9 Meeting at Caltech

Ali POV

I walked into Caltech for my meeting with President Siebert only to get lost not even after 5 minutes of being on campus. I hate having no sense of direction. I was about to pull out my phone when I heard "Well, hellwo wovely lady" I turned to see a man leering at me and he gave me more chills than Howard but less than Leonard either way I want to get away from him. With that in mind I called the number I had for President Siebert and told him that I was lost while also informing him of my predicament with my unwelcome company. Noticing how uncomfortable I was President Siebert assured me he was on his way and would be with me shortly. 

After a few short agonizing minutes of me being hit on endlessly I heard President Siebert say, "Dr. Kripke, don't you have some work that you should be doing?" Barry just stood there but finally said, "I was just twying to talk to this wovely lady." President Siebert wasn't having it and said, "That will be all Dr. Kripke, please get back to your office and do your job." 

President Siebert then turned to me and said, "I do apologize for him. He is harmless I assure you. I hope that this doesn't affect our cooperation. We here at the university are looking forward to working with you." As President Siebert was talking he was leading us to his office where he introduced me to Dr. Gablehauser.

Dr. Gablehauser was nice enough but was quick to get down to business and brought out a list of scientists within the physics department for me to look at. I noticed Sheldon wasn't on the list so I asked, "Is this all of the scientists you have available? I was under the impression that Dr. Sheldon Cooper was on staff here as well." 

Both men froze at my question but Dr. Gablehauser was the one who said, "He is on staff here, but most people find him difficult to work with so I didn't include his name. If you would like we could arrange a meeting with him so you can see for yourself if he is someone you think you could work with."

I just smiled and said, "I already know Dr. Cooper, he is my new neighbor we have spent some time together and we seem to get a long just fine. I had already asked him to assist me with my books and he has agreed tentatively on the condition that we sign the legal paperwork required for the university and my publishers so that the collaboration can be profitable for both parties. I am here as a mere formality and to inform you of my choice of liaison." 

Dr. Gablehauser looked shocked and said, "You know him and you still want to work with him." I cleared my throat and shot him a glare at his comment. With that he simply said, "I do apologize for my outburst Dr. Cooper is a wonderful scientist and excellent worker but he has certain eccentricities that make it hard for others to work with him. However it was rude of me to make that comment. I will call Dr. Cooper right away and get him down here to sign the papers. Your publisher sent the paperwork earlier today so we will have them signed by lunch time."

Sheldon POV

I was in my office when Howard, Raj and Leonard came running in without knocking Leonard was the first to say, "We heard from Kripke that there is a hot girl in Siebert's office and that he looked nervous. He also said that President Siebert was trying to keep her happy. Do you think we are getting a new co-worker? I wonder if she would go on a date with me?" Howard then spoke up "I don't care about all that. All I care about is letting her meet the gift that is me." Raj smiled and said, "Hey she could like a more exotic man like myself instead of you." 

Sighing I said, "Please take your gossip elsewhere. Some of us are actually trying to work." It was after I had just finished saying this that my phone rang 

"Dr. Cooper speaking"

 "Ah yes Dr. Cooper the is President Siebert. Could you please come down to my office, right away?"

"May I ask what this is about sir?"

"We have a opportunity to cooperate with a new author that would bring in a massive amount of publicity and money to the university. We would like you to be her point of contact for this project. She has also mentioned to us that she has already asked for your opinion on this matter."

"Yes she has, alright I will head over there right away. Goodbye."

The guys looked at me for an explanation about my conversation I didn't want to give away to much information before I had the opportunity to sign the paperwork with Ali like we had discussed so I said, "I have to report to President Siebert's office. I might be late for lunch so go ahead and eat without me. I will discuss this with you at a later date, goodbye."

Before any of the guys could say anything I fled from my office and down the hall to President Siebert's office. After knocking on the door I walk in and see Ali sitting in the chair in front of President Siebert's desk. 

Walking into the room and closing the door behind me I say, "Good afternoon President Siebert, Dr. Gablehauser, Ali. What can I do for you today?"

Ali smiles at me and says, "Do you remember the talk we had? Well I'm here to cash in on your promise." Her face lit up and she winked at me with amusement in her tone.

I smiled back at her and said "I have an eidetic memory Ali of course I remember what we talked about, especially since our conversation happened just yesterday. I see by your arrival here today you couldn't wait to get your hands on my glorious mind."

I could tell Ali found this funny and knew I was joking with her. Just because I don't get other people's humor doesn't mean I am a complete stick in the mud. I consider myself to be quite the comedic delight.

However Dr. Gablehauser did not get that I was joking and was quite rude when he said, "Dr. Cooper we are trusting you to be an asset to Ms. Teller and her book, not to demean her with your exaggerated opinions."

Ali proving to me that my opinion of her was correct so far came to my defense. She looked Dr. Gablehauser straight in the eye with a cross look on her face. The kind of look Momma used to get at Daddy when he said he wasn't going to church and said, "Dr. Gablehauser he was just joking with me. We are friends after all and I would like to point out that he was laughing while he said that. Your tone on the other hand was rather rude, Don't you agree?"

Dr. Gablehauser coughed lightly and I backed up at the sound the last thing I need is to get sick. President Siebert shot me a look at my movement so I stopped my retreat as Dr. Gablehauser turned to me and said, "I'm sorry I just assumed your words meant something else. I apologize if my words caused you any discomfort Dr. Cooper, Ms. Teller"

I sighed and said, "It is fine I am used to being brushed off as an 'eccentric nutjob' when I mean no ill will by my words. I try to only speak the truth, my mother always told me too. Also I am a terrible liar and have trouble understanding most social constructs. I would suppose that honesty can sometimes rub people the wrong way. Do forgive me if I have offended you."

Ali looked at me smiled and said, "It's not ok for people to dismiss you or treat you that way Sheldon. You also shouldn't just forgive them because you have trouble understanding the intricacies involved with human interactions. With that said I don't think you should say every thought that crosses your mind out load even if it's the truth. Not everyone like's to have the truth thrown in their faces. I know it's tempting to tell them how they are wrong but if you go around giving them the answers how are they supposed to learn for themselves."

I was confused when Ali started speaking because I thought it was right to tell people they were wrong for them to learn but Ali is saying the opposite. Her statement had me questioning my past interactions with people but for now I will file it away for further analysis. Looking at her I say, "Thank you for your analysis and I will be considering what you have said but I would like to get on with signing the paperwork so we can start working. I am rather uncomfortable talking about emotion's in front of my boss."

Ali smiled at me and said, "Yes Sheldon we can sign the paperwork but I do want to talk to you later about this, please." I thought for a second and then nodded before finally sitting down to continue our meeting about the book cooperation.