Their faces were still frozen in looks of bland disapproval. Apparently they all truly believed this was her doing.
Breathing was becoming difficult as if her lungs were constricting from the crushing weight on her chest.
Get out. Walk to the door, don’t look back.
*****
“Anne! You look like you’re going to cry,” Beth stated in wonder as she looked at her friend.
“S…so?” she struggled to form the word with almost quivering lips.
“I…you’ve…I have never seen you cry,” Beth stated and it was true. In the twenty years she had known Anne, she had never witnessed even the slightest amount of moisture gather in her eyes.
“What’s the matter? Oh Anne, look at you! What happened? Did you break up with David?”
Anne stood motionless on the front porch before arms reached out and tugged her toward the front door.
Beth pulled her into a hug. She tried desperately to hold her body straight, her façade somewhat cool and collected even though her nerves were absolutely shot.
Beth was still asking questions that were impossible to answer considering the fact that she couldn’t even breathe like a proper human being.
“Let’s get you in here. Come on.” She finally broke the contact and tugged her arm, leading her to a fluffy couch situated on the far side of the room before gently pushing her down.
“Be right back. I’ll get some tissue,” she stated as Anne’s hands found their way to her face, feeling for moisture and finding nothing. Good. She tried to calm her breathing enough to at least give an explanation.
What explanation? There wasn’t one. This whole situation was so…unbelievable.
A box of tissue was thrust in front of her face and her hand immediately grabbed it and placed it on the table in front of her. She wouldn’t need them.
“So, was it David? You know, call it intuition, but I always thought he was kind of a jerk,” she stated smugly.
“No! I mean…no, it wasn’t him, but…he was there,” she stated.
“He was where?”
“In the conference room,” she answered.
“Ok?” Beth probed softly.
“I was fired. They fired me! They said I did something that I didn’t do, Beth. They showed me a paper with my signature that I know I never signed. They said I made a phone call that I know I didn’t make. What am I supposed to do?”
“Wait. What? Honey, what are you talking about?”
“I don’t know! I…it’s all so…I don’t understand.” Anne shook her head sadly, her eyes squeezing shut.
“Start at the beginning.” Beth prompted before holding up a hand. “Wait, just relax for a second. I’ll be right back.” She quickly unfolded her lean frame from the couch and disappeared only to resurface a minutes later with two glasses of white wine.
“Here.” She held out one to Anne receiving a bland look from her friend.
“I don’t think getting shitfaced is the answer.” Anne stated as she looked from the glass to Beth.
“It’ll help relax you, Anne. I’ve never seen you like this, here.”
Her hand immediately lifted and grabbed the offered glass, taking a sip before setting it on the coffee table.
“Thanks. I’m ah…really sorry for this,” she waved her hand erratically around her head as her voice calmed. Her rational mind was taking over once again.
“No problem. You know, we’ve been through so much – you especially. We’re all allowed to break down every once in a while, Anne. It’s what humans do.”
“Not this human,” Anne mumbled absently.
“Yes, even you,” she replied to her friend as she patted her shoulder gently. “So tell me what you know. Maybe I can help?”
“There isn’t much to tell. They called me in the conference room today, showed me a Release for Test paper with my signature, told me they traced the call to authorize testing from my cell phone, said they had me on tape – whatever that means. I know I don’t tell you much about what I do because…well, you know…”
“It bores the shit out of me?” Beth quickly finished for her.
That caused one side of her mouth to curve up involuntarily. “Yes. Anyway, I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I trust you’ll keep this to yourself.” She gazed at her friend whose only response was a severely arched brow. “I know,” she breathed out before continuing. “I was working on a psychotropic drug that would inhibit violent behavior in the most aggressive subjects.”
“Like Ritalin for psychos?” Beth supplied.
“Beth!”
“Sorry, just trying to put it into terms I can relate to. So…was it?”
“In a way, yes. I mean, the calming part, yes. Not the focus though. Aggressive people tend to be focused already, so I…sort of dulled that. Or at least I thought that was what was going to happen.”
“But it didn’t…”
“I don’t know. I mean, during pre-clinicals it worked, it just wasn’t ready for human testing yet. Too many unanswered questions about side effects …” she trailed off.
After a moment’s hesitation, Anne’s eyes wandered away from her friend and settled on a spot on the wall across the room.
“I swear someone went out of their way to sabotage me. I feel so helpless right now and I don’t know what to do. Beth, if they went through with the testing and the person wasn’t a good fit, they could have died…”
“For real? You give this person a pill and they could just die? What kind of …?” Beth asked.
“No. See, that’s the thing,” Anne interrupted her. “This drug…it’s not a pill. It has to be directly administered,” Anne stated simply.
“Um…like a shot?”
“Sort of,” Anne shifted in her seat uncomfortably.
“Ok, you’re kind of freaking me out here, Anne. I can read you better than anyone. What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’ll gross you out. Just leave it at that.” Anne stated seriously.
“No way! I can handle it.” Beth promised as she fixed her friend with an intense stare.
After a deep breath, her eyes wandered back to Beth’s face. “You have to…drill a hole in the skull and inject it into the frontal lobe of the brain.” She stated quickly and received the reaction she expected.
