Over the Hedge: Part 2- The Finale (Lucky in Love) Read online

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Dr. Colcord. I’ll keep you in my prayers, young man,” Dr. Vanderpool said with mocked sympathy.

  “It’s an honor to make your acquaintance as well, Sir.” Sean sat forward, hands folded on the large, mahogany table. “I am a huge fan of your work. I used your theory on impulsiveness and dopamine deficiency as background material for my graduate work.”

  “Hmm, I see that Nathan is in the business of harvesting all the young talent in the state,” Dr. Vanderpool said looking at Dr. Barnes.

  Dr. Barnes kept sketching but responded to his old friend, “You’re mistaken, Simon. I’m just an intermediary for these two. It seems my work was just used as a path for them to create a love connection. I know Price won’t say anything, but this young man is the reason she has been so… occupied lately.”

  “Dr. Barnes!” I shrieked in horror. I looked at Sean whose chest seemed to be sticking out a little by his boss’ words.

  “Oh…I see,” Dr. Vanderpool replied looking between Sean and me. “Well it’s about time someone came and captured that wonderful heart of yours. I’ve always told you with your beauty, intelligence, and giving spirit, you would be fighting off men with a samurai sword.”

  I smiled down at my notepad, playfully twirling my pen. It was funny how many people had said similar words to me over the last few years. My friends and family kept telling me to be patient. Love was on the horizon and I just needed to hold on until it found me. I quickly looked up at Sean. I guess they were all right. Love found me in the best way possible.

  “Thank you for the kind words, Dr. V. Now, let’s get back to the meeting before we get booted out of the conference room,” I said, hoping to get us back on track. I didn’t need this turn into an awkward discussion. Between Jenny and Dr. Barnes, I already had enough of those today.

  “Always the voice of reason,” Dr. V said with his eyes not leaving my face. “You have no idea what a true treasure she is,” he said turning to look at Sean.

  “Oh, but I do,” Sean answered, voice deep and forceful. “She’s one of the best things that’s happened in my life.

  “And, you better not forget it,” Dr. V stated with the warning tone one would normally hear from a girl’s father or older male relatives.

  “Leave the girl alone, Simon. At your age, you should be worried about picking a proper burial site, not flirting with my assistant. Besides, Price is so far gone for her new boyfriend she’s not even thinking about you.” Dr. Barnes said in an exasperated voice.

  I shook my head at all three of them speaking as if I wasn’t sitting in the same room.

  The meeting proceeded with Dr. Barnes and Dr. Vanderpool discussing a lecture series they both took part in a few months back. It took me a while, but I remembered exactly what they were referring to. It was the series Dr. Barnes had come from in a terrible mood almost four months ago. It was hard to forget considering how he blew up at me when I asked him how everything went. It was also the same day he had made me the miniatures of the chair that used to reside in his office.

  After an intense discussion, it became clear part of the reason for hiring Sean was because the previous lab manager had violated privacy and propriety rules by releasing copyrighted materials. While our field of research was highly specialized, it was also extremely competitive. Much of the funding available in oncology research was limited and went to large organizations or universities. Smaller labs such as H&G had to be at the top of their game to compete. The best way for us to stand out was by being innovative; which is why Dr. Barnes was such a commodity to the company.

  Upon the conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Vanderpool made me promise to call him before the end of the week. Sean cleared his throat loudly when the older gentleman made me blush with his teasing words. His furrowed brows and piercing stare quickly cut the conversation short.

  Dr. Barnes was the first to leave, with instructions for me to email one of our vendors. The communication was well past due, since I forwarded the email to him over a week ago. On our way out of the conference room, Sean pulled me to a stop.

  “So, are you going to tell me what that was all about?” he asked.

  “Are you serious, Sean?” I knew he would say something about Dr. Vanderpool’s flirting, but I never expected him to sound so jealous.

  “What? I just witnessed my girlfriend flirting with some guy.”

