"So what did he say when you told him?" he asked.
"Told who, what?"
"This Sam guy." Beaker frowned at her. "You did tell him about Pheramour, didn't you?"
"Uh, not yet." She shrunk under his accusatory glare. "But I'm going to." Any day now. When she could no longer avoid him. She reckoned she could do that for about a week. Longer if she kept away from her sister’s place.
"Good. You don't want to give him the wrong idea."
"Why not?" she asked, even though she knew the answer. Linda’s concerns about leashing Pheramour on an unsuspecting population had been niggling at Maddie all weekend. She just didn’t like admitting it.
"Because it's wrong. The poor guy thinks he's in love."
Yeah, poor Sam. Poor, rich, handsome, cooler-than-a-thin-Elvis Sam.
"Isn't that the whole point?" she asked, playing devil’s advocate since Miles wasn’t around. "Aren't Fleur Elise marketing Pheramour as a love drug that no one need know you're wearing?"
He thought about it some more. "Oh, yeah, I guess. It seems kind of wrong though"
"Yeah," she said quietly. Sam had said it. Even Linda, which meant it must really be wrong.
What would Sam think if he knew? Would he ever forgive her? Could they return to being friends, or would he cut her out of his life like a mole.
"I need to speak to Miles," she said, feeling weak.
She left Beaker contemplating the ethics of their job and joined Miles in his office. He hung up the phone as she entered.
"That was Hillary Westgath-Smith from Fleur Elise. She's very excited about the progress." He indicated Maddie should sit. "She's coming here tomorrow so you and Beaker can give her a progress report."
"That's great." Yeah, peachy. "Look, Miles, I want to ask you something."
"Ask away."
"Have you thought through the consequences of Pheramour?"
"Of course. You'll all get a bonus, don't worry." He leaned across his desk. "There just might be a promotion in it for you too, Maddie."
Promotion? Ethics be damned, this was exactly what she wanted. It would put her right on track for the next few years. And who was she, a mere scientist, to question the ethics of Pheramour? It was up to the individual to come clean about wearing it. It had nothing to do with her. Or Fleur Elise or BioDerma. They were in this to make money for their shareholders and employees. She was in this to get a promotion and tick off another task from her plan.
Nope, not her responsibility. Nuh-uh.
But it was her responsibility to come clean to Sam.
CHAPTER 15
Sam had tried to get rid of his mother all afternoon, ever since Maddie called and said she was coming over after work to tell him something. Hopefully she was coming over to do something as well, but there was no chance of that if his mother didn't leave. When she re-stated that she had nothing to do and nowhere to go and she'd rather stay and chat to "that nice Maddie Clarke", Sam went on the offensive and called Kevin Bowcher. Five minutes later, Kevin called back and asked his mother out on a date. Sam didn't particularly like the idea of her dating an ex-con, but he couldn't remember why Kevin had ended up in jail and if his mother was okay with it, then so should he be.
But Kevin was late and Maddie was early, so Sam, Maddie and his mother sat in the living room and chatted. Sam was hoping for small talk. Maybe if he mentioned the weather...
He never got a chance.
"So, why won't you date my Sammy?" his mother asked as soon as she sat down.
Oh great. Just what he needed to turn his life into a train wreck. "Mum," he warned through a jaw so tight he could hear his back teeth grinding.
"You do know that lots of other girls want to date him," she continued. "Just this morning I hung up on Bec Davies."
Maddie stared at his mother as if she were a creature from outer space. He wished she were so she could beam herself out of there. "I remember Bec," she said.
"I never liked her," his mother went on. "She's not a nice girl like you." She reached over and patted Maddie's knee.
Maddie smiled weakly. "Thanks. But you shouldn’t have hung up on Bec. She’d be quite a catch from what I hear, and I believe she’s looking for another husband. Maybe you could call her back."
Sam stared at her. So much for getting naked and sweaty with her. She clearly wasn’t about to let him see her thong again.
But he wasn’t about to give up so easily.
"No, I don’t think so," his mother said. "Anyway, I can't hang up on these girls forever. He's very popular, you know. So why did you dump him? Is it because he hasn't got a job?"