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“Holly!”
Within a matter of seconds, she appeared in the doorway. “Yes?”
“Close the door.”
With a silent nod, she did as I asked, and just like that, Amanda, Melissa and I were alone. I approached the conference table and placed my hands flat on it as I looked down at them.
“Okay you two,” I began. “I want to know what is going on and I want to know right now.”
But instead of answering me, they looked at one another.
“Hey!” I demanded, pounding my fist on the table. “Don’t look at each other. Look at me. Tell me what the problem is.”
Both of them looked up at me, eyes as wide as saucers. I hadn’t meant to scare them, but I didn’t have time for any games, if that’s indeed what was going on. Now that I had their attention, I had no intention of waiting another moment for my answer. Shoving myself off the table and into a standing position, I motioned with my fingers.
“Out with it,” I said, with a deep exhale.
Amanda went first. She cleared her throat for a brief instant before she spoke. “What do you mean? They all told you the same thing. Fiona is driving everyone too hard.”
I nodded. “And you know this… why? Is the team experiencing a higher number of errors in the lab?”
They both shook their heads.
“Are you falling behind?”
Once more, they shook their heads.
“Amanda. Melissa. I asked the rest of the group to leave because I wanted to tell you what I’m about to say in private. The two of you have been with the company for a long time. You’re good scientists. I have no interest in getting rid of you despite the apparent dislike you both harbor towards Fiona.”
As I finished my thought, a sudden urge to interject struck Melissa. “Gabe, it’s not like that. You don’t understand, she’s…”
“Shh, hey!” I snapped.
For a fraction of a second, I considered calling them out on the suspected tampering with Fiona’s experiment prior to the close of the competition. But if I accused them of interfering, I was doubly sure they would throw it back at me and claim I was protecting her because their suspicions about what was going on between us. Instead, I spent the next few minutes trying to get at the real reason behind their claims that Fiona was ‘driving them too hard’.
Yes, in spite of my direct questioning, they didn’t offer up any specifics. To say the least, I was pissed, but also concerned. By the looks of things, Fiona hadn’t heeded my warning about going easy on the team. And whether Amanda and Melissa represented the consensus of the group, or whether they were just taking advantage of the situation, it really didn’t matter.
I had to fix Fiona.
Either through ignorance, stubbornness or both, she’d done something to fracture the team and slow its momentum. That was on me. I’d done a shit job of making it clear that Fiona wasn’t above being reprimanded, if that was what was needed. The simple fact was she hadn’t listened to me. As a result, the team didn’t respect her leadership. If they did, they wouldn’t be in my office wasting my time.
As for Amanda and Melissa… If it came to light later, or if I got any verifiable evidence that they were deliberately trying to sabotage Fiona, and consequently the work on the Link Protocol, well then they would be dealt with accordingly. For now though, this was between Fiona and me.
With that, I explained to them I’d have a talk with Fiona right away and a minute or so later, they left my office and headed back down to the lab.
FIONA
I hadn’t spoken to Gabe since the disaster at dinner the other night. Holly’s instructions to me were vague. She only said Gabe needed to see me in his office. He hadn’t even requested I bring anything related to work in the lab. So naturally, I assumed the reason for the summons had something to with our relationship outside the workplace.
Holly escorted me into Gabe’s office and closed the door behind her as she left. There was nothing but still air between us, no conversation. The only sound at all was that of Gabe, as he sat behind his desk scribbling notes. The tip of his pen squeaked across the page, as he wrote with sharp, vigorous strokes. I hesitated just near the door, crossing my hands in front of my waist and clasping my charm bracelet. Just then, Gabe spoke without looking up, startling me back to full awareness.
“Sit down, Fiona.”
I swallowed and started to shuffle in the direction of his desk. As I did, I remembered the trick he’d played on me once before, when I couldn’t decide which chair to pick. Hoping to ease the obvious tension, I decided to have a bit of fun with it.
“Which one?” I asked, as I pointed at the chairs.
