Meeting Sir R with whom she'd exchanged online debauchery for a weekend camping trip in the heat of the desert's July sun, was hazardous. First shift's work report completed, Shaye loaded a tray with six more test tubes on the main hematology instrument. While the probe sucked up the blood for testing, she checked the time on the wall. Three thirty on a Friday afternoon. She was running late. Where was he? On her far left, the specimen processing staff clicked keyboards and entered the last of the dayshift's collections. Second shift phlebotomists swung through main laboratory doors, coming from and to the hospital's floor calls. On the right of the open lab space was the chemistry department, the loudest sector of the lab. Seven gigantic instruments buzzed their own tune in-between the stages of testing, their train like rails carried and sampled thousands of tubes a day. She waved at the second shift's chemistry coworker who pointed at her wrist. "Write him up!" "Nah, he'll be here. Eventually." Large hands landed on her hips, minty breath brushed against her ear.
