Alex just watched him for a moment, because the two of them had been at almost war before. Of course the stakes were far more high then, with her recording him without his permission and her getting sent on that two month vacation, but now the stakes were different, because she knew that this was their relationship. So, she was preparing for the big guns when the Dr. Richard Strand with three PhDs from Yale including one in being an asshole look appeared on his face.

She was braced for a good many things when he released her hand and sat forward like this, and she mirrored his position, leaning forward as well, but dropping her chin into her palm and listening to him like she had so many times when he was lecturing her or someone else. That part was easy, just settling in for another conversation between the two of them, only this time there was no recorder between the two of them, because their conversations as long as the two of them were here were private.

But what she wasn't at all prepared for was her reaction to him calling her his Alex. It was something completely visceral, and Alex's face just lit up at it. Her eyes sparkled, and she half-lowered them all while the red that had been leaving her cheeks reappeared.