The silence between them stretched for several seconds. It was uncomfortable, but less uncomfortable than the teammeeting they had just survived. Elena traced the rim of her cup with her finger, searching for the right words.
"So... that was rough," she finally said, looking up at him.
"Yeah."
Elena sighed, taking a sip of her latte. "I've been working under his guidance since I started working here. Paul Thompson is..." She struggled for the right words, something professional but honest.
"Aggravatingly always right?" Finn finished for her.
Elena's eyes widened in surprise. She couldn’t help but laugh. The release felt wonderful after the tension of the meeting. “Was that a joke, Finn Cochrane?” Elena playfully inquired.
A smile tugged at Finn’s mouth, but he quickly straightened back to his usual rigid state. “Maybe.”
Elena smiled, savoring the fact that she had made Finn lose his composure. If even for just a second. “You’re right, though. It’s like trying to argue with the ancient god of research accuracy.”
That made Finn laugh, and Elena realized she'd never heard him laugh before. His face transformed when he laughed, the serious lines softening. This was a new side of Finn she had never seen before. She decided she liked it. For a moment, they sat in silence. The silence felt more comfortable now, though.
“Elena,” Finn said, waiting to continue until she looked at him. When she did, she could see genuine concern on his face. “When I brought this idea to you the other day, I wasn’t fully considering everything you are putting on the line here. If you want to reconsider…”
“No. If I didn’t believe this was our best chance, I wouldn’t have pursued it. We’re doing this.”
Finn’s eyes flicked back and forth betweenElena’s as he considered this. “Okay. But I need you to know that I’m with you on this. If you decide that an essential oil ritual treatment is our best bet, I will support you. Though Paul might actually combust.”
“Well, that was absolutely a joke. Completely unacceptable and unprofessional, Mr. Cochrane.”
Finn smiled at that. Twice in one day? She felt oddly special.
“We’re going to make this work, Elena. The data’s there. We just need to prove it.”
Without thinking, she reached across the table, her hand closing around his forearm. "Thank you, Finn," she said softly. "Sometimes it's nice to have someone in your corner."
He looked at her, something shifting in his expression as he searched her eyes. The reserved quality that usually characterized his face seemed to recede slightly, revealing a glimpse of something warmer, more vulnerable.
"You're welcome," he said, his voice equally soft.
Only then did she notice how close they were. How the small table brought them into each other's space, how large his arm felt beneath her fingers, how intently he was looking at her. Elena realized her hand was still on his arm. If this arm-grabbing trend continued, it would become problematic. She pulled back and awkwardly checked her watch. It had gotten late, and the crowd had thinned out significantly. This coffee date needed to end as soon as possible. And she told herself that ‘date’ was the wrong word.
"We should probably get going," she said, suddenly self-conscious. "We need to make up for all the precious time you spent joking around."
"Let's go then, Dr. Herrera."
Chapter Eight
ELENA
It was a beautiful September morning as Elena and Finn walked to the testing clinic. There had been exactly zero words said in the last two minutes.
“Another day, another trip to the clinic.” Elena said to fill the air. She immediately regretted it.
Finn’s lip twitched. “What?”
“It’s a phrase, I think.”
There was the ghost of a smile in Finn’s expression. “I’ve never once heard that phrase, and I have spent a lot of time either at the clinic, or on the way to the clinic.”
“Well, on my team, we say that phrase. And I will not be taking further questions about this.”
“I askedonequestion,” Finn argued.
