Dose 𝓕ive

Dose Five Observations:
Subject's presence disrupts previously neutral environment.

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

Nauseous.

Dizzy-headed.

A massive hammering in my chest.

It was overwhelming.

I reached for the desk before I could think it through, gripping my fingers around the cold surface.

I counted backwards.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

Then forwards.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Then I needed random numbers.

Seventy-nine. Twenty-six. One thousand and nine.

This is stupid.

I’m being stupid.

No, I’m being ridiculous.

How can I even recognize someone based on the clicking of their heels?

And even if that is the case, it fucking shouldn’t be.

I shouldn’t recognize anything about her.

Yet somehow, when the group of people draped in white coats walked past—

Her posture struck out.

Her leveled chin and the way her shoulders were naturally held back.

It’s like all the air had been sucked out of the room.

Or the entire fucking building.

Maybe it was?

Everyone suddenly went dead silent.

Even Grayson wouldn’t look away from his computer.

I was the only one looking.

Although, I could feel Zion’s stare on me, probably out of concern.

There’s nothing to be concerned about, though.

This is her company.

I knew she’d be here.

I knew I’d see her.

I unconsciously zoned in deeper, noticing Kara by her side.

And of course, Sienna by her other side like the shadow she is.

I like that little nickname.

Grayson definitely hit it on the nose.

There were three other people behind her in white coats.

One stood out among the rest.

She had red hair pinned up and crazy looking wired glasses.

The red-haired woman was saying something in a low murmur.

One that I couldn’t make out.

Everyone was precisely focused ahead like it was routine.

Like they never bothered to glance in the direction of the tech division.

Then she stopped.

It was abrupt.

So abrupt that everyone looked.

Not just the white coats behind her or the stupid gatekeeper beside her.

Everyone looked.

Even the people seated around me glanced up from their computers.

I heard Zion let out a controlled sigh, and I knew that he knew.

I knew too.

I knew that—

“Dr. Leclair?” Kara spoke first through the heavy silence.

She didn’t say a word in response.

She just stared forward aimlessly, confusing everyone flocked around her.

“Is something wrong?” Kara tried again as the redheaded woman behind her lowered the iPad cradled in her arm.

Still—

She said nothing.

She was silent, disregarding everyone’s open stares.

Except for mine.

She turned her head quicker than I could process.

I felt everyone’s attention shift with hers.

Yet, all I could do was let her blue eyes swallow me whole.

She looked exactly as I recalled.

Nothing was out of place on her.

Even her silky bangs properly framed her face, keeping her long hair tucked in a low bun.

She wore a black turtleneck and matching dress pants that clung to her small waist.

Her stilettos were so sharp I contemplated if they could draw blood.

And her white lab coat was so bright against her dark outfit—it struck out on her.

“Is something out of place, Dr. Leclair?” Kara asked again, her voice irritating every nerve inside of me.

I couldn’t resist the urge to roll my eyes.

Monroe blinked, her stare still not wavering from mine.

But no.

No no.

She blinked in a way that felt like a reaction.

“I can move anything you need,” Sienna suddenly chimed in.

Of course, she would move anything.

She’d lick the floor if Dr. Monroe Leclair asked her.

“Is it the new hires?” Kara said, following Monroe’s obvious line of sight.

“New hires? When did we get those?” the red woman suddenly spoke, shifting my focus away from her blue eyes.

That’s when I noticed the subtle crack in her glasses.

And the British accent she had.

“Today,” Kara answered bluntly, her attention shifting to me. “Liberty—Zion.”

Zion stood up immediately.

I did not.

But with everyone’s focus on me, I felt obligated to.

And her blue eyes felt glued to me.

I met Monroe’s stare with a narrowed look, wanting her to go away.

But she’s like a fucking statue.

I let out a dramatic sigh as I firmly stood from my desk, pushing my chair back.

My small dress had ridden up, but I didn’t care.

Especially when she glanced away from me entirely.

It made me smile vicariously, popping my hip out as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Yes? What is it?” I purposely asked, softening my voice on purpose.

I watched her chest visibly rise and fall, her sharp jaw tightening.

Then—

She walked away.

Past all the white coats and her shadow of an assistant.

She completely walked away, her heels clicking harshly with each step.

Kara stood there dumbfounded, probably trying to figure out what had happened.

I could tell by the way her eyes shifted to me, raising one of her thin brows.

Everyone else nearly flocked in her direction.