“Eww. You really are a mad scientist…” she muttered with a grimace.
“I am not. See? This is why I didn’t want to tell you…”
“Sorry. That’s just…well, that is gross. I have to get that out of my mind.” Beth shook her head before continuing, “What is it you’re…injecting, exactly?” She asked after a moment’s hesitation.
“Serotonin. The brain produces it naturally, but I developed a synthetic version. It’s also produced in the gastrointestinal tract but that doesn’t reach the brain. Only the Serotonin produced in the brain can be used by the brain, that’s why it has to be injected.”
“Sure. Ok…what is Serotonin?” Beth asked with a look of complete confusion on her face.
“A mixture of Tryptophan and Tryptophan Hydroxylase or better known as 5-HT – it’s a chemical or some people consider it a hormone, that’s still debatable. Anyway, it works as a neurotransmitter.”
“Wow. That…um, means nothing to me…” Beth shook her head and shrugged.
“Turkey. Ever hear the myth that turkey makes you sleepy?” Anne asked.
“Yeah?”
“That’s tryptophan. Poultry and fish are high in tryptophan, but you have to mix them with carbs to get a serotonin boost. Unfortunately, very little of this Serotonin makes it past the blood brain barrier. It’s a myth, really. Turkey alone doesn’t make you sleepy.”
“Ok. I think I get you now…so, you’re trying to make them…sleepy?”
Anne shook her head, casting her friend a strange look. “Decreased levels of Serotonin can lead to depression, anxiety, aggression. By injecting Serotonin directly into the brain, I was hoping to immediately influence
mood and behavior. It actually worked. At least the testing in the lab was successful. My other problem was sustaining or rather boosting the production of Serotonin naturally so the injections wouldn’t have to continue. I hadn’t figured out what I could add to maintain that production without repeated injections. I just wanted to prove that it could be done, but there was still that missing piece. I would have never released it, Beth.”
“But someone did.”
“Apparently, yes.” The burning behind her eyes was back.
“Kyle should be home anytime now. Let’s ask him what to do.”
“Your husband is an estate lawyer, Beth.” She replied deadpan.
“So? He went to Law School, he might not specialize in this, but he would at least know what to do, Anne.” She replied sternly.
*****
“So?”
“It’s circumstantial, yes. But…you could be sued or at the very worst, charged with gross negligence.”
“But…”
“I know, Anne. I know you. I know you didn’t do it, but whoever did, made damn sure you look guilty as all get out. I don’t know what else I can tell you. You could sue for wrongful termination but if you do, well…you run the risk of losing that case and opening up this can of worms.” Kyle stated.
“They pretty much said that the consequences would be much worse if I talked to anyone about this,” she stated softly. “They also implied that I was blacklisted. I’m screwed.” She added dejectedly.
“Blacklisted?” Kyle asked with a raised brow.
“They didn’t come right out and say it, but word gets around. They said they would make sure no other lab would hire me. I’ve heard of it happening to other scientists, I just never thought it would happen to me. What do I do?”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Anne. I honestly don’t,” he replied gently. Beth’s hand was rubbing her back soothingly. The combination of that and two glasses of wine lulled her into a state of false relaxation.
“Let’s sleep on it, Anne. You’ll stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning we’ll think about it, OK?” Beth supplied before standing up.
Anne’s only response was a small nod.
*****
This is crazy. She thought as she drove through the darkness. At least her mind was able to focus. Her intended destination finally loomed in front of her as she pulled into the driveway before quickly cutting the headlights. It was two a.m. and the neighborhood was eerily silent as she stepped from her vehicle. She had snuck out of Beth’s house, completely awake, her brain refusing to shut down.
The date on the test release nagged at her. The recent history on her phone indicated the same date. There was definitely a call placed from it to a number that she knew well, although most of those calls were made from her office phone, not her cell. If that date was correct, she might have an alibi. Only one person would be able to attest to that. Unfortunately, he was also one of the four men in the conference room earlier that day…
Her finger pressed the lit doorbell.
She waited impatiently, her balance shifting from one foot to the other after a minute. She pressed the button again.
Maybe he wasn’t home? Maybe…
She could hear footsteps beyond the closed door and the deadbolt disengaging.
Deep breath.
The door opened revealing David in nothing but pajama pants, his hair disheveled but in a sexy way. There was nothing sexy about the scowl on his face, though.
“Anne. You can’t be here. What the hell are you doing?” He looked beyond her, his eyes swiveling from right to left before settling on her once again.
“Can I come in? We need to talk.”
“No! Anne, I’m serious. You need to go.”
“David, I’m not going anywhere. Not until I get some answers.”
“What am I supposed to do, Anne? I don’t know what to tell you. You’re the one that fucked up, not me,” he whispered harshly.
“How long did you know about this?”
“What? I…who cares, Anne? It doesn’t make any difference,” he stated with finality.
