Editor’s note: Due to time constraints, I am unable to produce an entire romance novel. So,
between when we first met Gia and Lachlan and now, the two began a tentative and fiery
relationship. They are keeping it a secret, as not only do they not want to compromise either of
their careers, neither are exactly sure what they are doing.
CHAPTER 5
When Gia was sure he was asleep, she quietly slipped out of bed. Crouched on the floor, she
felt around for her underwear. Then her bra, shirt and pants. No cardigan. She stretched out,
reaching under the bed, but couldn’t feel anything.
“Crap,” she whispered, accepting defear. “I’ll get it tomorrow.”
Clothing in hand, she stood up and gave Lachlan one long, lingering look. God, he’s so peaceful
when he’s sleeping, she thought. Like an angel. She chuckled at her own thought. This man
was no angel. That’s partly why she was so attracted to him.
As Gia slipped outside, into the early morning light, she picked up her pace. Jogging warmed
her arms and legs and shortened the trip back to campus, where she could grab her bicycle.
She wanted to get home before Gale woke up.
What am I doing? Gia asked herself over and over as her feet hit the pavement, left then right,
left then right. The steady rhythm calmed her. Her head pounded from the bottle of red wine
they had consumed last night, but Gia pushed it aside. She’s had worse hangovers before. This
was nothing.
Late nights in the lab, followed by love making at Lachlan’s, is now a semi-regular occurrence.
Gia liked that there were no rules and no expectations. It was fun, nothing more. Just two lonely
people finding temporary comfort in each other’s bed.
************
“So,” Lachlan asked as he poured the mixture from one beaker into the other, slowly, as to not
spill a drop. “What do you like to do, you know, for fun?”
Gia stopped sorting the test tubes and snorted. Where is he going with this? Student/teacher
bonding? “What? For fun? Nothing you’d like doing old man.”
“Old man? Old man? Am I really that old, Maniscalco?” Lachlan looked horrified. “I’m maybe,
maybe, ten years older than you. And a whole lot cooler.”
Gia laughed. If by cool, he meant middle-age professor chic, then sure, he was cooler by miles.
But the man was still attractive. His warm brown eyes light up when they solved problems in the
lab and his salt and pepper hair added to his aura of intelligence and authority. The poor guy
was just run down. A good tune-up and he’d be as good as new.
“But you have an ex-wife. A daughter. Almost have tenure,” Gia pointed out. “You may only be
ten years older than me in age, but in experience, you’re a solid twenty years ahead of me.”
Lachlan nodded, smiling playfully. “True. There’s a lot you can learn from me, young lady.”
Gia groaned. It was time to show him up.
“Okay, old man. For fun, I like to hit up Ellie’s Brew on the west side. They have good bands
and drinks are cheap. You in?”
Gia took a step closer to her supervisor and looked up at him, challenging him. His tall, lean
frame made Gia look smaller than she really was. But she was tough and looked it. Despite the
size advantage, any physical fight would be fair, and this was obvious to even the most casual
onlooker.
Lachlan sighed wistfully. “I have seen a band in years,” he admitted. “Unless you count the
orchestra. Or my daughter’s school band. It’s the ballet and the symphony for me.”
Sadness flickered across his eyes. Was he mournful for his past or for his daughter, who he
hardly saw? Gia didn’t know.
Stupid ex-wife, Gia thought. Why would anyone keep their kid away from their parent? Lachlan
had his problems, but he loved his daughter. Her photo was all over his office, and he attended
every piano recital, every Christmas concert, every public event where Molly couldn’t prevent
his presence.
The pang of emptiness at the thought of her own parents pulled at her heart. Gia winced. She
hated remembering. Talking about them hurt more than Gia could bear.
Move on. Do something, she told herself. Get past this, do not cry. Inspired, she grabbed
Lachlan’s arm.
“Come! Come tonight! It’s Annie Elliott, followed by Thor. A good line up!” Gia said, too
enthusiastically. She hoped it didn’t sound fake. The thought of Lachlan being so outside his
element delighted her, but she didn’t want him to think she invited him to avoid something.
“Really?” Lachlan asked. His hand rubbed his chin as he pondered the suggestion. “I’m not sure
if that’s a good idea...”
“Why, old man? Because the band doesn’t even take the stage until 11? I know that’s past your
bedtime, but live a little!” Gia winked and turned to clean up her station. He’s in, she felt it.
