FORREST
FRUSTRATION AND determination were what pushed Bill too hard. They were written all over his face every bloody day. And thanked fuck, it paid off.
Without my knowledge, he implanted the device and turned himself into a lab rat to prove to our new client that it was safe to use. For 110 days, he was on a closed watch, and it worked pretty well.
“What did you do? What the fuck have you done?”
He ignored me as he continued typing like a lunatic. I grabbed the wireless keyboard and smashed it to the floor. Bill jumped and looked frightened as he pushed his glasses up his nose.
Everyone was already standing with horror filling their eyes while my nerves were buzzing with so much anger to what he’d done without consulting me.
I was reckless and depended on everything. I was lenient because I trusted them, and that placed Bill in this position. This was all my fault.
“Is everyone around here has no tongue? Or shall I destroy everything I can see and grasp on?”
Finally, Bill cleared his throat. “It wasn’t the prototype.”
I glared. “Do you think I give a fuck if it’s the prototype that is in your system right now if you’re already dead? Is that supposed to make me feel better? And everyone shut their fucking mouth for days?”
“I-I’m sorry, man. I just want—” I cut him off. I didn’t want to hear his bullshit anymore. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.
“I don’t fucking care what you want! Feel sorry for your arse, for their arses, because this project is off. I’m shutting this down at this very moment!”
Shock flashed all over their faces as they gasped.
“You can’t do this, man.” Pain and regrets crossed Bill’s face, but I didn’t give a damn. He put his life in jeopardy for this stupid project when we were not sure if this would work or not.
“Well, I just did, didn’t I?”
“Give me two weeks top.”
“The answer is still no. You crossed the line and broke the protocol.”
“Do we have a protocol?” He seemed surprised by his own question.
“Do you think this is your high school science project? Did you not sign a contract? How about the million-dollar Atto Tech property in your body?”
“Oh.” He pushed his glasses again, fidgeting.
I could hear my footsteps as I marched out of the lab. I felt guilty that I just ruined their careers, their dreams, their future because of one mistake. One huge terrible mistake. I heard my name being called with rushes of footsteps following me.
“Boss! Boss! Just hear me out, please?” It was Dr. Wren, our pharmaceutical scientist.
“So, you’re his spokesperson now?”
“Just give me a minute.”
“Nothing can change my mind, Dr. Wren.”
“I know. At least allow me to place Bill under close observation. The device is already implanted.”
“Then take it off.”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t or you won’t?” I spun around, rage surged through my veins. I dislike insubordination, and he just did. One more word from him, I was going to burn this lab. “You are part of this stupidity. You will be summoned into my office on Monday for questioning. Every one of you.”
“Sometimes we do things that may appear selfish and stupid in the eyes of other people, but in the larger context, they’re actually brave and prudent.”
“Brave? Prudent? How about you call it stupidity and recklessness.”
“You know Diabetes is hereditary, right? Bill did that because he’s tired of pricking himself, watching his diet when he had more important things to do. That guy needs to live. We need a brain like his. He is brilliant.” His words made me rethink, felt guilty, and if I was being honest I would do the same, and I might have done it already.
“For a brilliant guy, he’s insane.”
“Damn right he is, but he has dreams, you know. He wants to be remembered before his body is consumed by complications. Give him a chance. He wants to be loved, get married, to have family, and it won’t ever come true if you will stop him. He’d rather die alone than watched his children suffer the same illness he had.”
“You got everything you want?”
“Yes, dad.” Bill rolled his eyes before he stepped out of the SUV.
“Don’t be hard on yourself if—”
“Thanks for boosting my confidence, dude.” He picked up the briefcase, carrying the device that could help millions of lives. “You didn’t just spend millions on it, right? So if I failed you today, I don’t know what to do next, man. Any suggestions? Like hanging myself with the rope or jumping off from your building?”
“That will be a pretty nasty fall. You won’t look good inside the casket,” I joked to ease everyone’s tension—it was pretty thick in the air. “For future purposes, why not try preserving your huge brain for another hundred years.” I chuckled. I was confident we would get this deal. “By the end of the day, trust me on this one, Bill. We are popping Champagne, and I get to see my girlfriend.” I was relieved and finally, I could breath when the implant didn’t show any complication.
“Pretty confident, aren’t we?”
“I’m confident because I know you, man.” He believed in me and this project, and I almost ruined everything because of my selfishness and anger. Right now, I didn’t want to let them down, so I promised them to fund their next project once they would be successful with this one.
I could see he was nervous than his last presentation, but he never turned me down. “Good luck to all of you.”
“Thanks,” Engr. James said.
“We need one,” Dr. Wren agreed.
“I’ll be right here.”
Bill was presenting our project to the European Diabetes Research Center representatives from London at this moment. Atto Tech’s ideas were brilliant, whether they would take this or not, I was sure other private companies would love to have AIGMS-IADS. Just some scientists and doctors didn’t believe this Nanotech would be possible in this generation.
I checked the time on my car, it was only less than twenty minutes, but I was excited to hear the news.
My mind went back to Megan. I didn’t know if she made her decision to accept my job offer. No matter how she’d love to work with me, I knew she had ego and self-respect and wanted to get hired because she was qualified and the best at what she did.
These past three months since we were back together, our relationship was great. Our long-distance relationship was harder than I thought though, but that was the essence of it. We’d been better at sharing our thoughts and feelings through calls and text. I learned how to open up because of her, and so did she. She was still an annoying, blunt, stubborn woman, and a pain in the arse, but that was what I loved about her.
