But he was more than fond of the old girl, and he was constitutionally incapable of failing to please her if he could. "Okay, Millie," he said to her, a little resigned. "I can tell you want to tell me all about it, so sure, fine. I'll bite. What's your latest invention all about?"
He wanted to know, it was true. It was weak, and he couldn't help it. And as he asked, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned around to see who was creeping up on them. It had seemed a little odd, and uncharacteristic, that the lab was so very quiet as they'd entered and walked down the central aisle of it. Millie didn't employ an extensive staff, but she had, usually, at least a couple of full-time lab techs on the payroll, a few casuals picking up what hours were left over, and quite often the odd doctoral candidate or post-doc either helping out on a paid basis, or exchanging services for access to Millie's equipment and lab space, to help out with finishing off their theses or whatever project they might be hammering away at.
The turnover was normally pretty rapid, and often enough the faces he saw around the old barn were new to him whenever he popped back to be fed lemon wafers and Earl Grey by Millie and la Hornspittle. But there was the odd familiar face that cropped up on a regular basis, and Dolly was one of them. "Dolly, love!" he greeted her. Because they were old pals, after a fashion. "Finished your thesis yet? Had your hearing? I'd have thought you'd have shaken the dust of these old halls from your pretty little feet, soon as you got your bit of paper and a research fellowship offer from a decent college. How come you're still letting old Millie boss you around?"
She was chewing on a sandwich – because, unusual levels of professionalism for a private lab aside, there was inevitably the odd exception and lapse of standards. And you could see it in the dress standards that Millie imposed. (None, with a strong preference herself for trailing muslins that were most likely and liable to get her caught up in some bit of heavy machinery and minced.) And in the rules regarding refreshments – again, none. Mugs of tea and sandwiches on the go were pretty much the rule around Millie's lab, part of a casual informality she thoroughly enjoyed, and so did her staff.
YOU ARE READING
Erase You
RomanceMichael is a musician, Cambridge-educated but living in London. He's successful, attractive and has plenty to keep him busy and happy. So why can he still not get over his old college boyfriend, Ben? Fortunately his old Great-Aunt Millie, a notor...
