From His Wife to His Uncle's Wife novel Chapter 64

The next day, Daniel spotted Indy in the cafeteria, standing in line with a tray. Indy was there to pick up lunch for his professor.

“Getting food for Tim?” Daniel asked, walking over.

Indy gave a polite smile. “Yeah, Dr. Bates. He’s not feeling great today. Just wanted some soup.”

Daniel scoffed. “No wonder he’s lost his appetite, with you guys stuck on that research. Give me the soup. I’ll go eat with him.”

“He’ll probably be in a better mood if I bring it,” Indy tried to argue, but he wasn’t convinced himself.

“That’s not necessary, Dr. Bates.”

Before Indy could react, Daniel had already grabbed the soup out of his hands. “I said give it to me,” he insisted, then strutted out of the cafeteria with an air of authority.

Indy just stood there, a bit stunned. He worried Daniel would spill the food or start bickering with his professor again. Those two could never seem to sit down for a meal without arguing. Was his professor even going to eat if Daniel showed up?

...

Tim was dozing in his office when the door flew open without warning.

“Tim, get up. Time to eat,” Daniel announced.

Tim cracked his eyes open, immediately scowling. “Why are you here?”

Daniel set the old lunch container down with a thud. “Why not? I heard you weren’t eating, so I came to check on you.”

Tim gave him a tight, fake smile. “Came to check on me? You just want to see me struggle, don’t you?”

The late summer heat already had Tim feeling off. Seeing Daniel just made everything worse. It was obvious Daniel was there to gloat. Everyone knew his new patent was a hit, with a bunch of big biotech companies fighting over it. Meanwhile, Tim’s group hadn’t made any progress in months.

“I don’t have time to gloat,” Daniel said, pulling up a chair and stretching his legs out. “I actually wanted to ask you something. Are you free this Saturday? Can you come to campus?”

“Nope,” Tim answered, rolling his eyes. “I’m watching my grandson this weekend.”

She spotted Dr. Bates pacing outside the entrance, looking impatient.

Eleanor hurried over. “Dr. Bates.”

“There you are! I’ve been waiting for you forever. Let’s go talk in my office,” he said, waving her inside.

Eleanor glanced toward her own professor’s building, but Daniel caught her look.

“No use looking. Your professor’s not here today. I gave him a heads-up, but he said he had to spend the day with his grandson. Nothing I can do about that.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed Eleanor’s face, but she quickly pulled herself together and followed Daniel inside.

“Thanks, Dr. Bates.”

Even though it was the weekend, his lab was buzzing with students. Eleanor set her bag down and tried to ignore the nerves fluttering in her stomach.