My phone rang, but it wasn’t Bill. “I miss you.” My heart thrummed. I knew she was smiling from the other line.
“I can still feel your kiss less than an hour ago, Forrest.”
“Liar.”
She burst into laughter. “You ruined my moment.”
“I’ll be with you soon, I promise.” My flight would be moved to close the deal once this project was accepted. Megan knew it.
“I know. I know you will get this deal. The AIGMS-IADS was highly advanced technology. Thank God you changed from AIDS to IADS.” She laughed. “You and Billionaire are brilliant geeks.”
“It’s Bill Lioner.”
“Whatever. I can’t believe you’re smarter than I thought and not to mention rich.”
“I thought we passed through this thing.”
“No. Never, Forrest. I don’t think I can. You’re a frigging billionaire with a brilliant mind. Not to mention, you’re great in bed. I mean—”
“Megan.”
She laughed some more. “What? Am I not allowed to give my own opinion?”
“I know you are opinionated, and it’s rather refreshing.”
“You sound like a British aristocrat.”
“And it doesn’t please you?” I smiled deviously even though she couldn’t see me. When it came to sex, we ended up breathless and sweaty in our bed. And I knew right now, she got what I meant.
“You are changing the subject on purpose.”
“I am just a man. A simple man who loves a woman who is incredible and gorgeous—”
“See? You can say something, but I can’t.”
“Have you thought about my offer?”
“Still thinking about it. I want to be with you, but I don’t have to work for you.”
“I know, but I want us to work together.”
“You’re being archaic again.”
“I am not.”
“You are. I may not be reporting directly to you, but you are still the boss of my boss, and technically, I am still under your command. I don’t want to get my ass spanked for insubordination.”
I laughed at ass spanking. “You are still making excuses.”
“Okay, maybe.”
“You are being stubborn. I just wanna be with you. That’s all.” I sighed. “Look, woman, I love you. That’s what matters.”
“Mansplaining. It’s unfair. Anyway, how are you holding up?”
I closed my eyes in relief, but it wasn’t just it. I still felt the grief of losing my real father. I thought I’d be glad that he was finally gone, but it didn’t feel that way. I felt relieved though because he didn’t have to suffer longer.
“Forrest, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, my love.”
“It’s okay to mourn. It’s just been a few days. You know it took years for me to see my father’s grave again? I get the gut to do that because of you. You said something that opened my heart and my mind. That’s how I forgive myself. I’d been running away for so long, hiding my pain, building walls, shutting my feelings off, but when I met you, everything didn’t just fall apart, it also put the broken pieces back together.”
“God, Megan.” My heart just melted, and I was already wiping my face and sniffing.
“Your father may be a nasty piece of work, but you’re his son, Forrest, and you’re just human who is capable of loving someone even how broken or how crooked the person is.” She was the broken, and my father was the crooked.
“I know, but—”
“No more buts. Give yourself some time to grieve and accept things. I’ve been there, and I know how it feels. You may not grow up with him, but you have childhood memories with him, and I bet it was worth a memory.”
“Yeah. I remembered running through the vast vineyard. It was a fun time because everyone would be there. Everyone was anticipating the time of harvest. Papa, Mama, and what I loved about was the fest. The night was lovely. I lied down on the blanket and watched the stars.”
“See? You might as well try to think of forgiving him, Forrest. He asked for it. He needed that so he could rest in peace.”
I chuckled sadly. “You’re so amazing, you know?”
“Of course, I do know.”
“I love you so much, Megan. I don’t think I can live without you.”
“You can, but it won’t be amazing as I am with you.”
I laughed out loud. “Christ, woman.”
“I love you, too.”
My phone beeped. “I got to go. Bill is calling.”
“Okay. Call you later.”
I rejected Bill’s call and walked to the elevator. I took a deep breath once I was inside. If they rejected the project, maybe I could talk to one of their representatives to give it another chance.
Bill was already pacing back and forth outside the conference room of our office. Dr. Stevenson decided to see where our company operated.
“Thank God, you’re here.” He pushed his glasses up his nose. His curly hair was disheveled, and I felt like my world just stopped.
My gut twisted that I knew this was not great news. We’d been working our arses for two years now, and I just turned them down. “It didn’t go well, did it?”
He shoved his hands on his jeans pocket and shrugged. “They’re still inside… waiting. For you.”
I nodded. Bill went in first, and I followed him.
“You must be Forrest Kentworthry!” I almost stumbled back when a small body launched into me with a huge hug.
“Dr. Hillary Stevenson?”
“It’s an honor to meet you.” She jumped to plant a kiss on my cheek. She looked tiny than I thought, but her hair was all white. She reminded me of Linda Hunt.
Everything was still fuzzy with me. It seemed that she wasn’t surprised by everything. And what I wasn’t expecting before I entered the room was her enthusiasm.
“The pleasure is all mine.”
“Why didn’t you want to take credit, Mr. Kentworthry?”
“It’s mostly my team’s ideas. I didn’t help much other than funding the project.”
“See? He’s humble. For an English man who cares about people and never thinks of a higher offer, that’s why I love him,” she said to Bill, Dr. Wren, and James.
“Pardon?”
“We already have a few chats with your team. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
“For the record, whether you are a part of it or not, we’d love to partner EDRC with your company.” She held her hand out. “Let’s close the deal, shall we?”