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“Are babies usually born on their due dates? It must be a crapshoot, right?”
Richard chuckled. “I guess that's one way to put it. They come when they want to, usually. It's a rough estimate, so to speak.”
Will nodded, seeming to mull this over. “So how long will she work?”
Richard shrugged. “She wants to work as long as she can, but I'm hoping she'll stop after Thanksgiving. Um, she applied for another position at RJD as soon as we got back from Boston. It’s in another department. She’s just waiting to hear if she got it.”
Will looked his cousin in the eye. “I've thought about this a lot, Richard. Everything that happened in Boston... I feel awful about it, and I hope you know that I’m truly sorry. I said some shitty things, and I was way out of line.”
“We've already talked about this.”
“I know we have, but I have some other things I need to say.” He sighed. “I feel like you haven't taken responsibility for any of this, for putting me and the company in this position to begin with. I understand Lauren is your girlfriend, and that you love her and wanted to help her out. I get that. But suggesting she apply for that job as your assistant...it was wrong, and you should have known better.”
Richard remained silent, so Will continued.
“What if something had gone bad between you, and she was vindictive and wanted revenge? She could have made your life, and mine, a living hell.”
“She's not like that.”
“And I’ll take your word that she isn’t—now. But you have to understand where I was coming from. You've known her for what, six months or so? She's pregnant with your child, and she works—wasworking—for you. I'm not trying to be crass here, but you're her boss, and you knocked her up.”
Richard’s expression grew thunderous, and he started to speak, but Will cut him off.
“I'm not trying to get you all fired up again, but it's the truth. As your cousin, I'll be as supportive as possible, but as yourboss, as the owner of this company, I see it differently. All I’m asking is that you at least try to understand where I was coming from.”
Richard stared at his cousin. “All right. I get it. But you need to understand that your entire point of view, the way you sometimes see situations, is very cynical. You automatically assumed that Lauren had some kind of financial motivation to be with me. It's all about the money, right? You can't believe that she would love me just for me. But I could say the same for Elizabeth.”
“Leave her out of it.”
“No, I won't leave her out of it. You've been surrounded by gold diggers all your life, but you meet her, and boom, she'sthe one. How come it can be that way for you but not for me?”
“It can be that way because Elizabeth isn’t my employee, Richard!” Will took a deep breath, reining in his anger. “All I'm saying is that sometimes…sometimes you think you know someone, but then it turns out you really don't know them at all, and they completely turn your world upside down.” He paused. “Actually, theyobliterateyour world. Destroy it.”
Silence stretched between them until Richard spoke again.
“What happened with Elizabeth?”
“Leave it alone, Richard. Lauren will not work as your assistant any longer. Are we clear on that?”
Richard gave a curt nod. “Crystal.”
“Good. I'm going for a walk.”
* * *
Elizabeth stretchedas she walked from the plane into the terminal. The non-stop flight into Savannah, Georgia was short and made even shorter by Marie's incessant chatter, and they spent the time getting to know each other a little better. She was twenty-six, and had only been at the oceanographic for two years. She was thrilled she’d been selected for this trip, and Elizabeth was glad for the distraction; anything to keep her mind off Will.
The employee joining them from NOAA, whom Elizabeth didn't know, was taking a later flight and would meet them in South Carolina, and an employee of the Basin Research Reserve, Sameera, picked them up at the airport.
“It's about an hour’s ride to Beaufort,” she said. “You’ll both be staying in a house with the employee from NOAA and two more people coming from a reserve in Maine. You have tonight free, so have a look around Beaufort if you'd like. It's a small town, so you can pretty much walk everywhere, but there's a lot to do and it’s close to where you'll be working.”
Little more than an hour later, Sameera had left, and Marie and Elizabeth were getting settled into their temporary home. It was hot and sticky outside, and both women were happy to learn the house had air conditioning. After looking at the four bedrooms, Elizabeth and Marie chose the room with two twin beds, both already feeling comfortable enough to be roommates for a couple of weeks.
They made light conversation while they unpacked, which again, Elizabeth was thankful for—until Marie asked for her status.
“My status?” Elizabeth repeated.
“Yes. I'm single. You're not wearing any rings, so I'm assuming you're not engaged or married.”
