Page 35 of Doctor Bossy

This was my dream job, and essentially, it had been handed to me on a silver platter. I wasn’t quite ready to let go of it just yet, as blatantly unfair as it was. Which meant I had to figure out how to prove to him that I could fix what I broke.

So I ignored Leila’s disapproving look and went back to my station, trying to focus on my work and double-checking that everything was in order before moving on to the next thing.

A few minutes after I sat down, Leila received a call from the general phone and then left the room. Nerves bounced around in my stomach when she did.

Was she going to come back and confirm that I was being let go? Was this it for me?

“How bad did he chew you out?” came a voice behind me, and I turned around to face Marco, who somehow seemed amused and sympathetic at the same time. Marco had been the first person I told about the mistake, having been too much of a coward to face Leila’s wrath alone. Also, I was hoping he would give me some advice on how to fix my mistake first. But when I told him, he had whistled long and loud when he said, “You’re a goner.”

Now, he slid into the stool beside me, appearing curious, and I sighed.

“Pretty bad,” I admitted. “I cried.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Really? I never pegged you for a crier.”

“I did. Bawled like a baby. And then he told me to cut it out because it doesn’t work on him.”

“Yeah, sounds like him.” Marco moved his hand thoughtfully over his sharp jawline before it drifted down into his goatee. “And yet, you’re still here.”

“Yes, um…” I was about to tell him the same story I told Leila but then decided I might as well give him the truth. “I’m not exactly sure why or how long I’m here for. I think he probably just hasn’t decided on a punishment for me yet. But before I go, I do want to know if there’s anything I can do to, I don’t know, help you guys out. Listen, I think I found a new special protein in the cancer cell. Under a microscope, it looks and behaves very similarly to the MHC protein, which I think was what shielded it from being discovered this whole time. I’m not entirely sure what that means yet, but I’m testing it to see if it can be activated by the same gene that controls blood type. If we can somehow suppress that effect, then maybe we can mitigate the genetic risk of the disease.”

“Hmm.” He cocked his head as he frowned, and his dark eyes looked like they were piercing right through me. I looked away, focusing on the table in front of me and using my work as an excuse. Usually, I liked Marco’s company, but today, his scrutiny made me distinctly uncomfortable.

“I’m going to ask you something,” he said. “And I don’t want you to get offended.”

“What is it?” I said distractedly.

“Are you fucking him?”

I stumbled on the stool, nearly dropping my pen as my heart pounded in my chest. Still, I steadied myself before I turned to glare at him. “Of course not!”

I think I did a pretty convincing job of being offended, especially for someone who just had my pussy in Dr. Griffin’s face fifteen minutes ago.

God, stop thinking about it.

Marco held both of his hands up in defense. “Hey, don’t murder me. It was just a question.”

“It was a very offensive question,” I told him. “Not to mention highly inappropriate and untrue. And I definitely don’t want rumors about things like that getting around.”

Marco looked a little chagrined. “Right. Sorry about that. It’s just that…he usually isn’t this lenient when people fuck up. And the fact that he let you work here in the first place with little to no major credentials….”

“How do you know about my credentials?”

He shrugged. “I might have asked Raymond from HR about you.”

“Why?”

He gave me a little smile, and something resembling a blush spread across his cheek. “I dunno. Maybe, I’ve taken a fancy to you.”

It was the second time he shocked me speechless.

“Tell you what,” he said. “Since you’re not dating the boss and all, how about grabbing a drink with me one day after work?”

“Oh. Um…” I scrambled around my brain to think of what to say. “Isn’t there a policy against us dating as coworkers?” I had no idea if there was or wasn’t, but I highly hoped it was the former.

“Nope,” Marco said. “The boss doesn’t give a fuck what we do when we’re off the clock, as long as it doesn’t interfere with our work. It’s one of the few things he’s cool about.”

“Oh,” I said, not knowing how to continue.

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