  “That guy is almost three times my age.” When his expression didn’t change, I laughed disbelievingly. “Sean, Dr. V was one of my professors, or I should say, is still my professor.”

  “What do you mean, still?” he asked stuffing his hand in this pocket. Classic Sean posture for when he was nervous or unsure about something.

  “Well, after undergrad, I didn’t know what I would do school wise. So, I started taking a few graduate classes in the clinical psychology program. Dr. V was my first professor, and I loved his developmental neuropsychology class.”

  I chewed on the inside of my bottom lip nervously. No one besides Dr. V and Dr. Barnes knew about the courses I’d been taking. Not even Stacy and Crystal, and I practically told them everything. With so much up in the air about my personal life, I hadn’t made a full commitment to go back to school yet. Sean would be the only other person to know about my tiptoeing into the world of getting a doctorate. Besides, I was hesitant about applying for the program. Would they even accept me? I was a good student, but the program was deeply competitive.

  “I had to get permission from a faculty member to take additional classes, sort of like a sponsor. That’s when Dr. V stuck his neck out for me by volunteering to be my mentor. The next semester, I took four upper-level classes and passed them all with an A. Ever since then, I’ve been taking classes as a non-degree seeking student. And, remember when I told you I was thinking about getting a degree in clinical psychology? Well, I have taken so many classes that I’ve pretty much finished three years of the program. Dr. V wants to be my advisor, and he offered to help me get funding, so I can do my own research.” I finished my long speech slightly out of breath. I shrugged, feeling apprehensive about what Sean would think.

  “So, there’s nothing going on between you and the good doctor?” Sean asked lightheartedly.

  “No, there’s only one doctor for me…Dr. Colcord.” I rolled my eyes at him. Out of everything I said that was the only thing he got. He was back to acting like his silly, playful self again.

  “Good. By the way, I think it’s cool you’re halfway done with your Ph.D., and you haven’t even enrolled into the program yet.” Sean smiled proudly.

  He pulled me into his embrace and lightly kissed me on the neck. I did my best to hold back my snickers when he rolled his hips into mine; dancing to a beat only he could hear.

  “Yeah, I’m in love with a super nerd. Just my type of woman,” he sang playfully

  I gushed at his words. Wasn’t I just saying the same thing about him while sitting in that meeting? I pushed away from him. I had enough sense to remember that we were still at work.

  “Remind me to tell you the most disturbing thing later,” I said thinking about Dr. Barnes’s comment about his sex life.

  “It’s not about you and the doc is it? Cause, I fight old men. I don’t care if he’s old enough to be my grandfather. I’ll go a few rounds with him.” Sean crossed his arms over his burly chest. The tailored shirt pulling taut against his defined muscles.

  I slapped his forearm at his attempt at looking intimidating.

  “Boy cut it out.” I snickered. “But seriously it was all thanks to Dr. V I was able to get this far. They only allow students to take a maximum of fifteen hours without being fully enrolled. Dr. V went above the rules so I could take as many classes as I wanted. Although, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what I wanted to do at the time; he encouraged me to continue as if I had already decided. I’m very grateful for him believing in me.”

  “Well, don’t be too grateful. I saw the way he kept looking at you,
” Sean added. “Isn’t he too old to have the Fabio hair. I mean come on sweetheart—a man bun in your late sixties?”

  I shook my head as we entered the entrance to my cubicle. There was no convincing him to let go of his silly attempts of creating something between Dr. V and I. I pulled out two bottles of water from my mini fridge and handed one to Sean. He sat down at the small table in the corner of my cubicle, and I pulled my rolling chair up to join him.

  “It’s so sad. He says I remind him of his childhood best friend—both in looks and spirit,” I explained.

  “So?” Sean said, shrugging his broad shoulders nonchalantly.

  I watched as the muscles underneath his dress shirt bunched and rolled. Would there ever be a day when I wasn’t enthralled by his physique? I rolled my head from side to side to clear my disruptive thoughts away. Sex was on the menu when we got to his place tonight.

