Chapter 3

My instincts were usually right.

Sure enough, Vanessa didn’t give me a moment’s peace that morning.

She trailed after me like an endlessly curious child, pointing at the autoclave. “What does this do?”

Then she poked the clean bench. “And how do you use this?”

I stayed patient. Assuming she truly knew nothing, I explained how to operate the basic equipment and went through all the safety precautions.

But as soon as I finished, she returned with a cup of coffee. Pointing a French-manicured finger at the centrifuge, she asked carelessly, “What about this one? You talked too fast earlier. I forgot.”

My hands stopped.

This was the third time she’d asked me how to use the centrifuge.

I looked up at her calmly. “Vanessa, if you can’t tell a centrifuge from a petri dish, you clearly didn’t pay attention in your introductory courses. The operating manuals are in cabinet three. Or you can look it up online.”

Then I turned away and went back to my data.

Behind me, Vanessa’s lips went pale with anger. Her fingers trembled around her coffee cup.

I could practically feel her glare burning a hole through my back.

But in the end, she said nothing.

I thought she might settle down for a while. Instead, she changed tactics.

That afternoon, after finishing my data analysis, I returned to the lab and opened the door to a scene that stopped me short.

The center table was covered with imported snacks, bubble tea, and cakes. Several team members were gathered around Vanessa, laughing and chatting.

“You didn’t have to do all this, Vanessa! Ask us anything you need.”

“Seriously. We’ll make sure you settle in!”

Surrounded by her new admirers, Vanessa beamed, her voice syrupy sweet.

“Thank you all so much. I’m new and don’t know anything yet, so I’ll be counting on you.”

She spotted me in the doorway, and a smug edge crept into her smile.

“Oh, Claire, you’re back. I’m so sorry. We were in such a rush ordering snacks that I completely forgot about you.”

She paused, covering her mouth with a little laugh of mock surprise.

“Then again, you just came into that five-hundred-dollar ‘windfall’ yesterday. I’m sure my little treats aren’t good enough for you anyway, right?”

The lively room fell silent.

The others stopped laughing. They looked from her to me, their expressions tense and awkward.

Everyone could hear the barb.

I ignored her provocation. I didn’t even bother raising an eyebrow.

I simply lifted my hand and pointed at the rules posted on the wall.

“Lab Safety Policy, Section Three, Rule One.” I frowned. “No eating or drinking in experimental areas. Any crumbs or waste can contaminate samples and skew our data. Which one of you is prepared to take responsibility for that?”

Vanessa’s face turned bright red.

“You’re just jealous you didn’t get any! Do you really have to make a huge deal out of it and throw the rules in my face?”

She snapped back indignantly. “Everyone’s working so hard. What’s wrong with having a snack? You’re the only one acting like you’re better than everyone!”

This time, nobody backed her up.

The others looked even worse than she did. The words “contaminate samples” sent them scrambling to clear the table, stuffing unfinished snacks into the trash.

They knew better than anyone how important our project was.

“Hey, stop cleaning up! I…”

Vanessa hadn’t expected the loyalty she’d bought to disappear so quickly. She tried to stop them, but no one listened.

As her carefully staged little gathering collapsed, all her humiliation and anger boiled over.

She let out a shriek and spun toward me, glaring.

“Claire Bennett! You did this on purpose!”