Page 2 of Crocodile Tears
My phone buzzes with a text message, and I have the wild hope that Trenton has come to his senses and wants to apologize.Instead, it’s a message from Dr.Laurent, the department head:“Dr.Lawson, maintenance has received noise complaints from your lab.Please see me before noon.”
Perfect.Just perfect.
I spend the next hour cleaning up my accidental science fair volcano and trying to salvage whatever dignity I have left.Bits of my torn lab coat go in the trash along with my hopes of having a normal morning.By the time I’ve restored some semblance of order, my research assistant arrives for her shift.
Margo Compton bounces through the door with her usual energy, her black hair styled in a trendy bob that somehow makes her look both professional and ready to cause trouble.She’s carrying two coffee cups and wearing a vintage band T-shirt under her lab coat—a look that shouldn’t work in an academic setting but absolutely does on her.
“Morning, Dr.L!I brought you the good stuff from that place down the…” She stops mid-sentence, taking in the lingering smell of chemicals and the suspicious scorch mark on the floor, where the foam finally dissolved.“Okay, what happened?And please tell me it wasn’t another Trenton incident.”
I accept the coffee gratefully, inhaling the rich aroma to clear the sulfur smell from my nostrils.“Trenton suggested I tone down my ambition if I want to find a mate.”
Her dark eyes narrow dangerously.“He said what now?”
“Oh, it gets better.Apparently, I should take up cooking to be more traditionally feminine.Like Daria in accounting.”
“Daria who asks everyone about their weekend plans like she’s conducting a survey for the Department of Forced Social Interaction?”
“That’s the one.Apparently, she’s the gold standard for relationship success because she bakes cookies.”
Margo sets down her own coffee with deliberate care.“Please tell me you didn’t just smile and nod while he said this.”
I gesture vaguely at the scorch mark and the lingering smell of disaster.“I may have shifted and accidentally destroyed some equipment.”
“Accidentally?”
“The shifting was accidental.The equipment destruction was… collateral damage.”
Margo grins, the kind of expression that usually means she’s about to say something that will either make my day or get us both in trouble.“Good.What did he do?”
“Ran away screaming something about calling HR and unnatural behavior.”
“Even better.”She pulls out her phone and starts typing rapidly.“I’m blocking his number from the lab phone and marking all his emails as spam.”
“Margo, you can’t—”
“Dr.L, the man insulted your life’s work and suggested you turn into a 1950s housewife to make him more comfortable.I’m not just blocking his number.I’m putting his photo in the breakroom with a warning label.”
Despite everything, I laugh.“You’re terrible.”
“I’m protective.There’s a difference.”She tucks away her phone and gives me a serious look.“But real talk?This is the fourth guy this year who’s had some variation of this conversation with you.”
My stomach drops.“It hasn’t been four—”
“January was Kevin, who wanted you to ‘dial back the whole scientist thing’ for his family dinner.March was David, who said your research was ‘too intense’ for casual conversation.June was that photographer—”
“Thomas.”
“—who said you needed to ‘embrace your feminine side’ instead of talking about genetic sequencing on dates, and now Trenton.”Margo counts them off on her fingers like she’s presenting evidence in court.“Dr.L, I’m starting to think the problem isn’t your ambition.”
I want to argue, but the evidence is pretty damning.Four relationships, four variations of the same conversation, and four men who apparently thought dating a brilliant scientist would be fun right up until they realized I’m actually, you know, brilliant.
“Maybe I am too intense,” I say, though the words sound wrong.
Margo gives me a look that could melt steel.“Dr.Rebecca Lawson, you have two PhDs from MIT, you’re revolutionizing regenerative medicine, and you’re literally helping design the future of healing.The only thing ‘too intense’ about you is how amazing you are, and if these mediocre men can’t handle that, they can go date Daria in accounting.”
“Daria’s perfectly nice—”
“Daria’s fine for them, but you’re not Daria, and thank God for that because the world needs more crocodile shifter geniuses, not more cookie bakers.”
