***** Vol.4 Chap.37 Shopping *****
It had been weeks since JB had visited the outside world. It felt so good to be walking freely in Washington, DC. Since she knew her talk by heart, she thought she would take in the sights and do some shopping.
First things first. She needed several new wardrobes and a new business suit befitting her new status.
She took a taxi to the city center and milled around the designer shops. Initially, she was aghast the prices were quite a few times more than the clothing store she frequented in Pittsburg. She told herself this was Washington, DC, and that she deserved the best designer’s clothing.
With the envelop of cash in her pocket, she no longer just window-shopped, but took time to go inside and tried out the latest fashion.
The morning slipped by quickly. After picking out a couple of outfits and having them sent directly to the hotel, she spotted a fancy restaurant specializing in grilled seafood. Without thinking, her legs just carried her inside. Finding a nice table near the window, she ordered the grilled captain’s plate and a glass of white wine.
Looking out the window, masses of people walked past the restaurant, some locals and many tourists like herself. She paid no attention to them when the food came. The prawns were fresh and tasty and the fish filet was grilled to perfection. She had not had such a decent meal for quite some time and she resolved to enjoy every morsel of food on the plate.
When done with lunch, she ordered a cup of cappuccino and sat back to savor the drink and her freedom while watching the hustle and bustle outside.
Something caught her eye. It seemed the same group of rough looking guys walking past her window stared at her when walking past. A few minutes later, they walked past her window again in the opposite direction. This went on several times. Back and forth. Back and forth.
Quietly, she paid for the meals and right after they walked past her window, she slipped out at the back through the kitchen to another main street. Not finding that group of rough looking guys, she resumed her shopping while keeping a wary eye out for any suspicious people.
Stolen novel; please report.
Not seeing any rough characters after a while, she eventually relaxed.
As she turned the corner from one shop, she caught a full-size van pulled in front of her and several well-dressed people in dark sun glasses got out. Wondering what was going on, she ducked into another shop and pretend to be shopping behind a rack of clothes while eyeing the outside.
Those people went up and down the street a couple of times, peeking into shop windows. Eventually, they left, apparently not finding whom or what they were looking for.
Now she was totally spooked. There was no more fun in shopping when one had to keep a cautious eye on strange people around you. She decided that the best and safest place was to go back to the hotel. She hailed a taxi and promptly returned.
The hotel lobby was buzzing with workshop goers as more attendees arrived. Dodging a few people and bellboys running ragged with luggage, she almost made it to the stairs when she heard her name.
“Dr. Smith.”
In her current state of mind, she was about to sprint up the stairs. But the voice sounded familiar. She turned around and there was Dr. Chris Abrahamson grinning from ear to ear.
“Dr. Smith, what a pleasure to run into you.”
“Dr. Abrahamson. Indeed, it is my pleasure to see you. And I want to thank you personally for inviting me to the workshop.”
“You know I was very interested in Dr. Abdulcizi’s work and had been following his research.”
“Yes, since his disappearance, I have been in charge of his programs and I intend to devote all my energy to further what he had started.”
“I am happy to hear that. I look forward to hearing your presentation tomorrow.”
“I hope you will not be disappointed.”
JB breathed a sigh of relief.
She saw Johan in one corner of the room. He was busy talking to a group of scientists. She decided not to bother him. Just when she was about to ascend the stairs, she heard her name again.
“Dr. Smith!”
She turned around and saw Dr. Lovelace standing behind her.
“Dr. Lovelace, so good to see you!”
They shook hands.
“I sent you the database, and you never got back to me. Did you not receive the data?”
“I did look at the data.”
“If you are going to talk about the data tomorrow, I can wait.”
“Not really. The problem with that dataset was the sample size. It was too small and there was too much variance in the samples. I need something more in a control environment.”
“I knew that, but that was all the tests we were able to administer.”
“I understand.”
“Well, I hope we could still collaborate in the future.”
“I am sure there will be opportunities.” She was quite diplomatic.