Chapter 7

So in the absence of any social life just yet (although I had a coffee date with 'Lynn1987' in a couple of days) I was in the office at nine in the evening working on my notes for my meeting with Professor Sinclair the next day. Fortunately, I'd heard someone letting themself into the office, and so the knock didn't surprise me. The sight of my boss looking effortlessly glamorous in a black slashed-neck cocktail dress, make-up and heels did.

"Um, good... evening?"

"I've had better," she said with a wry smile, leaning one shoulder on the doorjamb. "And it looks like I could say the same for you."

I glanced around at my little office, with its near-bare bookshelves (I brought the complete contents of my little box of academic texts over that morning but I'm more of a library girl than a buyer, generally), the double monitor set-up taking up a sizeable portion of my desk, the quietly humming little space heater in the corner (whatever this room had been before it became an office apparently hadn't required its own heating. Funnily enough, I was actually quickly coming to quite like it. "Oh, I dunno," I said. "Quite cosy, here, really - about as comfortable as my flat, and at least I have the internet here."

"Hm. Well, fair enough," Sinclair said with a one-shouldered shrug. She looked around the room, a strange expression crossing her features before she looked back at me with another smile. "Just no parties after-hours, alright?"

"Hah, no, I think I can safely say that that won't be happening," I said, managing to smirk. Sinclair's smile widened a little and I felt a warmth begin to spread over the top of my ears. I cleared my throat. "You look... nice," I said.

"Thanks. Had a date," she explained. "Or at least the start of one. And... now I'm here."

"Oh." I wasn't sure what to make of that. Still, she'd brought it up. "Not your type, eh?"

"Supercilious arseholes generally aren't. Pardon my French."

"Ah..." I nodded knowingly. "Yeah, that'll put a dampener on your evening, I suppose."

"Tell me about it." Sinclair sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly, and I suddenly got the feeling that whoever it was that had pissed her off tonight was really missing out. "Anyway," she said, straightening up, "I was just stopping by to pick something up from my office. I'll let you get back to your work. Or not-work."

"Oh, it's work," I said quickly. "I'll... see you tomorrow then?"

"What? Oh, our meeting. Ah, yes, of course."

"I'm... sorry your date wasn't more successful," I added, since Sinclair was still hovering just slightly. "I'm, er, recently single myself," I offered. I'd managed to hear by now about my boss's recent divorce. It wasn't the sort of thing I'd bring up outside of hours, but now...

"Well, if you want my advice, skip the online dating thing - too much chaff, not enough wheat." Sinclair pushed herself straighter, smoothing her hands over her dress. "Though I don't know how anyone has time for anything else nowadays..."

"Well, that's the problem, isn't it?" I said with a wry smile. "I feel a little old for just going 'out on the pull' these days."

"You're too old for that? You're what, not even thirty?"

I raised an eyebrow. My date of birth was on my CV - apparently Sinclair didn't have much of a memory for that sort of detail? "I'm twenty seven, yes," I said. "But, eh, I don't know. After my PhD I guess it's not really my 'scene' anymore. So to speak," I added with a little smirk, although I didn't necessarily expect the other woman to get the joke.

"Mm. Well, don't work too hard," she said, smirking. "There's only room for one spinster in this lab."

"Oh, you're far from that," I found myself saying, the words out of my mouth before I could stop them.

So maybe my boss wasn't my 'type', but that slow smirk that she gave me certainly was. "Maybe not yet," she chuckled, shaking her head. "But the way things are going... well. Anyway," she said briskly, seeming to realize that for all this wasn't 'work', it was still a slightly unusual conversation to be having. "Just take it from me. Be careful of your priorities. They can come back and bite you if you're not careful."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Mm. Good. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

 

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