Hominid by R.D. Brady Read Free Book Online

with a smile.
    “Well, you look like hell,” Abby Newman said.
    Tess groaned. “Must you yell?”
    Abby laughed as she hugged her. “I’m barely whispering.”
    “And yet…”
    Abby took Tess’s bag. “Let me get this. You take these.” She handed Tess a bottle of water and two aspirin.
    “How…?”
    “Pax called. He was worried you’d be a little bad off.”
    Tess took the pills gratefully. She’d taken some this morning before she left, but the droning plane had not helped her pounding head.
    “Sasha is meeting us at the curb. Do you have another bag?”
    Tess shook her head. “Nope. Traveling light.”
    Abby took her arm. “Come on, lightweight. Let’s go.”
    They headed for the automatic doors that led to the passenger pick-up area. Even from here, Tess could see Sasha’s bright blue FJ Cruiser. Sasha bolted from the driver’s door with a squeal as Abby and Tess stepped onto the pavement—and all the men nearby stopped to watch. At five foot two, Sasha was petite and busty, with a body that even Tess could admit was sexy as hell, long dark wavy hair, and a pouty mouth that you usually found only with a plastic surgeon’s help.
    Sasha wrapped Tess in a hug. “Congratulations!” Tess had called both Sasha and Abby last night with the news of the grant.
    Tess hugged her back. “Thanks, but not so loud.”
    Sasha grinned. “Lightweight. So, I’m guessing lunch is on you?”
    “You got it.”
    Twenty minutes later, the three of them were tucked into a booth at the back of Poor Richard’s. They ordered sandwiches and drinks, and when the waitress left, Abby turned to Tess. “You ready to talk about the contract?”
    In addition to being one of Tess’s best friends, Abby was also a lawyer, and Tess had sent her the contract last night to look over.
    Tess cleared her head and took a handful of chips. “Yeah. What do you think?”
    “I think there are a lot of strings.”
    Tess had expected that, of course. But from Abby’s expression, she could tell her friend was not happy with the number of strings.
    “Okay. Tell me.”
    “Well, according to this, any discovery you make, Hayes gets credit for. He gets top billing. From the way this is worded, you work for him as a practically unnamed employee.”
    Tess had been expecting something like that, but not quite so strong. “Well, I’m not really looking for the notoriety. But how would that affect my research? How would it affect my publications?”
    “You couldn’t have any. Everything would have to go through Hayes and be sent out by Hayes, if he agrees.”
    Tess’s stomach dropped “So are you saying, that even though I’m the lead researcher, Hayes will have the rights to anything I discover and veto power over anything I try to publish?”
    Abby nodded. “And that includes all your casts, hair samples, et cetera, too.”
    “I can’t do that. I can’t hand everything over. Especially the casts.” Tess shook her head, her hopes dimming. “I mean, I need the grant money, but not if he ties my hands with regard to the research. That’s the whole point.”
    “I know. And there’s another issue I’m concerned about. There’s nothing in here that allows you to sever the relationship with Hayes. You would essentially be locked in for two years, and there are huge penalties if you don’t come through.”
    Tess slumped down in her seat. “So this grant is not a dream come true after all. It’s a nightmare.”
    Abby reached out and squeezed Tess’s hand. “Let me call his people. I’ll see if I can rework the contract, make it more palatable. But… if I can’t do that, will you be willing to walk away?”
    Tess looked away. Ever since what had happened with her father, she had focused on this one goal: proving bigfoot exists. And she knew she was close. But with this contract, Hayes would take over. He would control every aspect of her research. She couldn’t let that happen.
    She sighed. “If I have to, I’ll