While he doesn't say it — because it'll sound conceited — Ray already knows that she'll love anything he shows her, because he doesn't show people. If someone isn't employed with Palmer Tech then they do not see the inner workings. He's careful about that because competition is stiff and other high tech companies are always trying to get a leg up on Palmer Tech. But she's going to be his wife and he hopes that they'll work side by side someday, so of course he's excited to show her, even if he should probably wait. "Biomedical!" he chirps, "I'll have to introduce you to Dr. Caitlin Snow, also a friend from S.T.A.R. Labs. Another I'd steal if I thought I could get away with it. She's also a biomedical engineer. I think you'd have a lot to talk about, the two of you."
When Lydia holds her flute out toward him, Ray smiles — albeit slightly apologetically given the fact that he didn't miss her startling from it — and pours her a drink. He appreciates that she's being honest, but Ray can't help feeling a little pang of upset when she admits what they both know: he could mostly have his pick and he's chosen her. It doesn't make sense to her because he hasn't explained and he's not really sure he ought to, because he's not sure whether that will make things better or worse. The smile falters just slightly, slipping from his eyes momentarily until she gives him that coy look. Part of him wonders if that's an act because she's resigned herself and she's trying to make this as painless as possible, but Ray tries to tell himself that she doesn't have any reason to be coy when civil would suffice if that was the case.
Putting the champagne bottle into its bucket of ice, pushing it down to make sure it doesn't tip, Ray takes a sip of his own drink to buy himself a few seconds. "I'm going to be honest...you know you're beautiful. That's not a secret. And while I'm proud to say that I'm not shallow enough for that to be the sole reason for my choice, I have to admit that it played a hand. Mostly, though," he says with stark honesty etched into his features, "you're incredibly brilliant. And I'm...burning out. I could use a fresh new mind at the lab and I just thought...how great would it be for my life partner, my wife, to share my interests and have the same zeal for making the world a better place through scientific advancements? Women in STEM fields are hard to come by, but trying to find a woman in STEM fields as intelligent and pretty as you are is like trying to find a needle in a haystack."
He pauses. "...I want you to know that if you decide you don't want this...or me, or..." he gives a vague gesture with his hand to fill in the blank space he isn't sure how to fill in, "it's okay. I'm not, you know...I'm not looking to force you into something and if pressure from your family is playing in, I want you to know that if this doesn't work or you decide it's just not for you, I'm not...you know, I'm not going to take the dowry back." He isn't sure whether she knows what the dowry is, but it's her tuition. Any school she wants, he's agreed with her mother that he'll fund it. "But I appreciate that you're willing to give this a chance if nothing else. So of course I want your input on where we'll live and, all right, full disclosure: yeah, it's early that I'm looking at houses, but I also only live in an apartment right now so I was planning on looking anyway. I hope you don't feel extra pressure because I mentioned house hunting. I'm buying a house either way this goes, I'd just...really like for it to be for us instead of for me."
Taking another drink, Ray shakes his head. "Oh, I don't. I don't work with weapons manufacturing at all and I do focus strictly on tech and medical," he replies. "My CEO has friends at S.T.A.R. and I needed a little help with some of the nanotech I was integrating into a project, so she suggested I talk to Cisco." Technically that's true. The ATOM Suit is a weapon, of course, but it isn't his focus and Palmer Tech doesn't work on it; Ray does. It's for him specifically; not for mass production.
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When Lydia holds her flute out toward him, Ray smiles — albeit slightly apologetically given the fact that he didn't miss her startling from it — and pours her a drink. He appreciates that she's being honest, but Ray can't help feeling a little pang of upset when she admits what they both know: he could mostly have his pick and he's chosen her. It doesn't make sense to her because he hasn't explained and he's not really sure he ought to, because he's not sure whether that will make things better or worse. The smile falters just slightly, slipping from his eyes momentarily until she gives him that coy look. Part of him wonders if that's an act because she's resigned herself and she's trying to make this as painless as possible, but Ray tries to tell himself that she doesn't have any reason to be coy when civil would suffice if that was the case.
Putting the champagne bottle into its bucket of ice, pushing it down to make sure it doesn't tip, Ray takes a sip of his own drink to buy himself a few seconds. "I'm going to be honest...you know you're beautiful. That's not a secret. And while I'm proud to say that I'm not shallow enough for that to be the sole reason for my choice, I have to admit that it played a hand. Mostly, though," he says with stark honesty etched into his features, "you're incredibly brilliant. And I'm...burning out. I could use a fresh new mind at the lab and I just thought...how great would it be for my life partner, my wife, to share my interests and have the same zeal for making the world a better place through scientific advancements? Women in STEM fields are hard to come by, but trying to find a woman in STEM fields as intelligent and pretty as you are is like trying to find a needle in a haystack."
He pauses. "...I want you to know that if you decide you don't want this...or me, or..." he gives a vague gesture with his hand to fill in the blank space he isn't sure how to fill in, "it's okay. I'm not, you know...I'm not looking to force you into something and if pressure from your family is playing in, I want you to know that if this doesn't work or you decide it's just not for you, I'm not...you know, I'm not going to take the dowry back." He isn't sure whether she knows what the dowry is, but it's her tuition. Any school she wants, he's agreed with her mother that he'll fund it. "But I appreciate that you're willing to give this a chance if nothing else. So of course I want your input on where we'll live and, all right, full disclosure: yeah, it's early that I'm looking at houses, but I also only live in an apartment right now so I was planning on looking anyway. I hope you don't feel extra pressure because I mentioned house hunting. I'm buying a house either way this goes, I'd just...really like for it to be for us instead of for me."
Taking another drink, Ray shakes his head. "Oh, I don't. I don't work with weapons manufacturing at all and I do focus strictly on tech and medical," he replies. "My CEO has friends at S.T.A.R. and I needed a little help with some of the nanotech I was integrating into a project, so she suggested I talk to Cisco." Technically that's true. The ATOM Suit is a weapon, of course, but it isn't his focus and Palmer Tech doesn't work on it; Ray does. It's for him specifically; not for mass production.