by Sloan Storm
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from them. These were grown women, married no less! This was a professional lab in a company performing some of the most groundbreaking work anywhere in biotechnology. But right now, it felt as if I was in the midst of a group of silly high school girls crushing on the captain of the football team.
And Gabe… After he’d changed my opinion of him with his eloquent, articulate manner in the conference room the other day, I felt confused. By the looks of things, he did next to nothing to discourage this type of chatter, if it was false. If it was true, well, then that was a whole other thing.
But in any case, I had far too much at risk to get involved in any of this. Whatever it took, I’d have to distance myself from his advances, if they came. But I worried. What if he wasn’t just teasing me for his own amusement? What would I do if he really did try something? What would it mean to reject him?
Especially after what they’d said about ‘not making waves’.
I wasn’t sure how I felt. Technically, he hadn’t done anything wrong. And yes, he was charming. And funny. And flattering. But he was also annoying.
Even so, behavior like this would merit sexual harassment complaints in most circumstances. Was he so irresistible these women would put aside their common sense and good judgment for a silly fling with the boss, a chance at it or just a smattering of his attention?
By the way Amanda and Melissa talked, the answer was an unequivocal ‘yes’. They made no mention of harassment or abuse of any kind. In fact, it was the complete opposite. They almost seemed disappointed he hadn't tried anything with them!
I sighed. Without responding, I gathered up my things.
“I have to get back to work.”
With reluctance and a bit of grumbling, they obliged.
Later that same afternoon, I was back at the lab. I happened to be going over some perplexing results when, during a moment of deep thought, I glanced up towards the entrance. As I did, I noticed Gabe enter the room. I looked at him for a fraction of a second before looking back down at my paperwork. It was the first time I’d seen him since he winked at me in the conference room.
I listened as he began to walk around and chat with my coworkers. In addition to rumors about his dalliances, I’d heard other things about him. One of those being that he made a regular habit of doing walkabouts to motivate and encourage his employees.
Which of the two was this visit?
I swallowed hard, hoping he’d ignore me. Afterward, I reached for my pen, determined to not let myself get distracted by his presence. But my resolve didn’t last long. Right away, I fretted my way through a number of scenarios in my mind. All of them ended with me being humiliated as the lone object of his attention.
Usually, solutions to problems came quickly to me, and without fail they were accurate. When it came to him though, my thoughts randomized and failed to follow logic. Just as often, I found myself less sure of my response than when I started.
It was unusual, to be sure. I grimaced at my inability to control it.
The sound of him chatting with my coworkers broke the relative silence of the lab. Hearing the tone of his voice focused my plan of action and sharpened my focus. If he happened to come over to me, I’d have to be ready.
No matter what, I’d keep it professional… no more teasing and flirting. I’d have to put an end to it before it went any further. Not that it would, mind you. He might still press on with his behavior, but I didn’t spend all this time and energy to ‘fool around with the boss’.
This was it.
But then, all of a sudden, Gabe was upon me. I hadn’t even heard him approach. For no sooner had I steeled my resolve than he stood mere feet away.
Damn lab booties.
Gabe made his way around my workstation, and I glanced up to see if anyone happened to be looking. Not only was everyone watching but Melissa and Amanda were grinning like idiots.
“Lab coat fits to your liking I see.” Gabe said as he gestured towards my partially covered hands. “And here I thought you'd turned a corner.”
I tried not to smile at his comment. Instead, I twisted my expression into a face of displeasure.
“So this is how it begins…” I muttered.
Gabe paused for a moment and did a double take. “What’s that?”
“Hmm?” I said as I looked up at him. “Oh nothing.”
While a part of me felt a sudden urge to challenge him, my more pragmatic side thought better of it. And anyway, even though our banter had been playful, I had no idea how he’d respond if I accused him of wanting to involve me in an office tryst. In fact, when I realized how close I’d come to being caught at my attempt at an insult, adrenaline coursed through my veins with a fantastic shock.
It terrified and thrilled me at once.
In spite of my internal reaction, Gabe seemed unaware or unaffected. Either way, he shifted the interaction to the work I’d been doing. We discussed the issue I had with the lab results in good bit of detail. I wasn’t sure why, but once again, Gabe’s knowledge impressed me.
It was going to take some getting used to. You know what they say about first impressions. Still, I’d have to get past it and the sooner the better. After all, he was the CEO.
More so, by the time we’d finished our discussion, he had me doubting my own conclusions about the tests. That just didn’t happen. Not in the lab. Not to me.
Ever.
“Well, all right then, enough of that for now.” Gabe began as he leaned away, pointing at my results in the process. “You know what you've got to do?”
I nodded in agreement as he spoke, making notes in my planner.
As I scribbled, Gabe walked around behind me, disappearing from view. As best I could, I traced his movements with my peripheral gaze, as I didn’t turn my head to follow. Perhaps sensing it, once he’d vanished from sight, he stopped.
“How are things going so far?” he asked. I stopped breathing as he paused. “Are you enjoying it here?”
I nodded but didn’t dare turn. I had the strange sensation he was looking me up and down. Searching my mouth for moisture, I flicked my tongue across my lips before I replied.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Mmm, hmm,” he replied.
