Memory Lane....(Part Six)

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"Gloria? Do you have a minute?"

"Sure, Alice, come on in."

Alice sat down in the chair across from Gloria's desk. "I'm not exactly sure how to say what I need to say."

Gloria closed down the spreadsheet she had been working on and gave Alice her full attention, "Well that's one heck of a way to start."

"I think I might be in an ethically gray area here. There is a confidentiality agreement around donations but at the same time I have a blanket permission to talk about training items so I'm not entirely sure where this falls."

"Okay. Would you feel more comfortable speaking to Dane?"

Alice chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, "I think when he gets back he will have to be brought in. Because I'm not entirely sure that what I think I saw I actually saw. But, I also feel like you should be made aware of what I think I saw because if it's true, well I'm not entirely sure what it means but I don't think it's going to be good."

Gloria sat quietly for a moment. Then she checked her watch and pulled out her phone and double checked her text messages. "Okay, so, answer one question before we go any further. Will it hurt to wait for two more hours? If Dane is going to need to be brought in anyway we should probably wait and have you start with him."

Alice kept chewing on her lip. "Probably? I guess? I mean, that makes sense I guess..."

Gloria was starting to really get rattled. Alice was one of their most competent and qualified Memory Techs. She had been in research labs studying neurological electrical impulses for a decade after medical school before coming to work for them. To see her this bothered was unsettling.

"Okay. That's what we will do then. Do you feel like you can work this afternoon or would you rather take a break until we can meet with Dane? I know you have to be really focused during donations and..."

"I think I might need some time. We've only got one appointment this afternoon anway, it's why I was working with," Alice paused and then shook her head, "I'll tell you when Dane is here."

"Okay, you take a break. I'll get Claude to handle the afternoon and you and I can meet back here with Dane at," Gloria looked at her calendar then opened a program on her phone to look at Dane's schedule as well, "Let's say at four, how does that sound?"

"That's perfect. Thank you."

After Alice left her office Gloria called the lab to ask Claude to cover the afternoon appointment. "Alice has some personal business to attend to so if you could handle the donation that would be great....Oh...and Claude, what was Alice working on before she had to leave, do you know? Is it anything that needs finished? Oh...okay. So nothing pressing. Thanks."

Gloria hung up the phone and tapped her pen on her desk thinking. Alice had been working on training Jean in lab procedures. What had she stumbled upon that was so bad? Maybe something related to the catalog they got from the California issue? That would make sense. They were still cleaning all of that up.

Well nothing to do but wait for Dane to get back.

She reopened the spreadsheet on her computer and got back to work.