"Coward," Laura teased, but didn't push further. Then she launched into a story about her ‘experimental phase’ in college that had Finn staring at his beer while Elena laughed.
The questions continued, each one seeming to dig a little deeper than the last. Finn found himself watching Elena more than participating. Then Laura drew a card that made her expression shift subtly. She read it once to herself, then looked up with a gleam in her eye that made Finn tense.
"What's more important," she read, her voice casual, "relationship or career?"
This question was deeply personal, like the others. It also hit way too close to home for both of them. Finn felt Elena go still beside him. Then she reached for her glass and downed the rest of her wine in one smooth motion.
Finn watched her set the empty glass down, her fingers lingering on the stem. He knew the question wasn’t that simple for her. It wasn’t just about career ambition. It was how she provided for Miguel. Her life’s work. The patients they were trying to help, and their families.
"My turn to answer," Laura said, filling the heavy silence. "Relationships, obviously. What's the point of success if you don't have someone to celebrate with?"
When it came to his turn, Finn hesitated. Career had always been his answer. Work was reliable, controllable. Relationships weren’t. Yet sitting here, with Elena beside him, he wasn’t sure anymore.
"I need to think about that one," he said as he reached for his beer.
Elena excused herself to the bathroom. As soon as she was out of earshot, Laura's animated expression transformed. She leaned across the table, eyes sharp and assessing as she studied Finn's face.
"So, what are you thinking about right now?" she asked, her tone deceptively casual.
Finn blinked, thrown by the abrupt shift. "Sorry?"
"What's going on in that big brain of yours?" Laura clarified, tapping her temple. "Let me guess... Elena's boobs?"
Finn choked on his beer, sputtering as the liquid went down the wrong way. "What? No," he managed, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "I was thinking about the study."
"At a bar? After three shots?" Laura's eyebrow arched. "Come on, Finn. I wasn't born yesterday."
"The patterns in the patient responses," Finn insisted,reaching for safer ground. "We have twenty days left to complete the research, and?—"
"Cut the crap," Laura interrupted, her voice dropping lower. "Why do you spend so many extra hours at that lab? Don't tell me it's just for the research."
Finn felt heat creeping up his neck. Laura's directness was unnerving, especially after he and Elena had been carefully avoiding the elephant in the room all week. "The work is important," he said. "It could help a lot of people."
"So could a lot of jobs," Laura countered. "But you chose this one. With her."
There was no point denying the obvious. Laura had seen through him from the moment they met. Still, he found himself reluctant to give her the satisfaction of confirming what she already knew.
"Elena is an exceptional scientist," he said instead, focusing on neutral, professional truths. "Her approach to trauma research is revolutionary. Anyone would be fortunate to work with her."
"Tell me something real about her, Finn. Not from her resume."
The request caught him off guard. He took a slow sip of his beer, considering. "She genuinely cares about her team in a way that I have never seen from other bosses or professors. Last week, one of the other assistants was burning out from the deadline pressure," he said. "Elena noticed. She remembered the assistant had mentioned loving some band weeks ago, just in passing. Elena tracked down concert tickets and told her to take the night off."
As he spoke, he could feel something warming in his chest that had nothing to do with the tequila and everything to do with who she was as a person.
Laura nodded thoughtfully. "And those beautiful lips, right?"
Finn blinked, thrown by the sudden shift. "I... what?"
"Sorry, you were saying?"
"I just meant, even with this impossible deadline, she tries to keep the stress off everyone else. Which means there is even more of it on her shoulders.”
"Right. And dat ass tho," Laura interjected, taking a casual sip of her drink.
Finn's composure faltered. "That's not... I'm talking about her character?—"
"Oh, I heard you," Laura said. "Brilliant, caring, great leader. But what about her body?"
