Page 28 of A Merry Christmas for Art… and His Tentacles

He laughs. “Yes.”

“Clearly, my brain was distracted or I would not have agreed to decorate the tree at work.”

I have not told Dean Miller that I am now aroused by Christmas-related things. It’s something I’d like to keep to myself for as long as possible. That won’t be possible if I develop an erection while hanging ornaments.

“Okay. How about making cookies?” he asks.

“At your apartment?”

He nods. “We might even have time for some other things?”

“You mean sexual intercourse.”

Dean Miller laughs again. Apparently, he thinks sex is very funny. “I’m trying to be subtle here.”

I look around us. We’re the only people in this part of the lab. “Why? We’re alone.”

Unfortunately, Frank walks into the lab, proving me wrong. His eyes light up when he sees us, and he beelines for the corner where Dean Miller and I are standing.

“Just the two people I was hoping to find. I wanted to check in about the people lessons. How is it going?” he asks.

Dean Miller’s smile fades. “It’s fine.”

Frank is holding a cup of coffee, which makes me nervous. Food and drink aren’t allowed in this part of the lab. It’s a safety hazard.

“Do you think Art knows how to be nice now?”

Dean Miller clenches his jaw. “I think he always knew how to be nice.”

“The interns?—”

“Were never encouraged to communicate with Art after he offended them. I think some good old-fashioned conflict resolution would have worked just fine. Art isn’t mean. And he’s right here. You can talk to him.” Dean Miller’s voice is clipped and even. It’s such a contrast to the warm tone he uses with me.

Frank’s gaze darts from Dean Miller to me, then back to Dean Miller again. “We’re feeling a little prickly today, aren’t we? This wouldn’t have anything to do with the new romantic relationship the two of you are in, would it?”

Dean Miller shakes his head.

“What do you think, Art? Are the people lessons working?” Frank asks.

I stand there, unable to answer as quickly as Dean. I can’t deny that I’m awkward with people. I offend them without meaning to. It’s incredibly difficult for me to connect with them the way I connect with Lisa or other members of my family. But I’ve connected with Dean.

“Yes,” I say honestly. “Dean Miller has helped me a lot.”

Frank smiles. “That’s good to hear. I would hate to have to put you on probation after all of Dean’s effort. I trust that there won’t be any more problems with the interns.”

“If there are, you can send Art and the intern to HR, right? Isn’t that what Harry is there for?” Dean asks.

Frank glares at him. “Obviously, we want to avoid escalating things to HR whenever we can.”

“You mean you’d rather let people quit than use the proper channels to handle conflict in the lab,” Dean says.

Frank raises his eyebrows. “That’s an interesting take for someone who is so… how should I phrase it? Expendable.” He flashes a smile that makes my stomach twinge. That isn’t a good smile.

Dean Miller watches Frank walk out of the lab without saying another word. Which is surprising, because I thought he’d tell Frank he isn’t expendable. He was certainly willing to defend me. Why wouldn’t he do the same for himself?

“I need to learn how to keep my mouth shut,” Dean Miller says. “Or I might not have a job.”

“If he fires you, we can go to Harry Ebershoff.”

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