Chapter 4
Chapter Four
ELENA
Elena could sense the drama in the lab this morning. As she was preparing her morning coffee, she couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the gossip among the research assistants. She didn’t have to listen hard to catch the key phrases:
"…literally reorganized my entire filing system without asking."
"Did you see him with the intake logs? Like he’s been here forever."
She let them have their grievance, at least for a minute.
The subject of the uprising sat alone at the workstation near her office, back to the rest. Finn Cochrane, the new guy who was making waves.
He wore the same style of button-down as yesterday, this one a shade of gray.
He was already deep into the morning’s protocol review, scanning the pages in deep focus.
By Finn’s first day in the lab, it was abundantly clear that he operated at another level than the other research assistants.
Elena had decided to put that precision to use.
On Tuesday morning, she asked him to audit the other assistants’ data protocols.
She’d noticed Derek’s session timing inconsistencies and Joanna’s sloppy entries, but fixing them sat near the bottom of her totem pole of crises.
Now she had someone who could handle it.
Elena set her mug down and flipped open the schedule, skimming over the day’s appointments. No major meetings, but plenty of sessions, and the latest batch of intake interviews to code. She risked a glance at Finn, who had not yet looked up.
At 9:30, Derek made his move. He walked to Finn's desk and tried to appear casual. "Finn?"
Finn kept his eyes on his work. "What?" he said with his usual brand of approachability.
"Quick question about the entry logs for group C."
"Is it about the session duration formatting or the timestamp fields?"
"Uh, both, actually." Derek slid a folder onto the desk. "I got flagged for inconsistent time notation. I've been using decimal hours, like 0.75, but some of the files use minutes—"
"Forty-five minutes versus 0.75 hours," Finn finished, plucking a sheet out. "The system can't aggregate mixed formats. Everything needs to be in minutes for the analysis software. You can convert your entries with a batch script. I'll forward it to you."
Derek lingered for a moment. "Forty-five minutes, 0.75 hours… they're the same thing."
Finn finally looked up. "Then call it the same thing every time."
"Uh, thanks." Derek grabbed his folder and retreated.
Elena let another minute pass before calling, “Finn, can I see you in my office for a moment?”
He rose and walked over to her office. She gestured for him to close the door. “You’re certainly shaking things up,” she said.
Finn’s expression remained neutral. “I am aware. The audit revealed discrepancies, and I am taking steps to correct them.”
“I know. And I appreciate the thoroughness.” She perched on the edge of her own desk. “But maybe ease the team into the changes? You’ve been here less than a week. It may take them a little while to adjust to the changes.”
He considered this, eyes flicking up to hers. “The errors were not sustainable. And the deadline is tight.”
“You’re not wrong,” she admitted. “But you’re also not in charge. Not officially, anyway.”
Finn sat still for a moment, then nodded once. “Understood. I will alter my approach.”
“Good.” She took a sip of coffee before adding, “But keep an eye on Derek. He’s sensitive about correction.”
“Would you prefer me to allow his mistakes to persist?”
Elena considered carefully before responding.
She’d supervised enough teams to realize that most assistants preferred not to criticize their peers.
Finn wasn’t the typical research assistant, however.
And the deadline was always looming. Mistakes could cost them valuable time they didn’t have.
“No,” she said. “Just… make the corrections less visible. To the ego, at least.”
Finn nodded, seemingly indifferent to office politics. “I can do that.”
Elena watched him for another second. There was something almost practiced about his stillness, like he had trained at a Buddhist temple. She wondered what it would be like to reach that level of Zen. “That’s all. Thank you for your hard work.”
He nodded and left without another word. Through the glass, she saw the others pivot away from the door, feigning busy. Finn took his seat and was soon lost again in the patient charts.
Elena found herself suppressing a smile, not for the first time. She probably should have defended the other assistants. But every time she tried to conjure a defense, she couldn’t. Finn’s way was simply better.