  “She was the daughter of the woman who cleaned their home. They played as children and adolescents, but when they became teenagers their time together took a different turn. Games of tag turned into curious explorations of developing bodies. It was completely taboo. The rich, white guy, falling for the maid’s daughter. But Dr. V was in love with Viola James, and he planned on spending his life with her.”

  Sean downed his bottle of water in a few gulps and reached for mine. I watched as he put the bottle to his lips and took three long sips. He had this habit of eating and drinking my food. Honestly, I doubt he was even conscious of doing it.

  “You make it sound like things didn’t work out that way,” Sean inquired, leaning back in his seat.

  “You are right. Her mother found out about their relationship and quit a few months later, picking up her family and moving to Boston. They kept in touch by mail. But, by the time Dr. V started university, it just became harder and harder for them to stay in contact. He just up and switched schools and went to college in Boston. He said it was the best years of his life being with the love of his life. Back then it wasn’t as easy for interracial couples to exist peacefully. Both races constantly harassed them. Eventually, Viola told him she wasn’t strong enough to handle the pressure. Because he loved her; he let her go.”

  I stared at me and Sean’s hands intertwined. I had no idea how they became entangled. The warmth of our joined hands reminded me of how fortunate we were to have found love in a time where it wasn’t against the law for us to be together.

  “I asked him once if he had ever sought her out. He said he found out she moved back to Georgia and married a young man a few years later. He got her address from an old friend of her mothers and drove by to see her. She was outside playing with her children on a blanket, and he sat in his car and watched her until they packed up and went inside. Dr. V said, knowing she was happy was the only consolation for his broken heart. Not too long after he met a woman who he came to love and married her.”

  “Whoa…that must have been tough for him. I don’t think I could do it. You would have to grow a pair and deal with whatever came our way,” Sean said looking at me with that infamous glare of his. “I wouldn’t be strong enough to give you up like that.”

  I gave Sean’s hand a reassuring squeeze before pulling away. For the umpteenth time that day I had to remind myself we were at work.

  “I don’t think it was that easy for him. He admitted that while he loved his wife faithfully throughout their marriage. Yet he always felt like his heart belonged to Viola.”

  “Do you think his wife knew?” Sean asked.

  I nodded. “Dr. V said she told him as much before her passing. She was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer and didn’t respond well to treatment.”

  “So, he’s single now?” Sean asked looking at me with an agitated scowl.

  I kicked him underneath the table.

  “Shut up, Sean. You know good, and well Dr. V isn’t thinking about me like that.”

  “Yeah, he better not be.” He puffed out his chest. “You let him know you are off the market and possibly carrying the heir to the Colcord dynasty.”

  I snorted when I realized what he said. It shocked me to see how happy Sean was about the possibility of us having a kid together. The entire thing was just too weird for me to think about. I pushed away from the table and swiveled around to my computer, effectively dismissing him.

  “Go back to work. I’ve got a lot of notes to organize, and some research to do, so we can get this protocol ready for IRB submission,” I ordered playfully.

  “Yes dear.” Sean answered with a cheeky grin.

  Sean pushed up from the chair and tucked it back in under the table. He lightly squeezed the back of my neck before he left.

  Working with this man was going to get me in a heap of trouble.

  A couple of days later I was finalizing a rough draft of the new protocol I was working on with Dr. Barnes, Sean, and Dr. Vanderpool. The MIND Project (Mechanism of Intra-Neural Defense) was turning out to be one of the most exciting assignments I had since I started working for Dr. Barnes. It allowed me to use everything I was learning in school and it gave me the opportunity to use my creativity to design a research protocol from scratch.

  Dr. Barnes had praised me for all the hard work I was putting in. There was an unspoken agreement that I would take the lead on getting the protocol written. I only contacted the other members of the team when I needed clarification on a specific point, or when I wanted them to review a section of the draft. Overall, I was having a blast and looked forward to doing more things like this.

