Kimbra's footsteps echoed on the polished tile floors of a nearly empty hallway. Most of EcoTech's staff hid away in their offices, the labs, or piled into the conference room as a sudden meeting had been called. One that was interrupting Kimbra's work.

Not that she really minded at the time.

She spent the entire morning reading through project proposals. Denied the ones that were ridiculous and completely out of the question. Approved those they could afford or that made some sense. The ones she approved went into a pile, to be sent to Dr. Ainsley for a final say-so. There, even more projects were denied until only a handful were left. They had to meet Dr. Ainsley's specifications. If the tiniest detail threw him off, it would be tossed aside.

Anything short of perfect wasn't good enough for the CEO.

The purple haired scientist followed through the maze of hallways, making her way towards the conference room. She wondered if the boys down in the lab had bought more rubber bands to shoot at one another with. And if Ainsley called the meeting to scold everyone about wasting funding from the budget (and about hostility and safety in the workplace). Maybe it'd be something that would drag the meeting out until their lunch break.

Wishful thinking, I suppose.

Two men in lab coats stood near the conference room door, consulting with their clipboards. The closer Kimbra approached, the quieter the two got. Until they went silent, as if they were teenage girls gossiping around one of their teachers.

Embarrassingly enough, most of the staff at EcoTech did basically that. She wondered if they'd ever learn. Doubtful.

"Excuse me," Kimbra said, pushing her hands into the pockets of her white lab coat. Brushed past the two and stepped into the room filled with other staff members.

The Samoyed kept her position in the back of the room, not wanting to garner any attention to herself. Wanted to merely listen in and make a quick getaway back to her office as soon as it ended. She hated social interactions. Couldn't stand them. Found them horrifically unnecessary and a complete waste of time. She was there to do science, not mingle around.

At the front of the room, behind the large conference table, stood Dr. Ainsley. He loudly cleared his throat to quiet the room and focus the attention onto him.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I called this meeting." Ainsley clicked a button on the small remote in his hand, turning on a giant screen at the end of the room. The angles of his face washed in flickering lights from the monitor.

A blueprint and 3D models of wind turbines popped up on the screen. Along with a few artistic renderings of a wind turbine farm.

"Our windmill farm in Echo Hills is finally starting."

Oh, right. The one that Kimbra had approved. The same project that Spector had complimented her on during their first date. The paperwork had called it a windmill farm, but it was technically a wind turbine farm. Windmills were much smaller than wind turbines. They were different in structure and purpose. Kimbra almost had trashed the proposal due to the mistake, but realized the idea was too good to pass up. So she approved it, and Dr. Ainsley found the error to be so entertaining, that he began calling it the Windmill Project.

Kimbra had thought more about the project over the last few months. Started to realize it may have been a poor decision on her part to approve funding for it. She hadn't considered the cons of the project. The noise they produce might irritate residents of the surrounding area. EcoTech hadn't even considered how the turbines would impact the local wildlife (especially the birds). Another error she had made. And people's concerns about the sudden change in landscape hadn't been taken into account either. The wind turbines could be seen as an eyesore. A big eyesore.

But she had forgotten all about it. Until now. Preferably, she would have kept it forgotten.

A sudden pop of a rubber band hitting the tip of Kimbra's ear made her yelp. She slapped over her mouth, embarrassed (and grateful that the rest of the room paid no mind, as they were focused on Dr. Ainsley). Her eyes followed the general direction from which it came, and there stood the lab boys, across the room. Snickering to one another. Avoiding Kimbra's eye contact. Pretending they could never do any wrong.

Of course, it was them.

Kimbra mouthed the words 'I will end you', to one of them, but the man pretended to be listening to their boss. To the presentation that was nearing its end.

Oh god, wait, the presentation. Shit.

And of course, Kimbra had missed Dr. Ainsley's entire presentation on the windmill– wind turbine project. She had also almost missed when one of the interns passed out small stacks of papers to everyone. Kimbra flipped through hers, eventually realizing that the presentation had been typed out and printed.