“Dr. Leclair-Dr. Leclair,” I could hear Sienna’s desperate voice.

“We need to reevaluate this, Dr. Leclair,” I heard another voice say.

I think it was the redhead, given the accent.

All I could hear were rushed footsteps, and the sharpness of her heels, and then—

“Get Leon Leclair on the phone.”

Her soft velvety voice echoed throughout the entire floor, a firmness behind it that made everyone around me start murmuring.

Until Kara snapped her fingers a few times, motioning everyone to stop.

“I want him on the phone now,” I heard her calm voice echo again.

I looked around once I heard the door calmly shut.

I think everyone looked around, glancing around like they were gossiping with their eyes.

I could feel them all looking at me.

Because she had been looking at me.

She looked caught off guard.

She… looked like she didn’t know I was here to begin with.

But how is that possible?

This is her company now.

How could I be here without her knowing?

How could I be in Seattle without her knowing?

No, she doesn’t watch me anymore.

I realized that a long time ago when I tried to figure out why she stopped.

What made her stop looking at me?

What made her stop fueling her obsession?

It doesn’t matter.

God, none of this even matters anymore, I swear.

I don’t know why I care—

“Ms. Fierro.”

I snapped out of my thoughts, noticing Kara had walked over to my desk.

“Let’s chat,” Kara said, motioning me along with a fake smile.

“Of course,” I said in the most sickly-sweet way.

I really hope this means I’m fired.

I quickly glanced over my shoulder, noticing Zion pursing his lips, and Grayson practically absorbing the drama.

Good luck—Grayson mouthed dramatically.

I smiled.

Even if luck was the last thing I wanted right now.

I was nearly gleaming inside as I followed Kara to her office.

Which was as spick and span as I imagined it to be.

It was a corner office, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a wall of file cabinets.

Her desk was an L-shape, with a bunch of paperwork files in neat stacks.

There were no pictures, probably because she has no life outside of this.

And there were bright sticky notes all over her desk.

So many that it overwhelmed me.

“Is there something you’d like to fill me in on?” Kara spoke first as soon as she shut the door.

“Nope,” I didn’t hesitate to say, flashing her a smile.

Kara narrowed her beady little eyes.

“I find that hard to believe,” she said, her thin lips tugged up into a fake smile, “Dr. Leclair stopped clean in her tracks.”

“Yes, I was there just like you,” I blankly pointed out.

Kara’s smile grew.

It was passive.

Everything about the look on her face was passive.

I’m sure she and the Leclair’s get on great.

“She was looking at you, Ms. Fierro.”

Her words made me clench my jaw whether I liked it or not.

Then I lazily raised my brows. “I don’t know. It looked like she zoned out. Does your CEO usually zone out? Because if so, I would be very concerned—“

“Am I going to have to remove you from this company, Ms. Fierro?” Kara cut me short, and her choice of words told me she must’ve been working here long before Monroe.

Especially with the word remove.

I smacked my lips together. “I think so, actually,” I said as if it actually pained me. “I’m sure if you go talk to your CEO, she’s already having that arranged.”

At least, I hope she is.

I fucking hate it here.

I’m not being dramatic either.

These fluorescent lights give me a headache.

“Well,” Kara said, clasping her hands together. “I’ll let you know once I get those orders. You’re dismissed.”

I pursed my lips into a tighter smile, reaching for the cold door handle and twisting it.

I exited her office with no hesitation, not wanting to be near her irritating presence a second longer.

“You’re dismissed,” I mocked as I walked down the hallway, curling my lip up to be thinner like hers. “Fuck this,” I mumbled under my breath, trying to ignore the ache in my feet.

I just want to go home and cuddle with Jynx, but no, I have to be here.

And everyone seems to want to stare at me now.

That’s all they did as I walked back toward the tech division.

Grayson looked like he wanted the scoop, and Zion looked concerned.

“What was that about?”

It was the first thing my best friend whispered to me upon sitting down.

“Hopefully, that I’m getting fired,” I mumbled, focusing back on my computer.

I had a lot to get done in the meantime, which would help distract my brain away from what just happened.

And the fact that her voice still lingered in my head.

A voice that I worked so hard to forget.

Along with her name, that I tried to scrub from my memory, and never hear again.

Her name alone always felt like it could strangle me.

I tried to shift back into my workflow, clicking through project files as if my palms weren’t still slightly sweaty.

