Page 2 of Bite the Power
"Maybe I should just go home. This clearly isn't working."
Melanie squeezed her hand. "Give it another hour. Sometimes the best opportunities come when you least expect them."
"Or maybe I need to stop expecting anything from this boys' club and find somewhere the ground itself is shaking enough to get noticed."
Melanie's lips curved into a knowing smile. "Now that sounds like the Tessa I know. The one who doesn't take no for an answer."
As Tessa turned, her elbow collided with something solid yet surprisingly yielding. She stumbled, her champagne glass tilting precariously as she found herself face-to-face with a woman who barely reached her chest.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" Tessa blurted, steadying herself against Melanie's arm.
The woman—barely five feet tall but radiating an energy that seemed to fill the entire corner of the ballroom—threw back her head and laughed. Her white bob gleamed under the chandeliers, and her purple designer pantsuit practically shimmered with its own light.
"Don't you worry about it, dear. Wouldn't be the first time I've been overlooked." The woman's blue eyes sparkled with mischief, and Tessa caught the faintest hint of warm spice in the air around her—cinnamon and something indefinably exotic.
Melanie stepped forward with the practiced ease of someone accustomed to smoothing social situations. "I'm Dr. Melanie Bennett, and this is Dr. Tessa Monroe."
"Gerri Wilder." The woman's smile curved into something distinctly cat-like. "And speaking of being overlooked, I couldn't help but notice how our Dr. Monroe here has been getting dismissed all evening by this gala full of stuffy men who think they're more important than they really are."
Tessa's cheeks flushed. "You were watching?"
"Oh, honey, I'm just naturally observant. And let me tell you, the way you've handled yourself for the past few hours in this impossible male-dominated environment?" Gerri's eyes flashed gold for just a moment, so briefly Tessa wondered if she'd imagined it. "Sly humor, sharp intellect, and enough backbone to keep standing when lesser women would've fled to the ladies' room in tears. That's rare."
The compliment hit Tessa like a physical warmth in her chest. After hours of condescension and dismissal, havingsomeone actually see her competence felt like oxygen after suffocation.
"So, are you looking for a job?" Gerri asked, her grin turning positively mischievous. "Because it appears you've been actively networking tonight."
Tessa's laugh came out slightly bitter. "Without much luck, obviously."
Gerri leaned in, lowering her voice as though sharing a secret. The scent of warm spice intensified, making Tessa feel oddly dizzy in the most pleasant way.
"Well, your luck is changing. See, I have a friend up north—as in the Arctic Circle up north, in a small town called Frosthaven. His name is Dr. Eli Varkov. Brilliant man, but he's pulling his hair out over some... shall we say, restless ice." Gerri's voice dropped even lower, intimate and conspiratorial. "Strange tremors, storms flaring without warning, glaciers cracking before their time. He needs someone with a strong spirit and sound mind, someone who won't faint at the first shiver of the ground."
Tessa arched her brow, intrigue sparking through her frustration. The Arctic Circle. She'd always dreamed of extended research in those pristine, brutal conditions, but opportunities had consistently gone to men deemed more "suitable" for harsh environments.
This could be it. This could be exactly what I need.
But something in Gerri's tone suggested layers beneath the scientific opportunity. Her phrasing hinted at challenges beyond environmental hazards.
Before Tessa could respond, Gerri's smile curved up into something downright sly. "Of course, it's not just the land you'd have to watch out for. There are men up there too—mysterious ones, with ice in their veins."
Tessa blinked, confusion mixing with her growing curiosity. "I'm sorry, what?"
Gerri winked, and for a moment those blue eyes definitely flashed gold. "Oh, don't fret about that really. Between you and me, the land itself has moods more dangerous than men. But that's what makes it exciting, right?"
A startled laugh escaped Tessa, caught between amusement and bewilderment. Scientific mystery she understood, but Gerri's cryptic references to dangerous men with ice in their veins sounded like something from a movie rather than a research proposal.
Yet her curiosity blazed on both counts.
Melanie, who'd been listening with the sharp attention of someone well-versed in academic politics, raised a skeptical brow. "Tessa, you wanted recognition, not frostbite and brooding men who sound like trouble." Her tone carried the protective concern of a friend who'd watched Tessa get burned too many times.
But then Melanie's expression suddenly shifted, a smile replacing her skepticism as professional recognition flickered in her eyes. "Though I have to admit, Dr. Eli Varkov's name carries serious weight in the scientific community. If he's the one requesting help, this could be an opportunity worth taking."
The validation from Melanie—whose connections and committee work had earned her respect throughout the scientific community—sent a thrill through Tessa. If Melanie trusted Eli's reputation, the opportunity was legitimate.
Tessa studied the gala crowd again, watching the chatter of men who'd spent the evening making her feel invisible. The familiar frustration still simmered, but now it mixed with something else—anticipation, sharp and electric.
Frosthaven sounded dangerous, yes. But also exhilarating. A real challenge, and a chance to prove herself in ways her male colleagues back home would never allow.
