Slipperless(11)

Fiona snapped her head in my direction. "Look, I said I was sorry, okay?  Please don't make jokes like that. And anyway, I've heard things … "

Her voice trailed off, leaving footprints of innuendo in their path. I  felt a smirk come to my lips as I let her comment hang in the air  between us.

Cheeky.

I studied her for a moment as I considered whether or not to entertain  her gossip. Even under the less than flattering glow of the lights  overhead, her beauty was getting harder to ignore. I'd only meant my  threat to fire her in a teasing way. It would take a lot more than a  silly panic attack, or whatever it was, for me to even consider doing  such a thing.

As to her remark, well, she only had one side of the story. It didn't  matter much to me where she'd heard it. Anyway, it wasn't something I  cared to discuss with her now, if ever. I continued to look at her and  as the seconds ticked by, her features flickered with lines of worry,  even sadness. I nodded and pushed myself to a standing position.

"Is there something I should know about you, Fiona? Something you're  keeping from me? It's not every day things like your fainting spell  happens around here."

Fiona dropped her head a bit, lowering her eyes and looking away from me  in the process. "Gabe, this job is really important to me. That's all. I  get overwhelmed sometimes. I'm working on it. Getting better I mean."

I wondered if she'd go so far as to tell me what I already knew about  her …  the death of her family, her grandmother's illness or her debt. But  instead of continuing, she turned away from me and grabbed her pen from  the desk.

"Would you like an update on my lab work?" she asked, changing the subject.

I narrowed my eyes as she closed herself off from me. There'd be time to  get to the bottom of all these issues. Although I enjoyed getting under  her skin, I couldn't quite get a read on whether it was affecting her  in a negative way or not. That was also something I'd have to wait until  later to figure out.

"Sure thing Fiona," I said, as I leaned in towards her. "Talk to me."



GABE

Early the following week, I asked Holly to summon one of the men from  the lab, Andrew Monroe, to my office. I'd just wrapped up a call and  lowered the phone back in its cradle when I heard a knock against the  inside of my office door.

"Gabe?" Andrew said, as he rapped against the wood. "You wanted to see me?"         

     



 

"Andrew. I did, yes," I began as I stood. I gestured towards one of the  oversized leather chairs across from my desk. "Come, have a seat. Hey,  close the door first will you?"

Andrew did as I asked and a moment later he began walking towards me. He  was a tall, thin man with a bowl haircut and the longest legs of any  human being I'd ever known. Looks aside, he also happened to be one of  my best researchers and most senior employees. His loyalty to me was  beyond question, so he was the logical choice for the task I had in  mind.

"How's your week going so far?" I asked, as he eased into the chair.

"Fine. No issues," he began. Suddenly a frown came to his face. "I'm  sorry, Gabe. Holly didn't mention why you wanted to see me. Should I go  back to the lab? Is there something specific you wanted information  about? Updates on my Link Protocol work or … "

Lifting my hand, I waved at him, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"No, no, Andrew. It's nothing like that."

He nodded for a moment or two before he leaned back into his chair. "Oh, okay then. Well, what can I do for you?"

I mirrored his body language and reclined in my chair as well.

"How's the new hire working out?"

Andrew's eyebrows tented. "Fiona, you mean?"

"Yes."

"Oh," he said as he cleared his throat. "Well, I haven't had much interaction with her just yet."

"Mmm, hmm." I replied. "Were you by chance in the lab last week when she had the fainting episode?"

"No, I wasn't. Amanda and Melissa were there though. It's my  understanding they helped her to the infirmary." As he finished  speaking, Andrew gestured over his shoulder in the direction of my  office door. "Should I get them? I'm sure they could tell you about it."

I shook my head. "No, I've been briefed on what happened. That's not necessary."

"Oh, okay."

"No, Andrew. I've asked you here for a different reason. I need something from you."

Confusion spread across Andrew's face. It was understandable. Our  discussions didn't usually have clandestine overtones to them. He  listened as my statement hung in the air between us, while he waited for  me to elaborate.

I leaned forward a bit and continued, "What I require is someone to be  my eyes, and ears, in the lab right now. Any behavior that could  threaten the progress of the Link Protocol could be detrimental to the  entire future of the company. Do you understand?"

His expression darkened with concern.

"Um, no, not really. Is there something you're not telling me Gabe?"

I shook my head. "No. Not at all. It's just that this a critical time  for the company and I need people I can trust without question to keep  the work on track. That's it."

Andrew nodded. "Well, okay, but why me? Why not Colin? It's his lab, his team."

As he spoke, I interlocked my fingers on the desk in front of me. "True.  But Colin's gonna be buried deep here soon with other work surrounding  the project. And anyway, you're not a substitute for Colin, Andrew,  you're my first choice here. Okay?"

Andrew considered my request in silence for a moment or two before he started to nod.

"Um yeah, okay Gabe, sure. Whatever you need. What did you have in mind?"

I smiled as he agreed with my request.

"It's real simple. If anything unusual happens in the lab, I need you to let me know."

"Unusual how? What do you mean?"





"Um, anything out of the ordinary that's not directly related to work on  the project. For example, like Fiona's fainting episode. Strange  behavior, gossip, what have you. It's for the good of the project and if  we've got any instability in the team, it needs to be dealt with right  away. I've got something I'm going to be discussing with everyone later.  Bottom line is it could create in a change in team dynamics and if it  does in a way that's harmful, I need to know about it."

As I finished elaborating, he remained quiet for a second or two before speaking.

"That's a bit mysterious but um, okay, not a problem, Gabe," he said at last. "You can count on me."         

     



 

Unlocking my fingers from each other, I placed my palms flat on the desk  and a moment later, pushed myself into a standing position. I extended  my hand towards his shaking it with a firm grasp.

"Excellent, Andrew. Excellent."

A few hours after my talk with him, I summoned the lab team to the  conference room for the meeting I'd mentioned to Andrew earlier. I had a  notion about how to get more productivity out of them and ease Fiona  out of her comfort zone a bit. If my hunch about her was correct, I  sensed she'd rise to my planned challenge with enthusiasm. And so it was  I stood before them at the head of the conference room later that day.  Rubbing my hands back and forth with an easy rhythm, I began to speak.

"Before I get to the details of why I've gathered all of you here, I  just want to tell you how pleased I am with the progress you've made on  the Link Protocol so far. That said, I've been through similar fund  raising efforts in the past. Time seems to have a knack for getting away  from you when it's needed most and even though we're doing well,  there's room for improvement. In short, things have got to move more  quickly."

I paused for a moment to gauge them for any immediate reaction. Seeing  none, I continued, as I was sure what came next would get one.

"So, what I'm proposing is an idea I believe will enable us to achieve  our goals much sooner and …  have a bit of fun in the process. In short,  I'd like to hold a competition among you. The winner of this contest  will receive a significant prize. I intend to create a new position,  Director of Lab Research, which the winner will assume. In this role,  you will report directly to me and be involved in the company's future  projects in addition to key lab initiatives. In essence, along with me,  you will be integral in shaping the direction of Hawkins Biotech. It's  an incredibly exciting opportunity for whoever gets it. Not to mention a  dramatic increase in your salary."

I paused once more and glanced around. Expressions changed as I did.  Postures shifted to attention as they started to lean forward in their  seats in unison.

"I know this is the first you are hearing of my plan. Anyone have questions so far?"

Amanda raised her hand.

"Go ahead," I said, nodding in her direction.

"Gabe, how will our performance be evaluated? After all, no two of us are working on the same aspect of the project."