Mendax Undercover - Chapter 3: The Cameos
Author's Note: It was actually thanks to @imaginationismybubble and her recent fic that inspired me to put some of you in this AU-- hence the chapter title of "Cameos." I hope it is okay and if it is not, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Author's other note: The writing hasn't gotten there quite yet, but this fic is turning out to be my most emotional one yet...I can actually picture living in Basel with Assangie... 🥺
As several weeks continued on, Kat and Julian did not cross paths very often. There was the occasional passing by in the office halls, infrequent encounters in the coffee station where they met previously, or in the office café. Julian typically kept to himself and did not talk to many people outside those on his team, but when he saw Kat he would usually acknowledge her with a nod and a soft smile, sometimes followed with a greeting of “hello” or “good morning.” Kat always blushed when she saw him, and usually fumbled in one way or another. Her ankle might buckle under her slightly that would cause a small but awkward change in her stride, or if she were carrying something like papers or a pen they would find a way to fly out of her hand the instant she would enter his presence. After passing him by, she would always sigh at herself in annoyance. She would often ponder, do I always have to look like a complete idiot every time I run into this guy? However, unbeknownst to her, Julian found her slight clumsiness to be somewhat endearing. It made her seem real and honest—and truth was something that was very important to Julian. He did not trust people easily, and was generally stand-offish and uncomfortable around most of them. Though there was something about Kat that he sensed was different in that aspect and it did intrigue him, but not enough to aggressively pursue it. He had larger concerns on his plate such as keeping up with this new job that provided a sort of undercover refuge for him, and the salary helped him to continue to fund and support his main cause, despite having to seemingly disappear from it as far as the outside world was concerned. While Kat stressed over her embarrassment after passing Julian in these instances, what she didn’t see was Julian would turn around to watch her walk on for a small moment, blink and grin softly before turning around and continuing on his path.
The weeks continued to pass by and soon the time arrived for the company banquet, where they would take time to celebrate their scientific and sales accomplishments for the year. It was a formal affair that Kat always looked forward to because she loved getting dressed up in a fancy evening gown and socializing with her colleagues outside of the office over decadent food and unlimited champagne. On this evening, Kat and Jun were seated at a table with some employees from different departments, the rest of their team of variant scientists was a table over. Kat was very proud of and loyal to Santé Genomics—she found most of her self-worth and identity within her career. Due to this, she was always enthusiastic about meeting new people from different departments, and learn more about the company as a whole. She believed the more she knew about the company the better she could serve them.
As the evening went on and people moved about the room to mingle, Kat and Jun found themselves in some great conversation with three other ladies sitting at their table. One was an assistant medical writer named Bethany, who sported mid-length straight brown hair with bangs covering her forehead, and brown eyes to match. These features were in contrast to her light complexion. She was a UK native, and after her university studies and a few entry level jobs within the biotech sector she found herself at Santé Genomics working alongside the medical writers who were responsible for helping with marketing materials as well as churning out the institution’s many scholarly research articles. Seated next to Bethany was Marilu, another American expat who was an artist by trade and was able to land a role with Santé Genomics as an assistant medical illustrator. Similar to Bethany’s writing role, Marilu assisted with the artwork that went into marketing publications and abstracts that would be presented at major oncology conferences like ESMO and ASCO. Marilu came from Latino roots, and wore her wavy, dark brown hair short to her ears, but it was thick and full on the top of her head. She also wore black-rimmed glasses, nothing too flashy. Marilu was typically shy and quiet, until she felt comfortable around people then she would start to come out of her shell a bit. Like Kat and Jun, Bethany and Marilu had started their relationship as colleagues and soon escalated it to friendship after they found they shared similar interests in art and entertainment as well as a strong worth ethic. They partnered on many projects together which benefited the company.
Finally, on the other side of Marilu sat Astrid, the company receptionist who typically saw almost everyone who entered the vast biotech building. Most of higher management and executives like Julian tended to enter through a restricted access site on the other side of the facility. However, vendors, investors, auditors, and other guests of the facility as well as typical employees were often greeted by Astrid when they entered the building. Astrid was a French native with short black hair cut in a chic bob style and dark hazel-like eyes. She loved to dress her eyes with dark eyeshadow and her lips with red lipstick, which many times made her look like a sort of modern-day flapper. She had a look that was both classic and yet modern, which made her an intriguing site at the front desk. As the receptionist, she had to put on the friendly and professional façade, but few knew of her more sarcastic side that frolicked within a garden of dark comedy.
As the champagne continued to flow throughout the night, the five colleagues shared fun company stories of their prospective roles and departments after introducing themselves. They bonded over their respect for the company mission, which was about fighting cancer and helping to prolong lives through innovative science and precision medicine.
Kat had been having such a good time chatting with these new colleagues that she had completely forgotten about wondering if Julian would be at the gala. She had nonchalantly surveyed the room at the beginning of the night and did not spot him, figuring he decided not to show. Maybe he was not into such things, she really didn’t know—and it was annoying that she wanted to know. She just found him to be so mysterious, and it intrigued her deeply. Of course, while she let her mind focus on her surroundings and forget about him and his mystery, he then showed up in her periphery as she cocked her head back to chuckle at one of Bethany’s office stories. Once she got a glimpse of those white-blonde strands she had to double take and pause. Every time she looked at him it was as if life moved in slow motion for those moments.
