chapter 2

A cute boy with tangled hair blushed, confused, and looked into my face. "I'm sorry, EBeth." Then he handed me a vial of colored liquid that I requested from the storeroom, along with regular paperwork. The vial contained a controlled solution, one of which was an exotic blend I created two years ago.

I signed the receipt of the chemical solution before handing the vial to Steve, a middle-aged laboratory technician I worked with for many years. I gave him a series of instructions based on computer analysis from working on the human genome. Hopefully, the primary compound will block our target g protein-coupled receptor, which will direct us to the pharmacophore and allow us to design new mysterious drugs.

A little bald man with glasses smiled and nodded at me. "Okay, EBeth."

"Thank you Steve" I gave him one of my warmest smiles. I liked Steve He was one of the few who called me "EBeth" and when I arrived he looked down on me probably because I knew him as a college intern , Was one of the few who didn't make any sense. The majority of scientists working here had a PhD. In other words, even if you weren't in your thirties, you didn't enter the labor market until your late twenties. They had years of chemistry theory before embarking on the creation of the latest designer medicines, but I'm considered a 25-year-old start-up who was fortunate enough to formulate mad scientists. I did.

Maybe I was lucky. It started when I was in college. Drug discovery has been successful or unsuccessful, despite technological advances and understanding of biological systems. Whenever everyone did something new, he was considered a "mad scientist." Hell, even David still thought I was a pure chemist who just messed up and saw if it exploded. But in my specialty, biochemistry, I spent more time in front of computers than in the lab. Significant work was being made on the human genome project and because I'd spent three years of internships experimenting with new methodologies to put the genome research to use, I'd been hired right after getting my bachelor's degree, bypassing all the years and years of extra education that was usually required to get a job as highprofile as mine.

All the middleaged men in the Discovery department *really* didn't like that. Radinsky downright despised me. The job he and others had studied sevenplus extra years for, I'd gotten at the tender age of 22. And since Chemistry by its nature is just a very maledominated industry, there weren't even many women around I could bond with. Also, I've introduced a completely different approach to the actual process they've been running over the years, and old timers didn't like the way I rocked their lab.

On the other hand, I was a young female tit. So instead of getting 100% grudge from the people in the department, I got about 50% grudge and 50% patronage. Half of the staff tried not to have anything to do with me. The other half treated me as if I were an 8-year-old granddaughter. Of course, it would greatly alter some of these men in their 40s, as they always hit me. I wish there were more people like Steve who would treat me based on my work. They actually used the nickname "E Beth", so I could always find out who the friendly people were.

At least the company wasn't made up entirely of scientists and laboratory technicians. Outside the lab, like any other large company, there were human resources and accounting, sales and marketing departments. There was a young girl like Stella who could eat together and go out for a drink on the way home from work. And these girls made life in Argen bearable.

It was Stella who knocked on the door of my office at 5 pm. "Come to E Beth. Go to Monahan." I sighed and tore my eyes away from my oversized LCD monitor. The idea of hitting the bar and getting plastered sounded great, but I didn`t want to drown away my anger over Chad. I wanted to be stronger than that. "You guys go ahead. I'm going to stay late and keep working."

"This isn't a request," Stella glared at me, looking quite awkward as she did so. The bubbly blonde was the very definition of a cheerful cheerleader, and a stern look was not her natural expression. "You come to us."

I laughed at his attempt to sound serious. "No, really. I'm fine. I can skip a week."

Stella just walked into my office and tugged on the back of my office chair, sending me rolling away, away from the keyboard. "EBeth, it's a Friday night. You just found out your boyfriend was cheating on you this morning. And girls and I will NOT let you wallow in misery staring at DNA strands, supermolecules or whatever you do. Get it?"

She turned me around to face her and I sighed, a smug smile on my face. I suddenly felt more tired than ever. Well, I guess the "drunk" route would work too. "Strong."

****

"I think the new guy likes you." Stella smiled at me.

I frowned in my beer. "Yeah, that's right. We'll only say it once."

"You mean Grant? Oh, isn't he a dreamer? "Audrey, a 27-year-old married brunette sighed. The beautiful girl from Shopping is very happy in her marriage and would never think of straying, but she is always first. first among us to check, find cute boys and comment on how handsome they look

"Yeah," Stella confirmed, "And his eyes are *mostly* EBeth here this morning."

"No, they weren't." I shook my head.. When can they look at you?” I ran my eyes along the glowing blonde's body. Stella is 23 years old, size 2, pretty as a button, and has a nice coat rack. I even had a fantasy or two of her, harboring lost thoughts about clamping the little girl under me while I gazed at her tough little body. But all the signals I've received throughout our friendship tell me she's straight as an arrow.

"Come here," growled Stella, her green eyes glaring at me with displeasure. "When do you realize you're super hot, EBeth? You never believe me when I tell you that cute boys look at you.

I roll my eyes. Stella is a good friend, and so she doesn't stop complimenting my looks. hot girl she pretends to be me.