  With some luck, we would get published in one of the top peer-reviewed journals with a high impact rating. When the time came for me to apply to the graduate program, this project would make my curriculum vitae stand out from all the other applicants.

  After telling Sean about my foray into graduate studies, he had been very supportive of me going full-time. Even going so far as looking into the program and the faculty to make sure it was the ‘right fit’ for me. He also took it upon himself to find other comparable programs to give me, ‘options’. The man was too much sometimes. But I found his tenacity to see me accomplish my dreams endearing. The growth in our relationship was unmistakable.

  A knock sounded against my cubicle. I turned around to see Tracy standing at the entrance.

  “Hey, girlie. What are you smiling about?” she asked.

  “Hey, you. I’m just feeling good. I’ve got nothing to complain about so, I might as well smile, right?” I answered in a cheerful tone.

  “I’m with you on that one,” Tracy said. She plopped down in the empty seat, letting out a long sigh.

  “So, what’s up? Did you need me for something?” I asked.

  I was mentally crossing my fingers the answer would be no. I was already planning on leaving an hour early to get ready for the weekend. Sean and I had plans to get into some extreme vegging out on the couch to watch our favorite movies tonight before our family dinner this weekend. It would be our last night together until his mother went home. He tried to convince me she wouldn’t have a problem with me spending the night while she was in town. He countered by suggesting we stay at my place. But his mother was only in town for a few days and he needed to spend time with her. As tempting as it was to have him pressed against me in bed, I wasn’t going there. Sean wouldn’t be able to keep his hands to himself, and neither would I. I needed his mother to have a good impression of me.

  “No, just needed to get away from all that negativity downstairs,” Tracy responded.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her questioningly. I knew Human Resources as the ‘fun’ department at H&G. They were constantly having staff lunches and team building days. Each year someone from their department won the ugly sweater contest we held at Christmas time. They were one of the few groups to go all out with costumes during Halloween.

  “Oh no, what’s going on?” I inquired.

  “Your girl Jenny is down there talking smack and gossiping about people. Most of us oldies know she
’s full of crap, but some of the new girls are getting caught up in all that’s plastic and flashy.” Tracy rolled her eyes heavenward. “What’s even worse is she got in trouble this morning for not doing her job. Our department supervisor drilled her a new one for slacking on her recruitment duties. She leaves the office a few times a week claiming she is out recruiting, yet she has no work to show for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets put on probation for this.”

  I shook my head reproachfully at Jenny’s behavior. First the bathroom situation, and now, this. I hadn’t had the chance to run into her since then. Whatever was going on with her outside of work would cost her her job if she didn’t tighten up.

  “Look, Lashawnda. I know you’re not the type to bad mouth anyone, but honestly aren’t you over her and her bullshit?” Tracy asked.

  “I don’t care for her antics. But I refuse to let it bother me. Sincerely, I feel sorry for her. There must be something wrong in her life for her to be negative toward other people so often. I think she needs a friend,” I explained.

  “Are you the one that’s going to be there for her? Especially after the way she’s bad mouthed you,” Tracy stated in an annoyed tone.

  I smiled sadly at Tracy.

  “No, I’m not volunteering for the job, but I do pity someone who hates themselves as much as she does. I don’t have time to care what Jenny thinks about me. I’ve got a life to live, and I’m enjoying every moment of it.”

  Tracy shook her head. “Girl, they need to get you inducted into sainthood. I would bitch slap her if she tried me.”

  “You think she’s worth it?” I couldn’t help but laugh at Tracy’s angry scowl.

  “Well, no, she isn’t worth my time, but I sure the hell would feel better knowing I put the smackdown on her. Only if it was a temporary high,” Tracy said laughing.

  “I see your point. But I can guarantee you that flaunting my happiness in her face is more of an insult to her than any slap in the face.”