The more Stan goes on, the more apparent it becomes that he has no idea why the conversation has taken the sudden turn it has. He feels like he's missed a transitional topic somewhere, but he's not quite sure---Oh.

Oh.

OH.

Stanford's eyes widen to an almost comical degree, his brows shooting up to his hairline as he finally puts the pieces together and realizes how terribly he had misspoke.

"He was my research assistant, not--" He pulls a face, not even wanting to say the word. "We were working on a project together. Also, he's married. And has a child. With his wife."