Page 28 of Body Shot

I know a little burger place close by that’s super casual. We order at the counter. Hayden picks up the old license plate with our order number on it while I carry our plastic cups full of draft beer out to the patio.

“So I get the feeling you’re not really into doing things that aren’t planned,” I say once we’re seated.

“I do like to plan my spontaneity,” she admits.

I laugh and take a gulp of my beer. “Now, tell me more about your company that’s going to cure cancer. When did you start it?”

She smiles. “About three years ago. When I was in college, I started working on research into messenger RNA made of nucleotide analogs, trying to trigger the body’s natural processes to produce proteins inside the human cell. My senior design project was sponsored by Sante Inc. When I was in grad school, I kept working on my research, and after a year, Sante was convinced it had enough potential for them to fund my start-up company. That was huge for me. I was able to rent space for my lab and offices and hire staff. It’s been a crazy three years, but we’ve made great progress.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“Thanks. My meeting tomorrow is with the National Health Institute. We’re hoping to sign a deal with them to develop and commercialize messenger RNA therapeutics for the treatment of some cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases, as well as selected targets in oncology.” She bites her lip. “We’ve been in discussions for a while, and this could be millions of dollars.”

I lift an eyebrow and give a low whistle. “Millions of dollars? Wow. That’s impressive.” I could write her a check for that amount of money right now. But I don’t say that.

“It’ll be impressive if we sign the deal.” She gives a wry smile. “I’ve learned only too well that nothing is ever certain in the business world. We’ve come close to landing big deals like this and then something goes wrong, investors chicken out or they decide to put their money somewhere else. So even though our talks have been going well, I’m trying not to get my hopes up.”

“That’s what you were preparing for?”

“Yes.”

“Great.” I heave an exaggerated sigh. “Now I feel guilty, dragging you to the beach and making you have fun when millions of dollars and a cure for cancer are on the line.”

Her face softens. “Don’t feel guilty. My friend Carrie and my aunt and uncle are always telling me I work too much. And they’re probably right. I could have stayed home and obsessed over my presentation for tomorrow, but I probably wouldn’t be much better off.”

“Thanks for saying that.”

“That’s why we were at Conquistadors last night,” she adds. “Carrie convinced me to take a Saturday night off and go out. She heard about your tequila tasting evening and signed us up.” Then she drops her gaze and her cheeks go adorably pink. “I didn’t expect what happened.”

“Neither did I. But sometimes the unexpected can be pretty damn great.”

“Yes.”

A server arrives with our burgers in baskets lined with waxed paper, accompanied by fries.

“This looks amazing.” Hayden reaches for the bottle of ketchup on the table and pours ketchup neatly on the edge of her basket, then hands the bottle to me.

“Thanks.” I squirt ketchup all over my fries.

She stares at my food. “I’ve never understood how people can do that.”

“Do what?”

“Pour ketchup all over like that.”

I regard her neat puddle of ketchup where she dips one French fry and grin. “OCD much?”

“I’m very aware of my OCD tendencies.”

“How badly does it bother you that my French fries are a mess?”

“I can handle it.”

“Okay, good.”

“Look at me dealing with the fact that my food is touching.” She nods at her hamburger and fries. “When I was a kid, this would have freaked me out.”

She says it with self-deprecating humor that gives me a strange warm feeling in my chest. I frown and pick up my hamburger.

---