"So, what do you do when a guy just won't lay off?"

This time Kate was the one visiting Mari's office, though she preferred sitting on a chair like a normal person. The afternoon sun cast an orange glow across the office. Books and articles covered Mari's desk, with a patchwork of post-it-notes in all the colors of the rainbow evenly distributed throughout. Mari sat cross-legged on her chair and, yet again, munched on an energy bar.

That woman's metabolism was unreal.

Mari craned her neck and thought, still chewing as she did. "If he's getting touchy a knee to the nuts should do the trick."

Kate laughed nervously. "Okay, he's not that annoying. But I'd like some room to breathe."

Kate's problem was that she still wasn't asking about an actual guy. Rose had been breathing down her neck ever since the last encounter, insisting that she needed to observe another surgery in order to gather sufficient data. The tricky part was that blatant evasion attempts likely would earn her a trip to the hospital director and trouble down the road.

But how was she going to explain that to Mari without mentioning the part about magic? So she opted not to and continue her vague asking until Mari came up with a trick she could apply to her situation.

Mari swayed side-to-side on her chair. A pink post-it-note fluttered off the table as she brushed against it without noticing. "Right. So we've got to come up with something less drastic."

"You say as you're doing all the thinking."

"Hey, you're the one rejecting my ideas. At least take some responsibility." Another chunk of the energy bar disappeared into Mari's mouth. En route to the void. "I take it you'd generally prefer to avoid physical violence or intimidation then?"

Kate swallowed nervously. Just how was Mari used to dealing with guys? Or was that just an off-color joke? She decided that she'd rather not know the answer. She nodded hastily. "Yeah, let's go with something that won't get me in trouble."

Mari clicked her tongue. "And this guy isn't particularly interested in listening to what you say. So we need something else. He's on to your misinformation strategy?"

"I think that's pretty safe to say." Kate sighed heavily. "I sent an email, stating a different time than the actual one. It worked, but he allied with the hospital director the next time and got the information directly from her. Now they're both on my case."

Mari's eyes widened, and Kate realized that she had messed up. "I knew it! The director's son does have the hots for you! Ha, I was right about it all along. And you thought you could fool me." She puffed out her chest in a proud gesture that would have been comical, if not for the awkward rumor the situation could give rise to.

"Please don't tell anyone," Kate said through gritted teeth. Trying to deny it would just get Mari to dig deeper and then she'd really be in trouble.

Mari rolled her eyes. "What do you take me for? I enjoy being one of the few in the know. It's no fun if everyone's talking about it."

Hardly the most noble motive, but it still saved Kate a lot of trouble. She could live with that.

Turning her gaze to the ceiling again, Mari pressed a finger against her lips and froze in that pose. A few moments later, she spoke again. "So they're catching on already, because you did such a poor job. Now to figure out how to deal with lover boy and mom without feeding into those suspicions."

"Do you have to put it like that?" Kate felt slightly attacked.

"I suppose I don't have to, but where would be the fun in that?" Mari grinned impishly. "I don't think we need to drop the misdirection tactic quite yet." "There are still plenty of alternatives to emails. Besides, you don't always have to be the one providing the misinformation." She smiled slyly. "If I do it for you that would help, wouldn't it?"

Kate shifted in her chair. "I suppose that could work. For a while at least."

"Right?" Mari beamed. "We'll worry about future plans when that when that time comes. And hey, who knows, perhaps you'll even be off the hook before that time."

"That would be nice." Kate dared to hope. There was a limit to how long that research project could be going on, right? Or at least how long they would spend observing one surgeon.

"Actually," Mari's smile widened in a way Kate didn't quite like. "Perhaps you could use that tactic to help me deal with Bron as well?"

Not something she wanted to get involved in. "I'm sorry, I don't think I could do that. I'm pretty bad at coming up with credible excuses, which you should have figured out by now."

Mari slumped in her chair. "Figures. But I can at least still hide under your desk if it should be necessary in the future, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I suppose so." Kate gave a half-hearted shrug. Not like there was any real harm to the suggestion. She could mostly ignore her while doing paperwork anyway.

"Right." Mari clasped her hands together. "Then, let's get right to it. What sorts of things do you need me to mislead him about?"

Kate felt her neck heating up. The whole scheme was proving to be troublesome already. "Oh, actually I think it would be better to offer false information to the hospital director. Or someone else he would talk to. I think it would be best for you to not deal with them directly," Kate trailed off, and sure what reason to give.

"Lest he become suspicious of me?" Mari asked. "You're probably right. If he were to see me left and right all the time he would figure it out sooner rather than later."

"Exactly" Kate breathed a sigh of relief. And so they began hatching a plan.