As if I wasn’t highly aware of Grayson sneaking side-eyes from his desk like he was about to pounce on a plate of gossip.

My heartbeat still felt so fucking erratic.

Or maybe I just needed to eat.

"So... that was something," Grayson said finally, rolling his chair a bit closer like we were in high school again and I had just been publicly embarrassed.

I didn’t even look up.

Zion didn’t either—he was fully locked in with his headphones on, listening to one of the onboarding presentations.

"What was something?" I asked like I was clueless.

We both knew I wasn’t.

"Don’t do that," he said with an amused smile. "Don’t pretend like the entire division didn’t witness the most tense hallway stare-down.”

I bit back a smirk, still scrolling.

It was a little insane.

And I made her look away.

I won.

 "It wasn’t a stare down,” I said, even if I knew it was.

Everyone knew it was.

"Then I assume Dr. Leclair stopping in the middle of the corridor had nothing to do with you?"

"Nothing at all,” I said, leaning back and finally meeting his eyes, "She probably noticed the desks were too far to the right."

Grayson laughed under his breath at my joke.

A joke that luckily distracted him away from the topic about me.

At least until his laughter faded.

Then he was serious again.

"Seriously, though... are you okay? That was weird. Even Kara looked confused." Grayson said, somehow making it even worse.

I really didn’t want to think about it.

How she stared at me.

And how that made the whole room stare with her.

"Confusing Kara should earn me a bonus," I joked, trying to keep the topic light.

Grayson nodded with another laugh.

But this time after… he hesitated for a beat.

"She looked like she knew you."

I stiffened internally, but the last thing I did was show it.

And the last thing I would ever do was talk about it.

Or her.

Not even for legal reasons or my safety pertaining to the Leclairs.

But because what happened all those months ago doesn’t need to be rehashed.

 "She doesn't,” I said before I could remain silent for too long. “I’m not even sure how she would.”

Grayson raised a brow like he disagreed, but he didn’t push me further. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Sienna looked like she was going to throw herself out the window trying to catch up to her."

"Oh, that does help,” I mumbled, a smile growing on my lips.

We both let out a breath of quiet laughter, and I returned to the files we were supposed to finalize before EOD.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur of notifications, half-eaten almonds, and trying not to hyper-fixate on what I couldn't control.

Like her.

And this job that I’m stuck with.

By the time the office cleared out and the automatic lights dimmed, I finally stood and packed up with Zion.

We were mutually quiet for once, which was purely due to our heavy eyes and our burnt-out brains.

I felt so fucking relieved to slide into my car and take off those uncomfortable platform heels.

I happily drove barefoot, which still made my feet ache.

That one was on me, though.

I’ll definitely be wearing more comfortable heels tomorrow.

Jynx greeted me as soon as I walked inside my apartment, her fluffy little body stretching dramatically before brushing against my leg.

I bent down and picked her up, letting her burrow under my chin like she hadn’t seen me in years.

Her purring was probably the first real comfort I felt all day.

"I knew you wouldn’t stay mad at me," I murmured against her fur.

She meowed in response, almost like she was saying—

Don’t try me.

It made me chuckle, carefully lowering her back down.

Then I flopped onto the couch, dumping my bag on the floor as I sprawled out.

I wanted to stay there and just sit in silence until I could fucking reboot myself.

But then my phone buzzed with a text.

From Zion.

Zi: We’re christening the new amenities. Starting with the rooftop grill.

I let out a deep groan, not wanting to move from this spot for at least three hours.

Me: i’m tired

I quickly sent the text, watching Zion start typing immediately in response.  

Zi: Sarai’s making Annie’s mac and cheese

I sighed dramatically, my mouth annoyingly watering at the idea of any kind of food.

Me: fine. i’m coming down.

I laid up from the couch, trying to ignore my aching head as I walked over to my bedroom.

The balls of my feet really fucking hurt, so I pulled on my cushioned slippers.

I also slipped out of my tiny dress and stockings, sliding on a pair of black oversized sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt.

Then I instinctively grabbed Jynx, walking out of my apartment with her in my arm.

I met Zion and Sarai on the roof, clicking the highest elevator button.

Level Thirty-Two.

The sky was still grey, but dimmer, and the rain from earlier had stopped.

The grills were massive, the seating was modern, and the view made me forget the walls I worked within all day.

Sarai laid out plates and napkins while Zion took his grill duties seriously.

“I need food,” I mumbled, causing their attention to shift to me.

