Melissa slipped into the departmental office, her feet feeling sticky and sweaty in the pumps she had hastily shoved on. She looked around and saw the visitors’ chairs were empty. Then Professor Gavin’s office door opened and the departmental admin stepped out. When he saw Melissa, he nodded back to the office and whispered, “They just went in.” He held the door open and motioned to her, “Go ahead.”
Melissa stepped in quietly, gave Professor Gavin a small half wave, and walked around the far side of the conference table to one of the empty chairs. She almost tripped when she looked across at the VIP. He was gorgeous.
Angrily, she seized hold of her reaction and shoved it back down. She reminded herself that she had just sworn off men, particularly tall, dark, attractive males that just screamed “bad boy” like this man did.
Melissa realized that she was also amazed. The visitor couldn’t have been much over 30 years old, but he sat at Gavin’s battered conference table with the easy grace of money and power that Melissa had come to recognize in Gavin’s VIP visitors, most of whom who were gray-haired CEOs of big companies or foundations.
His eyes flicked over to meet hers, connecting with a quick, penetrating stare. Something in the complete self-assuredness of his gaze told her that he hadn’t simply inherited money. There was a flash of a carnivore not very deeply hidden behind his politely arranged features.
He looked back to Dr. Gavin for an introduction. The older woman cleared her throat and gestured at Melissa, “Erik Greenwood, I’d like you to meet Melissa Conlin. She’s one of our bright, young Ph.D. candidates. She’ll be showing you around once we’re done here.”
Erik rose smoothly to his feet and held out his hand. Melissa reached across the table to shake hands. She was startled to find her heart pounding.
She felt hyper aware and completely scattered at the same time. She noted a jumble of small details. A slim black leather portfolio lay on the table in front of Erik. The leather had the same sheen as she had seen in kidskin gloves she could never afford. His suit was a beautifully tailored gray chalk-stripe. He wore it with casual ease, as though it could have been a well-worn denim shirt. The tropical weight wool draped across his shoulders and chest, following the form of what looked to be a well-muscled torso. He didn’t have the bulk of a bodybuilder, but she was certain he kept himself in good shape.
As they shook, his hand felt warm and dry in hers. She smiled politely, trying to mask how flustered she felt. Inside, however, a pounding “fight or flight” reflex fought hard against her sense of self-control.
He smiled back briefly and let go of her hand. Turning back to Professor Gavin, he sat down again. Melissa continued to stand awkwardly. Professor Gavin gave her a questioning look, which broke through her stasis. Snapping into the present, Melissa quickly moved to sit down.
Erik and the department chair continued with the preliminary small talk that Melissa’s arrival had interrupted. While they chatted, Melissa silently cursed herself, “You fool. You stupid fool! He’s a big muckity-muck. I’m a first-year grad student. I can’t go all teenage blithering idiot on him. He’d just laugh at me.” The image of being ridiculed helped dash cold water on her racing hormones. She could feel her panicked tension slowly easing and was grateful for the returning sense of sanity.
She wondered wryly, “What the hell drugs did somebody slip me last night? First, going off with that asshole Tony. Then dredging up all that stuff about Jill this morning. Deciding to date women? Now getting all wet over this guy. What the hell is going on?” Melissa realized with acute embarrassment that she actually was wet. She angrily told herself, “Oh crap girl, get a fucking grip!”
Erik was answering a question from Professor Gavin, so Melissa decided to tune in.
“I’m a turn-around specialist. Owners bring me into companies that have gotten in trouble. By the time I arrive, the situation’s generally pretty grim. It’s usually a “do this or die” moment, so it’s actually a lot easier to make the big changes that everyone’s ignored for way too long.
“I run things for awhile. Fix what’s wrong. Most of the time, there’s something of value that I can salvage. At the end of the day, I get paid with a piece of the action, which has worked out reasonably well for me.”
Professor Gavin leaned forward with a smile, “Bob tells me that you’ve done quite well indeed.”
He shrugged, “Bob exaggerates a bit. But yes, I do have some… excess resources.” He smiled a little ruefully, “Worse than that, I’m a little bored.”
Professor Gavin cocked her head in a question, so he continued, “My last engagement’s mostly done. I don’t have anything immediately on my plate right now. It’s the first time in a couple of years that I’ve been able to come up for air. So I’m looking around for something different, a distraction.”
Professor Gavin asked with mock offense, “So Archeology is a distraction?”
Erik laughed, “It has been for me. When I’m on assignment, I often read books or journal articles on Archeology to relax at night. It pulls me out of the minutia and lets me get some perspective.”
He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. “I’ve started to realize how much the field of Archeology has changed over the last decade or so. It seems as though the changes in funding sources have had a significant impact on the sort of work that gets done.”
Professor Gavin nodded, encouraging him to continue.
“As I understand it, most of your funding these days comes from large construction projects, because they’re legally required to do archeological survey work. Understandably, there’s substantial pressure to move quickly on those jobs. And most of the sites aren’t actually all that interesting. Meanwhile, it looks like the majority of the government funding has dried up. And the government grants that do get awarded don’t seem to be particularly… well, ambitious. It’s as though all the tolerance for risk has disappeared.”
