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“I know,” Marisol said. “But Dr. Nilsson didn’t feel the same way. This one time, he pulled a bunch of us aside and warned us not to mess up his schedule. He said we’d be docked points if our team kept coming in late.”
“He did?” Dr. Roth chuffed out an aggravated breath. “I never asked him to set standards like that. What else did he say about your grades?”
“It was the same with excavation. If we screwed up anything, we could lose points. When Olivia didn’t lock the gate properly the first time, he yelled at all of us. Said if anyone messed up like that again, they might get sent home. He likes to run a tight ship.” Marisol straightened up, as if gaining strength. “If you want my opinion, he’s the worst teacher here.”
Dr. Roth frowned at Olivia. “Why didn’t you mention this before?”
Despite the guilt tugging at her conscience, Olivia reminded herself she’d been equally intimidated. “Grant told us never to bother you. That day I came to see you after my asthma attack? I was terrified you’d be angry that I interrupted your research. Grant’s made it clear you’re off-limits unless you’re at the field school.” She swallowed, afraid of what her honesty might cost her. “You’re not there that much, so you’ve missed a lot.”
She cringed inwardly, waiting for him to reprimand her, but he let out a pained sigh.
“You’re right. The fault is mine. I have a book due to the UC Press this fall, and I needed to make inroads. But I shouldn’t have prioritized my own work over the students.” He smiled at Marisol. “Thanks again for your honesty. Your grades won’t suffer in the least. They’ll be based on your work on the survey, the lab, and the excavation, and they’ll be submitted by the grad students. Their opinions are the ones that matter.”
Marisol folded up his handkerchief and placed it on the patio table. “Thanks, Dr. Roth.”
Olivia stood up. “Thanks for hearing us out. We’ll let you get back to your research.”
Dr. Roth’s eyes met hers. “Thank you, Olivia, for bringing all this to my attention. You’ve been a real asset to this field school. I look forward to reading your dissertation when it’s completed.”
Of all the outcomes she’d expected tonight, Olivia never imagined receiving such powerful words of validation. “Thanks for taking a chance on me.”
“Before you go, can you ask Grant to come out here?” he said. “I need to have a chat with him.”
As Olivia left with Marisol, she could barely contain the happiness bubbling up inside her. Though she didn’t imagine Grant would get fired, maybe Dr. Roth would call him on his shitty behavior. For now, that would be enough.
On the walk back, Marisol recounted the conversation with glee. Olivia joined in, elated that Grant might finally be getting his due. By the time they reached Camp Kouklia, she was coasting on a wave of positive energy. When Marisol went to look for Alisha, Olivia sought out Rick at the picnic table. To her relief, he was alone, with his guitar resting on the bench beside him.
Heart pounding, she walked over to him, unsettled by the look of disinterest on his face.
“What’s up?” he asked.
No smile. No warmth. No gesture for her to sit down. He was still mad, and for good reason. But his mood might change once she shared her news.
“So…Marisol came to talk to me tonight. About the gate. She said the only reason she didn’t admit the truth earlier was because she was afraid of Grant. Did you know he threatened to fail the students if they screwed up?” Her voice rose in indignation. “He’s been intimidating them so much they’re terrified of doing anything wrong.”
Rick scowled, but his anger wasn’t directed at her. “What an asshole. I didn’t realize he’d taken things that far.”
“Me neither. Apparently, he did it when we weren’t around to intervene. But I convinced Marisol to talk to Dr. Roth about it. She told him everything. He was upset but not with us. He also acknowledged he’d been pretty oblivious.”
Rick favored her with a hint of a smile. “I can’t believe she spoke up like that. Or maybe I can. She reminds me a lot of you.”
He’d mentioned that before, but hearing it again filled her with remorse. By sticking up for Marisol, his heart had been in the right place. Olivia had just been too focused on her own needs to appreciate his enormous act of generosity.
“Marisol didn’t get in trouble?” he asked.
“Nope. Dr. Roth was very understanding. He said the incident wouldn’t affect her grade.”
“Good. She deserves an A. She’s worked really hard.”
Olivia gnawed on her lip. “Anyway…now that Roth knows the truth, he’ll have no qualms about recommending you to his friend who runs the rescue archaeology firm.” She forced a bright smile on her face. “Isn’t that great? If you want, you could go back to California.”
A part of her—an extremely foolish, optimistic part—thought Rick might jump at the opportunity. If he so much as hinted at choosing California over Turkey, then maybe she could drum up the courage to tell him how she really felt.
I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t want things to end. I just wanted more.
But he merely shrugged. “Good to hear, even if I don’t need it right now.”
Her heart plummeted. “Your plans for Turkey are set?”
