In truth, besides my grandmother, I didn't have any friends.
My hope was that once I got around other like-minded people, I'd feel more at ease and able to open up. But, it was only a hope since my track record in this area left a lot to be desired. Turning my attention back to my grandmother and her question about the night I met Gabe, I continued.
"Yes," I grumbled. "But I had no idea who he was then."
"And he made a pass at you? At the bar?"
"Well no, I wouldn't exactly say that. Mostly he teased me about my clothing and my planner. He was sarcastic and frankly, a bit mean."
"Oh, dear," she whispered. "That's not good."
"Now what?"
"Well, Fiona, men don't make a habit of teasing women they don't like. Let me ask you. Do you like this man? Are you interested in him?"
"No, I'm not," I said, with all the conviction I could summon. "And even if I was, I'd be putting my job and our financial situation at risk. You of all people should know I wouldn't do that."
"Mmm, hmm," she said, as she nodded her head. "And what about him? At the workplace? Has he continued his flirtatious ways?"
I hated lying to my grandmother about anything and to make matters worse, I was terrible at it. I just didn't want to discuss any of this with her. If I tried to pretend he hadn't flirted, she'd know right away. Shaking my head, I stood from the bed and picked up the plate containing my half-eaten meal. I gestured towards hers and said, "Are you finished?"
"With my meal, yes. With you, no."
I looked away from her as I wrapped my fingers hard around the edge of my plate.
"Nothing is happening between us, okay? Don't worry."
"I always worry about you, Fiona. It's my job sweetheart. You're my entire world."
A hard lump formed in my throat as I reached down and took her plate. I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before turning to take our dishes back to the kitchen.
"I know I am and you're mine too. But you have to trust me, all right?"
"I do trust you, Fiona. It's him I'm concerned about."
FIONA
I wouldn't go so far as to say things were great between my grandmother and me over the next few days. I sensed her suspicions about Gabe remained, but she made no further mention. Yet, knowing her, it wouldn't stay that way, and that was especially true if I went on to win the competition. If we started working with each other on a regular basis, her curiosity would grow. I was certain of it.
As for Gabe, I hadn't seen or heard from him since the end of the meeting in the conference room. I didn't know if he was in the office or halfway around the world. He didn't see fit to keep me informed of his whereabouts, and that was fine by me. I took his encouragement to heart though and intended to do the best I could to come out on top in the competition.
And speaking of the competition... Things around the lab were different in the days since he'd announced it. Everyone seemed tense, edgy. On the one hand, that's understandable since there was a lot at stake, but on the other, we were all still supposed to be focused on achieving a common goal. If I had to guess, I'd say Gabe would probably be disappointed. The team seemed to be fracturing a bit.
Of everyone, I noticed the greatest change in Amanda and Melissa.
If anything, their behavior regarding me and Gabe grew stranger by the day. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn they were acting jealous. I didn't know if it was of each other or me or what, but something was off. In any case, I was focused on my work and couldn't understand why they weren't as well. They seemed more preoccupied with who got Gabe's attention than anything else.
In fact, that morning they made their way to my workstation after I arrived for work. I'd only just begun to get started for the day when I saw them headed in my direction. It wasn't long after we greeted one another before they started in with questions. The first was the most telling of them all. Placing her palms flat on the surface of my workstation, Amanda leaned across it.
"Fiona," she began with a probing tone. "What did Gabe say to you the other day? After the meeting?"
"Hmm?" I replied with a casual shrug. "Oh it was nothing, really. He just encouraged me. I think he was probably a bit concerned about me after my incident."
I deliberately left out the part where he said he expected me to win.
They looked at one another for a moment. After they'd traded glances, Amanda whined, "I wish he'd notice me like that."
I frowned at her bizarre statement.
"Why do you care if he notices you at all?" I asked. "We're here to do a job, not flirt with the boss."
"What's the matter with you, Fiona?" Melissa said without hesitation. Her voice carried a hint of frustration, even anger. "Don't you have the tiniest bit of sex drive?"
"What are you talking about? Of course I … "
Just then, I hesitated. I didn't like the direction this conversation was headed. Thinking fast, I tried to shift the discussion as I reached for my planner.
"So how are you guys doing? Is everything going well for you?"
"What difference does it make?" Melissa replied. Clearly still miffed at me for some reason as she continued, "Gabe is going to pick you anyway. This whole competition thing is a sham."
Amanda didn't say anything, but she did nod in apparent agreement.
This was literally some of the craziest, cattiest behavior I'd ever seen. Admittedly, I didn't have much, if any, experience with men, but something told me this wasn't normal. The whole situation was bizarre, and as the seconds ticked by, I grew more and more uneasy.
I felt trapped. It was as if no matter what I tried to say in my defense, they wouldn't believe me. Or even worse, they would accuse me of cheating to win, which is what they were already doing in so many words.
Never mind the fact that since the competition started, I'd worked late every single day. No one else put in the hours I did, despite the difficult situation I had at home with my grandmother. I couldn't believe how shallow they were acting. Even so, I swallowed hard and tried to diffuse the situation.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled at last. "I don't know what you want me to say. I promise I'm not doing anything sneaky. I haven't even talked to Gabe since that day. Why are you guys acting like this?"
As I finished speaking, they both looked at me in silence for a moment before glancing at each other and … bursting out in laughter.
I frowned.
Thinning my lips in disgust, I said, "That was really mean. Why did you do that?"
"Oh relax, Fiona." Amanda chided. "We were just having fun with you."
"Yeah," Melissa added. "Don't take everything so seriously. We don't care if you sleep with Gabe."
"I am not sleeping with Gabe!" I exclaimed, slamming my palms flat on my workstation.
No sooner had I done that, than a couple of the other lab workers looked up at me from across the room. Horrified, heat flushed to my neck and chest as Amanda and Melissa cackled like hens.
They did their best to offer me a half-hearted apology, but as far as I was concerned, nothing about their teasing was funny. Not one bit. A few moments later, they walked back towards their respective workstations.
Glancing up between strands of my hair, I kept my eyes trained on them. They may have said they were joking but something about the innuendo seemed anything but light-hearted.
I took an uneasy seat at my workstation and tried to get on with my day. And it was a big day. I had a number of experiments running. The most important of those would wrap up later that day. In any case, I kept my head down and got to work.
It was early afternoon when I went to check on a culture experiment that was nearing the end of its five day incubation period. Reaching the lab oven, I opened the door and was shocked at what happened next.
"Oh shit!" I exclaimed, as I reached for the culture trays, which were too hot to even touch.
Hearing me, Andrew approached in a hurry from across the lab.
"Hey Fiona," he said as he walked over. "Everything all right?"
"Hardly!" I groaned, as I let my palms slap against the outsides of my thighs in disgust. I gestured back towards the trays. "Somehow the heat malfunctioned and ruined my experiment. Shit, this will put me so far behind now. Oh why does stuff like this always happen?"
Andrew frowned in confusion.
"Excuse me," he said as he passed by to have a look at the oven.
For several moments he inspected the work area, and while he did, I racked my brain trying to remember what I'd done. I plopped down in a chair and checked my log book. As I suspected, I wrote the correct temperature down more than five days earlier.
When Andrew finished his inspection, he walked back over to where I sat. I didn't bother to lift my head to look at him. I was so screwed. Instead, I dropped my pen on the table and my head into my hands.