章 36: I Always Play Nice
Eden was hardly able to sleep the night before starting her new job. She was equal parts excited and nervous.
Spending time with the Combses yesterday had helped her relax a little but she was back to being a nervous wreck as soon as they went back to L.A. and Aubrey wanted alone time with David. She didn't even text Troy because she was afraid of sounding like a whiner.
He still wished her luck though. That was sweet of him. She had already promised to tell him how her first day went so hopefully she would have something good to report.
She wore a pair of nice slacks, a floral blouse, and a pair of ankle booties that fit lab safety requirements. Her hair was tied back in a neat low rolled bun as well. She had already been told her lab coat and regulation safety goggles would be waiting for her when she brought all of her onboarding paperwork with her.
Eden arrived at the building ten minutes early and steeled herself by taking a deep breath. Aubrey and Ezra had both texted her this morning wishing her luck too. She could totally do this!
She had to report to HR first to finish the paperwork, get her ID badge taken care of, and receive her equipment and team assignment. Apparently, she would be working with a Dr. Zimmerman that was researching a new type of antidepressant that was supposed to have fewer side effects.
That would be interesting. She didn't know anything about antidepressants aside from the fact that her mom had to take them after her dad left.
"Dr. Zimmerman and his team are in lab four," the HR rep explained as she showed Eden around the facility.
They passed the locker rooms, bathrooms, break room, administrative offices, and labs one and two. There were twelve labs total here and they were numbered with evens on the right and odds on the left down a few different corridors.
Each one was working on a different medication at any given time. She was overwhelmed simply hearing about it. Overwhelmed but excited.
The HR rep opened the door to lab four and Eden thought her heart might stop beating. "Hey, Zim, I've got your new research assistant here. Say hello to Eden McBride. Be sure to play nice, alright?"
Play nice? That didn't sound good.
Dr. Zimmerman seemed to be in his late twenties to early thirties, which was surprising considering his position. He must have gone through an accelerated PhD program…or he was deceptively youthful. He was blonde with quizzical electric blue eyes and wore glasses underneath his safety goggles.
The only other person in the room was a woman in her mid to late forties with graying light brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She smiled widely at Eden when she came in so that was something.
"I always play nice," Dr. Zimmerman said flatly.
"Sure you do," the HR rep muttered under her breath before wishing Eden luck and walking away.
He appraised Eden as soon as the door was shut, circling around her a few times so she felt like a field mouse being closed in on by a hawk. "Eden McBride, hmm? I did ask for someone older but I suppose you were the best they could find. The last girl was about your age too and was fired for getting too frisky with me.
"I'm married to science. If you have any delusions in your head about dating a doctor get them out now or leave. We are here to discover and create using by pushing the boundaries of known chemical compositions! Not participate in something as frivolous as romance.
"And I'll have you know that if you can't keep up with me, I'll have to ask you to leave as well. Amanda has only lasted this long because she has what it takes. You'll have to prove that you do as well or your time here will be short and unpleasant. Do you understand?"
Eden was so stunned that she didn't even know how to respond to this jerk. What was his problem?!
Who would want to date him with an attitude like that, anyway? That other girl must have been completely blind. Or have a thing for narcissists.
Eventually, she found her voice and responded coolly. "I'm here because I love chemistry. I don't care if you're a doctor or the president of the United States; I would never want to date you."
She realized belatedly how harsh that sounded but it was too late to take it back now. She wished she could suck the words back in through her teeth like the sharp breath she took after making what might have been a fatal mistake in her first two minutes of being here.
To her surprise, Dr. Zimmerman laughed. Hard. When he finally collected himself, he offered her a crazy grin that made him look like Doc Brown from Back to the Future.
"Excellent! You passed the first test. Go ahead and call me Zim; I'm not one for formalities. It's certainly better than Charles, the unfortunate moniker my parents bestowed upon me…anyway, make yourself at home. I expect you to be fully familiar with the locations of all of the equipment by the end of tomorrow."
Eden blinked at him in shock. What a transformation! Was this guy bipolar or something?
Amanda pulled her aside as she showed her where everything was and began explaining her their duties as research assistants. After a few minutes, she lowered her voice when she was certain Zim wasn't listening.
"Don't mind him. He's a bit of a nut but he's harmless. He really does love science and he's managed to get more medications into the testing phase than anyone else at this lab even though he's only been here for five years.
"Apparently, he got his PhD in chemistry before he was twenty-three and got hired here immediately. He's supposed to be some sort of genius but he isn't super great with people. He wasn't kidding about being able to keep up. Do you think you can handle it?"
Eden was suddenly reminded of something the interviewer mumbled under her breath during the second interview. She mentioned she was a fast learner and the interviewer said "that'll come in handy." That must have been a jab at Zim's pickiness.
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