This could be fun, she thought. Or a complete disaster.
Dumping the equipment into the sink, Gia gave a strong nod.
“It’s settled! Let’s finish up here, grab a bite and a drink, then head on over to the bar.” She spun
around, grabbed the test tubes and marched them over to the storage cabinet. She turned back
flirtatiously. “Besides,” she said, “if we get there early enough, we can even grab a booth to sit
down.”
Lachlan threw his hands up in mock defeat. “You win, you win, young grasshopper. But only
because you’ve been pulling your weight here in the lab. You’ve been so diligent learning my
world. I suppose it’s only fair that I get a dose of yours.”
Gia smiled at the compliment, glad to hear her efforts were paying off.
“You’re on,” she said. “Let’s go.”
------------Lachlan sat in the booth, wondering what he was doing. The night started innocently enough.
They bantered about the lab, and about old Dr. Crouse and if he would ever retire. Gia
complained about the other new grad students. They were young and snobby and didn’t let her
in. Lachlan didn’t believe this part. Gia was probably doing everything she could to keep them
away. But he didn’t question it. Grad school was a long time ago.
Besides, this was the first night in a long night he wasn’t drinking alone. He was still drinking,
but tonight, it was with someone.
That made it okay, right?
With their meal nearly done and the drinks washed down, the conversation was halting.
This was a bad idea, he thought. What were they supposed to talk about now?
Gia played with her glass, rubbing her finger around the rim over and over and over. Lachlan
watched her doing this, amazed at how sensual it was. She was a firecracker this one. Her
strong body, her wild hair, she’d be great in bed.
Crap! Don’t think that! Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!!! Lachlan closed his eyes. It was the first time
he had imagined Gia that way, in his arms, moaning softly into his shoulder. He smiled wryly.
She wouldn’t moan, she’d scream. And probably bite too.
He shook his head, wishing the thought away. Even though they weren’t too far apart in age,
having sex with a student was wrong. Thinking about having sex with a student was wrong. He
did it once and had regretted ever since.
“You okay?” Gia asked, puzzled.
Lachlan opened his eyes. “Yeah. I guess I’m just older than I thought.” he joked. “It’s a long
night.”
Suddenly, inspiration hit. Lachlan leaned in close, smiling wickedly. “Let’s do shots,” he
whispered conspiratorially.
Gia pulled back. “Shots? Are we freshman?”
“Oh c’mon, Maniscalco. I know you’ve done a shot or two recently. You’re a tough girl. You like
to party. Don’t go be the old fuddy duddy now. You want me to do young, let’s do young.”
She seemed to be mulling it over. Lachlan grinned, pleased his plan was working. He needed
another drink, stat. Hell, he needed eight more drinks. And what better way to get them than
to use the blanket of youth to order them? The flow of drinks could only help the flow of
conversation, a nice side effect.
Gia threw back her head and laughed. Her laugh lights up her face, he thought. He rarely sees
her laugh so openly. She was always so serious in the lab. He liked the laugh. Her liked her.
She challenged him. She worked hard. Despite his initial reservations, he was glad he took her
on as a research fellow. Because of her, he was getting back in the game. Slowly starting new
projects. Who knew, maybe he’d even publish a paper or two this year.
She leaned forward and her eyes twinkled. The grubby lights of the bar made her hair and skin
glow. “Okay old man,” she grinned. “Let’s do shots. But you’re going to regret it tomorrow.”
They never made it to the concert.
Once alcohol started flowing freely, they began to open up. Lachlan told Gia about Molly, about
how heart-broken and humiliated he was when she left. Gia told Lachlan about Gale and how
she worried about him every minute of every day. She admitted to being scared about coming
back to school and scared to ask him to supervisor her.
“You?” Lachlan asked, genuinely surprised. “You don’t seem afraid of anything.”
Gia made a face. “It’s all an act, old man. All an act. I spent every second of every day terrified.”
She shrugged. “But I’ve learned to live with it. A lifelong sheep in wolf’s clothing. It works for
me.”
She shrugged and looked down at her drink. She was so small and sad in this moment. A tiny
beautiful bird. Lachlan reached across the table and grabbed her hand.
“Don’t ever tell anyone I said this, but, Maniscalco, look at me. You are smart. You are beautiful.
You are driven. You take good care of your brother. You perform beautifully in my lab. You
astonish and amaze me and will conquer everything you put your mind to. I truly believe that.”
