^^Emma
Lena and I were laughing on her couch. I had introduced Lena to the world of Among Us and she was terrible at lying. It was so obvious whenever she was the imposter. I had to help her EVEN when I was on the opposing team! It turned into me playing as both Lena and myself.
Lena and I have been meeting up after work for the past couple of months. Our interactions consisted of us chatting and me introducing her to Gen Z games and trends. I'd also bitch about my work and the people who irked me. Lena would simply listen and found my assessment of certain colleagues to be interesting. She valued my opinion especially when we'd geek out about scientific discoveries and come up with our own hypothesis and discoveries. I loved talking to her about science and she was even more excited than me to speak about it. As of now, I was eating the Chinese takeout she got for me.
"These are absolutely delicious." I licked my lips. "Where'd you get the pot stickers from?" I grabbed another one.
"Q by Peter Chang." Lena answered. "I'm glad you're enjoying them. How are the egg rolls?"
"Amazing." I closed my eyes and smiled. "So, so good." I observed her smiling at me. "So tell me more about yourself."
"What would you like to know?" She chuckled.
"Anything." I shrugged. "No one knows anything about you."
"That's not true. Hailey knows things about me."
"Besides Hailey." I waved my hand. "Who are you outside of work?"
"Umm... that's a good question. Most of my life has been dedicated towards working, so I'm not really sure about my identity outside of it."
"Alright, then what got you interested in this field? Why pharmaceuticals?" I smiled, but saw her get a faraway look in her eye.
"My late husband..." I couldn't hide my shock since I didn't know she was married. "He had a passion for medicine and had a dream of helping humans live a long and prosperous life. He deeply desired to craft something that would make their lives easier." She took a deep breath to compose herself. "And everything I do is to honor his memory. He wasn't able to achieve it, so I hope he can somewhat be happy through me. I want his legacy to live on through my work."
Lena looked down and played with her fingers. I didn't care about crossing a line when I placed my hand atop hers. She looked up and forced a smile my way. I rubbed her hand with my thumb to provide her a sense of comfort.
It made me feel incredibly guilty. My dad wants me to be a whistleblower to a woman who is dedicating her life to her late husband's memory?! How the hell can I screw with someone like that?! She's doing everything in her power to make people's lives easier and he wants me to dig around and find something that the company does wrong. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to develop a friendly relationship with Lena when I'm supposed to betray her.
"He'd be blown away by your accomplishments." I softly smiled.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"Was this company a vision you shared with your late husband?"
"I created this company as an homage to him."
"How'd you convince investors to loan money?" I was intrigued by her business plan.
"I... I convinced no one." She muttered. "My other late husband-"
"Another late husband?!"
"Ya." She lightly chuckled. "I was able to tap into his bank account and fund the construction of this company."
"Oh, so you were wealthy wealthy." I nodded. "So you were loaded way before you profited from this company."
"If that's how you view it." She shrugged.
"But, it's very nice of your other husband to fund your dream company. He sounds like such a nice guy to give you complete access to his account."
"Sure." Lena rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't exactly call him nice."
"Really? Even though you used his money?"
"Giving someone money doesn't equate to their treatment of you." She averted her eyes. "If I could have, I'd never have married him."
"I see." I nodded. "But, two late husbands? What are you? A black widow?" We both laughed at that.
"Death seems to follow wherever I go." Lena shook her head in amusement. "Enough about me. Tell me about you."
"What's their to tell?" I nervously sipped my water. "I'm not that interesting."
"I disagree with that statement. What about your family? Any siblings?"
"I have a younger brother. He's 9 and I love him. His name is Cole and he's insane."I giggled. "He's super hyper and loves to run around. But, he's obsessed with video games and forces me to play FNAF with him-"
"FNAF?"
"Five Nights At Freddy's."
"What that?"
"Oh, we're playing that next time." I deviously rubbed my hands. "And he likes to dress up in weird costumes, run around the house, and then jump on me." I thought about that little rascal. "And I'm his point person for homework help. I enjoy science and math, but history is way too boring."
"Your relationship with him sounds cute." Lena fondly smiled at me. "You're like his second mother."
"In a sense." I shrugged. "My mom works weird hours, so sometimes she's not around. Not because she's neglectful or anything."
