The Girl Who Doesn't Quit (Soulless 12)

“I appreciate your flexibility. Allowing me to keep part-time status lets me continue the work I’m invested in, but also pursue my other passions as well. Not everyone would be so accommodating.”

He lowered his goggles over his eyes as he stared at me across the table, his expression hard and stoic like usual. Daisy showed every thought that passed through her head in her eyes, but her father was so much more restrained. He took his time to say things. Whereas she just exploded like a cannon. “I don’t believe in the traditional workweek. I don’t believe you need to stay in one place and sell your soul to your employer. People at this intellectual level need more than just one place at a time. No reason you can’t do multiple things at once. Both of my sons are that way. They have multiple professional obligations. It’s different for me because I run the company and I get to be a part of multiple research projects at once. But I appreciate the sentiment, Dr. Beaumont.”

I left the stool and stripped off my gloves before I dropped my goggles into the sanitation bucket.

“How are things at the clinic?” He moved past me, taking the notebook with him.

“Good. Caught up to speed quickly.” I washed my hands before I patted them dry with the paper towel. “We have a lot of work to do, and I’m excited to make our goals a reality.” I tossed the soiled paper towel into the receptacle then turned around.

He stood there, leaning against the edge of the table. “I’m sure you’ve met my daughter.”

Yes, the spitfire. “Yes. She’s a brilliant diagnostician. Every other physician I’ve spoken to in private says the same thing.”

He gave a slight smile. “I know she can be…a lot.”

I kept a straight face and remained professional. “A bit…maybe.”

He gave a chuckle. “I know the two of you aren’t getting along. She’s shared some bits and pieces about it.”

Not getting along? Understatement.

“Daisy is very gifted. Like the rest of my kids, she’s inherited my brilliance, but she also inherited a great deal from my wife. She has those social skills the rest of us don’t have. She’s more relatable, and she’s more…emotional? I’m not really sure how to describe it. But I want you to know that she’s kind, loving, passionate, friendly…a wonderful person. I just think you aren’t seeing that version of her right now, but I promise you, it’s there.”

“I’m sure I’ll see all those things, Dr. Hamilton.” He was a man I admired, had admired since I was young, had the career I wanted to emulate. He’d accomplished so much in his lifetime, and his ambitions were never monetary. That was rare in this world, so when I was hired, I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I would never insult him by saying a single bad thing about his daughter—even if she was a pain in the ass.

“I think, subconsciously, she feels a bit threatened by you.”

“I don’t see why she would be.”

“Well, I’ve attested to your qualities on multiple occasions, which is not something I do with my other colleagues. She’s always been my star. My sons tell me that she’s my favorite, and I’ve never confessed to it, but…she is. You came in there and took the position she wanted—with a recommendation from me. It’s unnerved her a bit.”

“Perhaps you’re right. I apologize if my letter of recommendation caused any tension between you.”

He shook his head and patted me on the arm. “Even if I’d known beforehand, I would have written it anyway.”

I arrived at the clinic and headed to my office in the back.

The office walls were made of glass, so when I passed through, I noticed one office was already occupied.

Daisy’s.

She sat behind her desk with her eyes focused on her open laptop.

I ignored her and stepped into my office. The room had been gutted. The dark bookshelves had been removed, the dark mahogany desk had been replaced with a sleek, gray table, and the stuffy rugs had been tossed.

I opened my laptop and accessed my video messages.

My contact in France, Dr. Madurri, responded to my patient inquiry. I hit play and watched the video. “Hello, Dr. Beaumont. Just watched your video, and I think I have an idea about your patient’s problem. There’s a very rare metabolic condition where several different proteins aren’t being metabolized by the system. That explains the black urine. Also, it explains the pain she’s experiencing, because when she can’t process the proteins, they’re literally shredding through the wall of her kidneys.”

“Shit…”

“I’ve only seen it in two patients in my career, and we have a test I could ship to you to try. It’s a very rare condition, so rare that I think fewer than ten people in the world probably have it. I’ve already sent out the package with overnight shipping, so it should make it to you soon. Good luck, Dr. Beaumont.”