Slipperless by Sloan Storm Page B

Suddenly the scope of trying to play catch up started to sink in. I’d never finish in time. Winning the competition was out now. Hell, I’d have to think fast not to get fired at this point, considering how integral my work was to the project. What a nightmare. Moisture dissipated from my mouth as the awareness of my failure hit me with full force.
    “Fiona?” Andrew said, as I sat there in my stupor. “I asked you a question.”
    “What?” I said, as I snapped my head in his direction. Frustration peppered my tone.
    He stepped back, lifting his hands in mock surrender. “Hey don’t bite my head off. I’m trying to help. I've got plenty of my own work to keep me busy.”
    I closed my eyes for a moment and exhaled. “I know. I’m sorry Andrew. What was your question again?”
    “Were you here? In the lab? The entire time?”
    “Um, I think so. I stepped out for a few minutes to use the restroom and for lunch, of course, but otherwise, I’ve been here.”
    “Well, okay then. I’ll leave you so you can get back to it. There’s no time to waste now.”
    I dropped my head into my hands once more.
    “Mmm, hmm.” I grumbled, as he began to walk away.
    As he did, I retraced my steps in my mind. I would have never been so careless. Glancing up for a moment, I noticed Amanda and Melissa looking at me. However, as soon as I made eye contact with them, they looked away.
    What the hell was that?
    I looked at them for a few more moments. No, it couldn’t be. There’s no way they would do something like that.
    Right?
    Picking up my pen, I squeezed the hard plastic between my fingers until the tips began to whiten. Biting my lip, I glanced back down at my planner as I tried to not jump to conclusions.
    Calm down, Fiona.
    I took a deep breath and considered all the possible outcomes. If I confronted them, they could simply deny it and blame it on me. After all, there was no proof I hadn’t done it. There weren’t any surveillance cameras or anything to help me prove my side of the story.
    And what if I was just being paranoid and they hadn’t done anything?
    Was it realistic to suspect that a couple of married women would be so jealous of me and their perception of my relationship with Gabe that they’d go to such lengths? Even though I was the only single girl in the lab, the notion just seemed too outlandish to consider.
    But as sure as I was that I knew my own name, I was doubly sure I hadn’t fucked up my cultures. Someone or something caused it. Yet, without any proof, it didn’t matter. I was behind in the competition, plain and simple.
    Worse yet, soon Gabe would get wind of it and want to know it happened.
    What the hell was I going to tell him?

    GABE
    “Thanks Holly. What time did they say they wanted to schedule that call?”
    “Three,” Holly replied, as she stood near the entrance to my office.
    Flicking my arm at the wrist, I glanced down at my watch as it slid out from beneath my sleeve.
    “Hmm, that’s not gonna work. Tell you what… Call them back and see if you can push it back to four. If they can’t do it, let’s try for tomorrow.”
    “All right. I’ll take care of it.”
    I smiled at her. “Thank you my dear.”
    “My pleasure. Is there anything else?”
    “No. Not right now. But Andrew should be here any minute. Send him in when he gets here will you?”
    “Speak of the devil,” Holly began, as she glanced through the doorway. She gestured with her chin in the direction of the open door. “Andrew's here.”
    “Terrific.” I said with a nod. “Send him in.”
    Since I’d made the decision to create the competition in the lab, things had been quiet. Fiona had managed to stay upright and out of the infirmary and according to Colin, everyone was on track with their experiments.
    Utilizing Andrew in the way I had might have been overkill. But this was his first update since I’d requested he do it, so until he sat across from me and gave me some details, I wouldn’t know for