Page 6 of Cash

He thought he was sexy. I might have thought he was, too, way back when. Before I grew up a little and figured out that guys like him were a dime a dozen. He was gorgeous, he drove a great car, and even a white lab coat didn’t hide the kickass body underneath.

He did nothing for me.

“Because it’s true,” I shrugged with a little smile.

I didn’t want to create an uncomfortable working relationship, and gossip at the lab spread like wildfire. I was sure he’d badmouth the hell out of me if I flat-out turned him down. As always, the unfairness of gender politics in the workplace made my blood boil. I had worked too hard to be taken seriously as a scientist to let some meathead ruin my reputation—no matter how jacked he was.

“You’re too young to stop having fun.”

“I didn’t say I wasn't having fun,” I countered as my coffee finished brewing. “I’ll take my nephew shopping. Maybe we’ll go to the mall and pitch pennies into the fountain. Maybe I’ll take him for ice cream. And Halloween’s in a few weeks—we can look for costumes, and decorations for the apartment. I never had a reason to decorate before now.”

Funny, but listing all those things inspired genuine excitement. I found myself smiling wider all the time.

He frowned like I had just lapsed into Klingon. “To each their own, I guess.”

“I guess,” I shrugged, and the smile slid off my face the second my back was to him.

Insufferable. Arrogant. Jerk. Every time he pulled something like that, which was just about every Friday—followed up by a recap on Monday morning—he came just one step closer to my telling him off.

I hoped I’d score my promotion before that point ever came and leave him behind. My soft-soled shoes slapped against the tile floor as I marched down the white-walled tunnel back to my workstation. If any of the other lab assistants who worked in my section smiled or waved, I didn’t notice.

I slammed the cup down at my station when I thought again about how a man wouldn’t have to worry about his reputation if he turned down a colleague. And he made it sound like there was something wrong with me because I loved my nephew. The kid needed me. I was the only stability in his life. What was so bad about that?

When the phone rang, I jerked the receiver out of its cradle. When would we upgrade the phone system from an old-fashioned landline?

“Yes?” I barked, still in a mood.

“Excuse me?” Harrison asked, sounding bemused.

I winced. “I’m sorry. I was lost in my head.”

“Not the best place for a researcher to reside,” he observed with a dry chuckle.

I knew he didn’t think it was funny. It was his version of a reprimand. The King of Passive Aggressiveness. Sometimes, I wished he were more of a straight-shooter. Just tell me where I stand and get it over with.

My heart skipped a beat when I realized he might be calling about the promotion. The committee was supposed to announce it the following Monday, but rumor had it the decision had already been made. I crossed my fingers.

“What can I do for you?”

“I hoped you could join me in my office for a few minutes. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

I was off the phone and halfway down the hall in the blink of an eye. So what if I looked desperate? I was.

I had worked at the lab for six years with the intention of leading my own research team one day. When a team leader had announced early retirement, I’d jumped at the chance to put my name in for consideration. I’d be the youngest team leader in the organization. And the only woman.

The door to Harrison’s office was open when I arrived, and he waved me inside. “Please, close the door.”

A good sign. I tried to control my excitement.

“How’s it going?” I asked as I sat, folding my hands in my lap and pressing my clammy palms together as hard as I could.

“Pretty well,” he smiled, wiping his glasses on his necktie. A habit of his. “And you?”

“Very well.” Get on with it, get on with it.

“You didn’t sound well when you answered the phone,” he reminded me.

He sounded like a disappointed father. I knew all about that.

---