Slipperless (11 page)

GABE

“Thanks Holly. What time did they say they wanted to schedule that call?”

“Three,” Holly replied, as she stood near the entrance to my office.

Flicking my arm at the wrist, I glanced down at my watch as it slid out from beneath my sleeve.

“Hmm, that’s not gonna work. Tell you what… Call them back and see if you can push it back to four. If they can’t do it, let’s try for tomorrow.”

“All right. I’ll take care of it.”

I smiled at her. “Thank you my dear.”

“My pleasure. Is there anything else?”

“No. Not right now. But Andrew should be here any minute. Send him in when he gets here will you?”

“Speak of the devil,” Holly began, as she glanced through the doorway. She gestured with her chin in the direction of the open door. “Andrew's here.”

“Terrific.” I said with a nod. “Send him in.”

Since I’d made the decision to create the competition in the lab, things had been quiet. Fiona had managed to stay upright and out of the infirmary and according to Colin, everyone was on track with their experiments.

Utilizing Andrew in the way I had might have been overkill. But this was his first update since I’d requested he do it, so until he sat across from me and gave me some details, I wouldn’t know for sure. Just then, Andrew poked his head through the door and with a snap of his hand at the wrist, he waved in my direction.

“Gabe? You ready?”

I nodded and leaned back in my chair. “Yep. Come talk to me.”

He gestured towards the door. “Close it?”

I nodded and within a few seconds Andrew sat across from me.

“Well, what do you have for me? Anything unusual to report?”

Andrew thinned his lips as he began to answer. “Hmm, well, things have been pretty normal. Most everyone is hard at work. You really lit a fire under the team’s collective butt with that idea of yours. So, no. Nothing at all. That is, until the last day or so…”

I frowned as he finished his thought. “What’s happened?”

Andrew propped his elbows up on the arms of his chair. Bringing his hands together, he tented his fingers in front of his face.

“Well, I happened to be passing by the break room and…” he paused as his voice trailed off and looked at me in silence for a moment.

“What?”

Andrew shook his head and started to speak once more. “Look, not that it’s any of my business or anything but…”

As before, he stopped speaking. I was under a bit of a time crunch if I had to get on the call I’d spoken to Holly about a few minutes earlier.

“But what? Just get on with it, Andrew.”

“Okay, um… Well, is there something going on between you and Fiona?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Why do you ask? Did she lead you to believe there was?”

“She didn’t, no.”

“I’m not following Andrew. What happened in the break room?”

Andrew spent the next several minutes relaying the details of the conversation he’d overheard between Amanda and Melissa.  The gist of it was they suspected I was playing favorites in the competition and that it was a forgone conclusion Fiona would win because of a supposed dalliance with me.

This created an annoying problem for me, to say the least. First of all, the purpose behind the contest was legitimate. I wouldn’t, and didn’t, need any form of trickery or manipulation to get Fiona in bed. As if all that wasn't bad enough, there was still more…

“Well this has gotten off track hasn’t it?” I said with an exhale. “Are they at least on schedule to complete their work?”

“Yes, as far as I know. All them except for Fiona.”

I cocked my head in disbelief. Fiona? Behind? It couldn’t be. Dumbfounded, I pressed him for more information.

“Why is she behind? What’s happened?”

“She had a mishap, lost a large culture sample. By my estimation, it’ll put her behind by a week, if not more.”

“Hmm, well, that’s unfortunate.”

“Strange thing though, about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well I happened to be in the lab when she lost them. I talked to her about it, and I’m positive it wasn’t her fault.”

As he finished his thought, I leaned forward, interlocking my fingers and resting my joined hands together in the middle of my desk.

“Are you suggesting someone tampered with her work, Andrew?”

He leaned back in his chair and dropped his hands, covering his kneecaps.

“I haven’t seen any evidence to suggest Fiona would make a mistake like this. She’s exceptional in the lab. Especially when you consider how young she is.”

What little I’d seen from her work, I’d have to agree with him. It would be out of character for her to do something like this.

“So if I may… The likely culprits are Amanda or Melissa or both?”

“I’m not going to make any accusations, Gabe. You asked me to report strange goings on in the lab and that’s what I’m doing.”

“Mmm, hmm. Okay, fair enough.”

“I would say this though. Whatever is causing this issue is having the exact opposite effect of what you’d hoped to achieve, I think. If all this jealousy is real, well, Amanda and Melissa are distracted by it. I can’t think you’re pleased about that.”

I scoffed. “Maybe I should dispense the raise and promotions altogether and just offer to sleep with the winner instead.”

Andrew chuckled. “Well, there’s a few men in the competition don’t forget. I'm not so sure they’d be as thrilled.”

I laughed at his wisecrack, unusual for him.

“In all seriousness, Gabe. You’ve got to find a way to deal with this situation before it escalates much further. Work on the Link Protocol is at risk, in my judgment.”