You got lucky this time, Wulfe. Start paying attention, or risk humiliating yourself in front of Ainsley. Then you're on your one-way ticket to working in the botany department at SCU to play with tomatoes.

Dr. Ainsley shut off the monitor with the remote, and ended the presentation. He usually did so with a joke. Something that'd make the room erupt with laughter. But he didn't this time. Instead, his full attention turned to Kimbra. No one else. Just her.

"Kimbra," he pointed directly at her. In front of everyone. "You're coming with me."

It took Kimbra a second to realize he had spoken to her. She looked up from the papers in her hand, eyebrows raised. The lab boys echoed out an 'ooooo' from the back of the room. As if she were a classmate that had gotten in trouble.

Now they're just being mean.

Giving the group an icy glare shut them up fairly quickly. She knew they'd start up again later. They always did.

"Yes sir."

Kimbra followed Ainsley through the winding hallways, past other scientists, back to the elevator, and down to the first floor. The entire way down, she swore she could feel eyes on her back. Judging her. Mocking her. Ignore them , her mind said. Ignore them and continue on with your work. They aren't worth your time. Ignore them.

At least she hoped she could find the kind of maturity to get to that point.

The two scientists walked down the staircase that led into the lobby. Passing by other staff members and interns. Kimbra hoped none of them would try to start a conversation. Or make more wise cracks at her own expense.

Clearly her wishes had been overlooked.

"Keeping the boss in line?" One of the guys from the research department snickered, half hoping to draw a reaction from the Samoyed.

"Someone has to," Kimbra sighed dramatically as they stepped into the lobby. She should have known they would have a field-day with this. That she had always been the joke of the company. Dr. Ainsley's pet, the one that catered to his every beck and call.

Not that Kimbra would admit it out loud, but it hurt.

She had always felt insignificant when comparing herself to the rest of the staff. Overlooked. Useless. Never good at anything or wanted by anyone. That Ainsley only gave her the job for personal reasons or out of pity. Some even played with the rumors that she was sleeping with the man. A man who was old enough to be her grandfather. They went that far with their taunting. Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. The concept of her being hired because she was damn good at her job was so foreign to them– that they had to make up scenarios on why she got hired.

Just anything to convince themselves she wasn't worth keeping around.

"Why hire her? She's pretty, sure… but it seems a bit extreme to make her part of the project department. EcoTech is the best of the best. We can't afford to hire a screw-up." Harry Breen, head of the administration department, had cornered Dr. Ainsley in the hall.

One that Kimbra happened to be in. She had quickly ducked into one of the labs, letting curiosity get the best of her. She blamed it on being young and freshly out of college. Sure, that was the reason why. Not that she eavesdropped on a regular basis, oh no. But hearing her name come out of the mouth of that narcissist blowhard grabbed her attention.

She heard Ainsley let out a snort. "Dr. Breen, I don't think who I hire is any of your concern. It's my company, after all. This is incredibly inappropriate to talk about at the workplace. I'm slightly disappointed you're against me on this."

"She's just an intern. Barely out of college and you put her on the project department team, one of our best teams. She's under qualified. Send her off to someone else, like the university. She can play in their greenhouse or something." Dr. Breen's tone grew harsher. He had never been a kind man. "And I'm only worried about the company's future. I think it's more than appropriate to discuss."

Ainsley sighed. Irritated. Especially as he hadn't had his coffee yet. "Breen, I'm not sending her away. The kid has a lot of promise. I'm not taking away her chance at proving it just because she's a little younger than the rest of the department."

A scoff left the administrator's mouth. "She doesn't have anything to prove. We don't have the time to hold her hand and guide her through this like she's a child. We both know damn well she does not belong here."

Kimbra gasped, ducking further into the lab once she heard their footsteps approach. Thankfully, the two men continued down the hall. Didn't notice her at all.

But Dr. Ainsley only laughed at the man. "We'll see about that, Breen. We'll see about that. When she proves you all wrong, you'll see how right I am."

