"I'm seeing Laurie today," Gerri informs Roman casually over breakfast.
He pauses with a muffin halfway to his lips. "Why?"
"It's work. ATN is still in trouble over the election, and I need to talk to the DOJ."
Sounds reasonable, but Roman is nothing if not jealous. "Well, give him a kiss from me."
"I haven't told him about us yet," she says. The yet gives him hope.
He thinks back to the bachelor party in Italy. His attempts to get Laurie to talk about Gerri had been quite tame, really. He'd leaned over as soon as the drinks arrived, asking, "So, what's Gerr-bear like in the sack?"
"I'm sorry?" said Laurie, looking startled.
"Don't mind my brother, Laurie," said Connor. "He's only teasing."
"No, I'm genuinely interested," said Roman. "I bet she's wild, am I right?"
"I remember when Gerri first came to work for Waystar," said Connor, diplomatically changing the subject, although probably not enough. "I was a teenager, and I had such a crush on her." Laurie smiled at that.
"You had a crush on Gerri," Roman laughed, ignoring the irrational surge of jealousy. "Oh my god, you're sick."
"She was pretty hot back then… not that she's not now," said Connor hastily.
"So come on Laurie, don't leave Con in suspense," said Roman. "Tell us all the details. What does Gerri like in that department?" He genuinely wanted to know.
"A gentleman never tells," said Laurie, with a laugh that said he could take the banter. Roman wanted to assassinate him.
He's still sulking when Gerri arrives back from her lunch date. "Hey," she calls, coming over to his desk to ruffle his hair.
He moves slightly away from her. "How was your date?"
"It went fine," she says, ignoring the phrasing. "I think we have the situation under control."
"Did you tell him about us?"
"Oddly enough, in a conversation about fascism and election fraud, it didn't come up."
"Shame. I elected the fascist president, after all."
She reaches out to smooth her thumb across his bottom lip. He closes his eyes at the sensation. The slightest touch from her can set him off.
"Stop pouting, Roman," she says, and the slightly scolding tone only makes his heart race faster.
"I just… I'm committed to us, okay?"
"So am I," she says, sounding hurt at his doubt. "I'm not going to run off with Laurie or anyone else, I promise."
He moves from where he's sitting to put his arms around her waist. "Sorry," he says.
"You should be. Get in there, and think about what you did." Gerri points at the bedroom. "I'll be there in a minute."
Roman can't get up fast enough.