Better Late, But Never His Again novel Chapter 67

Hazel took a full tour of the lab, her feelings growing more conflicted by the minute.

Every single piece of equipment here was cutting-edge. Some models she had only ever seen in academic journals. The ancient mass spectrometer back at the Capital Research Institute looked like a vintage relic compared to what sat in this room.

Yet, when she flipped open the lab logs, the latest data entry was from three months ago. The project timeline board was littered with tasks marked "Pending."

She stopped in front of a high-performance liquid chromatograph, her fingers lightly grazing its sleek metal casing. If they had this machine at the Institute, Queenie's team would have bypassed their three-year roadblock in a week.

State-of-the-art tech was gathering dust here, while the people who desperately needed it were barely scraping by. She pulled her hand back, jotted a few notes in her notebook, and let out a heavy sigh.

By the time she finished, it was already noon.

The cafeteria was on the second floor, featuring massive windows overlooking the city streets. Hazel found a quiet spot by the glass. Just as she opened her lunch, her phone buzzed.

It was a video call from Queenie. She answered, and Queenie's familiar, slightly worried face filled the screen. "Hazel, are you settling in? Are the people treating you well?"

Hazel smiled, lifting the phone to slowly pan around the bright, modern cafeteria.

"Don't worry, Professor. Everything is great. The equipment is incredible, and the food isn't bad either."

She paused, her tone turning a bit heavier. "I was just thinking... if we could bring some of this tech back to our Institute, we could solve our biggest bottleneck overnight."

Queenie's eyes softened with maternal pride. She chuckled. "Don't rush it. Focus on learning everything you can from them first. Absorb their methods."

Hazel nodded. "I will."

A thought suddenly struck her. "Professor, make sure you're taking care of yourself while I'm not there."

Queenie gave her a fond, exasperated look. "You're coming home tonight, silly. No need to be so dramatic."

Hazel blinked, then let out a self-deprecating laugh.

She had been so absorbed in the work that she entirely forgot she was only working at Apex during the day and going back to Queenie's apartment at night. "I completely forgot."

She smiled, a little embarrassed.

Queenie laughed along with her. "Relax, I can handle myself. We've got the new funding you secured, so our current gear will hold us over for a while. Just focus on your work and don't stress over me."

Hazel nodded slowly and took a bite of her food. Queenie smiled warmly. "Eat up. We'll catch up properly tonight."

"Okay. Bye, Professor." Hazel waved at the camera and ended the call.

The second she put the phone down, the screen lit up again. It was Julian calling.

She couldn't exactly ignore him a second time without it becoming an issue.

Silence stretched across the line. When he finally spoke, his tone was noticeably softer. "Honey, I was just stressed. Evelyn is in a really dark place. You know her divorce is dragging on, and she's showing signs of depression. Could you just..."

He hesitated, clearly weighing his words.

Hazel waited in silence, her gaze growing colder by the second.

Finally, Julian said, "Could you give this position to Evelyn? Just consider it a favor to help her out."

Hazel let out a dark laugh. She had never heard anything so utterly absurd in her life.

She thought her heart was completely numb, but those words still managed to twist the knife.

"I already told you, Mr. Thornton requested me specifically. How exactly am I supposed to just give the job to her?"

Julian's voice grew urgent. "You can figure it out. Just tell Marcus you have a better candidate. He'll listen to you."

Hazel's blood ran cold. "And why on earth would he listen to me?"

Julian's patience snapped. "When did you get so damn stubborn, Hazel? I'm asking you to swap with her because I don't want you getting overworked! Can't you just try to put yourself in someone else's shoes for once?"

Hazel didn't reply. A crushing wave of exhaustion hit her. Staring out the window at the bustling street, her expression turned entirely numb.