Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
FINN
“Ineed to speak with you privately.”
Finn looked up to find Elena standing at his desk. She looked determined in a way he hadn’t seen her before.
“Conference room?” she suggested.
Finn glanced around the lab. The other research assistants were absorbed in their work.
Derek had his headphones on. No one was paying attention.
He nodded and followed her lead. As he followed her through the hallway, his mind raced through the possibilities.
Good news about the research? Bad news from the board? David doing something new and terrible?
Glass walls enclosed the small conference room, with blinds open to the hallway. Elena held the door open for him, and the moment he stepped inside, she—
Closed the blinds.
Then she locked the door.
Finn’s brain stuttered. His heart started beating at a hundred miles an hour. They were alone. In a locked conference room with the blinds closed. Elena turned to look up at him and he was suddenly very aware of how close they were.
Was this happening? Were they about to—?
She looked up at him, still wearing that look of determination. Finn’s mouth went dry. This was happening. Right now, in this tiny conference room. This was actually—
“We need to talk about David Turner,” Elena said, her voice lower than usual.
Finn hoped his immeasurable disappointment didn’t show on his face. “What about him?”
“Our conversation at the diner got me thinking.” Elena crossed her arms. “When they shortened our deadline the first time, they gave me some vague explanation about ‘budgetary constraints.’”
Finn nodded. Obviously, he’d been painfully aware of the deadline cut. But the details behind it had always been murky.
“But here’s the thing—” Elena paused. “Have you heard anything about David’s company having financial problems?”
“Not really. If anything, it seems like they’re doing quite well. Why?”
“Because I looked into it. The company had record profits last year. The funding for the Institute should be stable. So where are these budget constraints?”
Finn’s eyes narrowed. “You think they lied?”
“I think the numbers were manipulated. I just can’t see why yet.” Elena paused. “So I’m going to dig deeper into Bridgepoint’s financial records and the funding allocated to research. I just need to find the paper trail.”
Finn paced around the room, processing. “Okay. How can I help?”
“The previous research directors.” Elena’s expression sharpened. “The last two only lasted four years. What happened there?”
“You want me to go through their files.”
Elena nodded. “Everything. Patient data, project timelines, success rates. If we can prove there’s a pattern, it will support our case against David.”
It was a good plan. A smart plan. It was also completely insane.
“Elena.” Finn stopped pacing. “We have less than a week until the presentation.”
“I know.”
“Those files are years of data. It’ll take me days just to sort through it all.” He met her eyes. “If I do this, I won’t have time to work on our actual research. Which means if this doesn’t work…”
“We fail.” Elena’s voice was steady. “I know what I’m asking.”
Finn looked at her. The woman who’d been drowning under the impossible workload was gone. She made her decision, and she wasn’t second-guessing it.
“If we just focus on the presentation,” Elena continued, “we’re just playing David’s game. We’ll work ourselves to death, maybe deliver something decent, and he’ll find a reason to discredit it. You know he will.”
He did know. David never missed an opportunity to make their lives more difficult. He just didn’t know why.
“But if we stop playing defense—” Elena took a step toward to him. “If we can prove what he’s been doing, it doesn’t matter how the presentation goes. We take back our power.”
Finn ran a hand through his hair. “It’s a hell of a gamble.”
Elena was even closer now. He could see the focus in her eyes as she looked up at him. “Do you remember when you first pitched this protocol to me? The one that could either revolutionize the treatment or end both of our careers?”
“I remember you thought I was insane.”
A small smile flashed across her face. “You asked me to trust you.” She paused. “And I did. I trusted you.”
Finn’s chest tightened. He knew where this was going.
“Now I am asking you to trust me.” Elena’s voice dropped lower in a way that made his heart race. “Can you do that?”
The conference room felt impossibly small. Finn was aware of how close they were standing, of the locked door, of the closed blinds shutting out the rest of the world.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I trust you.”
Relief washed over Elena’s face. “Thank you.”
They stood there, neither moving. The conversation was over. They should leave, get back to work, start the investigation. Neither of them moved.
Elena looked up at him. Finn looked down at her.
“We should—” Elena started.
Finn’s hand caught her wrist.
She looked down at where he was touching her, then back up at him. “Finn?”
He kissed her.
Elena made a small sound of surprise, then her hand came up to his jaw and she was kissing him back. Hard. Like something in her had been waiting for permission to break.
