Page 22 of Doctor Bossy

He gestured to a woman, who I had just noticed, sitting in a chair. She was tiny, even shorter than I was, but there was something about the way she carried herself that made her seem even bigger. Maybe it was the way her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck or the assessing way her eyes watched as if she was trying to figure out everything about me in that one moment.

So far, she didn’t seem impressed.

“This is Leila,” Griffin said. “She’s one of the project leads. She’ll help you get onboarded and show you your task for the day.”

I nodded, and he raised an eyebrow at me, gesturing with his chin to the door.

Wait, he wanted me to leave? Just like that?

His voice had none of the warmth from yesterday, and he didn’t even look up while he spoke.

What were you expecting? I scolded myself. A grand invitation?

It was just that, since I’d been coming over here, we always had some kind of conversation before I went off to the labs. But it seemed now that I started working for him, our relationship had to change so he didn’t get accused of favoritism. I understood it, even though disappointment sank in my stomach.

“Sure,” I said and followed Leila out.

“Our research is very time-sensitive,” Leila said as we walked. Her voice was soft but authoritative nevertheless. “Everyone is working hard to get their work done by the deadline. We have a very important evaluation coming soon as well. You cannot be late.”

I nodded. “It won’t happen again.”

She nodded without another word and then led me to a lab. I hadn’t been to this part of the research center before. So far, I’d only worked in the general lab with a few of the interns and graduate assistants, who were working on the general development of the key chemicals. This part likely held more vital aspects of Terradol, and the lock was keycard and password protected.

“We’ll get all your onboarding information later,” Leila said. “Dr. Griffin said you worked in genetic research?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Good,” she said and then walked toward a dark-haired man with roguish good looks who had looked up from his microscope to watch us curiously. “Marco here is handling all the genetic testing in reaction with Terradol. You’ll help him.”

“What’s up, comrade?” Marco greeted me with an easy grin and a wave. “Come to join the resistance?”

“I suppose,” I answered, shooting him a salute.

Leila’s lips pinched together as she looked between the two of us. “He’s also very chatty, although I don’t recommend you spend too much time talking on the job.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll be as quiet as a church mouse, even though I never really understood that saying. There were mice in the church my mother used to take me to, and I guarantee you, they were loud as hell.”

Marco snorted, and Leila didn’t seem to know quite how to take that. Finally, she shook her head and said, “You can start work. Marco will show you whatever it is you need to look into today, and I will supervise from time to time. Although, I must warn you….” Her expression became more severe. “Everything we do here is very vital and, more importantly, very sensitive. Most of these chemicals are expensive and take a lot of time to produce. So you cannot afford to mess up, even once. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, feeling the gravity of what she was saying sink in. While Griffin was magnanimous in offering me this role, along with a cushy salary and benefits, I did not doubt he could just as easily take it away if I were not up to par. Which meant I had to work harder than ever before.

This was my only chance. And I wasn’t going to waste it.

10

GRIFFIN

Ishould never have hired her.

I knew it from the beginning, and it had nothing to do with her work ethic. Actually, on that front, I couldn’t fault her. I tried not to have much to do with the training of new employees, but I kept a particular eye on her since she didn’t have the typical experience we wanted. I knew I was taking a risk by hiring her, and anything that happened would be my fault. So I tried to pay more attention to her and had Leila and Marco report her progress to me every week.

So far, they have said nothing but good things.

According to Marco, she caught the information quickly and asked relevant questions. He also raved about her lab skills, explaining that she was a great addition to the team and that her understanding of the genetic component of the disease might lead to a breakthrough soon. Leila’s only complaint was that “she’s very chatty.” That might as well be a vote of confidence in Leila’s book.

Which meant that she was well on the way to successfully completing her probation period.

And that I was well and truly screwed.

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