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.”