[This chapter is dedicated to Lesia_Klaczany as a new supporter of our story, thank you! I hope you are enjoying Jess and Noah's story.]

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Once Noah was done giving a short peep talk to the team, he and Antonio bid them goodbye and left for another meeting.

Jess didn't dare lift her eyes from the screen of her laptop not because she was worried that other people would notice how she looked at Noah, but because she was embarrassed to get caught in her dirty thoughts.

When Noah was no longer in the room, Dr. Sison took the floor and started discussing more in-depth matters about their trip to the laboratory of ANAT in Mumbai. The woman who handles the orientation, which she didn't catch the name because she was preoccupied with Noah's presence next to her - gave them some folders.

She skimmed the content of the folder and she saw photos of the laboratory location, but what caught her eyes was the vision of ANAT Pharma and Co with the newly acquired laboratory and plant in Mumbai.

Her admiration for Noah just kept on growing in such a steady manner, she won't be surprised if she would be his avid fan in the near future. Noah's vision for the laboratory in Mumbai was quite ambitious and bold. She wondered how he finds time to play around her when he was busy strengthening the empire his family built for years.

An ambitious and hard-working man in an expensive three-piece suit happened to be just her thing. She grinned inwardly, she could wait to come home and tease Noah about it.

However, her plan to tease Noah was delayed for Dr. Sison asked her to stay longer at the office to help with some last-minute preparation of some study. She had to compile tons of documents.

Dr. Sison gave her access to the computer files of the research that they will be working on in Mumbai. There were thousands of documents saved under the research they were going to do because the said research had been under study for years.

It was from the main laboratory in Berlin, then moved to Shanghai, and now will be moved to Mumbai.

Jess cocked her head in wonderment, what the research was about that ANAT kept it moving around their laboratories around the world.

Despite being given access by Dr. Sison, the files in the program were so tightly compartmentalized that her access barely does anything. There was a lot of information and data she couldn't access because she didn't have the right to do so and had no access to the password that was needed to access the information.

"Jessica, I'm sorry I kept you so late," Dr. Sison glanced at the clock on the wall above the coffee maker, noting that it was already past one in the morning.

"It's all right, Dr. Sison. I didn't notice the time either." She grimaced, thinking Noah must have sent her tons of messages and probably also missed calls.

"Oh, right!" She stood up from her chair and bent down under her desk. "This is a company-issued computer. It is recommended that you use this computer to access the files of the research I gave you access to."

Jess received the laptop computer Dr. Sison handed her. Now, she was thinking, she had to bring two laptops for her trip. One for personal use and one just for work.

"You don't have to report tomorrow. Just as discussed in the orientation, the team would be using different flight schedules tomorrow."

"Yes, Doctor." She heaved a deep sigh of relief that she doesn't have to come to work tomorrow. She can have some time with Noah before her trip.

Originally, she thought she would be going with Dr. Sison, but apparently, she would be brought to Mumbai with the ANAT private plane. She just realized now how important is Dr. Sison to the company that she wasn't allowed to travel on public airlines.

One of the four team members would accompany her, and she would be joining the other members of the team. They would travel by twos. She was buddies with the only female member of the team.

Two other members of the team will travel with them at the same time but on a different airline. She had no idea that ANAT treated their researchers like spies.

When Dr. Sison finally let her go, the time was quarter to two. She hurried out of the lab while Dr. Sison stayed behind.

When she reached the basement parking lot of the laboratory building where her car was parked, she realized she gave her key to Luke this morning!

She got so busy with work that she didn't even see Luke in the lab other than the short period of time they met when she entered the lab in a hurry from playing hooky with Noah.

She glanced at her wristwatch and began thinking about how she would get home when she heard a honk coming from behind her. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Noah's sports car.

Noah rolled down his car window and gave her a wolf-whistle, then asked, "Hey pretty, need a ride?"

When Jess saw Noah's handsome face, with his usual teasing smirk, she burst into a grin. "Baby!" she exclaimed excitedly, taking long strides to reach his car, that she didn't realize she called Noah using an endearment.

She just realized what she called him when Noah got out of the car, met her halfway, and grabbed and lifted her in his arms only to be put down on the hood of his sports car.

"Say it again," his voice was hoarse with his command.

"Baby," she obediently replied.

Noah groaned and caught her lips in a deep kiss. He knew Jess was still at work because he had access to the security camera that records the employees when they entered and exit the lab.

He was actually waiting for her at the other side of the basement parking lot since he left his office. He was like a stalker working on his computer in the cramped space of his car, instead of working in his comfortable office.

He wanted to be there when Jess got out of work to take her home. Tonight and tomorrow were the only time he could spend with Jess before she flew out of the country. Hence, despite Antonio's grumbling, he left work early.

He didn't expect Jess to work so late. In the end, he decided to kill time by working on his computer. Seeing his face, Jess's face lit up in excitement, and she called him 'baby' in delight.

If this is how she would always react, he won't mind spending his time waiting for her to get off from work.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, breath slightly uneven from his fervent kisses.

The smile on her face was unwavering. She even has her legs, swaying as they hang from the end of the hood of his car, her arms were on his shoulders while her fingers buried deep in his hair, giving him a soft massage.

Noah fought with all his willpower not to press her legs wide open and took her right there and then on top of the hood of his sports car. It was a thought that would linger in his mind for a long time, awaiting its realization sometime soon.

"Picking you up, of course." he nudged her nose with his. He couldn't take how adorable she looked inside his arms. The urge to keep her to his side was so overwhelming, he had to kiss her one more time to satiate his greed.

"Noah," she moaned softly, wiggling in his arms, "people could see us here."

"Minx, it's almost three in the morning," he chuckled.

She pouted. "Security cameras don't sleep."

He laughed but picked her up from the hood of his car, brought her next to the passenger door, opened it for her to get in. Before he went to the other side to get in behind the steering wheel.

"Baby, can I keep you for tonight?"

She giggled, "It's already morning. But yes, Dr. Sison said I don't have to report to work."

Noah's eyes glistened with happiness at the possibility of spending more time with Jess before she left.

Jess, seeing the glint in Noah's eyes, decided to be naughty. "I'm all yours for the taking," she coyly said.

Noah's hand froze from fastening his seatbelt. His heated gaze stared at Jess and before she realized the consequences of her teasing, she found her seat dropped and pushed back to the backseat with just one pressed and Noah in a blink of an eye settled on the legroom of the passenger seat.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Noah had his eyes on her face while his hands slid up her thighs and pulled down her underwear.

When she felt the breezy air down there, she confirmed what Noah had in mind. She gripped his arm that was holding the small of her back.

"Noah, no," she said, but her tone was far from a 'no', for it was trembling with anticipation.