Gia looked up. Her face was flushed. He hoped he didn’t cross a line. But she needed the
affirmation. Every girl did once in a while. No, Lachlan corrected, everyone did.
He wished he said more things like that to his daughter. But for now, Gia, his stunning, smart
graduate student would have to do.
“You mean that?” Gia said, a mixture of amazement and embarrassed. She didn’t pull her
hand away. Instead she leaned closer. Her breath smelled like tequila and Lachlan inhaled the
delicious scent.
How many drinks have I had? he thought. One more would be nice. But Lachlan knew he
always wanted more.
But at the moment, his desire wasn’t for a clear, burning liquid. It was for something more. He
pushed forward and kissed Gia, passionately, sloppily on the mouth.
Surprisingly, she kissed back.
It was electrifying.
--------------------------------They went home together that night. It was awkward the next day in the lab, but they talked
about it. They were adults, they decided. There were no rules against it. They were single. They
didn’t do anything wrong and had nothing to be ashamed of. They swore they would never tell
and it would never happen again.
But it did, the next night, in his office.
And the next, at his place.
And the next.
When they both admitted they couldn’t stop and didn’t want to stop, they agreed to not stop.
There was no harm in some playful hooking up. There would be no strings, no expectations. No
flowers, no dinner, no romance, no presents. They would not tell anyone, they would not go out
in public. They would work together and sleep together.
When Gia got over the fear that it would run everything, she realized it felt nice to be with
someone. Lachlan understood her need for distance, her desire to not question things. Their
being together was a security blanket. A way to not be alone. A way to let go of what happened
at work and with their families. A way to feel wanted. Gia liked that.
It helped that the sex was good. Really really good.
CHAPTER 6
It was always at his house and Gia always left before the sun rose. She didn’t want Gale to
know what she was doing. She herself didn’t know. She just felt it was important to keep this
part of her life in a separate box, away from everything else, to not dirty it.
She reached the campus just as the first rays of daylight were creeping over the quad. Gia
loved this time of day, the serene feel of the dewy grass, the historic old buildings warming in
the light. She imagined collegial minds waking up, turning on their coffee pots and getting ready
to start their day. She loved the promise, the optimism that the sun carried with it as it rose.
As she pedaled home, she contemplated her research. She knew she had stumbled upon
something exciting in the lab. She had made phosphorous react with chlorine in a new, exciting
way. It hasn’t been done before, Gia was sure of it. If she could replicate it, she could leverage it
into a way to make plastics safer, possibly biodegradable.
She pushed these thoughts out of her mind. One step at a time.
First, she needed to see if she could do it on a larger scale, if it was possible to occur at the
strength with the volume the biggest plastic manufacturers would need. And she’d need to
figure out how expensive it would all be. She had a long road ahead of her, but she was excited.
Inspired, even. She hadn’t felt this good about her future -- and herself -- since before her
parents died.
As she approached their house, she saw a figure sitting on the porch. “Oh don’t be Pauly D,”
she muttered. She didn’t really want to see her sometime-lover, sometime-handyman, full-time
annoyance this early in the morning. She didn’t want to deal with the questions, the taunting.
Gia locked her bike up across the street. She grabbed her bag and crossed the street, realizing
the figure wasn’t Pauly, but her brother.
“Gale? What are you doing out here?” Gale was dirty. He smelled like cigarettes and booze.
Was he out all night? That’s happened before, but had never spent the night on the stoop.
“I don’t have my keys.” Gale’s eyes didn’t open. His head didn’t lift. He just lay there, dead to the
world. “And you weren’t home.”
“I was...I was with a friend.” Gia said. “I’m sorry. You could have called.”
Gale cracked one eye open. He glared as menacingly as he could without actually moving any
muscles. “I did. You didn’t answer.”
Gia winced. She tried to remember if her phone was at the lab. No, she didn’t think so. Maybe
Gale called the wrong number.
After a long groan, Gale hoisted himself up. He grabbed Gia’s arm.
“Where were you anyway, G? Same place you always sneak off too?”
Gia winced again. This day was not getting ff to a good start.
“I didn’t...I didn’t realize you knew I was out.”
“Pfffffttt. I can hear you come in early in the morning, setting the coffee maker as if nothing is
wrong. Our walls are paper thin.” He hoisted himself up and wrapped his arm around Gia’s
neck.
“It’s cool, G, don’t look so terrified. It’s okay to have a booooyfriend.”
