Fate Cries Foul by Renier Larouche (reading list TXT) 📕

He did not look up. A tingle of anxiousness erupted in her shoulders, filtering to the rest of her body. Her mind raced, unable to decide on how she should handle the situation. Did he not hear her come in? Should she bother him? Was she even in the right place? Finally, Gwen was able to choke out... "Um... hello?"

Scott looked up immediately, his stare stern. This made Gwen squeeze her purse tighter. "Are you my new assistant?" he asked.

Gwen forced a smile and a nod. "Yeah... uh... yes. Yes."

Scott returned to his microscope. "You are wearing clothes too nice for a person who will be tending to plants all evening. Plus, you're overwhelming perfume will prove to be quite the distraction."

Gwen's face turned pale, suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious, slinking back. "Uh well... I didn't... well.. um..."

Not looking up, Scott interrupted her. "You seem to lack self-confidence or have some kind of speech impediment. From what little I know of you from you submission essay, I assumed you would be far more sure of yourself. Yet, on the other hand, at least you aren't arrogant. Well, I will always be truthful and straight forward with you and I expect you to do the same with me. Tell me exactly what is on your mind right now."

Gwen stood there, frozen, practically trembling. She swallowed hard, looking at the ground trying to find words to say and making no such discovery.

Scott sighed. "Judging by your profile on paper, I was hoping to get started right away. Alas, perhaps you should just leave now and try to find new position. I hate to be so boorish to attack your shyness, but I need more. I don't need another person here too scatterbrained or scared to say or do anything, I need-"

After listening to the man prattle on, Gwen finally found her courage to force out words, though in a sheepish tone. "I thought what you did when I walked in was incredibly rude. Also, most of what you have said so far is inappropriate and a tad bit sexist." Scott then immediately looked up, causing Gwen to back away a bit, mumbling, "in my opinion, anyway."

"Don't back down from what you think. You are essentially right in your assertions. As you may have gathered, I am a rather difficult person. Sadly, the best I can do is to acknowledge my difficulties, while your confidence issues will eventually be rectified. I am sure if you can put up with me, I can try to be less... well, rude."

Gwen raised an eyebrow as she did not expect such honesty despite the man's promise of it. "So, can I do things now?"

Scott showed his smirk for the first time. "Yes, though I swear things may be a bit unfortunate tonight since you are about to learn the ins and outs of manure... "

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

-Present-

Gwen pulled a few plates out of the cabinet as Mark, her boyfriend of a little under a year, looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure you want to do this though? The job market isn't great, but I'm sure you could find some other job."

Gwen sighed as she spooned some spaghetti on one of the plates. "It's fine. Really. It's a good paying job in which I have lots of knowledge and power. Hell, if I would have accepted the offer as soon as I graduated, I would have saved myself from this whole company fiasco."

"I don't know how I feel about you working for your ex-boyfriend," Mark snorted.

Gwen sighed louder. "For the last time, he is not my ex! He is just my close friend and my boss. That's all."

The skepticism did not fade from Mark's face. "You sure? You do talk about him a lot..."

Gwen smirked as she handed him a plate. "Well, if you know that, at least it proves you listen to me sometimes."

Mark didn't respond to that, picking up a fork, lazily scooping up some of the gooey noodles. "Look, I just don't want you to regret this. You tried your best with your business."

Gwen sighed one final time. "Well, sometimes, trying isn't good enough."

- - - - - - - - - -

~Past~

Gwen was surprised how strangely helpful and weirdly kind Scott was in the end, even if he was a bit mechanical and aloof personality wise. He taught her a lot about plant life and the curation of it. It was about two months into working together that he first coined the moniker of garden girl. Seemingly out of the blue, he insisted on using that as a nickname. She found it too on the nose and cloying at first, but the term grew on her and made Scott even more personable.

Gwen was also surprised to learn that Scott was not the pariah that rumors described him to be. He had a good repartee with his fellow grad students and most seemed to easily put up with his straightforward personality. While some found it off-putting, others found it quasi-endearing like Gwen did. Particularly, Scott's fellow doctoral candidate Gavin started to show up a lot to talk to Scott, speaking about scientific subjects that flew over Gwen's head. Gavin was almost Gwen's height with short black hair and a cute face, though he was a bit pudgy.

Scott, in his upfront way, encouraged Gwen to be open and try to talk to Gavin and the others who frequented the greenhouse. This helped her grow in social confidence. She started to make friends in her classes, where she learned that there were many people as awkward as she was. At Scott's behest, she joined the science club in order to become more comfortable around people.

Of course, she still wasn't the queen of sociality. Every time Gavin would go to leave the lab, he always made sure to talk to Gwen. She was improving, but many of her conversations were often examples of extreme social clumsiness.