That had been years ago, and in time, Kimbra moved up in the company ranks. Now she ran the entire project department, much to Dr. Breen's displeasure. But his attitude towards her remained the same. He still questioned Ainsley's decision of giving her a chance. Patronized her. Brushed her off as some secretary who was only good for getting coffee and filing paperwork. Made jokes at her expense. Tried talking Ainsley into firing her whenever the chance arrived.

Nothing Kimbra ever did proved to them, she was worth keeping at EcoTech. To them, she would always be that intern who didn't know a damn thing. The girl who got lost on the way to deliver papers to Breen's office. The kid who knocked over coffee on Ainsley's incredibly important paperwork. The one that had constant lab accidents due to her small mistakes.

The kid who should have stayed the hell in Brittlesburg, Alaska.

You don't belong here, her mind harshly said. She felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. Kimbra heard about it enough from everyone else.

Now even her own mind was telling her that.

This cannot be the place. It just can't be.

Truthfully, Kimbra wasn't sure about the choice of land for the project. Did they actually make a mistake this time? Were they screwing up big time? Surely, this isn't the plot they had bought, right? It has to be some sort of joke.

Dr. Ainsley… What did you talk me into this time?

The hills looked… plain. Like any other field. It seemed a shame to ruin the view with an eyesore of wind turbines. She wondered again how the locals felt about the upcoming change. If they would start a petition to have the tech company run out of the hillside. It'd be all over the news. Kimbra could see it now.

'Tech Giant EcoTech Ruins Small Community'

'EcoTech Kills Hundreds Of Birds With New Wind Turbines'

'Wind Turbines: A Blessing Or An Eyesore?'

Hopefully, it won't come to that.

Kimbra held out an arm, gesturing to the view in front of them. "This is it? This is where we're putting the wind turbines?"

"Yep!" Dr. Ainsley nodded, seeing no issue with having dragged one of his employees into the outskirts of the city to look at an empty hillside.

Her arm dropped to her side as she hesitated. "Dr. Ainsley… I don't know."

His eyes narrowed just slightly. "I didn't ask for your opinion, dear. I just wanted to show you where it was going."

I didn't ask for your opinion.

There was no room for discussion in that statement. If she tried again, he would point out that she had approved the project last year. It would turn into a senseless argument that Kimbra frankly didn't have the energy for. It'd just be embarrassing for the both of them. It wouldn't be a good mark on her record if she backed out of something she had already approved months ago. Not only that, but it'd mean that Ainsley could no longer trust her judgment. She'd been seen as a mistake and would be demoted. Or fired. He had every right to dismiss her.

And that'd only prove that people were right about her all along. That Dr. Breen had been right about her, and he'd flaunt it in her face.

She just had to push forward with this whole wind turbine idea. As much as she hated to, it was her only option.

The loud rumbling of a large truck pulling up to the site startled Kimbra. The yellow vehicle pulled a long trailer behind it, carrying a variety of equipment and large metal pipes. Three men stepped out of the truck, wearing casual clothes, bright orange vests, and yellow hardhats. Like your average construction crew.

Kimbra watched as the men began unloading their equipment and pipes from the trailer. They weren't from EcoTech, so Ainsley must have hired an outside contractor. She wanted to ask a million questions about them, mostly if they were certified or if he hired a bunch of random men to save money.

A strap on the trailer snapped, sending one of the large metal pipes crashing to the ground. The bang echoed, loud, in Kimbra's ears. She covered both of them with her hands, wincing.

It's almost like they have no training at all. Where did he find these guys?

The project was a big deal, one that she didn't want being screwed up. Especially not by some under qualified idiots. Only a couple of weeks back and someone was already making a mess of things. Typical.

One of the men, a large hippo, winced at the incident. Called out to the elderly scientist. "Sorry, Dr. Ainsley!"

The reptile waved them off, redirecting his attention back to Kimbra with a smile.