Gale rested his head against Gia’s shoulders.
“I wish I did. But I’m too stupid to keep one.”
“Wait, what?” Gia pulled away from her brother. “You’re dating someone? And I didn’t know?
Don’t give ME crap, mister. We were both keeping secrets here.”
Gale moaned. “Not anymore. He's gone. Gone forever.” Gale trudged up the stairs, his feet like
lead.
Gia stopped. “Is that why you don’t have your keys?”
Gale nodded, embarrassed. “We had a fight. He kicked me out. He threw my stuff after me, but
my keys weren’t in the pockets. They must have fallen out. He refused to answer the door when
I asked for them back.” Gale paused. “Demanded them back.”
They had reached the apartment door now, and Gia stepped ahead of her brother, who was
now leaning against the wall, eyed closed.
“Well what did you do?” Gia let him in.
“What did I do? G, I’m an angel.” Gale lunged for the kitchen table, sat down and immediately
placed his head on tabletop, closing his eyes. “He just didn’t understand...”
“Understand what, mister?” Gia prodded. She sat down next to her brother and poked him in the
arm.
“That I made a mistake. Just one mistake. It would never happen again. Ever again. But he
claimed he couldn’t trust me anymore. And he couldn’t be with someone he didn’t trust.”
Gia nodded knowingly. She made similar mistakes in her youth. “Gale? Did you, uh, cheat on
him?”
Gale shot up. “We were never exclusive! We never had that conversation! I’ve known the
guy for like a month! Geeez.” Gale got up, opened the fridge and fished around for the coffee
grounds.
“But, yeah, maybe. Kind of. I didn’t cheat. But I didn’t not cheat. He just found out after it
happened. When someone else told him.”
Gia groaned. Her dumb, dumb brother. “Gale, really?” She took a breath and weighed her
options. Gale rarely opened up to her and she didn’t want to get preachy about it. But secrets
between lovers was never a good idea, no matter how casual the relationship.
“I mean, sleep with whoever you want. Whenever you want. Just be safe about it. And don’t lie
about it.”
Gale dumped the grounds into the machine and turned it on.
“I know that,” he said. “Now.” He pressed the button. “Let’s just hope I’m young enough to learn
from these mistakes.”
Gia closed her eyes. Gale would be fine. She just hoped that she was young enough to still
make mistakes.
CHAPTER SEVEN
After cleaning Gale up and reassuring him, that his life was not over, Gia showered, grabbed a
bagel and dashed out to her bike to head back to campus. She wanted to get back to the lab as
quickly as possible. She was excited by what she might discover today.
She pedaled furiously and arrived quickly. She locked up her bike outside the chemistry building
and headed up the stairs to the lab. She said hello to Stacey, the administrative assistant who
never seemed to leave. She was always there when Gia arrived and was there when she left,
every day, no matter how early or late Gia was.
She dumped her stuff in the tiny office she shared with four other graduate students, grabbed
her lab coat and gear and headed into her workstation. When she got there, she noticed a pile
of journals sitting on Lachlan’s lab desk. They hadn’t been there the night before, but Gia had let
before Lachlan did. She had a couple errands to run, before they met up again at his place. She
liked staggering their exits occasionally, as it looked more natural. Not that anyone noticed. Or
cared. But it made Gia feel better.
She excitedly sat down to check out the journals, to see what new and exciting things were
happening in the fields of chemistry. She loved learning what others were working on and
accomplishing. She loved the charts and diagrams, the jargon-heavy, dense articles that you
needed multiple degrees to understand. Science needed to be accessible to be accepted,
but these academic papers, the ones coveted by universities and sought after by aspiring
academics, were the seeds of paradigm-altering discoveries. The next big thing is science
always started here. She loved the idea of being a first.
The American Journal of Organic Chemistry was heavy. She opened it and inhaled the new
paper smell. She flipped to the table of contents and ran her thumb over the columns. No one
from U of T in this issue. Not that it mattered. There were so many journals and they were
published so often that she never expected to see a colleague’s name. But it was fun. She saw
three articles that looked interesting and made a mental note to read them later, possibly while
her chemical compounds were cooking.
The Canadian Journal of Chemistry was next. She cracked it open, closed her eyes. She
imagined her name in there one day. It would be very soon, she was sure of it.
She opened her eyes and gasped. The first name shocked her. Dr. Lachlan Thomas, University
of Toronto. She blinked. Dr. Lachlan Thomas.