“I care. And it makes a huge difference. I was here last night, David. In bed with you. What was that? A final screw? You knew and yet you…I can’t even say it…”
“I didn’t know! They only pulled me in because I’m a VP. I’m Operations, I have very little to do with R&D you know that. If I would’ve known…”
“I find that really hard to believe.” she cut him off in a flat voice.
“It doesn’t matter now. You need to go,” he commanded in a low voice before turning his head back toward the stairs.
“I was with you. You knew I was under investigation and you still slept with me.”
“Anne. Seriously, you need to go. I’ll file a restraining order if I have to. We’re done, do you hear me?”
“I was with you that night and that morning,” she stated.
“No. You left at an ungodly hour just like you always do. You did yourself in with your crazy-ass schedule. I was not with you. You were the only person in the office at 5 am. No one else, just you.”
“I was working out. Not sending documents, not making phone calls. If they have me on tape, they’d see that. “
“You were in the copy room. You scanned something before you walked to the gym. The time stamp on the tape coincides with the scan to your email.”
“It wasn’t a test release. Check the memory, check my email. You’ll see…”
“Anne. Please. Just stop. You shouldn’t be here. We shouldn’t even be talking. Please go.”
“Anne?”
A woman’s voice. Scratch that, a very familiar woman’s voice. The accent was a dead giveaway. Somewhere beyond David…
David’s Brazilian ex-girlfriend Ingrid.
The light that suddenly flickered on in the hallway confirmed it.
“What are you doing here?” Both women asked at the same time. The fact that Ingrid was wrapped in nothing but a white sheet pretty much told the whole story.
“I thought you broke up.” Anne shifted accusing eyes to David.
“We were taking a break.” Ingrid answered in her usual condescending voice before David could open his mouth. “What is she doing here, David?” His name came out Dah-veed with her accent.
“It’s…we’re…” he stammered.
“Forget it. I thought you hated her. All the nasty things you said about her, I must have assumed you were done. I guess I was wrong. The timing is perfect, though,” Anne stated through lips that barely moved.
“What is she talking about? What the hell is she doing here?” Ingrid asked.
“You need to go, Anne,” was all he could finally muster. The tension was so extreme; every nerve in her body was on high alert.
“Could this day get any better?” she asked more to herself than him.
“I want to know what the hell is going on!” Ingrid yelled from the top of the stairs.
Anne’s attention shifted to the gorgeous woman before fixing her with a frigid stare. The sheet had shifted exposing one of her perfectly formed breasts.
“Your right boob is showing.” Anne stated frostily. Ingrid immediately hiked up the left side of the sheet.
“Your other right, jackass,” she murmured before settling her eyes on David’s very guilty looking face.
“You’re a piece of shit,” she stated without an ounce of emotion before turning and making her way toward her car.
He was too pretty for me anyway, she thought as she pushed the key in the ignition and turned it. She backed away, never turning to look back.
Her eyes remained dry, her emotions were back in check and her logical mind focused on one thing.
She needed a job.
Absolute Zero Chapter One
3 Months Later…
“Hi there. How’s it goin’?”
Anne’s eyes remained glued to the magazine article in her lap. Out of the twenty available seats in the lobby, the
woman had decided to take the one right next to her. Anything less than three seats away felt like an invasion of personal space, especially when the lobby was so woefully vacant otherwise.
“Good,” she mumbled before a manicured hand interrupted her line of vision.
“I’m Claire, and you are?”
“Ah…Anne?” She reached up and quickly shook the offered hand in order to get back to reading what was actually an interesting article.
“Hi Anne. So, are you here for an interview? I am. I’m in accounting. Please tell me you aren’t interviewing too – wouldn’t that be awkward?”
“Um, no,” she answered simply, wanting nothing more than silence.
“Oh! Good. I’m really nervous,” the voice confided next to her. “I talk a lot when I’m nervous, but it helps me calm down. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Well, actually…”
“Great. So what do you do, Anne?”
Really?
“Um, I’m a…scientist?” she muttered without looking at her.
“Oh. Wow. So you understand this stuff, huh?”
“Ahh…what stuff?” she mumbled; her eyes stuck in the middle of the sentence she was attempting to read.
“This stuff. It’s like, could they make the words any longer? Holy crap.” She could see the other woman’s head angle in toward hers, yet another invasion of personal space. Oh, please go away.
Her body shifted away on the seat, hindered by the arm rest on the chair.
She had spent the last three months in complete solitude. Sending out resumes, receiving either no reply or canned rejection letters for the first month. They weren’t kidding about being blacklisted. She was about ready to shift back to using her medical degree although the thought absolutely terrified her. She knew, deep down, that she wasn’t quite ready yet, but then again, she had never in a million years thought the situation she found herself in would ever be possible.
So here she was, sitting in a lobby of a major pharmaceutical company, situated in a po-dunk town on the other side of the country somewhere outside of Philadelphia - the only company that had actually reached out to her about a possible job opportunity. They had even flown an HR rep out to California to meet with her two months prior. The job was hers after an hour interview and all that was left was to hash out the logistics of moving from her high-rise, high-rent apartment in downtown San Diego to a home that she had never seen. A home that was owned by the company as a temporary residence for transplants like herself.
This Guy Kills Me Page 44