"Ohmigod. Look who's there! Audrey gasped as she shyly turned away from the door.

I looked up from my beer and turned my head to see Grant walking in with three other boys from the Marketing team. Monahan is fairly close to Argen's offices and meeting other people at work is not uncommon. But right now the last thing I need is HIS coming to talk to me.

Which of course meant that Grant saw us at once, waved to his new colleagues and led us to our table. I felt a little flutter in my stomach at his actions for two reasons:

First, despite being a brand new employee, he had the ball to pick up the three guys and tell them to go. where.

 And two, for some reason he came right over to me.

"Well, I want to see the ladies tonight," said Grant magnanimously. How the hell does he make me feel like he's talking to me directly?

"It's the closest bar to the office," I shrugged and looked away, drinking my beer and focusing on Paula, the fourth member of Sex and the Cityesque. I don't need the distractions of Grant. He's just another handsome, charming, flirty man. If I ignore him for a while, he will soon focus on another hot single girl. Maybe he'll focus on one of the other girls than me. Audrey had her wedding ring, but that didn't always stop a guy. Stella already has a boyfriend, although she's not above the level of friendly flirting. And Paula was a bottle blonde beater in her own right, and single at the time.

"Maybe, maybe," Grant admitted. "But that doesn't make us any less happy to find you. Do you mind, ladies, if we join you?"

"Of course! There's plenty of room!" Stella quickly chirped and motioned for the open table beside us.

Internally, I groaned as Grant nodded approvingly and motioned for his men to sit down. The area of the pub we were in had a long cabinet-style bar that ran the length of the wall, with several tables for four placed at the front. Stella and Audrey sat on two armchairs while Paula and I sat on the bench. One of the marketing people who knew Paula sat down next to her and discussed the legal issues, as she was from our contracting department. And only then did I realize that a brutally handsome man was about to sit right next to me.

"Hello again. EBeth, right? "Grant said in a smoky voice about 10 inches away.

I winced inwardly. I should never have told him my nickname. Relationship with this man. I turned around to answer. and seeing his eyes flicker across my chest, felt a bit of sexual thrill run through me as he did so. And uncontrollably, I flashed an inviting smile and replied, "Good. I remember."

"It's hard to forget such a unique name for such a unique girl."

My eyes narrowed and I suppressed my sexual thrill. Ooh, were you trying to flatter me? We just met. Well, I figured a long time ago that the fastest way to end a conversation is to opt out. I just gave Grant a small smile and then went back to my beer, trying to calm down. Yeah, he's *exactly* my type. Yes, he captivated me just by looking at him. But yeah, I've decided not to turn into an air-headed snitch around around predators and talk a lot.

Stella, on the other hand... "So how was your first day, Grant?"

He gave Stella a perfect smile with pearly white teeth. "It's amazing. And I have to admit I'm surprised. I didn't expect a stuffy, boring chemical company to be... so friendly... And then his gaze slid over me, looking deep into my eyes with certainty and confidence, as if he could telepathically inspire sex. And at the same time, his gaze was fixed on my chest almost unrecognizably. I have to keep an eye on him, and the warmth in his brief gaze sets my loins on fire. I was so excited, I wasn't, I didn't want to. I started to regret wearing that shirt. "'The chemical company is stuffy and boring'?" I smiled at Grant. “Not quite a marketing genius, right?

He burst out laughing and beamed at me. “Your street reputation is stuffy and boring. That's what I'm here to change. But I hope. Audrey said. “She just left her boyfriend this morning. "

" Audrey! I hissed, looking at my so-called friend, why would she tell my life story to a complete stranger?

The married brunette hiccuped and gave me an awkward smile. Ah, that's why. She was already drunk. And when Audrey gets drunk, she goes straight into matchmaking mode. She may have settled down and married, but she happened to meet other men through us.

"I sincerely apologize on behalf of the entire men's race," Grant said generously. "But I admit that it's gratifying that idiots like your ex-boyfriend are bringing back more amazing women, like you, back into the dating population." Chapter

Extraordinary? Again, the guy barely knew me. But as we settled in and ordered a few more drinks, this lack of familiarity certainly seemed like something Grant wanted to change.

****

I didn't really feel single again until I got home. Like it or not, Grant's flirting with Monahan awakened the powerful sex creature inside of me. Guys stand out for their bare skin, cute smiles and lots of eye contact. They are like buttons that have a definite and inevitable response when pressed. Well, *I* get excited by his raspy voice, perfect smile, and lots of eye contact. Grant completed all three with my high concentration, and I couldn't help but be excited.

But now I'm at home. I am drunk. I am very excited. And I no longer have a friend to come and solve my problems. Damn Chad. Why did he have to turn out to be such a loser dislike? Not only did it sacrifice my boyfriend, but Melissa as well. Yes, she turned out to be a scandalous woman after all. But * damn * she was able to eat a cat.

At least I had few Davie.