***** Vol.3 Chap.17 A falling out *****
That afternoon, it was one of those rare days that Frank finished his work early. He walked over to JB’s office, hoping to have a chat with her. He knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
He walked in and saw JB working hard on the terminal.
“What can I do for you?” She said without raising her head.
“Oh, nothing much. I am finished with the work for the day and thought I would come over for a chat.”
“I am quite busy.” A blunt reply.
Frank looked around. There were papers all over his desk. He casually picked up a manuscript. JB quickly turned around and snapped the manuscript out from him and put it in the desk drawer.
“Oh, that is nothing. It is just something I am writing, a documentation of the work that we are doing here.”
“Well, good documentation is always welcomed.”
“You were always after me in documenting the work. So, this would be as good a time as any.”
Somehow, that explanation seemed hollow.
“How is everything going for you?” Frank asked.
“What do you mean?”
“We kind of missed you in the research meetings the last few weeks.”
“Oh, that.”
“Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, fine.” Her terse and shallow tone conveyed much more than her words.
Frank was not sure what to say. He sat there silently for a minute. JB turned back to his terminal and pecked away on the keyboard.
“What are you working on?”
“Oh, the last change you requested.”
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General answers, nothing specific.
“I see.”
JB typed some more while Frank sat there and watched.
“Are you tired of the project?”
“No, it is very interesting.”
“We sure like to have more of your inputs in the project and all.”
“Only if you give me more credit and not steal my ideas.” She blurted it out unexpectedly; her face was all red.
“What do you mean, JB?”
“You know what I mean.”
“No, not really. Can you elaborate some more?”
“Everything that Mark did was my idea. But he did not even give me any acknowledgement.”
“Everything?”
“You heard me.”
There was bottled anger in the voice.
“I am not so sure, JB. We talked about all these ideas in the research meetings. It is everyone’s idea.”
“That is not what I see.”
“JB, don’t you feel that both Dr. Tomash and I also contribute to Mark’s work? That is not to mention his own ideas and hard work as well.”
“All I know is that Mark came to me all the time, and I told him how to do every part of his program.”
An exaggeration, maybe? Frank wondered.
“Are you saying that Mark stole all your ideas?”
“Did he not publish his dissertation and also submit a paper last week without my name?”
Frank was flabbergasted and shocked.
“First, that was Mark’s dissertation, and he worked hard on his research. Second, the paper was based on his research and he wrote the paper based on his research. I suppose I could talk to Mark and include your name in the paper.”
“Too late. You have already sent the paper out.”
She was visibly mad at her answer.
“There is still plenty of time to add your name. This is not the final galley proof.”
JB was silent.
“If I recall correctly, the last two papers you’ve submitted, you did not include Mark’s name either.”
“Mark contributed nothing at all to those two papers.”
More exaggeration?
“He took part as much in the weekly research meetings with ideas for you as much as you have to his research.”
“Oh, stop it. He stole my ideas, and he plagiarized them.”
“I am sorry you feel that way.”
“Me too.”
“Is there anything we can do to work this out?”
“Put my name on every paper in the works and in the future.”
“We will see about that. I believe in including anyone’s name that has contributed to the paper, not just blindly putting names on the paper.”
“Too bad you feel that way. Everybody else loads papers with names.”
“That is not my way. I want to maintain some academic credibility.”
“Academic credibility? Ha. Since when?”
He was shocked.
They both felt silent for a while.
“If you want to leave, I will be happy to write a very good recommendation for you. You have been with me for quite a few years already. It is about time for you to stand on your own feet.”
“You are right.”
She returned to the terminal and pecked away on the keyboard.
Frank, not having anything else to say, decided to leave. There was not much else to do there, anyway.
“Well, I’ll see you later.”
She never lifted her head to acknowledge him.
Frank left, not sure what had happened to JB. All the way home, Frank kept replaying the conversation with her and all his dealings with her the past two years. Was there any hint from what she did or said that he had not noticed? Eventually, he gave up.
He tried his best to be honest and righteous, giving credit where it is due. He tried to maintain his integrity as much as possible. But apparently, there are some who are not happy with his way of doing things.