I took a seat with my knees pulled to my chest and Jynx’s tiny head resting on my shoulder.

"Well, the mac and cheese is almost done. I made an extra box,” Sarai said.

"Thank god," I mumbled.

"So..." she said, taking a seat next to me. "How was everyone’s first day?"

Zion laughed from the grill. "I already told her about Kara's blood pressure spike."

"Mmm-hmm," Sarai said, staring at me now. "He also told me you had some... extra workplace gossip?"

I looked down at my hands.

Not because I wanted to.

But I needed to count my fingers to prevent my anxiety from spiraling.

I spent the worst weeks of my life listening to podcasts and reading self-help books.

I know how to calm myself down.

I don’t need her.

I’ll never need her again.

"Libs."

"It’s fine," I said quickly. "It was just weird. The whole thing. I didn’t expect her to stop like that. I mean, she full-on fucking stopped to look at me, and then everyone looked at me too, and it was so awkward. But I guess this means she didn’t know about us being hired. I thought she did, but she didn’t. Leon did this, and now—"

“Libs,” Sarai gently cut my rant short, her brows furrowed as she placed a gentle hand on my arm.

I took a moment to pause.

And breathe.

"She’s the CEO. She should know who her hires are,” Zion spoke through the silence, flipping one of the burgers.

"Yeah, so why didn’t she?" Sarai asked, glancing over to Zion.

He only shrugged.

But I knew why.

“Leon—her father,” I breathed out, rolling my shoulders back. “He does this kind of thing, and now we’re some kind of pawn in a game that we know nothing about yet.”

Sarai leaned back in her chair with pursed lips, still in deep thought.

“She shouldn’t even be allowed to look at me,” I mumbled, scoffing to myself. “She shouldn’t even get to breathe the same air as me. She deserves nothing.”

“Damn right,” Sarai didn’t hesitate to add.

“She ruined everything, and that’s it. I don’t want to be cordial. I don’t even want to be in the same workplace as her, but her father’s fucking psychotic,” I ranted, unable to help my anger from growing.

Now my face feels hot, and I want to go take a boxing class.

Zion handed me a plate that I didn’t even realize he had made for me. "Sounds like the whole family is like that.”

I took the food with a nod. “They are.”

"I guess she asked for her father because of that, though. He did this, so she wants him to undo it,” Zion said, recalling what Monroe said earlier.

I think everyone could recall it.

I can still hear her calm voice echoing in my head, asking for her father on the phone.

“Hopefully, he undoes it,” I sighed, lowering my legs from my chest so Jynx could fully sit on my lap.

Then I grabbed my fork, ready to dig into my food.  

We fell into silence after that, just the three of us eating under string lights and the dim grey sky, the scent of grilled food mixing with the rainy air.

We cleaned our plates completely and even finished the mac and cheese from the pot itself.

I had a stomachache by the time we finished, but it was totally worth it.

By the time I made it back down to my apartment, I was ready to shower and brush my teeth so I could tuck in.  

I left Jynx in my bed while I was in the bathroom, which was nice because the spot was perfectly warm for me when I slid in beside her, nudging her over despite the dramatic purr she gave me.

Then I reached for my phone, checking for any last notifications.

Of course, there was some kind of email waiting for me.

I assumed it was another one of Kara’s.

Then—

I saw her name.

It made my stomach twist, staring at the notification for a moment.

It took me a few moments to click on it, unlocking my phone with my face ID.

Ms. Fierro,
I’d like to clarify that your onboarding at Levane was not reviewed directly by me prior to today.

That has since been addressed.

Moving forward, please direct any internal concerns to Kara Briggs until further notice.

Dr. Monroe Leclair

Chief Executive Officer

Levane Pharmaceuticals

I stared blankly at the email for longer than necessary, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

I also fought myself not to respond with something petty.

I lost, and began typing before I could think it through.

Hello,
I assumed you were not up to date with my hiring situation based on today’s events, but I acknowledge this clarification. I was already instructed to contact Kara Briggs with any internal concerns as well, prior to this email.  

Best,
Ms. Fierro

It sounded petty.

Reading it in my head, it sounded even more petty.

I purposely put best at the end, too, knowing how it sounded.

But her emailing me was unnecessary, and acting like she’s giving me any type of information is even more unnecessary.

It was all pointless.

I let out a deep sigh, locking my phone and turning over in my bed to cuddle with Jynx.

I guess I’m staying at Levane after all.

Fucking great.