Gabe lingered behind me for a moment or two longer. If this had been any other man in any other situation, I would have spun around and gotten to the bottom of his disappearing act. The seconds crept by. I froze in place as uneasiness came over me. What the hell was he doing?
Suddenly, he spoke once more.
“Seems as if you’ve attracted some attention from the other ladies in the lab.”
As he finished, I drew my eyes from the charts filled with numbers and looked in the direction of Amanda and Melissa. But no sooner had I done so than they looked away. Gabe reappeared in my peripheral vision. I turned my head in his direction as he entered my line of sight, smirking.
“Everything okay, Fiona?” he said as he narrowed his eyes at me. “You seem… tense.”
I swallowed and tugging a strand of hair behind my ear, I broke eye contact with him and looked back down at my lab work.
“Yes,” I muttered. “Everything is fine.”
“Lying again, I see.”
My eyes darted towards Gabe. His flickered with a mischievous glimmer.
“I can always tell when you are, Fiona. So, don’t make a habit of it.”
As he finished speaking, Gabe turned and began to stroll away from me. Lifting my eyebrows, but not my head, I watched as he meandered through the lab workstations until eventually he reached the doorway and exited the room.
FIONA
Gabe hadn’t been gone for the lab for more than ten or fifteen seconds before Amanda and Melissa descended on me. Weak kneed, I collapsed into my lab stool as they surrounded me on both sides.
“What. The. Hell. Was. That?” Melissa demanded.
“Yeah,” Amanda said as she nodded her head in agreement. “Ga
be made a beeline for you. What did he say?”
As they peppered me with questions, I felt the room start to spin. I didn’t want any of this. I just wanted to do my job and be left alone. Nothing was happening between us. I wasn’t encouraging him to do anything. After propping my elbows up on my workstation, I dropped my head in my hands.
My eyes fluttered closed.
“Please stop,” I mumbled.
They cackled at my request. I felt indignation rise up inside of me. Even though I didn’t suspect they were trying to be cruel per se, the situation was more than I wanted to deal with at the moment. I fell silent and drew inward, squeezing my fingernails hard into my scalp. They chuckled and carried on for a few more seconds until they went quiet as well.
“Fiona honey?” Amanda said after another moment or two. “What’s wrong?”
“Yeah,” Melissa added. “We were only teasing you. Are you okay?”
“Mmm, hmm.” I muttered as I allowed my hands to fall away from my head. Afterward, I began to stand from my lab stool, scooting it with a groan across the floor. Amanda and Melissa moved aside, giving me room to make my way.
“Are you sure?” Amanda asked. “You don’t look so great.”
It was the last thing I remembered.
When consciousness returned, my eyes flickered open. Glancing down, I noticed I lay flat, on what looked to be a leather sofa. Directly overhead, florescent lighting buzzed and illuminated a harsh glow as I squinted up at it.
Lifting my hand to shield my gaze, I rolled my head to one side to try and figure out where I was. I didn’t see anyone as my eyes adjusted to the brightness, but as I looked around, I noticed an assortment of medical and monitoring equipment.
I exhaled and closed my eyes once again as the glare grew to be too much to bear in that instant. While I rested my head, I heard a pair of footsteps squeak as they approached until they’d drawn to within a foot or so of me, when they ceased.
“Fiona,” the voice of an older woman whispered.
As she finished speaking, I opened my eyes once again.
“Oh. Oh good,” she began. “You’re awake.”
My eyes darted around the room as I attempted to get my bearings in the unfamiliar surroundings.
“Do you know where you are, Fiona?”
I blinked as I felt awareness begin to return.
“Fiona?”
“Hmm?” I replied as I looked up in her direction. An instinct to move overwhelmed me, but as I tried to sit upright, the woman bent at the waist and pressed her palm flat into my shoulder, holding me against the couch.
“Fiona,” she said once more. “I need you to lie still and answer my question, dear. Do you know where you are?”
After a second or two I exhaled and managed a reply. “Yes um, my job. Hawkins Biotech.”
After that, the woman, who revealed herself to me as the company nurse, explained I’d lost consciousness in the lab. However, before I collapsed in a heap to the hardness of the linoleum floor, Amanda and Melissa grabbed me.
The nurse also said she’d checked me over for serious medical conditions and hadn’t found any. Instead after helping me into a seated position, she began to ask me a series of questions. I answered ‘‘no’ to all of them except the last one which forced a lie to tumble from my lips.
“Have you been under a lot of stress recently?”
Hmm, let’s see. My grandmother is battling a life-threatening illness. I’ve finally landed a job I’ve been after for most of the past ten years of my life. I’m more than half a million dollars in debt and my boss may or may not be hitting on me, which could or could not cost me the aforementioned dream job.
No.
Stress? What’s that?
“No,” I said with a slow shake of my head. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Hmm,” the nurse began. “Well, I’m going to recommend you take the rest of the day off. I’ll notify Mr. Doyle.”
“No!” I replied with a half-shout as I attempted to stand. But as I did, I felt the sting of dizziness return. My knees wobbled and before I realized it, I collapsed back into the couch.