She knew Lachlan had started a few new research projects. She was helping on almost
all of them. But she didn’t think any of them were ready for publication. That takes months,
sometimes years. Maybe he revived an old project? It seemed unlikely, but what else could it
be?
When Gia saw the title, she knew.
“The magnetic composition of a phosphorus and chlorine fusion and its potential applications for
inorganic plastics.”
She closed her eyes.
No. It couldn’t be. No. He couldn’t do this to her. No. He was her supervisor. Her lover. He told
her about his daughter. His ex-wife. His professional fears. How he wanted to get back on track.
Move past the past accusations of plagiarism. Get back on the map again. How she inspired
this. She couldn’t believe he would do this to her. Refused to believe it. It must be a mistake. A
mistake. A big fat mistake.
She closed her eyes and took a breath.
She opened them again.
It was still there.
She slammed the book shut and flung it across the room. It hit a row of beakers and several of
them fell to the floor, smashing. She stood up and kicked the chair she was sitting on over. He
stole her work. Stole the results. Didn’t tell her he was going to write it up. Publish it. Duplicate
her results. Not give her a co-author credit. Not tell her.
Her career was over. Her life was over. He was an asshole. A liar. A cheat. He ruined her.
And who was she but a pathetic grad student? She had no grounds to make a claim that this
research was actually hers.
I’m screwed, she thought. I have nothing.
Gia closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. When the realization of how much she truly
lost has sunk in, she slipped to the floor and pulled her wild mane over her head. She wanted to
be invisible for a while, not let the world in.
It felt like she had sat for hours, but it was probably mere minutes, when Lachlan sauntered in,
whistling. “Hey Maniscalco, I got you a latte. Got to love that you get here nice and early!” He
placed the coffees on the lab bench and threw his jacket on his desk.
“Whoa, what happened here? An accident? Everything okay, Maniscalco?” Lachlan looked
down at her, his eyes filled with genuine concern.
Gia brushed her hair back and stood up. She walked straight to him, stood as close as she
could and looked straight in his eyes. “I saw it. I saw what you did.”
Lachlan held up his hands and took a step back. “Hey, whoa, calm down. What are you talking
about? I brought your sweater, if that’s what you meant. It doesn’t seem too dirty, but if its’ a
problem, I’ll get it dry cleaned. That’s not a problem.”
Gia inhaled sharply and grabbed an eyedropper from the tray of tools on the workbench. “What
you stole. What you published. I saw it, I did it, you took it, you published it. you took it away
from me!!!” Gia threw the eyedropper against the wall, high above Lachlan’s head. It crashed to
the ground as Lachlan’s eyes grew wide.
“Whoa! Calm down, little lady. I didn’t take anything! You’re my research assistant. Everything
here is done as a team. It was good, Gia, really, really good. But we had to move fast.” Lachlan
paused and moved around the workbench, so it was between them.
“Faster than you were ready for.” Lachlan paused. “I’m sorry, I really am. I should have told you.
It wasn’t nice, but it wasn’t wrong. You’re green, Gia. You’re still learning. For your -- our -- find
to have any impact, it needed a name behind it.” Lachlan leaned forward to stroke Gia’s hand,
but she pulled it away. glaring.
“We’ll do the next one together, Gia, I promise.”
Gia pushed her hands into the bench and raised herself up a few inches. Lachlan was still
nearly a foot taller than her, but she needed all she could to feel powerful.
“Too green? We needed to move fast? All this is crap and you know it. The work could have
stood on its own merit. We could have ran a few more rounds together. We could have done it
together. Done it the right way. Together. But you were only thinking about yourself.”
Gia stood up taller, pushing the stool near her aside. “You knew I wanted this. That I lived
for this. That I’ve worked hard and sacfrificed. That I deserved this. We could have done this
together, you know. I would have done things well. I’m good at this. Really good. You didn’t
even give me a chance. You just used me.”
Gia pushed the tool kit aside, sending some more utensils to the floor. “You only ever think
about yourself. Why do you think your career has tanked? That your daughter never sees you?
That no one likes you? Because you’re selfish, Lachlan. You’re a selfish, washed-up old man
who doesn’t know right from wrong.”
Gia spun away from him and headed for the door.
“You ruined a very good thing, Dr. Thomas.” She looked around the lab. “And you might want to
clean it up.”