Page 34 of Provocation
We leave the weird sex room and go across the cellar to the other side. Mav slides the door open, and I immediately check through the data that’s printed out overnight.
‘You tested every hour?’
‘Every hour on the minute,’ he assures me. ‘It stabilized around the eighth.’
‘The eighth. That’s earlier than my research into these types of drugs indicated. It won’t take as long to make each batch as I thought. You’re sure it was eight hours in?’
He nods. ‘I tested it three times to be absolutely sure.’
I catch his eye and see that he’s smiling. I’m not sure why though.
‘I think it’s ready to mix with the excipients and test in the machine.’
Mav nods, looking through the data himself. ‘Agreed. Shade should be back soon. He went to grab what you asked for from the lab on campus.’
‘Applegate doesn’t mind you taking things from his building?’
Rolling his eyes a little as he looks at the paperwork, Mav’s lips twist into a hint of a sneer. ‘Applegate thinks it’s hilarious that Shade does whatever he can to undermine his father. Sometimes I wonder if the prick wants Shade to get caught.’
‘What do you mean?’ I ask, not really able to marry up the image of the straight-laced head of department with what Mav is saying.
Applegate does not strike me as a man who thinks things are ‘hilarious’.
‘He sort of…I don’t know…goads Shade into taking risks he doesn’t need to. It’s just….’ He shakes his head. ‘I’m sorry. It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have said anything.’
‘They know each other? John and Applegate?’ I ask, ignoring him.
‘Only in that their families are both from this area. I think Applegate and John went to Birchmore Academy together. It’s a rich kid school about an hour north of here. Don’t know if they were friends back then, but they go out of their way to avoid each other now.’
‘But Novelle still gave the university the money for the new science building?’ I query.
People are so weird.
Mav nods. ‘John wasn’t given control of who Dean Wallis would hire. I heard he was pissed when he found out it was Applegate. But they mostly seem to stay out of each other’s way.’
He doesn’t say any more and I don’t ask, but I file all these tidbits of information away. I haven’t spoken much to Applegate since the first week that I began my new majors, but I know the guys have meetings with him frequently, and of course he knows a lot about what they’re up to.
‘Does Applegate know I’m making Envy?’
Mav glances at me and shakes his head. ‘No, and we aren’t going to tell him. We’re going to let him keep believing it’s me. I…hope you’re okay with that. I’m not trying to steal your thunder or take the credit, I promise. But there’s more to Applegate than meets the eye. Shade might trust him, but I’ve never been sure. I don’t want him knowing anything about you, Tulip. I don’t want him having power over you, okay?’
My gaze on him softens. ‘I’m pretty sure most people have power over me,’ I say. ‘John might have most of it, but there’s always just a little bit more for those who want it.’
Mav sighs, putting his head to mine. ‘It won’t always be like this. I promise you.’
I nod, but I can’t really see how the guys are going to change anything. If I want something done, I’m going to have to doit myself. I mean I guess I am already, now that I’m actually making Envy. I still can’t quite believe it.
It’s been so frustrating that everything’s been moving so slowly. The past few days’ revelations have been a lot to take, and I haven’t felt like I’ve beendoinganything, or at least not anything of real value.
But I fixed Envy, I reason, and now I’m making it. The first batch will be ready within the next hour or so, which is much faster than I’d anticipated.
And Shade was right. I have the guys. They’re helping too. It’s not just me. I’m not alone anymore.
MAV
Shade arrives by seven with the rest of the ingredients that Daisy asked for. I let her measure them out, mostly because she’s clearly been doing a ton of research on the best binders and the kinds of excipients that will aid in absorption, so I actually think she knows better than me what’s going to work.
‘How did you decide on the carrier?’ I ask, watching the electronic scales and intrigued by the amounts she decides on for the mixture.