“Fiona, please,” the woman said, as she reached down and helped to steady me. “You mustn’t make any sudden movements right now.”
I closed my eyes, leaning my head back into the cool leather of the couch. As I did, the nurse walked across the room and a few seconds later, I heard sound of liquid gurgling from a water cooler. After she finished, she crossed the room in my direction once again and offered it to me.
“Here, drink this,” she said, extending a cone-shaped paper cup to me.
I thanked her as I took it. The coolness of the liquid through the paper of the cup felt good in my palm and even better going down, as I took a healthy swig. I gulped it down she continued to speak.
“I’ll notify Mr. Doyle right away and…”
Wiping my lips dry, I interrupted her.
“No, really. I’m feeling much better. I should get back.”
I had to go back.
I’d only just started to work here. What would everyone think of me now? At a minimum, they’d conclude I was unreliable or even worse, couldn’t handle the pressure. Just then, an even more horrifying thought occurred to me.
Gabe.
If I went home Gabe would surely find out, if he hadn’t already. It was bad enough I was in the infirmary. Once he discovered it, I had little doubt he’d conclude it had something to do with him. It did, of course, but if he were to find out, he’d be relentless in teasing me about it. The nurse looked down at me for a moment before crossing her arms at her chest.
It wasn’t like I could tell her any of that.
“Really, I’m fine.” I said, now desperate to be dismissed. Borderline begging at this point, I continued, “I promise that if I feel any symptoms come on, I’ll do as you recommend and go home. Please let me go back to the lab. Please.”
“Hmm,” the nurse hummed. “All right. But, if you wind up back here again, you’ll leave me with no choice. Understand?”
“Yes. I do. Thank you so much.”
GABE
A couple of hours after my visit to the lab, I was sitting in my office when Holly buzzed in over the intercom with word Colin needed to speak with me about an urgent matter.
Clearing my throat, I picked up the receiver. “Colin, what’s up?”
“Gabe, I’ve got a situation in the lab that you need to be aware of.”
Lab problems always got my complete attention. The last thing we needed right now were any unnecessary delays.
“What’s happening, Colin? Is there something going on with the Link Protocol work?”
“No, no. It’s nothing like that. In fact, it’s not related to work in the lab.”
I wrinkled my brow. “I’m confused, Colin. If it’s not lab work, then what's the problem?”
“It’s Fiona.”
I leaned back in my chair and ran my hand through my hair. “Fiona? What’s going on with her?”
Colin spent the next several minutes explaining she’d fainted at her workstation. Amanda and Melissa helped her to the infirmary and then returned to the lab and told Colin what occurred.
“Hmm,” I said as stroked my chin. “When did this happen?”
“Well, according to Amanda and Melissa it occurred just after lunchtime. About two o’clock or so.”
“Oh yes? Interesting…”
“Sir?”
“Hmm?”
“Well, you said it was ‘interesting’.”
“Oh, right. I was thinking of something. It’s not important. Fiona. Is she all right?”
“I believe so. She returned to the lab not more than a half hour or so ago. What would you like me to do about her?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, do you want me to send her home?”
“Um, I suppose that’s up to her. What has she said?”
“She says she’s fine.”
�
��All right, well, if that’s what she says we’ll have to trust her.”
“Will do.”
“Oh and Colin?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t mention you spoke with me. Whatever is causing these episodes at the moment can’t be helped by her being aware of our conversation.”
“Understood.”
As I hung up, I leaned back in my chair, interlacing my fingers behind my head in the process. To the best of my knowledge, we’d never had someone pass out in the manner Colin described.
A number of causes ran through my mind as I considered the long-term impact to work in the lab. Maybe the issues Danielle revealed to me were behind it. On the other hand, maybe it was the stress of her new position but then again, Fiona hadn’t shown any difficulty handling herself.
Or perhaps I was partially to blame.
After all, she wasn’t accustomed to attention from men and I had been applying a bit of pressure. Even so, I’d never had a woman pass out from being so excited around me.
At least… not with my clothes still on.
Yet, as intriguing as Fiona might be, the last thing I could afford to do right now was have a huge delay at the lab. The Link Protocol would have to stay on track no matter the cost to my libido. I’d just have be a bit more reserved than normal, take things slow with her. I made it a point to get the best talent possible in my labs and now was no time to disrupt the environment there.
There’d be time to seduce her yet.
“Hmm,” I grunted as I released my hands from behind my head and stood from my chair.
So right then and there, I decided to let things cool off for a few days before I went and checked in on her, which I did a little before five in the afternoon on Friday. If there was one thing I could count on with my scientists, it’s that none of them enjoyed working after hours.
But, Fiona was a special case. I had a hunch her obsessiveness and her minor medical mishap would keep her there working longer than most.
Pushing open the door to the lab, my suspicions were confirmed. She glanced up and our eyes met for an instant before she returned her attention to the compound microscope in the middle of her workstation.
After slipping on some protective outerwear, I made my way towards her, and as I did, Fiona alternated between looking in the microscope and scribbling her findings down in her planner.