As she finished, I noticed Melissa and Amanda exchange glances. For a moment, it looked as if they might ask the meaning of Holly’s visit. But instead, they remained silent and glared at me as I stood from my chair.
“Expecting me?” I asked, pretending not to be aware of it.
“Didn’t you get his… oh, never mind. He’ll explain.”
“Do I need to bring anything? My lab results?”
Holly shook her head.
“Gabe didn’t mention anything.” She paused for a moment and glanced towards Amanda and Melissa. “If there is something, I’m sure one of you two could run it up. Right?”
I stifled a smile as they mumbled in reluctant agreement.
“Okay well, I’m ready.” I said, as I pitched the remainder of my coffee into the trash.
Stealing another glance at my coworkers as I turned to follow Holly, I noticed their body language change. Crossed arms and icy glares locked on me as I walked out of sight.
12
Challenge (Gabe)
I had no reason to doubt Andrew’s report to me. The simple fact was Amanda and Melissa had made no secret about flirting with me over the years. But I had enough options in my life to not seek the approval of married women. From my perspective, there weren’t any mixed messages being sent.
And further, if what he claimed was true, namely that they’d done something to set Fiona back in the competition on purpose, well, that would have to be dealt with. Should any evidence come to light proving it, it would be simple for me handle it. I could fire them on the spot. Without sufficient proof though, I couldn't do much of anything and neither could Fiona.
But even if I could, was that helping her? Putting my protective instinct, not to mention the needs of my dick, aside for a moment, my primary concern was being able to rely on Fiona in the new position. Someone in it had to be firm and at times, ruthless. What shenanigans might have happened in the lab would pale in comparison to staring down multi-billion dollar decisions about the future of the company. The time to shift Fiona's perspective was at hand, whether she was ready or not.
Just then, there was knock at the door.
“It’s open…”
As the door cracked ajar, Holly poked her head inside. “Fiona’s here. Are you ready to see her now?”
I nodded. “Yes, send her in, Holly. Thanks.”
With that, she smiled and stepped to one side as Fiona passed by her. Wordless, I rose from seat and gestured for her to come sit down across from me. She walked towards me, and as she did, she reached up and pulled her hair behind her ears.
“Which one?” she said, as she pointed at the two chairs in front of my desk.
“Choose,” I said with a shrug. Honest to God, I believe she was the first person who ever asked me that. I remained standing as she picked one of the chairs. Just as she began to sit, I spoke.
“Nope. Wrong one.”
Fiona froze in place, bracing herself above the seat as she clutched the arms with her hands. With her butt suspended a good six inches above the seat, she looked up at me.
“Really?”
I shook my head back and forth as I looked at her for a moment or two.
“Yes,” I said with a wink.
Fiona shook her head as she slid into her seat. When she did, a smile crept to the corner of her mouth. I countered with a smirk of my own as I sat down across from her. Fun and games aside, we had some serious issues to discuss. I wasted no time in getting right to it.
Fiona sat with her hands folded in her lap, half-covered beneath her sleeves as always. I drew my eyes up from them, meeting hers after a moment or two. I expected there was every chance she’d look away but she didn’t. Instead, she held my gaze as I began to speak.
“Fiona, I suppose you know why I’ve asked you here?”
She nodded. “I have an idea, yes.”
“You’ve disappointed me.”
In that moment, she broke eye contact from me and looked towards her lap.
“I know,” she said in a soft voice, not much above a whisper. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, Fiona. I…”
She interrupted me and added, “I do it all the time. Apologizing. It’s a habit, I’m sorry.”
“Yes, I know. You told me that already. Look, don’t interrupt me,” I said, as I cocked my head to one side. I thinned my lips at her. “Say you’re sorry one more time.”
She looked up at me. Frustration flashed to her face. Frankly, I was glad to see a bit of anger from her.
“Listen, I know you’re disappointed with me for falling behind in the competition. I’m assuming that’s why you’ve called me to your office.”
“Partly, yes that’s true. Do you know the other reason?”
She shook her head but didn’t respond. I didn’t wait to see if she’d try and guess.
“Was the experiment failure your fault, Fiona?”
As I finished my question, she looked at me once again and without a moment’s hesitation, she answered.
“Yes.”
“Are you telling me the truth?”
She nodded her head with a deliberate motion. “As far as I know it… yes.”
I wrinkled my brow. In the short amount of time she’d worked here, nothing suggested she’d make a mistake like the one which put her behind. Rather, a couple of possibilities occurred to me as I considered what to say next.
One was she actually believed she did it, which I doubted, or the other was she didn’t want to make accusations she couldn’t prove against whoever might have done it. In either case, she was taking full responsibility for it, which I respected. It would be easy for her to be afraid in this situation and point fingers, considering everything she stood to lose.
I pursed my lips for a moment before continuing. “Do you enjoy working here, Fiona?”
She shrugged. “I did.”
“What do you mean by that?”
As I posed my question, I noticed her make a subtle move towards her wrist. With a gentle motion, she tugged her charm bracelet out from beneath the sleeve and began to caress the stones as she had before. I remained silent for a few moments until at last, she forced a hard swallow down her throat.
“May I… speak freely?”
I leaned back in my chair. “Please.”
“I haven’t done anything to deserve the way I’m being treated by…”
I tilted my chin up as she hesitated. “Who’s treating you poorly, Fiona?”
She ignored my question. “Look, Gabe, I’m not blaming you for any of this, okay? I know you can’t help the effect you have.”
“The effect I have?”
“Sorry, that’s not what I meant.”
“Quit apologizing, Fiona. Say what you mean. And please elaborate on ‘the effect I have’ while you're at it.”
She deflected my question once more. Instead, she posed on of her own. “Gabe, why am I the only one who’s here in your office?”
“What do you mean? Who else should be here? No one else had a huge setback in the lab. If they had, they’d be here as well.”
“Okay,” she said, as she nodded her head.