"Hi Gwen," Gavin would say on his way out the door.

"Hey," Gwen would reply meekly.

"How are you today?"

"Good."

"Everything working out for you here?"

"Yeah."

"Class okay?"

"Yeah."

Then there would be a twenty second pause of silence.

"Well, I guess I'll see you next time."

To Gavin's credit, he always seemed courteous and kind during the exchange. Afterward, Gwen would go back to whatever task was at hand.

One time, Scott, not peering up from his microscope, said, "you know he comes by here so often to see you, right?"

Gwen's eyes nearly dropped from her head at that suggestion. "What? Really?"

"Yes. I am sure he can tolerate me well enough, but before you started working here, he did not stop by even the fraction he does now. Speaking of which, today is your three month anniversary of being employed here and you have not quit yet. You've officially been here longer than any assistant I have ever had. Congratulations."

That statement had a lot of information for Gwen to process. "Wait... so he... and I am... wait, what?"

"I would give you a medal if I believed in such nonsense, garden girl. By the way, Gavin is going to ask you out soon. I suggest you accept the invitation. It will help you conquer your social blocks. Besides, an attractive girl of your age should not be indoors all the time and actually should enjoy herself every once in a while."

Gwen's skin went an even lighter shade as she swallowed hard. "Wait, he is going to do... what?!"

"My, you are extra redundant today," Scott chuckled.

There was not much time for Gwen to meditate on the many bombshells before Gavin's head peeked back into the lab. "Hey Gwen, can I talk to you a second?"

Gwen anxiously journeyed to him, head pointed to the ground, hands behind her. Within a minute, she found herself in the hall with him, her smile wide and bright. "Well... uh... you see Gwen..."

Despite her current state of social anxiety, the idea of going out did sound like fun. It wasn't like she never had a date before, but most of them were awkward at best. "I'll go on a date with you," she randomly blurted out.

Gavin was caught by surprise, but responded with an elated grin. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be," he mused. Suddenly, Gwen was surprised how relaxed she felt in that moment, letting out a natural smile.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

-Present-

In truth, Gwen did have mixed emotions about starting her "new" job despite what she let Mark believe. She conveniently left out the part where she was working for Scott directly at his home instead of at his office. While earning his PhD, Scott had gained recognition for the study of genetically modified plants and currently ran a small company that researched hybrid seeds. Scott hired Gwen to care to some of his personal projects, which made Gwen hope that she would be working on plants instead of... other tasks.

The acreage of Scott's property proved to be massive with just the drive up the dirt path to his house seemingly taking a century. Gwen was shocked how humble and stately the abode appeared. It was a simple green one story house with a set of four greenhouses behind it. Gwen wore a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, and an old t-shirt and was prepared for a day digging in the dirt. The sun hung low in the summer sky, the heat already beating down on her.

As she approached the house, Scott exited it, holding a granola bar and dressed in a suit. "Well now, you actually came. A small part of me doubted you would."

Gwen playfully snatched the bar out of his hand, taking a nibble. "Well, I may be squirrely, but at least I don't bail without warning."

Scott displayed his smirk, guiding her past the house and to a medium sized plot about fifty feet away from the house. "I must say, your moniker will be quite literal now."

As the two grew closer to the plot of loose soil, Gwen noticed an assortment of standard tools; everything a person would need to make a standard garden, from seeds to a hoe to a hose to fencing. Gwen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow with her hands on her hips. "Wait a minute. All you want me to do is set up a garden for you?"

"Yes, well... that is the first phase, at least. It is all part of an experiment I am conducting."

Gwen looked at Scott suspiciously, surveying. She then noticed that at each corner of the garden stood a wooden post. Each post had a camera on top of it. She peered at her boss with her nose wrinkled, her brow burrowed. "And why will there be cameras watching my every move? You better not be treating this like a game. I am not a student anymore."

Scott smirked yet again. "I respect you more than any other human that I know. I would not treat you like a child. As I said, this is an experiment. I need to gauge certain things before I put you on bigger projects. We have done this for... how long now? On and off for over six years? Don't you trust me?"

"Seven years," she corrected. "And I find anyone who is so insistent on being trusted usually is not trustworthy. From the second I have known you, you have been straight forward. Why now have you suddenly become obtuse? Old age?"

The smirk did not fade. "I am actually being rather direct. Just vague. You were always the one who needed to state the obvious out loud. There is more to this and I will be using you to your full potential, but you are my assistant, so you still need to obey my instructions. And you will be setting up a garden today."

Gwen sighed. Back to the same old, she thought. "Well, okay. I'll erect the best damn garden ever."

"Excellent. I will see you when I get home."

The two shook hands rather formally... and strangely.