She shook her head sadly in agreement, “Welcome to my world Mr. Greenwood. Over the past twenty years, Archeology has gotten far more bureaucratic and boring.” She turned to Melissa with a smile and joked, “Cover your ears, dear. These sad truths aren’t meant for bright young grad students.”
Turning back to Erik, she continued, “You’re surprisingly perceptive for an outsider, Mr. Greenwood.”
“Please call me Erik. Perceptive? Perhaps, but I’m sure everything I just said has been painfully obvious to you for awhile.”
She nodded, “Yes indeed, but how does this insight of yours bring you to us, Erik.”
Melissa had watched Gavin in many of these fundraising moments before and knew that she was pressing for a donation. Looking over at Erik, it was clear he knew what she was asking as well.
“Well, I’d like to change this dynamic in my own small way. I’m interested in funding a multi-year dig, and all the associated follow-up back here.”
Professor Gavin nodded thoughtfully, “You realize that can be expensive. A project like that can cost one or two million dollars…”
“I’m prepared to be at least that generous.” Professor Gavin sat up straighter as he continued, “What’s more important to me is the type of project. Simply put, I want to roll the dice.” He paused for a moment and looked directly at her, “I want your faculty to propose their fantasy projects – the sort of high-risk, high-payoff, but low-probability stuff – the types of projects that don’t get funded anymore. I’m looking for a project that could change how we think about ourselves and how we got here.”
He smiled at the uncertain look on her face. “Don’t worry, I know there’s actually very little chance for any one project to succeed in that goal. But I want to give somebody a shot at it.”
She leaned back. “Wow, that’s a fascinating opportunity. That’ll generate some excitement around here. How exactly did you see this structured?”
“Mostly as a straightforward grant proposal process. I’ll give you a very short RFP asking for proposals, along with some guidelines on total cost and duration. Say 45 days for responses. I’ll want your help in the evaluation process, but otherwise, I’ll keep the proposals strictly confidential. I’ll make the final decision, 30 days after getting the proposals.”
Professor Gavin thought for a moment. “I see… but summer break has just started. The faculty and grad students will be heading off for summer digs, vacations, other work… could you make the RFP period 60 days?”
“OK, but I want everything wrapped up before the fall semester begins.” She nodded in agreement.
Then he continued, “Once I make the final selection, I’ll transfer the full amount of funding to the university. But I’ll want quarterly reports, and there’ll be annual reviews. If I think the project is completely off track, or if everyone thinks it’s not worth continuing, I’ll pull the plug and the remaining funds will transfer to the university’s unrestricted giving account.”
She hesitated again, not certain how to respond. At last she said, “I see you’ve given this some thought. I’ll need to get the university’s legal office to review the funding and oversight mechanism.”
He opened the black portfolio in front of him and pulled out a card. “Here’s my card. I’ve written my lawyer’s name and contact info on the back. Your legal people can work out the specific language with him.”
She gingerly took the card from him. Melissa saw the front was engraved with three lines of simple text: his name, phone number, and e-mail address.
Professor Gavin studied the card for a moment, and then she continued in a deliberately positive tone. “You have indeed presented us with an amazing opportunity. I am very grateful for your confidence in our faculty and students.”
She smiled and shifted to a more confidential tone, “This is going to cause a real stir amongst the faculty. Chances like this just don’t come along very much anymore. I truly am very grateful. You’ll have to excuse my being a bit bowled over.”
He smiled and spread open his hands, “I’m sorry. Bad habits from the business world. In my ‘day job,’ I tend to be a somewhat direct and move pretty fast. It carries over. But as for your faculty, I really do hope they see this as a great opportunity. I very much want to encourage them to be willing to reach well beyond the comfort zone of a regular grant proposal.
“When the lawyers draft up the agreement, you’ll see that there’ll be some language reserving my right to fund more than one project. I don’t intend to swamp you, but you have some really good talent in this department. I’m hoping that more than one proposal is worthy of going forward.”
“Wow.” She paused for a moment of consideration, tapping her finger absentmindedly on a manila folder in front of her. “This could be a real breath of fresh air… a hurricane, more likely.”
Pushing the manila folder over to Melissa, Professor Gavin continued, “I understand that you have a couple of hours available now to meet some of our faculty members individually. I put together an itinerary for you. Melissa will take you around.”
Professor Gavin apologized, “I’m sorry, I would have taken you around myself, but I’m committed to a Dean’s meeting in a few minutes.”
“Not a problem,” he assured her. Smiling at Melissa, he chuckled and said, “I’m sure I’m in good hands.”
“Damn,” Melissa thought, “all he’s got to do is look at me, and I clench up.”
Melissa gathered up the folder as they all stood up. While Gavin and Greenwood shook hands, she opened the folder and quickly scanned the names and times. Professor Gavin walked them to the outer door.