After an hour, though, I had six more emails from subjects confirming they had not, in fact, been asked to pay to take part in the study. The others hadn’t responded, so I wouldn’t give up hope, but the numbers weren’t in our favor.
Had Andrew and Gabriel lied to me? Why would they? Granted I didn’t really know them, but Andrew seemed vastlydifferent from other Alphas I’d met. I couldn’t help but remember him purring for me, the gentleness and strength in his arms. Or the protective light in Gabriel’s eyes.
But maybe my instincts weren’t unbiased.
I looked at the text thread with Nathan, typed and deleted a message several times, then just called him.
He picked up on the first ring.
“What did you find out?” he asked.
“It’s bad news. Or, good news I guess.” I outlined the responses I’d gotten.
He was silent for a long moment. I was sitting at the small desk in my room, my knees pulled up to my chest in the wooden rolling chair. My computer screen blacked out while I waited for him to respond.
“Do you still believe them?” Nathan’s voice was steady, but I could sense his tension.
“I still can’t think of a reason they would lie.” I wouldn’t tell him about my gut feelings; Nathan didn’t seem like the type of person to appreciate intuition over deduction.
“If they can show receipts or invoices for the payments, that should be good enough to go to the IRB.” There was another brief silence. “Would you be willing to ask them for that kind of evidence?”
“Of course,” I said, too quickly. I closed my eyes against the rush of embarrassment. I didn’t want Nathan to know how the prospect of an innocent reason to call them filled me with giddy anticipation. But I couldn’t call them from my bedroom again. I needed backup. “I’ll call tomorrow; we can talk to them together.”
“Agreed,” Nathan said. He paused again. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then.”
“Yeah, definitely. Sleep, um, well.” I pictured Nathan at that moment. In my mind, he was laying in bed wearing a t-shirt, his usually perfect hair disheveled. Maybe he wasn’t even wearing a shirt and had all those hidden muscles on display. My face flushed bright red.
“Yes, you too,” Nathan said, his voice stiff.
I hung up before the awkwardness got any worse.
The weather was turning a bit towards spring. Even though it was still cold, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cruel wind threatening to sweep me away.
I’d watchedThe Big Sleepwith Bogart and Bacall the night before to prepare me for any possible espionage. I’d also put on more makeup than usual and dressed with a bit more care. I pretended it had nothing at all to do with seeing Nathan.
As I crossed the street towards the train station, I thought about my approach for the day. I’d received emails from the remaining subjects overnight, confirming they had not been asked to pay for inclusion in the study, so Andrew and Gabriel’s proof would be crucial in proving our case to the IRB.
The thought of calling them again filled me with excitement and dread. Maybe we needed to meet up in person, actually. Nathan would probably want to come, but if they had valuable information, he might forgive them for jeopardizing my career, even inadvertently.
These distracting thoughts meant I didn’t notice the man waiting on the corner until he fell into step with me. My steps faltered as my heart immediately kicked into high gear. He stopped, too.
He was young, probably in his early twenties, with ashy brown hair and brown eyes. His black puffer jacket, remarkably similar to mine, was shiny with wear at the elbows and his jeans were genuinely ripped, not bought that way. He was unremarkable, except that he didn’t fit with the residents ofthe neighborhood around the Center. They were all, without exception, very wealthy.
His scent hit me. Even though he was a Beta, it was strong and reminded me of damp earth. Like when you turn over a rock and mud-dwelling insects crawl deeper to escape the light.
Should I run? Or was that silly? It wasn’t his fault he smelled musty.
“Hey,” he said in a polite voice.
“Good morning,” I replied, unable to stop myself from the ingrained reaction my parents had always insisted on. I started walking again, but he cut me off. Not so polite after all, then.
This wasn’t the first time I’d been asked out by a stranger on the street, but it was the first time it had happened so close to home. I was more annoyed than I expected.
“You had a busy night,” he said with a smile that didn’t meet his eyes. Now that I looked closely, there was nothing friendly in his expression.
Uneasiness grew in my stomach. “Sorry, you must have me confused with someone else,” I said, keeping my voice light.
“I don’t think so, Bridget.”
