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‘Rhona pulled it out.’ Simon puffed out his chest and pointed to her.
Her cheeks burned and she flapped his hand down.
‘An amazing stroke of luck and a once-in-a-lifetime find.’ The director checked his notes. ‘We had a fantastic report on it too, which we’ll be publishing shortly.’
Rhona couldn’t stop smiling, her heartrate quickening with every word. Simon caught her eye and winked.
‘I’d like to mention the following people who are moving on.’ The director read out the names of researchers heading to pastures new. Rhona chewed her lip. Soon. A few more minutes and it would be her. ‘And to Annike Steib, after her sterling work on this report, she’s moving up to trench manager on our next dig.’
Annike’s back was ramrod straight as she gave a nod, her smile more like a smug sneer. Rhona stared between her and the director. The thudding in her chest dulled, making way for a ringing in her ears. Wait… what? Had she misheard?
‘But you wrote the report,’ whispered Simon. ‘Didn’t you?’
‘I did.’
‘To the rest of you, it’s farewell,’ said the director. ‘If you want to reapply for next season, we’ll be happy to hear from you.’
Farewell? Reapply? Not even a renewed contract?
With a scraping of cheap metal seats on the container floor, Annike swanned out. Rhona got to her feet.
‘Go after her,’ said Simon.
A vice-like grip had taken hold of Rhona. Her shoulders tensed and she couldn’t move her feet. ‘But what can I do?’ She didn’t want to start a fight, not here.
‘Come on.’ Simon strode off.
Annike was outside, chattering and gesticulating wildly to some colleagues, that annoying expression still on her face. Rhona balled her fists, following Simon.
‘Did you submit Rhona’s report as your work?’ Simon interrupted her mid-flow. Annike peered down her nose as though an irritating fly had landed on her arm.
‘No. It was a collaboration,’ she said.
Rhona’s mouth fell open. ‘I wrote the report. I found the shell.’
‘That was luck. Anyone could have been in the right place at the right time. My interpretations were the important parts.’
‘The ones I did. You were just meant to be proofreading it.’
‘Did you send it in with your name on it?’ Simon glared at Annike who towered over him.
‘Like I said, it was a collaboration. We worked on it together. I was chosen for management because I have the skills.’ She cast Rhona an utterly phoney apologetic look and moved away, restarting her conversation with the researchers.
‘That sucks.’ Jay folded his arms, frowning. ‘Though I guess if you want to be successful you gotta shout as loud as her.’
Searing heat singed Rhona’s cheeks and she swallowed. She could do with a drink of water… or something a lot stronger.
‘I wonder if I can talk to the director about it,’ said Simon. ‘This seems highly unfair.’
Shaking her head, Rhona sighed. ‘This is unbelievable. I trusted her and I was only ever nice to her.’
‘That’s because you’re a nice person. Much nicer than her. A bit too nice in fact.’
Too nice? That didn’t sound like a compliment. How had this happened? She’d made the find of her life but was standing here with nothing to show and nowhere to go.
Chapter 2
Calum
