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Damn. Now he needed a cold shower, but he didn’t want to brave the camp shower this late at night. Plus, it wasn’t exactly private.
He ambled toward camp, listening for the sounds of music and laughter, but didn’t hear anything. As he reached the parking area, he came face-to-face with Grant, who was returning to the field house for the night.
Rather than scowl at his nemesis, Rick gave him a friendly nod. “Hey, Grant. Did you have fun at the party?”
“I’m not one for parties, but I enjoyed meeting with Dr. Bouras from the Department of Antiquities. I’m impressed with how much she’s accomplished in the field.”
Impressed with her accomplishments or her voluptuous figure? Rick hadn’t missed the way Grant had clung to the woman’s side. But he knew better than to bait him.
Grant gestured to the road. “Where were you coming from?”
“Just out for a walk. I needed a little break.”
“I thought you’d want to enjoy the spotlight for as long as possible, given that you were in your glory after finding that site.”
He made Rick sound as though he’d been boasting to anyone who would listen. True, he’d been proud of his find, but he’d given his team plenty of credit. The only one who’d veered into braggadocio was TJ, and everyone expected that of him.
Rick shrugged. “It was a group effort. I had a good team.” If Grant was going to be his usual dickish self, he didn’t have to put up with it. “The party must be over by now. I should see if they need help with cleanup.”
As he said it, he caught sight of Olivia and Dusty dragging their cots onto the field. He wondered if Olivia was sharing secrets or keeping things quiet. Either way, he wasn’t concerned since he could trust Dusty.
“Cleanup’s over,” Grant said. “I noticed Olivia wasn’t around to help, either. Was she with you?”
Shit. He turned his attention back to Grant. “No. Wasn’t she at the party?”
“According to Dusty, she went for a walk. I find it odd you were both absent at the same time. Surely the backstreets of Kouklia aren’t that enticing?” His words were laced with acid.
Even if Rick no longer worried that his fling with Olivia would get them in trouble, he wasn’t about to divulge anything in front of Grant. He feigned an air of casual indifference. “Didn’t see her.”
“You didn’t happen to run into her?”
“Nope. Besides, she’s not into me. Not that way.”
“She said as much, but I wasn’t sure whether to believe her.” Grant gave a nasty smile. “She told me she was far too serious about her future to get involved with a lowly shovel bum.”
Ouch. Even if she’d said the words to throw Grant off the scent, they still stung. Though Rick tried to hide his reaction, Grant saw through him immediately.
He regarded Rick with a smirk of satisfaction. “The truth hurts, doesn’t it, Langston? That’s all you’ll ever be. Just a grunt, screwing your way through the Mediterranean. I’d call you a disgrace to the profession, but you’re not at that level.”
Without caring about the consequences, Rick unleashed the rage building up inside of him. “What the fuck is your problem?”
“Excuse me?” Grant blanched and took a step back.
“Are you still pissed about the field school in Crete? You need to get over it.”
“Seriously? You tried to destroy my career.”
Rick clenched his hands, battling the urge to shake some sense into Grant. “Bullshit. All I did was refuse to back you up because you acted like a dick. There was no excuse for the way you treated that kid.”
“I’m sure he got over it. But that incident affected my entire career. Did you know the complaint stayed in my file? When I interviewed at Northwestern, the head of the Classics department brought it up. Same with my interview at UC Irvine.”
You deserved it, you controlling prick. “You did just fine. Aren’t you teaching at UCSD with Roth?”
“I’m an adjunct at UC Riverside. Do you know what that means? Of course not, because you don’t know a thing about academic hierarchy. It doesn’t matter how many articles I’ve published or how many talks I’ve given. I’m on a two-year contract with no job security.”
Rick knew more about academia than most people, having worked with archaeologists at all levels. Grant’s status took him by surprise. As ambitious as the guy was, Rick had assumed he’d landed a cushy, tenure-track position.
“That’s not because of one incident,” he said. “I’m sure there are other reasons. It’s hard to get a teaching job in this field.”
