Accident Prone

Applause shook the air as Liz made her way over the stage. She was relieved when she reached the marked spot where speakers should stand without stumbling on her own feet.

The MC gave Liz a thumbs-up as an OK to proceed, and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves while hoping that her stiff smile didn't reveal how anxious she was.

Liz turned to the back to confirm that the first slide of her presentation is shown on the large screen behind her, and then she started.

"Good afternoon. My name is Elizabeth Williams, and I am a neurosurgeon currently employed by the Franciscan Medical Center in Seattle. Today I will talk about…"

Once she started talking, it took her about five seconds to break the mental barrier she created herself and forget about the nervousness. She smiled while remembering Max's words that the first step is the hardest one.

"Just start talking and the rest will come naturally…", Max said several times while he coached her, and he was right. She knew that he was right, but her nerves took the best of her, and only after she started talking she was able to enjoy the experience.

Liz was standing on the stage, talking to her audience which filled most of the 580 chairs in the event hall, and the live stream count showed that 2167 people watched her at that moment, and who knows how many will watch the recording later… It felt surreal.

Isaac texted her that morning, so she knew that Isaac is watching her online, probably with Foxy by her side. Rhonda, Mia, and Brianna should be watching as well.

Liz focused on the slides and the well-rehearsed words, and twenty minutes passed like twenty seconds.

Toward the end of her speech, Liz squinted when the main door opened, letting the light in from the hallway.  Lights were dimmed in the area where the audience was sitting, and the spotlight was on her, so the vertical line of light that formed when the main door opened ajar stood out and it seemed that someone was peeking inside without an intention to come inside. Liz focused on her last slide because she couldn't allow herself to get distracted now.

"Thank you…", Liz ended her talk with a small bow and checked the time. It was 3:20:25 PM, she was only 25 seconds overtime, which gave her nearly 10 minutes to answer questions from the audience that was now clapping in congratulations. Liz was confident that the loudest claps were coming from Max, he was her biggest supporter.

Liz smiled when she heard the MC talk. "What an exciting presentation! We have just under 10 minutes for Dr. Williams to take questions, so please, if you have any, raise your hand and someone will give you the microphone…"

Liz was excited to see that several hands were up in the air, it meant that the topic she presented stirred the minds of her audience.

To add to the excitement, the big screen which showed the slides, switched to show questions from the online audience as they poured in. It was MC's job to sift through them and pick a few for Liz to respond to. It was normal for the speaker during the first few minutes to take questions from the people who are attending in person so that MC has time to select questions that arrived online.

"Dr. Williams…", a voice of one man from the audience boomed a second after a spotlight landed on him from above, and he paused when a staff member told him to introduce himself first. "I am Alan Bjorn from Minneapolis. Dr. Williams, can you disclose more details on how the virus works?"

Liz shifted on her feet and cleared her throat before answering. "Unfortunately, due to the sensitivity of the topic, I can't disclose about the virus itself more than what was mentioned in the presentation."

The man pressed his lips firmly in disappointment and went back to his seat.

Another spotlight flashed, and a woman stood up. "I am Bonnie Morais, from San Francisco. We can assume that a virus of this volatility can't be researched in a regular lab. Does that mean that you cooperated with the military?"

Liz exhaled helplessly. Her presentation was related to the virus research, but the focus was on different branches of medicine collaborating, yet these people were interested in sensitive details she couldn't disclose.

Liz forced a smile. "I can't confirm or deny that."

Max looked around with a frown and grumbled: "Why are they not asking relevant questions? Her topic was about neurology and virology collaborating. Anyone with half a brain would understand how the virus itself could be a biological weapon and the sensitive information can't be disclosed…"

Dr. Snow heard Max and he rolled his eyes. "Everyone is hungry for gossip and finding something juicy. Medical personnel is no exception from this."

Max nodded in understanding, but… "Her presentation was spot on, and these unreasonable questions are ruining it."

"Why don't you help her as a good boyfriend?", Dr. Snow asked mockingly with an emphasis on the word 'boyfriend'.

"What do you expect me to do? Smack some sense into them?"

Dr. Snow looked at Max condescendingly. "How barbaric. Is that the only thing you know? To smack people into obedience?" He snorted. "I have no idea what Liz saw in you. Watch and learn, lover boy…"

Max frowned in outrage. Of course, he will not go smack people from the audience, but it was the first thing to come as a response to Dr. Snow's provoking tone. And why is Dr. Snow's hand up in the air?

Max jerked when the spotlight landed on Dr. Snow and he took the microphone.

"I am Christian Snow, a surgeon from Portland. I enjoyed your presentation, Dr. Williams. It showed how much more we can achieve with inter-disciplinary cooperation. Can you elaborate on what was the most challenging aspect of collaboration in order to analyze the virus and find the cure?"

Liz visibly relaxed. This was a question she could answer.

"Thank you for the question, Dr. Snow.", Liz said with a smile. "Due to the sensitivity of the information, and geographical location of people involved, I was unable to access the full information, and it was a delicate balance…"

Max was happy to see Liz responding to the question and he was NOT happy that the question came from Dr. Snow who went back into his seat and smiled smugly at Max.

"See? THIS is how you support the woman you love."

Max's mouth opened in outrage. "Love? You love her?" It's not that he couldn't believe that Dr. Snobby was in love with Liz, but the audacity of him saying it straight into Max's face was too much to bear.

"Why are you shocked? Is it possible that you don't know what love means? Did all those women who warmed your bed made you unable to experience real feelings?"

"You are a scoundrel.", Max squeezed through his teeth while controlling himself not to pounce on Dr. Snobby and punch some sense into him.

Dr. Snow hummed in agreement and pointed at himself. "Watch how this scoundrel takes your girlfriend away. Right under your nose. Little by little I will show her who is a better man for her, and she will leave you…" Dr. Snow stopped talking when a spotlight flashed on Max.

Max was glaring at Dr. Snow and his hand was up in the air.

Max exhaled forcibly while standing up and he snatched the microphone from the staff member. How can he allow Dr. Snobby to outperform him? 

Max turned to the stage and looked at Liz who returned his gaze questionably, obviously wondering what his question will be. Unfortunately, Max was wondering the same thing.

'Shit…', Max cursed internally. Dr. Snobby riled him up and he acted on an impulse and he had no good question to ask Liz.

'Think, Max… Think!', his brain scrambled to come up with something, anything. He listened to her preparing for this presentation hundreds of times, how is it possible that he can't come up with any question now? He felt the cold sweat trickling down his spine. Ah, this is a disaster!

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