But Kimbra's uncertainty crept out. "Sir, I don't think they're qualified to–" she began.

"Kimbra," Ainsley cut her off, knowing exactly where this conversation was

headed. "No, we are not doing this again. I hired you to oversee projects, not criticize my decision-making. I need you to make sure this project goes smoothly. It's important to me. Okay? That's what I need from you."

The much older scientist didn't think it was all that much to ask.

"Sir, I know that but–"

He held up a hand to silence her. "Kelly… dear, bring Dr. Wulfe the paperwork. She'll need it for tomorrow." There was some amount of disappointment there that she brought up the topic again, but he wasn't angry. He couldn't get angry with her, ever. Knew that she meant well and had the company's best interest in mind.

Dr. Ainsley's secretary, Kelly, appeared at Kimbra's side, a cup of coffee in one hand, a folder in the other. She handed the coffee to the reptile, and held out the folder to Kimbra. As always, the woman obeyed Ainsley's demands. Hell, if he asked her to jump off a cliff, Kimbra was certain she'd jump.

The Samoyed wanted to argue against the whole project. Admit she had made a mistake in not looking closer at it. That she hadn't completely weighed the pros and cons. But she didn't. She nodded her head, agreeing with what her boss had asked of her. She'd tell him what he wanted to hear. Keep him happy so she could keep her job. Agree with whatever crazy idea popped into the reptile's head.

Because that should be her main priority.

"Yes sir." Kimbra took the folder and left without a word.

Somewhere deep down, she had a terrible feeling about this.

It didn't fail to amaze Kimbra how quickly she had grown attached to the man sitting in front of her. Taking him to Alaska made that same attachment so much stronger (not that she'd admit it to him, of course). He felt like home. Her person. The one she could share anything and everything to.

Her Buddy.

The two sat at a small table in one of the many small cafés in St. Canard for lunch. Bud had asked if they could sit by the large window, rambling on about how he liked to watch traffic go by. Neon lights flashed around them, advertising products for sale and other businesses in the area. Mostly smaller ones such as the dry cleaners or coffee shop.

"I think they opened yet another dry cleaner down on main street." Bud commented, gesturing out at the city with a hand. He paused to blow the steam from his coffee cup. "Dunno why, it's not like we don't have five already."

Kimbra wanted to say something. To show that she was indeed listening to her boyfriend criticize the dumpster fire of a city they lived in. But she didn't. Because her mind would not stop revolving around the wind turbine project.

She must have had a mistake in approving it.

Bud noticed her silence, and raised his eyebrows at her. "You're awfully quiet over there. Something wrong?"

Now she felt guilty. This was their lunch date. She shouldn't be bringing work to dates. It wasn't fair to Bud.

"I'm so sorry Bud, it's just…" A sigh. Ran her hand through her purple bangs. "We have this new project. Wind turbines. I approved it, but I feel like I had made a mistake. And I don't think Dr. Ainsley is interested in what I have to say about it. Not that I blame him, of course."

Oh, you are so pathetic, Kimbra Wulfe. Whining over your father figure not listening to you? Seriously? You're almost thirty, grow up.

Bud raised the cup to his mouth with a small shrug. "You could always talk to him about it. I'm sure he trusts you," he said, his voice tight as he fought past the taste of the coffee.

It was absolutely disgusting. More bitter than he cared for.

The hound reached across the table, grabbing a few sugar packets. He ripped them open one at a time, dumping the contents into his poor excuse of a coffee. Stirred it all with a spoon he wasn't using. Held it back up to his mouth to taste it. Made a small face as it still didn't meet his expectations. He'd never order coffee here again (until he forgot and would repeat this same process).

Kimbra grimaced at the amount of sugar he dumped into the cup. Didn't comment on it. "I tried, but he said that he didn't want my opinion. That my job is just to oversee the project and make sure no one screws anything up."

"Maybe you should just trust him on this one."

He watched her struggle and sigh, as she tried to focus her thoughts. A game she clearly wasn't winning anytime soon.