"What does she do?" Lena placed a cookie in her mouth.
"She's a nurse."
"Oh wow." Her eyes popped. "That's impressive. A front liner in the medical field. She has my respect."
"You act as if you're not curing millions." I rolled my eyes.
"But, I don't have to deal with the hectic sick patients like she does." Lena pointed out. "She's incredible."
"She is." I smiled. "And then my dad is unpredictable with his work schedule. He has to work late some times." I stopped because I didn't want to reveal too much about him.
"Oh, what does he do?" She continued eating.
"He works for a company as a consultant." I vaguely spoke.
"That's cool." Lena continued chewing. "And what got you interested in pharma?"
"Love chemistry and biology. Biochem is my favorite class. I always wanted to do something that involves genetically engineering cells. Wouldn't it be cool to design cells? Not necessarily designer babies, but designer babies."
"Oh, you're into that?" She laughed. "I think the theory behind it is interesting, but not something I'd follow through with."
"That's interesting to hear from someone like you. Someone who is at the forefront of genetic testing." I stopped to breathe. "But, ya. I've always been fascinated by it. Genetic testing and modification. Also, my favorite chemist was Rosalind Franklin. Her work in X-ray crystallography was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. Talk about girl power right?!"
"Exactly."
"And my second fav is my boy Fred. He was a geneticist known for his discovery of stem cells in the adult human brain. And stem cells are so cool, yet so controversial."
"You're into the controversial stuff?" Lena was amused. "Hmm... you'll definitely be interested in some of our experiments then."
"Ya, but that peaked my interest in elementary school. I may or may not have read their Pulitzer papers when I was 9."
"So you're a child genius, then."Lena raised a brow.
"No. I'm not-"
"What's your IQ?" Lena questioned. "And I know you're the type to actually take the test."
"189." I mumbled.
"You're a Mensa member, are you not?" I nodded at her. "I knew there was something special about you." Lena smiled to herself. "And I enjoy you geeking out over scientific principles. It reminds me of someone I used to know."
"But, anyway I'm happy that school is almost over. Gonna graduate soon, so can't wait."
"Oh, yes. Hailey mentioned you were still in high school."
"Oh, Hailey stalked me." I snickered.
"Well, she's in charge of financial planning, so she needs to know how to budget based on the expense reports from each department. She's also very good with names."
"Ahh, yes. Her 'eidetic memory.' She mentioned that." I laughed, but Lena furrowed her brows.
"She told you that?" She placed her drink down.
"Oh, ya." I laughed. "So what about your memory? Good or shit?"
"Haven't tested the full range of it." Lena then gestured for me to continue.
"I have to apply for colleges, so gotta finish those applications."
"Right, you can't wait to live like a real adult." She snickered.
"Well, it'll be a while before I can do that legally." I shrugged.
"What do you mean?"
"I have to be 18 to be an adult. I barely turned 16."
The moment I said that, it's like you could hear a pin drop. The atmosphere changed and Lena's mouth dropped open. Did I say something wrong? Lena picked up her glass of scotch and downed it. Umm... am I missing something? Lena stood up and grabbed her stuff.
"You're 16?" Lena paused while grabbing her coat. "16?"
"Ya." I didn't understand the problem.
"You're underage." Lena took a moment to gather herself. "Oh, god."
"What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing." She shook her head. "I'll take you home."
What's wrong? Lena gestured for me to follow her. We went to her car and the drive was awkward. Lena focused on the road and refused to remove her eyes from the road. We didn't talk like we normally did. And the music was off. This is so awkward. And this ride wasn't short, so I was praying that she could just get to my house. After what felt like forever, we finally arrived. Lena put the car in park as I gathered my stuff. Before I could leave, she placed a hand on my arm.
"Umm... if you could refrain from telling people about our... our after work chats."
"I haven't told a single soul." I narrowed my eyes at her. "If you didn't trust me, you shouldn't have asked to continue speaking with me."
"I never said-"
"I'm not an idiot. The relationship changed. You're gonna push me away, aren't you?"
"I never said-"
"You didn't have to. Thank you and goodbye, Alena." I made sure to use her full name before slamming her car door closed.