The empty message notification sat in Mason Coleman's inbox, taunting him. I'd sent it Friday, but he'd dismissed it without opening the attachment. Typical. Now, Monday morning, he finally clicked it open out of desperation.
His jaw dropped.
"What the hell?" he whispered, scrolling through the complex formulas and detailed analysis I'd provided days ago.
The neuroscience approach to solving the lithium-ion efficiency problem was all there - complete, elegant, and innovative. While the rest of the team had been spinning their wheels with conventional chemistry, I'd approached it from an entirely different angle.
Mason's face paled as he realized he'd been sitting on the solution for three days.
Meanwhile, I was headed to the archives to retrieve more reference materials. The elevator doors opened, revealing it was already packed with researchers from my department. Their faces hardened when they saw me.
"Look who decided to show up today," Ryan sneered.
