LITMIR.BIZ

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pause, Frost added: – And this is what concerns the financial side of the business.

      Stephen indicated a specific amount with a pen on a notepad, and then handed the torn piece of paper to Kayla Fox.

      – This does not take into account the bonus part, which will become possible if we manage to discover some deep-sea organisms.

      Kayla thought about her experiment; about how much time she spent on it and what results she achieved. She understood perfectly well that she could spend her whole life on this research and get nothing in the end. And here it is… She left the pictures and a piece of paper with numbers on the table, crossed her legs, straightened a strand of her black hair and said:

      – Well, what can I say? I am a scientist first and a teacher second. A person cannot be satisfied with one theory, and such an opportunity may no longer be available. In view of this situation, I think there is no point in thinking for a long time. I would say right now that I agree. But, you know, it takes me some time to get my head around where the end point is. I’ll be honest and say right away that there are hardly any reasons why I would want to refuse such a suggestion, but I still need some time.

      – No, no, Miss Fox. No one is rushing you. Think it over carefully. Of course, such decisions are not made in a couple of seconds. It’s still not like going to a nightclub. So you don’t have to rush. You have time.

      Kayla didn’t pay any attention to these words. She understood that there was nothing keeping her in her current job.

      – But can I ask you, Miss Fox, one favor?

      – Of course.

      – Our conversation must remain between us. It must not go beyond these walls. Can I rely on you?

      Without the slightest tremor in her voice, Kayla answered:

      – One hundred percent.

      The next day Kayla dialed the number of her college classmate, who worked overseas at one of the medical institutes in Austin.

      – Hello? – a man’s voice was heard on the phone.

      – Hello Miguel. This is Kayla. Fox.

      – Hi beauty. What’s up?

      At the word «beauty» Kayla involuntarily remembered how, during her student years in her first year at the institute, Miguel Guimaraes asked her out several times and each time suffered a fiasco, only managing to become close friends, like most of the guys who had their eyes on her.

      – Everything according to the script – Kayla answered.

      – Still married to her microscope?

      – Yeah-ah-ah… Years go by, but your humor doesn’t change.

      – Sorry. It’s just that for the first time in a whole week I woke up without diarrhea, so my mood is on the rise this morning.

      – Actually, I said that your jokes don’t change, but I didn’t say that I don’t like them.

      – Got it. My mistake.

      Through the phone, it was noticeable how high Miguel’s mood was.

      – Well, since you haven’t lost your sense of humor, maybe you can answer the question?

      – Which?

      – Are you still wearing the third, or have your twins grown to the fourth?

      – I don’t know. I have no complaints about the gravity yet.

      Miguel appreciated the joke with a loud laugh. After waiting for it to fade, Kayla asked:

      – Am I not distracting you from anything there?

      – Not really. There are traffic jams in the morning, so I have to walk to work. So everything’s fine. Tell me what you got.

      – Listen, I’m calling to say thank you for recommending me to Frost.

      – Sorry, I didn’t hear! Dump trucks passed here! Can you repeat it again?

      – I say thank you for recommending me to «Best Technologies».

      – What recommendation?

      – What do you mean «what recommendation»? Frost came to see me today. He said you recommended me.

      There was silence on the line for several seconds. Miguel then said:

      – Brown-eyed, you are confusing something. I don’t know any Frost.

      4. TUCKER HUGHES

      With unprecedented bliss he got out of the SUV and headed to a bar near the beach thirty-five kilometers from the city of La Plata, anticipating rivers of rum and whiskey. Forty-five-year-old paleontologist Tucker Hughes spent almost a month in Argentina, leading a group of archaeologists. Over the heading of twenty-three days, they carefully dug up the remains of Megaraptor. Now he, along with his colleagues, planned to get completely drunk and relax to the point of disgrace.

      The bar was located on the ocean shore, from where the breaking of waves could be heard beautifully and the sounds of the ocean, together with the moonlight, created an atmosphere especially favorable for parting with a sober mind slowly and in small sips.

      Tucker was accompanied by his colleague, a junior researcher at the Department of Paleontology, Jan Vogel, and an employee of the Paleontological Museum in the city of Trelew, Fernando Rivera, who, in fact, reported on the possible find and asked the authorities for permission to involve foreign specialists with great expertise in the excavations.

      Hardly had the group of archaeologists completed extracting the remains of Megaraptor when Tucker, Jan and Fernando immediately set off to the coast in unison, leaving behind their work clothes, which still had traces of sand on them.

      The waitress took an order for a bottle of rum, a bottle of cognac and three bottles of beer as an aperitif.

      Looking towards the arriving waves, Tucker said, keeping a dreamy grimace on his face:

      – If in this world you could choose the moment when your life would end, I would choose this one. What could be better when you have the sounds of the surf in your ears, the moon and starry sky in front of your eyes, and a glass of excellent rum in your hand?

      – Yes – Fernando confirmed. – Even the loss of virginity cannot be compared with this.

      A shadow fell on the table from behind them. They turned around, expecting to see the waitress and their order on the tray.

      – Gentlemen, good evening.

      It was a stranger, dressed in white trousers and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

      – Are you Dr. Tucker Hughes? – asked the stranger.

      – Yes, it’s me.

      – Stephen Frost. Very nice – with these words Frost extended his hand and shook Tucker’s hand. – Mr. Hughes, if you don’t think I’m being intrusive, can I distract you for a moment and discuss something privately?

      Tucker didn’t even try to hide his surprise. The stranger spoke clear English, and this definitely indicated that he was not from Argentina, or from this continent at all. The accent was very British. Tucker found it difficult to even imagine that someone had flown across the ocean to talk to him about something. It was even more difficult for him to imagine the subject of conversation for which the stranger had crossed such a distance. He looked around, looking for the waitress with the order. Not finding her, he rose from the table and said, extending his hand to the other end of the bar’s veranda:

      – Sure. Let’s pass.

      Sitting down at a free table in the very corner, Frost asked:

      – How is your fossil doing?

      – Apparently,

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