"I dunno… maybe we should just change the subject. I don't want to bother you with my ridiculous work nonsense."

"You aren't bothering me at all." Bud picked up his phone with a free hand, scrolling through the apps. "Do you want me to tell you how the stock market is doing? That might get your mind off things."

"God no."

"Okay, well–"

"Bud stop, you're going to bore me to death." She let out a huff, picking up her fork and starting on her salad.

He hummed before taking a sip of his coffee. "Oh hey, Flud Water is up."

"Bud."

"Okay, okay. Fine. I won't bore you with the details of my line of work." Set down the phone on the table with a chuckle.

The word 'yet' hung in the air, unspoken, but Kimbra could see that it was written all over his mischievous face.

"I'm sure we can find better things to talk about than your company, or stocks." She paused, waiting for him to pick up the conversation. When he didn't, she continued. "Actually… can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What happened with your family anyway? Like, you said you weren't close to them, but…" Gestured a few times with her fork. "Morty seems sweet."

She meant to bring up the topic ever since he mentioned he didn't spend the holidays with them. It hadn't crossed her mind until now.

Bud immediately froze at the mention of his family. He hadn't told her, had he?

Kimbra noticed the silence, and reached over to place a hand over his. "Bud, you don't have to talk about it. I'm sorry if bringing them up made you uncomfortable."

A deep breath. "No, it's… it's okay. You'd have to find out eventually. What have I told you about them?" Bud said, and she could hear a tinge of sadness coloring his tone.

"You only said you weren't close to them. That you don't like Morty. And your father owns Arctic Records."

Bud rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Okay, okay. It's a long story… but I cut contact with my parents when I left for college. I–" He stopped talking, and started fiddling miserably with his tie instead. Words were failing him.

Kimbra felt guilt gnaw at her for bringing up the topic. "Bud, you don't have to talk about this. I'm sorry for bringing it up." Worry crept into her voice.

"No… no, no it's okay. I think you should know about them." The water bottle salesman tried to keep the quaver out of his voice as he spoke.

A pause. Like he was trying to find the best way to word his explanation. How to make himself not sound so pathetic.

"Harrison is… a cruel man. He's cold and heartless. He mostly worked all the time, never really paid us any mind." Bud swallowed hard. Hoping he wouldn't get choked up. "He treated me and my younger sister and brother badly… mostly me, though. Said I was an embarrassment and constantly degraded me. I think sometimes he downright resented me at times. That I ruined his life or something."

The grief laced in his voice had Kimbra scooting her chair closer to him. "I'm sorry."

"My mom wasn't as bad, but she still neglected us. Blamed me for her career going under. And now she's ruining Colin–" Bud cut himself off, not ready to talk about that specific topic yet. He suddenly felt a bit tired. "I don't think I can handle talking about this any more right now, I'm sorry." Buried sadness flashed across his face for the briefest of moments., His jaw stiffened, and he became more rigid in his seat.

Kimbra wanted to ask what he was talking about near the end, but decided against it. He said he couldn't handle any further discussion of the topic. So she wouldn't pressure him about it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Reassurance that she was there for him. Unsure of what else she could have offered him. "Don't you have any decent family members?" Hoped there was someone (apart from cousin Morty) that Bud had in his family who was decent. Someone he actually liked.

Bud thought for a moment, and his tail wagged. "My Uncle Rufus. He's a wonderful man, Kimbra, oh how I wish you could meet him."

"Maybe someday when you aren't so embarrassed of me," she gave him a smile.

"I am not embarrassed of you, shush." He said, as if it was obvious. Shoving a forkful of food into his mouth.

Kimbra was appreciative of the water salesman's words, but still unconvinced.

There was a pause–a long pause that Bud did not comment on–until Kimbra spoke.

"You're just saying that," she dropped her head down, pretending to focus on the salad in front of her. Pushing at a slice of lettuce with the edge of her fork.

"I can give you my hundred percent, Buddy Flud guarantee that I am not just sayin' that." Gave her the flash of a smile.

