Mr. Good Bad Guy

3 - Perfect

"Hey, I'm heading out," I said. "I'll be back before lunch rush."

"Okay." Parker shoved a donut in her mouth, stepping out of the way of a mover.

"We can go shopping after grabbing a bite to eat."

"Just tell me when you're almost finished. I could order us something."

"Even better."

"Good luck," she sang.

I chuckled. "Luck is for losers."

It hadn't been more than ten hours since Parker and I last saw each other. After dinner, we barely caught Robin to persuade him to put Parker on the lease. The rest of the night had been a blur of paperwork and legal jargon. The next thing I knew, it was morning and she was moving her things in. I didn't want to get in her way, so I scheduled my meeting with Dr. Wellington to give her some space.

It didn't take me long to get to Scientality, but it was far enough away to give me time to prepare myself. Being here was more than an honor. I was never going to get another opportunity like this again. To have one come along was a miracle within itself. To have two...well, that was just unheard of. But here I was, standing in front of the door, about to meet the man who I'd hoped would change my life.

"Hi, you must be Irene Sinclair?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Great. Dr. Wellington will be with you in a moment."

"Thank you."

What she meant by "in a moment" was now. Before I even had the chance to sit down, his office door swung open. We locked eyes and he smiled like he was meeting his favorite celebrity. I couldn't help but return the smile, even if it felt a bit forced.

"Ms. Sinclair, it's an honor to finally meet you," he said, shaking my hand. His grip was firm, but not painful. "Please, have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?"

I smiled and sat in the chair he pointed to. "No, thank you. I'm fine. It's nice to meet you, sir."

Dr. Wellington sat down across from me. He was even more handsome in person. His graying hair only added to his charm. "I've been looking forward to this meeting for quite some time," he said. "You've done incredible work, Irene. Your papers on neurodiversity and the impact of sensory processing disorders in autistic individuals are nothing short of groundbreaking."

I felt myself blush. "Thank you. I never thought anyone was going to read those. Just a small project in college."

"More than a small project. If the right people got their hands on what you know, I don't think you'd be qualified to work here."

What was that supposed to mean?

"Let's not waste time and get to the point." Dr. Wellington opened my file and did a quick look through. "Thank you for faxing over everything I needed. It makes things so much easier. I saw that you received recommendations from everyone but Ms. Neilson. Is there a reason for that?"

I hesitated for a moment. It wasn't something I was eager to discuss. "No reason. She wasn't there the day I left. It completely slipped my mind to ask her for one."

"That's quite alright. And the...break you took from the time you graduated to when you started working. Is there an explanation for that?"

I cleared my throat. "I was...going through some personal things. Wanted to get my head on straight before I tackled any real work."

"Ah...research, I suppose?"

"You could say that."

Dr. Wellington leaned back in his chair, nodding slowly. "Well, I'm sure you've got quite the tale to tell, but I'm more interested in what you've learned from it all. Your thesis was focused on neurodiversity, but I understand you've done some work on sensory processing disorders as well. Would you say that's an area you'd like to explore further?"