Julian looked quite dapper as he lightly chatted with his upper management scientists. He was wearing a black suit and shirt accented with a bright red tie. The black made his hair stand out even more, and it almost shined in the light like some sort of celestial being. After a few minutes, Julian’s eyes wandered in her direction and seemed to lock onto hers. Startled, Kat looked away, fearing of being caught.
Surely he didn’t notice me from all the way over there…
Julian did see her though, and it was his turn to be a little intrigued. He wrapped up conversations with the other gentlemen nearby and finished his last sip of champagne before setting down the glass and heading in Kat’s direction.
She looked back up and saw him walking toward their table, but the door to the ballroom was not far behind them. Perhaps he was finished with the evening and heading out. Kat looked down and sighed nervously as she fiddled with some of the silverware that remained on the table.
“Ohhh my Goddd…he’s heading this way I think…” she muttered under her breath to Jun, who was sitting next to her.
“Wait what’s going on?” Bethany leaned in, curious.
“Who…?” Astrid inquired.
Marilu was not paying much attention, she was locked in on her cellphone as she often was, sitting with her knees folded up toward her chin and her feet resting on the chair.
“God, make sure the knives and other sharp objects are away from me if he comes over here—before I hurt someone…” Kat yammered, pushing them toward the center of the table.
Jun giggled at their friend, then looked at the others. “She has a bit of a crush…”
“Jun--!” Kat protested.
“Oooh..!” the two ladies sang in unison, and even Marilu looked up from her screen.
“Shutupshutupshutup…” Kat muttered under her breath to the table as Julian approached them. He walked up beside Kat’s chair and rested his hand on the back of it.
“Ah Kitty-Kat—I thought I saw you,” he stated softly with a smile.
Kat looked back up at him and saw his zircon eyes shining from behind his errant strands once again. “Julian…hello!” she returned with a bright smile back, trying to keep her cool and not blush too much. Luckily the room was somewhat dimmed.
Julian then looked briefly at the others at the table. “Hello…” he nodded politely, then turned his focus back toward Kat.
Everyone else returned his greeting but he didn’t seem to take much notice.
“I am heading out but I wanted to stop and say hello… Don’t get too crazy—we have lives to save tomorrow…!” he quipped with one of his signature silly grins. He addressed the whole table but let his eyes lock with Kat’s for one small second before turning away and walking toward the exit.
Kat’s eyes fluttered once he walked away, and as she reached for her champagne glass, she fumbled it a bit and almost knocked it over completely. She was able to regain control of it, however. Unbeknownst to her, Julian took a final glance back as he walked through the double door exit of the room. He smiled to himself when he saw her tiny falter, then finally turned around to be on his way.
Kat gulped down the rest of her champagne as her face flushed and her demeanor seemed a little more agitated than she had been before.
“So this man—you have a crush?” Astrid inquired nonchalantly, her French accent thick.
“Yes!” Jun blurted with a giggle, and Kat was mortified.
“Shhhhh!!” she motioned aggressively to the table. “Gads, I don’t think the pathologists in the BACK heard you…” then she covered her face in embarrassment.
“I think he likes her too…he calls her Kitty-Kat…” Jun added.
“Well I barely know either of you but I ship the hell out of this..!” Bethany exclaimed genuinely with a bright smile before grabbing another glass of champagne.
“Ouais, absolument—ship!” Astrid proclaimed, raising her glass.
“That man looks familiar…” Marilu muttered with a suspicious air.
Kat, still visibly mortified, tried to regain control of the table. “Stop it…stop it….”
“Wait, who is he though…?” Bethany asked.
“He’s the new VP of Therapeutic Bioinformatics…” Jun answered.
“Ah Dr. Assange…?” Astrid returned, emphasizing the silent e at the end as the French sometimes tended to do. “So many doctors here, eh…?”
“Still familiar…that name…” Marilu muttered, poking away at her cellphone. She seemed to be trying to research something, but was coming up with dead ends.
Marilu had a hobby of following political whistleblower stories and supporting their plight. She remembered when Julian and his website blasted the United States many years ago. Yet now she couldn’t seem to find a trace linking Dr. Assange to any of that on the internet. She wondered if her mind were playing tricks on her—but as stated earlier, Julian was very gifted and impeccable at covering his tracks. He knew he needed to disappear, so that he did as far as the internet was concerned. He was so arrogant in his abilities that he did not feel he needed to go to the trouble to change his name or appearance. He, however, did not anticipate a person like Marilu would ever be embedded in a small biotech town in a politically neutral country. For now though, his magic had thrown her off course. Plus it seemed unlikely that someone at a VP level at a biotech company would double as a rogue internet journalist.
Kat sighed. “Okay, yes..it seems I may have a little bit of a crush…but that’s it! It’s not like anything will ever come of it, honestly. I can’t even interact with the man without blushing or making a complete fool of myself. I’m sure he thinks I am a total idiot. He only knows me because I dumped coffee pods all over him and our department works closely with his…”
“Dude has literally never said two words to me,” Jun protested.
Kat sighed again as she shrugged. “Well…I’m sure he will soon…eventually…”
“This is fun!” Bethany exclaimed with a smile, pouring champagne into the other’s glasses. “We should hang out more—maybe do dinner after work or something…”
“Yes! You guys should come by my desk sometime—I always have little cakes and other snacks there…” Astrid added.
And just like that, this table of colleagues at Santé Genomics became good friends that night, and would continue to stay in touch for years to come.