’t. This was way too big a deal. The whole study seemed nefarious now, and I felt sick for being a part of it. Forget cross contamination by the biostorage facility. This was like a smoking gun, or a smoking flamethrower.
“Wait, carissima,” Gabriel interjected. “Please. You are upset.”
“Of course I am!” I nearly shouted, then glanced towards the door of my room. “Do you understand this is breaking the cardinal rule of scientific integrity? Research has to beobjective. A significant financial incentive like this throws any results we might have found into question.”
“How can we help? Should I talk to Patrick?” Andrew asked.
