He was an asshole then and now. How could he pretend not to know her after what happened with them in that hotel room, she thought scowling.

She was fuming in silent anger while her labmates are like a swarm of annoying bees, buzzing in excitement with how handsome is the new sponsor of their ongoing project. The project head, Professor Boa has a smile so wide that is about to tear his face at any given moment.

"Who are you murdering inside that pretty brain of yours, milady?"

She clicked her tongue and shrugged her slender shoulder when she heard the bedroom voice of the only person she considered as a friend in the entire department, especially here in the laboratory.

Keeping a best friend in this department is like growing unknown microbes; you will never know what data you would collect.

Although, she likes microbes more than most of her classmates and labmates. Because most of these people would stab you right in your gut while smiling and singing praises in front of your face.

"What do you want?" She snarled at him, then threw a smile towards a small group of women in white lab coats, that are now gawking at this six-footer hunk of a man that is holding the back of her elbow so gentlemanly that most women in the room couldn't help but swoon.

The corner of her lips curled up in a mocking smile. If only they know that this man aims for another man.

"I came to cheer you on as you fall from your grace milady, but sadly I was late."

She blushed with what Luke said. She walked briskly in the brightly lighted corridor of their laboratory to get away from him. He was quite a bully and the only person in the department that could make her blood curd in annoyance. She has been questioning herself why they are even friends.

"Miss Zimmerman,"

His teasing voice echoing together with their rhythmic footsteps are the only noise that could be heard in the hallway going to the back exit of the building.

When she pushed the door to let herself out, she made sure to slam it back to her friend's face that was right behind her. She was waiting for him to show himself out of the door with her arms in akimbo.

"Tell me what you heard," she said in an icy tone, enough to cool down the humidity of San Francisco summer.

"Where do you want me to start?" he smirked.

She would never ever get used to how Luke could change the tone of his voice from a manly one to a girly one. If she closed her eyes and she hasn't heard his 'special' voice she would never associate his voice with the man facing her.

"Give me the worst."

"Little Jessie, did someone tell you before how you have the making of a masochist," he said, as he copied how she crossed her arms.

"You," she said lifting her naturally arch eyebrow.

"Well, those biatches clothed in white lab coats were celebrating how you fluttered your pretty lashes to the new guy who blatantly rejected you right on the spot," he said, grinning in glee when the usual indifference in her face was gone.

She turned away from her friend to hid the embarrassment on her face as she bore the weight of regret and shame of her previous action in the laboratory.

**

"I called you all here to introduce the representative of our benefactor for the ongoing project we are working on. We hope that with your hard work and dedication we could come up with a breakthrough that would be beneficial for the pharmaceutical industry.

Meet Austin Noah Alfred Tiefenbacher, representative of the ANAT and Pharma Co. They are branching out here in California and we are lucky enough that we are one of the few that was chosen by their company to sponsor."

Their team consists of three girls and four boys. Half of the boys' attention was given to what professor Boa was saying, while the other half was spent seizing the man that all the girls were gawking at the moment.

"Hello everyone, you can just call me Noah. I'm looking forward to work with you all," he said, in a formal tone.

Jess grinned remembering the night this man lost his facade and murmured sweet nothings on her ears, breathing ruggedly on her ears. She assumed it was sweet nothings since she doesn't speak Deutsch.

She held the folder of data tightly in her arms as the memories of that night flooded at the back of her mind. She waited for him to look in her direction so she could smile at him. He would definitely be shocked to find her here.

Her awaited moment came when his blue eyes that reminded her of the clear summer skies of her childhood back home spotted her in the group. She gave him her most charming smile. The one she has but never shown to any of her teammates before.

"I am here to work hand and hand with your team and nothing more. I would like it if none of you would think otherwise," he said, holding his gaze in her direction.

She could vividly hear an exaggerated gasp from the other two girls from their team in the room that suddenly went quiet, that even professor Boa gave her an admonishing and disappointed look.

She felt her body went numb and she was rooted on the floor. She was silently urging the ground to swallow her up at that exact moment, but the tiled floor didn't budge and leave seven pairs of eyes humiliating her as she tried to steady her buckling knees. She blinked her eyes keeping a neutral expression on her face despite her mortification.**

"Hey, Earth to Little Jessie," he said, tapping her shoulder. "Are you crying?" he asked baffled, reverting to his normal speaking tone.

"No! Why would I cry over that bastard that didn't even send a message after that one night."

"Wait," he grabbed her shoulder to face him, "Don't tell me that was the guy who took your virginity?!" he gasped in his 'special' voice.