The morning sun peeked through the curtains of the bedroom, rousing Alice from her sleep. She yawned and stretched, feeling rested and ready to start a new day. As she got out of bed, she saw that Thomas was already awake, sitting at his desk and typing away on his computer.

"Good morning," she said, walking over to him.

"Good morning," he replied, turning to look at her with a smile. "Sleep well?"

"I did, thank you," she said, taking a seat next to him. "What are you working on?"

"Just some final touches on the presentation for today," he said, gesturing to his computer screen. "I want everything to be perfect."

"I'm sure it will be," Alice said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You've put in a lot of hard work."

Thomas smiled, grateful for her support. "Thanks, Alice. I couldn't have done it without you."

Alice leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before getting up to start her morning routine. She showered and dressed quickly, eager to get started on her own work for the day. As she made her way to the kitchen, she heard Thomas speaking on the phone in the living room.

"Okay, great. Thank you for letting me know," he said, hanging up and turning to Alice. "That was the lab. They've finished analyzing the samples we sent over, and the results are ready."

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"That was fast," Alice said, surprised. "What did they find?"

"Well, that's the thing," Thomas said, his expression serious. "They found something unexpected, and I'm not sure how to proceed."

"What is it?" Alice asked, her curiosity piqued.

Thomas hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "They found traces of an unknown substance in the samples. Something that doesn't match anything we've seen before."

Alice's eyes widened. "Unknown? That's...unusual. What could it be?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Thomas said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I've asked them to run more tests and send over all the data they have. Maybe we can figure out what it is from there."

"Okay," Alice said, nodding. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Thomas gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Alice. I appreciate it."

The rest of the day passed by in a blur of work for both Alice and Thomas. They barely had a chance to speak to each other until late in the evening, when they finally finished all their tasks for the day.

"I'm exhausted," Alice said, collapsing onto the couch. "How about you?"

"Same here," Thomas said, sitting down next to her. "But at least we got a lot done today."

Alice nodded in agreement. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"I have a meeting with the board in the morning to present our findings," Thomas said, sounding a little nervous. "I'm hoping they'll be impressed enough to give us the green light for the next phase of the project."

"I'm sure they will be," Alice said, giving him a reassuring smile. "You've put in so much hard work, and I know it's going to pay off."

Thomas smiled back, feeling grateful for her support. "Thanks, Alice. I couldn't have done it without you."

They spent the rest of the evening relaxing and enjoying each other's company, putting aside their worries about the project and focusing on their relationship. As they drifted off to sleep that night, they both felt a sense of contentment and peace, knowing that they had each other to rely on no matter what