[This chapter is dedicated to Kalae_Tangonan. I appreciate your support for our story. Cheers! I love your name and I would love to use it in my future story, I hope you don't mind.]

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"How was your personal flask?"

Luke was grinning like the obnoxious child that he was, the moment she entered the lab. He followed her to her locker where she hung up a clean lab coat. She doesn't use her lab coat for more than two days even though she was just inside the lab.

That's why she would always have an extra lab coat in her locker. She tied her hair in a low ponytail after she wore her coat.

Luke arrived earlier than she was. He was already wearing his lab coat over a powder blue polo shirt that has the two buttons opened, giving anyone a peek of his firm muscle under all those clothes.

And just like the other weekend, he would ask her about 'her flask'. In the beginning, she found it funny. However, now that he would always ask her every Monday about Noah's flask. It irritated the hell out of her.

"The flask is awesome as always. Now, what do you want?"

"Why are you so crabby so early in the morning? Should I ask how's your weekend?"

"Sorry. Just some family drama."

"Care to tell me?"

"Nothing really. My father, even though he finally went home, called me this morning to host my sisters for the next few days. I mean, I like my sisters but I don't want people in my house!" she said, clenching her jaws.

"Go book a hotel for your sisters," he advised her. But he has a feeling it was more than that. Because he doesn't have to tell Jess to book a room for her sisters. It was the first thing she would do since she hates having other people in her house, even though they were families.

"I told my father about it but he was adamant to let my sisters stay in my apartment because they were heartbroken for some -- ugh! It's pissing me off!"

Jess straightened her back, trying to control her annoyance over the so-called favor her father wanted her to do. She has no problem helping her sisters. What she didn't like was for them to stay in her house.

It's not for any other reason other than she has a problem with people invading her space. She didn't even let Noah sleep in her house last weekend. After dinner, she asked Noah if she could stay the night in his apartment.

She knew Noah was surprised with his request but he didn't ask. Luke was different. Because even if he stayed in her place, he was always outside the house and whenever he's at home, he barely gets out of the guest room.

"I stay in your house. Your father stayed there too. What's the problem with letting your sisters stay since you like them."

She stopped walking and faced Luke, "You are different. You've been staying at my house for a long time. And I know that you would always come back."

Luke creased his eyebrows with Jess's strange notions before he could probe her, she added.

"My father, I let him stay because his main purpose for coming was to be in my house and because I knew he would leave soon."

"Jess, why do I have this feeling that your problem has nothing to do with people staying at your place but rather with people leaving."

Jess fell silent and simply stared at Luke. Luke also didn't say anything but just stared back at her.

He cocked his head to the side and watched Jess trying to make sense of what he said. It seemed like it didn't occur to her that people leaving her house was her problem instead of people staying.

"Miss Zimmerman, Dr. Sison was looking for you."

Their staredown was interrupted when one of the senior researchers popped up in the locker room.

Jess murmured her thanks, and without saying anything to Luke she headed to Dr.Sison's office.

On her way to Dr. Sison's office, what Luke said kept on echoing in her head. It gave a strong impact on her because she recognized that there's a possibility that what Luke said was actually true.

Because if she will look at it, Luke for the past years has been staying in and out of her apartment but she has no problem with it because she knew Luke would always come back.

With her father, she let him stay because, even though her annoyance of him was strong, he was still her father and she doesn't want to be an ingrate daughter. She believed that there's strong karma for children who discard their parents.

In her case, despite her fights and disagreement with her father, and her problem of always losing her temper, she would never ever disrespect her father and disregard his words.

She would feel flustered and vexed since her father surely was annoying as hell, but other than that, her father knew she loved him and still respected him as her father.

And she knew her father would always walk away from her life, so she has no expectations.

But her sisters, she likes them. Truly like them. She made an effort to know them and be part of their lives, if they will stay in her house then leave. Does her brain think of it as a representation of people she likes leaving her? Like it's okay for her to stay at Noah's house but she has an issue with Noah staying at her house overnight, then him leaving the next day.

If what Luke said was true, she was screwed. She heaved a deep sigh. She now reached the door of Dr. Sison's office. She is at work and she has to focus on work. Other stuff she could worry about later.

She took a deep sigh and knocked twice. She didn't have to wait for long outside the door because she heard Dr. Sison's voice, telling her to come in.

She gently pushed the door open and entered the room, "Good morning, Dr. Sison," she greeted the old woman with a smile.

"Good morning, Jessica. Please sit down."

She quietly sat at the chair in front of Dr.Sison's office. The old woman looks excited.

"Last week, you knew how I attended tons of meetings about the new laboratory ANAT acquired in India, right?"

She nodded. She attended one of those meetings with Dr. Sison and it was the reason why she brought home a lot of reading papers over the weekend because she felt stupid being in those meetings and she knew nothing of what they were discussing.

"How do you feel about accompanying me to visit the new laboratory?"

She blinked multiple times as her mouth slightly opened in shock. Is she asking her to bring her to India, she wondered.

"I see. This must come as a shock to you, Jessica."

"But Dr. Sison, I was in one of those meetings with you last week, and I am not very knowledgeable of the research that you were handling…"

"Jessica, you filed my research papers in this office without knowing what they were about. Yet, you were able to do an exemplary job. And I know that you brought home some papers with you over the weekend to self-study, aren't you?"

She swallowed nervously before answering, "Yes."

"So what do you think?"

"It would be my honor to accompany you," she replied with her voice trembling in excitement.

"Good." she patted the thick pile of folders on her table. "Study these, and you'll be fine."

"May I ask when we will go to India?"

"Thursday."

Her jaw dropped with the thought that she has to learn a lot of things in such a short period of time. But a small voice at the back of her head was celebrating because she now has a valid excuse to tell her father about her sister's, not staying in her house.

She stood up from the chair and gathered the thick pile of folders from Dr. Sison's table to bring to the back room where she would be spending her time.

"Can I bring some of these home?"

"Yes."

Jess heaved a sigh of relief. She was worried that she won't have enough time to read everything if she can't bring the files outside the lab.

"The documents seemed a lot but not really. You can finish that in two days, and then there will be more."

The relief she felt evaporated, hearing that is more to those papers that she has to study.

"I'll make us some coffee. I see that you already brought in your own mug," she smiled at her.

"Yes," she responded as she took a deep breath. A smile was slowly forming at the end of her lips. The nervousness was slowly replaced by excitement for the fact of being a part of actual research and not just doing the lab supply inventory.