“I will Andrew. I will.”

FIONA

I’d spent the better part of the next day trying to play catch up after the disaster with my experiment. I didn’t have the time, not to mention the evidence, needed to prove someone other than myself was responsible for what happened.

And even if I did, it still wouldn’t change the fact the work had to be finished. Even if I had to sleep at the lab and drag my grandmother’s bed here, I would. If I worked non-stop, there was chance I could catch up and maybe, just maybe, still win. But no sooner had I figured out how I might be able to get back on track than I received an email from Gabe while sitting at my workstation.

Fiona,

We need to discuss an urgent matter regarding the competition and the Link Protocol. Please report to my office as soon as you receive this. If you’re not here in thirty minutes, I’ll send Holly to get you.

Gabe

I swallowed as I clicked the email message closed after I read it.

Glancing up from my computer screen, I looked around the lab at some of the others. Had anyone else gotten something similar from him? From the looks of things, the answer was ‘no’. In fact, no one seemed to be reacting or doing anything other than working.

If it was true, then why was I being singled out? Had he heard about what happened? Was he about to kick me out of the competition or worse, fire me?

A million scenarios crowded into my mind, creating a massive tangle of complications and possible outcomes. I glanced around the room once more. What was going on? What was I going to do?

I tugged my lab jacket sleeves, clutching them in my fingers.

For a moment, I considered asking if anyone else got an email from Gabe. But almost as soon as the idea occurred to me, I dismissed it. If Amanda or Melissa got wind of the fact Gabe wanted me in his office, well, the fallout would likely be more catty behavior.

I chewed the inside of my mouth as I searched for a solution when suddenly, an idea came to me. Realizing Gabe’s half hour time constraint, I decided to wait and see if Holly collected anyone else when she came down. It would still raise suspicions, but at least I could find out if Gabe singled anyone else out without having to ask.

My plan was simple enough. I’d just tell Holly I’d been away from my computer when the email arrived, if she even asked. To complete the charade, I got up from my workstation and headed to the break room to wait. After making my way through the lab without anyone paying much attention, I entered the room, and as I did, a chill came over me.

Heading towards the coffee maker, I rubbed my upper arms with my hands as I fought to rid myself of the sudden rash of goosebumps. I reached for a Styrofoam cup and poured some of the two-hour-old dark liquid into it. After I finished, I wrapped my hands around the cup, lifting it to my lips in an effort to warm myself. I took several sips in succession, desperate to take the edge off my shiver. As I did, I slid into one of the hard plastic chairs that dotted the room, crossing my legs and arms in the process.

For the next twenty five minutes or so, I took sip after sip of the bitter, warm beverage until at last, the cold began to leave my body. I exhaled as a bit of tension escaped from between my lips. But no sooner did some of the stress leave me than the cause of it reappeared in the doorway.

Without warning, Amanda made her way around the corner and walked inside, strolling by me on her way to the refrigerator.

“Hey,” she said, with a casual flick of her hair as she disappeared out of my peripheral vision. “How’s it going?”

From behind, I heard the door to the fridge open, followed by the sound of her rummaging through some of its contents.

I lifted my coffee cup to my lips and before taking a sip, I replied, “Fine.”

A swish of cool air hit me from behind as she closed the door. “Are you making good progress with your work?”

“Yes,” I lied. “How about you?”

Just then, she reappeared as she walked around into my line of sight once again.

“Oh fine. Actually, I’m ahead of schedule right now.”

“Oh,” I nodded, as I struggled to remain polite. “Well, that’s good. Congratulations.”

But as I finished my thought, I looked up to see Melissa and Holly enter. Distracted by my discussion with Amanda, I hadn’t heard them approach from down the hall.

“Here she is,” Melissa said, as she gestured in my direction upon entering.

Holly pasted a professional smile on her lips as our eyes met. She stood in the doorway looking at me for a moment before speaking. “Are you ready, Fiona? Gabe is expecting you.”

As she finished, I noticed Melissa and Amanda exchange glances. For a moment, it looked as if they might ask the meaning of Holly’s visit. But instead, they remained silent and glared at me as I stood from my chair.

“Expecting me?” I asked, pretending not to be aware of it.

“Didn’t you get his… oh, never mind. He’ll explain.”

“Do I need to bring anything? My lab results?”

Holly shook her head.

“Gabe didn’t mention anything.” She paused for a moment and glanced towards Amanda and Melissa. “If there is something, I’m sure one of you two could run it up. Right?”

I stifled a smile as they mumbled in reluctant agreement.

“Okay well, I’m ready.” I said, as I pitched the remainder of my coffee into the trash.

Stealing another glance at my coworkers as I turned to follow Holly, I noticed their body language change. Crossed arms and icy glares locked on me as I walked out of sight.