Finn’s hands found her waist, pulling her closer. Elena’s fingers slid into his hair. When her back hit the wall, she gasped, and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. When he tightened his grip on her, she made a sound that made him forget about every single problem they were facing.
His hand slipped beneath her shirt, palm flat against her back.
He needed to feel her skin, needed to touch her everywhere he could reach.
Elena broke away just long enough to catch her breath.
Her eyes were dark, lips swollen. For a second, Finn thought she might stop this, might remember that this shouldn’t happen.
Instead, she pulled him back down and kissed him harder. When they broke apart again, both breathing hard, Finn’s forehead dropped to hers. Neither of them spoke for a moment.
“Where did that come from?” Elena asked.
Finn pulled back enough so he could meet her eyes. “Honestly, when you brought me in here and locked the door, I thought… I thought that’s why we were here.”
“You thought I brought you here to make out?”
“Yes. So, you can imagine how I felt when you started talking about David. Easily in my lifetime top ten disappointments.”
She laughed at that. “I’m so sorry to have put you through such a terrible thing.”
Finn smiled. “I wanted to kiss you. Does there have to be reason beyond that?”
Elena smiled back. “No. I guess not.”
They reentered the lab, trying to look casual.
Casually professional. Like they hadn’t just been making out in a locked conference room.
Finn hoped they could slip in unnoticed.
But, of course, Derek was right by the door.
Refilling his water bottle for some reason.
He looked up as they approached and his eyes did a quick scan.
“Where were you guys?” Derek asked.
“Discussing strategy.” Elena responded smoothly.
Technically true, Finn thought.
“Any bright ideas?” Derek screwed the cap back on his bottle.
“We’re going to have you continue with the patient data analysis,” Elena said.
Derek blinked. “So… exactly what I’ve already been doing?”
“Right.”
“Okay.” Derek glanced between them. “And what will you guys be doing?”
Finn didn’t miss a beat. “Taking down the executive of a multi-billion-dollar healthcare company.”
Derek nodded slowly. “Cool.” He put his headphones on and walked away.
They let out a synchronized exhale. “Do you think he believed you?” Elena asked.
“He either wasn’t listening or just didn’t care. Both are fine.”
Finn watched Derek settle back into his workstation. In a way, Elena was protecting him. She was keeping him out of their admittedly insane plan to go after one of the most influential and powerful men in their industry. Not everyone signed up for that kind of risk with their 9-to-5.
Hours went by as Finn dived into the research archives from the previous trials. However, it only took him all of five minutes to discover the pattern. Protocol after protocol, they all had dismal success rates. 15%, 12%, 18%.
He thought about his brother. About how his trial had failed.
He’d always assumed that it was bad luck, or maybe the treatment just wasn’t developed enough yet.
But his experience was… universal. Every protocol.
Every trial. Hundreds of patients across multiple studies, all showing the same abysmal results.
His brother hadn’t been unlucky. His experience was typical.
Finn’s hand tightened on his mouse. All those families. All the people who’d hoped for help, who’d trusted the system to do right by them.
“How’s it going?”
Finn jumped at the simple greeting to find Elena standing beside his desk. He had been so absorbed in the files that he didn’t notice her approach. He took a quick glance around the lab; it had emptied besides him and Elena. “Good. You?”
“Good. Miguel is sleeping over at his friend’s place tonight, so I am going to try to make some headway on the financials.”
“Find anything yet?” Finn asked.
Elena shook her head. “Not yet. Still sorting through budget reports. You?”
“Yeah actually.” Finn leaned forward, lowering his voice even though they were alone. “I’ve been looking at the previous trials and the results across the board have been—”
“Wait,” Elena interrupted. “We should probably take this somewhere else. Somewhere we can speak freely.”
Finn understood immediately. Even though the lab had cleared out, who knew what the computers might track. If they were going to build a case against David Turner, they needed to be careful.
“My apartment is only five minutes away,” Finn said, before he fully considered the implications of his offer.
Something unreadable flashed across Elena’s face. She didn’t answer.
“Or we could go to a coffee shop,” he added quickly.
“No. Your apartment.”
Finn nodded. “I’ll drive.”
They didn’t say much on the walk on their way out. Finn tried to stay focused on the work that they needed to do. But his mind just kept landing back on one thing. He would be alone with Elena Herrera in his apartment tonight.