The Man Who Sold His Son (Lanarkshire Strays) by Mark Wilson Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mark Wilson
leading to her office, slid open.
Remaining standing, Gayle activated the wall panel and swiped the command that would link her through to her boss.
“Hi, Professor. You’re looking a little tense.” Mr Ennis was on his private jet on his way to Washington.
Gayle forced a smile.
“Yes. It’s been a rough week, sir.”
Her boss appeared as relaxed as ever. Gayle couldn’t recall a time when she’d seen the man looking anything but composed and in charge. At sixty-five and with neatly-cut dark hair greying at the temples, bright cobalt-blue eyes, a soft Irish lilt and a generous smile, Mr Ennis was still single, and whilst not Gayle’s type, she could admit that he was very much still an attractive man. Gayle subconsciously shifted her feet as he spoke from the Holo-Screen.
“Has the latest result been following the trend that we predicted from the previous batch?”
Gayle nodded. “Yes, sir. The data suggests a far quicker deterioration than we’d initially feared.”
“How long are you predicting, Professor Robertson?”
Gayle answered immediately. There was no sense in sugar-coating it for him.
“Eighteen months. Maybe less, Mr Ennis.”
Gavin gave her a warm and unworried smile, causing Gayle to wonder momentarily if her boss completely understood the position that the company was now in. It was a ridiculous thought. Gavin Ennis was aware of and completely understood every development taking place in his company.
“Don’t worry, Gayle.” His blue eyes sparkled with warmth and confidence as he spoke. Not a trace of fear or stress affected the man. “Everything’s under control.”
With a gesture, Ennis flicked the Holo-Screen off leaving Gayle alone in her lab. She cleared her throat and listened to the sound echo off the sterile walls of the huge laboratory. Her eyes darted to the wall containing an array of professional and educational certificates. How the hell did it come to this?
In her late fifties, Gayle had been a lifelong student and teacher of genetics and reproductive health. She’d spent the vast majority of those years travelling the world, lending her experience and insight to educational institutions and acting as a consultant to several large companies. Her education, experience and her career choices had equipped her with an exceptional skillset and enabled her to carve a unique position for herself in the genetics sector. Gayle had been due to embark on a year-long sabbatical when Gavin Ennis had arrived at her door.
She’d been working constantly since leaving school and felt that she deserved to finally reward herself for her dedication. Over the years, her passion for education and her career had propelled her along at break-neck speed through the decades. Old friends were long gone, new ones were difficult to make. Her family had scattered to other countries and had families of their own now. With the restrictions on travel tighter than ever, and her career on overdrive, visiting her siblings or their children had lost importance.
Five years ago, she’d opened her front door to find Ennis with a job offer he’d been adamant that only she was qualified to fill. Gayle had heard of Ennis of course; who hadn’t? But she hadn’t foreseen their circles overlapping, despite their respective strides in reproductive health. With two simple sentences, Gavin had convinced her to derail her plans to travel and join him at Synthi-Co.
“Gayle, the synthetic sperm line is flawed. I need your help.”
Professor Robertson pushed all thoughts of the past away. Thinking of times past only brought memories of someone she did not want consuming her thoughts. She made her way to the small glass-walled room in the corner of her lab that served as her office. Scanning through the collated data from three months of experimentation made for grim viewing. Gayle had to admit that whatever the scientist’s equivalent to writer’s block was, she had it. All of her data was
Remaining standing, Gayle activated the wall panel and swiped the command that would link her through to her boss.
“Hi, Professor. You’re looking a little tense.” Mr Ennis was on his private jet on his way to Washington.
Gayle forced a smile.
“Yes. It’s been a rough week, sir.”
Her boss appeared as relaxed as ever. Gayle couldn’t recall a time when she’d seen the man looking anything but composed and in charge. At sixty-five and with neatly-cut dark hair greying at the temples, bright cobalt-blue eyes, a soft Irish lilt and a generous smile, Mr Ennis was still single, and whilst not Gayle’s type, she could admit that he was very much still an attractive man. Gayle subconsciously shifted her feet as he spoke from the Holo-Screen.
“Has the latest result been following the trend that we predicted from the previous batch?”
Gayle nodded. “Yes, sir. The data suggests a far quicker deterioration than we’d initially feared.”
“How long are you predicting, Professor Robertson?”
Gayle answered immediately. There was no sense in sugar-coating it for him.
“Eighteen months. Maybe less, Mr Ennis.”
Gavin gave her a warm and unworried smile, causing Gayle to wonder momentarily if her boss completely understood the position that the company was now in. It was a ridiculous thought. Gavin Ennis was aware of and completely understood every development taking place in his company.
“Don’t worry, Gayle.” His blue eyes sparkled with warmth and confidence as he spoke. Not a trace of fear or stress affected the man. “Everything’s under control.”
With a gesture, Ennis flicked the Holo-Screen off leaving Gayle alone in her lab. She cleared her throat and listened to the sound echo off the sterile walls of the huge laboratory. Her eyes darted to the wall containing an array of professional and educational certificates. How the hell did it come to this?
In her late fifties, Gayle had been a lifelong student and teacher of genetics and reproductive health. She’d spent the vast majority of those years travelling the world, lending her experience and insight to educational institutions and acting as a consultant to several large companies. Her education, experience and her career choices had equipped her with an exceptional skillset and enabled her to carve a unique position for herself in the genetics sector. Gayle had been due to embark on a year-long sabbatical when Gavin Ennis had arrived at her door.
She’d been working constantly since leaving school and felt that she deserved to finally reward herself for her dedication. Over the years, her passion for education and her career had propelled her along at break-neck speed through the decades. Old friends were long gone, new ones were difficult to make. Her family had scattered to other countries and had families of their own now. With the restrictions on travel tighter than ever, and her career on overdrive, visiting her siblings or their children had lost importance.
Five years ago, she’d opened her front door to find Ennis with a job offer he’d been adamant that only she was qualified to fill. Gayle had heard of Ennis of course; who hadn’t? But she hadn’t foreseen their circles overlapping, despite their respective strides in reproductive health. With two simple sentences, Gavin had convinced her to derail her plans to travel and join him at Synthi-Co.
“Gayle, the synthetic sperm line is flawed. I need your help.”
Professor Robertson pushed all thoughts of the past away. Thinking of times past only brought memories of someone she did not want consuming her thoughts. She made her way to the small glass-walled room in the corner of her lab that served as her office. Scanning through the collated data from three months of experimentation made for grim viewing. Gayle had to admit that whatever the scientist’s equivalent to writer’s block was, she had it. All of her data was