"That makes sense," Elena said. "Spacing them out more in the first two weeks could help."
"Yeah, exactly." Alexis made a note on her tablet. "I'll adjust the protocol and see how the next group responds."
They worked through a few more data points before Alexis glanced at the clock. "Hey, would you mind if I got out of here a couple of hours early today? Lily's volleyball team made it to the playoffs."
"Of course not," Elena said immediately. "Tell her good luck. And send me that updated protocol on Monday. I’m excited about what you have here, Alexis."
"Will do. Thanks, Elena."
Elena checked the time. “Are you all set here? I’ve got a meeting in about ten minutes.”
“All set. I’ll be heading out soon.”
She nodded and left the lab, starting down the long hallway to the elevator. The walk always seemed to frustrate her. The real work was being done in the labs, and her new office felt far away from that. She spent as much time in the lab as she could. Hopefully the researchers didn’t think she was micromanaging.
After a quick ride in the elevator, Elena walked down the hallway to her office. The nameplate beside her door read:Elena Herrera - Director of Research.
She stepped inside, set down her bag and barely settled into her chair when there was a knock at the door. Three o’clock, right on schedule.
“Come on in, Paul,” she called.
Paul Thompson appeared in her doorway.
"Right on time," Elena said, gesturing to the chair across from her desk.
Paul settled in, opening his meeting journal. With excitement in his eyes, he looked up. “Did you see the email from the board?”
Elena shook her head. “No, I’ve been in the lab all afternoon. What’s going on?”
“They approved the budget increase for our department for the next year. They’re pleased with the preliminary results across our projects.”
She felt a small surge of satisfaction. “That’s great to hear.”
The approval wasn’t surprising. Since David’s removal, the support from the board had been night and day. But she still found herself holding her breath every time the budget came up for conversation.
Paul was quiet for a moment, then said, "By the way, they finalized David's sentencing yesterday."
Elena looked up. "And?"
"Eight years. Federal healthcare fraud, multiple counts. He'll likely serve five with good behavior."
She thought she’d feel victorious. Instead, there was just relief. "Good."
"And that might not be all," Paul added. "A new lawsuit was just filed against him by a law firm representing over a hundred nurses.”
Elena's eyes widened. "A hundred nurses?"
Paul nodded. "All from Bridgepoint’s clinical division. Apparently he was running the same scheme across multiple departments. Cut staffing to the bone to show reduced operational costs, collected bonuses on the savings."
The sheer number of people David had hurt was depressing to think about. But the thought of him sitting in atiny cell for years brought a small smile to her face. “I hope they win.”
After he left, Elena’s gaze drifted to a framed photo on her desk. It was her, Miguel, and Finn at Miguel’s soccer game last month. They were all smiling in their matching team colors. Funny how normal it all felt now. There were some bumps in the road at first, especially when Finn moved in. Miguel had voiced several concerns, most of them Xbox-related.
“If he’s living here now, I don’t understand why we can’t spend more time on the Xbox,” he’d argued. “It’s not like you guys won’t still have time to do laundry and smoke cigarettes.”
“When have you ever seen me smoke a cigarette?”
“Regardless, there still should be more time for Xbox,” Miguel said with his head held high.
