Seductive Scientist Daddy by Scott Wylder

CHAPTER SEVEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lily

I came into the office to find both Evan and Ellen talking in tense voices. Ellen was sitting down behind her desk while Evan was pacing the room. I paused in the doorway and they both looked at me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked hesitantly.

Ellen smiled tiredly and wheeled her chair out from behind her desk. Her leg was in a cast.

"Oh my God, what happened?" I asked.

"I tripped over my neighbor's cat," Ellen said. "Fractured my leg in two places. I'll be fine. It just needs time to heal. A lot of time."

Realization dawned on me. "The Crystal Lake trip is in two days."

"It was," Evan said. He looked tired. "But, we’ll have to postpone it. It's too dangerous for one person to go up there alone."

I frowned. "Doesn't the permit expire in a month?"

"We can get another one," Ellen said. "We were able to convince them one time. We can do it again."

I shook my head. "I can go!"

They both looked at me. "No," they both said at the same time.

I flushed. I knew I was just an intern, but I was a quick study. It would save both of them a lot of time and effort and it would get the lake clean that much faster.

"Why not?" I asked. "I can help. You guys trusted me to take care of the research projects here. Why can't you trust me to help you clean the lake?"

"It's not a matter of trust," Evan said. "It's . . . qualifications. This is a dangerous trip. We'd be liable if you got hurt."

"So, I'll sign a waiver or something," I said. "Come on, this will be a good experience; much better than just working in an office. You said yourself that the lake needs to be cleaned up before even more damage is done to the ecosystem. You have no idea when you'll get another permit."

Evan looked at Ellen. "She has a point."

Ellen glared at him. "It's not a good idea."

"We'll be careful. I'll be careful."

They stared at each other for several minutes while I waited with bated breath. I didn't understand a lot of what seemed to pass between them, but I didn't care. In the end, Ellen sighed and turned to me. "Okay," she said.

"Yes!" I jumped up and down a couple of times, excited. Then, I remembered I was supposed to be a professional and stopped to clear my throat. "I'll go clear my schedule," I said.

I left the room to do just that. As soon as the door closed, I heard Ellen say to Evan "Don't make me regret this."

I had no idea what that was all about, but I didn't care. I got to help clean Crystal Lake.

There was a lot of work that I had to do, in order to go on a last-minute trip. I had to let my professors know and get extensions on my homework – or do work ahead of time for the ones I couldn't get extensions on. Then, I had to give away all of my shifts for my job, because it was too late to ask for time off. Somehow I managed to pull it off and before I knew it, I was meeting Evan for the trip. I had my suitcase with my clothes in it, while he had all the camping gear and equipment we would need to clean the lake. It was all packed into a closed trailer attached to his SUV.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked as I got in the car. "You could always just take a two-week vacation."

"I'm not backing out now," I said. "This will be fun!"

"Just be careful. And do what I say."

I rolled my eyes. I wished he would take me more seriously, but, at the same time, I was happy to do what he said.

The trip up to Crystal Lake took several hours as it was in the middle of the woods. In the 60s and 70s, it had been a popular camping area. So popular, that it got polluted really quickly, and without a proper waste disposal system in place. People ended up dumping their waste in the lake when they left. Knoxville made the entire area off-limits, after people swimming in the water started getting sick. Now and then, some teenagers tried to sneak in, but the hefty fines usually scared most people away.

By the time we got to the lake, it was midday. As soon as I got out of the car, the stench hit me. Despite being in the middle of a forest, it smelled like the dumpsters behind the campus dining hall.

"Wow," I said. "They really weren't kidding about the pollution."

"Yeah," Evan said. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to clean it all up during this trip. We'll be focusing on isolating the pollution to prevent further damage and taking samples. But, we'll be able to clean up some of the bigger debris while we're here." He got out of the car and took out two tents. "First we have to make camp."

I took one of the tents from him. "Will there even be anything alive in the lake?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. "Probably some life forms, but they can't be healthy, not with this level of pollution. Whatever you do, don't fall in the water."

"I wasn't planning on it." The smell was a deterrent enough. From a distance, the lake looked normal enough. The sun shone on the calm waters, hiding the discolored water. It was surrounded by a sandy shore. I could see why it had been a popular tourist area, before it became so polluted.

I followed Evan to a nearby campground that was now completely overgrown with weeds and plants. However, an old fire pit was just visible under a layer of leaves. Together, we were able to clear out an area for the tents.

By the time it was cleared out and the tents were pitched, it was evening and I was starving.

"Why don't you get out some dinner for us?" Evan said. "I'll start a fire."

"Sounds good." I went back to the SUV and went through the coolers of food to find bottled water, hot dogs, and cooking sticks. I smiled. It was the perfect camping dinner.

I grinned as I saw marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers underneath. It looked as if Evan wasn't all business with this camping trip. I brought it all back to find the fire roaring and crackling. "You brought things for s'mores?"

He grinned. "It's work, but it's still camping. So, of course!"

"Yay!" I jumped up and down with excitement. Then, I flushed. "Sorry. I've never gone camping and I've never had s'mores before, so I'm excited."

He was looking at me with an unreadable expression. If I didn't know better, I would have thought I saw desire in his gaze. But that couldn't be right. The look was gone a second later.

"Well, you'll have them for the first time tonight," he said.