And just like that, Bud Flud put back on his charismatic persona.

But there was something underneath all of that. It was like a switch had been flipped, and deep down, Kimbra felt like it was forced. That Bud showing any sort of emotion in public was embarrassing for him. So the man just shoved down all this trauma and feelings and hid it with that television worthy smile of his.

They ate the rest of their lunch in tense silence.

Kimbra had been terrified she upset the hound and ruined their lunch date by asking a personal question. What was wrong with her? Was she always hellbent on ruining anything good in her life? Her fork jabbed at another piece of lettuce as she wondered.

Maybe she just wasn't meant for social interactions, or a relationship.

Common sense had told Kimbra Diane Wulfe to run away from this. That getting involved with the water bottle salesman had been a mere lapse in her judgment. That her heart would be broken once again, like how those who came before him had done. But she didn't run. She didn't push the hound away like her brain screamed at her to do. Because this felt different from all the times before. Bud felt different.

It felt like he was trying his best to be extra gentle with her. The way he talked to her. How he'd touch her oh–so gently, as if she were fragile enough to break. That he cared so deeply for her, that the thought of hurting her would destroy him.

And Kimbra just couldn't let go of that.

Bud held on to her hand, swinging their arms lightly between them. Like they were school kids. Kimbra found the childlike action endearing. That for at least a few more minutes, she could forget about the project and enjoy his company. How he felt like home in a world that did nothing but hurt her.

But the Samoyed knew that it wouldn't last. She had to go back eventually. She always did. Ainsley would ask for her. He relied on her. Letting him down wasn't an option. Not when she owed him for everything he's done for her.

"Are you going back to work?" Bud asked as they walked down the sidewalk, getting closer towards the parking lot. The way he said it was so innocent. Oblivious to the thoughts floating around Kimbra's mind.

And there it was. Work. Yes, of course. Work. Kimbra tried to conceal the disgusted expression she wanted to make. She still had two more hours of paperwork to go through. The awful cramp in her right hand reminded her of the hours she had already put in.

"I might just skip it and run out in traffic. Let a car hit me." The scientist said it as if it were an obvious answer.

Kimbra then glanced at a nearby liquor store. Or drink. She frowned at the thought, almost wanting to actually do it. But no, she promised she wouldn't do that anymore. Didn't want to turn into a worse, irredeemable version of her father. That'd probably be the final straw for Bud.

"Kimbra." Bud scolded, not finding her joke tasteful in the slightest.

"I'm kidding," she stopped in front of his car, giggling as she took both of his hands in hers. "You're so cute when you get aggravated."

A frown formed on his well-groomed face. "I'm not aggravated. I just worry about you. You know how I am."

"Yeah, you sound like my dad." She mumbled quietly, hoping to revert the topic.

"What?"

"Nothing, I was just saying goodbye." She grabbed at the sleeve of Bud's suit jacket, trying to put him closer.

"Oh, okay. Bye… I love you," he said, brushing a kiss over the Samoyed's cheek. "I'll call you tonight, okay?"

Kimbra leaned into the kiss with a smile. "Okay, and I love you too. Talk to you later."

The two parted ways, Bud in his car to head back to his office. And Kimbra, down the sidewalk, back to EcoTech. The walk was only a few minutes, but she took her time, dreading getting back to work. Having to deal with all those morons who tried to pass themselves off as scientists. Their mistakes. Her mistakes.

Take the long route back. You could use the break. No one will notice if you're a few minutes late. You know you want to. No one will miss you.

The scientist almost gave in to the voice in the back of her mind. Almost. But she knew she couldn't. Not with all the work that needed to be done. The piles of paperwork to sign, sort, and file. Employees and a department to oversee. A new project to focus most of her time on.

Kimbra stopped in front of the EcoTech building. Let out a small groan as she rubbed her temples, feeling a headache form. It was a state she found herself in often, lately.

She just hoped that she didn't regret approving the wind turbine project too much.