He was quiet for a long moment, jaw working as he processed, then said, "I understand." His voice was steady, controlled. "The research comes first. It always has."
He paused, then added with quiet determination, "We'll get through the deadline.”
Part of her wanted him to argue, to tell her she was wrong, to fight for what had sparked between them. Instead, he accepted her decision with grace, putting the research and her needs above his own feelings. The urge to close the distance between them, to take it all back, to hold him just once more, rose so strongly she had to clench her fists to stop herself.
The lab door opened again, saving her from herself. Two research assistants entered, chattering about their weekend, and both Elena and Finn shifted into their professional roles.
"Good morning," Elena greeted them, her voice attempting to mask the emotion that had filled it moments before. "Once everyone arrives, we'll need to review some significant changes to our timeline."
"Is everything okay?" one assistant asked, catching the tension in the room.
"Just stress with the new deadline," Elena replied smoothly. "We’ve got a lot of work to do."
She caught Finn's eye for a moment, saw his almost imperceptible nod. Whatever happened between them, she knew with absolute certainty that he would never let the research suffer.
The rest of the day established their new normal. Elena assigned tasks through email rather than speaking directly to Finn. When they had to interact, it was clinical: "The Tuesday patient set analysis is complete," he'd say.
"Thank you. Please upload it to the shared drive," she'd respond.
By 7 PM, most of the team had left. Elena and Finn remained, working in their separate orbits. Twenty-nine days to go. She could do this. She had to.
"I'm heading out," Finn said from across the room, his voicestartling in the silence. "I've uploaded the revised protocol for the new batch and drafted the ethics committee request for accelerated patient screening."
Elena nodded, not quite looking at him. "Thank you. That's... extremely helpful."
He stood by his desk, bag over his shoulder, hesitating as if there was something more he wanted to say. The moment stretched between them, charged with everything they weren't discussing.
"Goodnight, Dr. Herrera.”
"Goodnight, Finn," she replied, watching as he left.
Chapter Twenty-One
ELENA
The knock on her door made Elena jump. She had been so consumed with her work that she forgot about the outside world. Through the window of her door, she could see Laura's flame-red curls and determined expression. Before Elena could even motion her in, the door swung open and Laura strode through, two enormous coffees clutched in her hands.
"I come bearing caffeine and guilt," Laura announced, kicking the door closed behind her. "One of these is approximately sixty percent espresso, which is what you look like you need right now."
Elena reached for the cup, gratitude momentarily overwhelming the exhaustion that had settled into her bones. "You're a lifesaver. But I'm not sure what the guilt part is about."
Laura dropped into the chair across from Elena's desk, taking in the stacks of research papers, the large monitor displaying endless columns of data, and Elena's drawn facewith a pitiful wince. "The guilt is because I'm the one who set you up with that absolute jackass David, who is apparently now trying to sabotage your career because you wouldn't sleep with him."
Elena choked on her first sip of coffee. "How did you?—"
"Please." Laura waved dismissively. "The accelerated deadline is all over the national news. 'Local neuroscience lab led by an impossibly sexy mom races against impending deadline.' Plus, you haven't returned my texts for three days, which only happens when you're furious with me or drowning in work. In this case, apparently both."
Elena set her coffee down, too tired to maintain the polite fiction that everything was fine. All the assistants had already left for the day. All of them except Finn, who was still working at his desk.
"It's not your fault," Elena said, rubbing her temples. "You didn't know he was on the board when you suggested the set-up."
"No, but I should have done better research," Laura countered. "Jessica made him sound perfect, but clearly she left out the part where he can't handle rejection like an adult." She leaned forward, her expression softening. "But seriously, El, what happened? Did he actually admit he pushed for the deadline change because you turned him down?"
Elena shook her head. "Not directly. But the timing is... suspicious. Our date was on Friday. Later that night I told him I wasn't interested in seeing him again, and by Monday afternoon the board had officially accelerated our deadline by thirty days."
"That's practically a signed confession," Laura said. "Can't you report him or something? This has to violate some ethics rule."
"With what proof?" Elena slumped back in her chair. "Itwould be my word against his, and he's a board member with significant influence over our funding. Plus, how would it look? A 41-year-old researcher bringing her dating drama into the workplace? Best case scenario is that I make waves, but nothing changes. Worst case, we lose the grant entirely, and I look like someone who can't separate her personal life from her work.”
