[This chapter is dedicated to Chereta_Braddock for being the top 3 fan of our story. Thank you for choosing this book. I appreciate your support!]

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Luke and Jess were able to finish the inventory before lunch. She emailed the request for the laboratory supplies to the proper department. She made some alterations to the spreadsheet to make it easier to do the inventory next time.

Luke was called by one of the senior researchers to help with something and she was left with nothing to do. She went to the cafeteria and bought herself a tuna sandwich and returned to the laboratory.

While no one was in need of her assistant she went to Dr. Sison's office to continue filing her documents. While she was making some coffee she remembered Noah's request to send him a photo or message of her day.

She snapped a photo of the coffee maker and sent it to him, reminding him not to forget to eat lunch. After she sent the message, she cringed with how cheesy it was, so she turned off her phone. She doesn't want to see Noah's reply to her message.

Not only did she file the documents of Dr. Sison. She also made her a filing system. In order to be able to locate her files with ease whenever she needs them. She wrote Dr. Sison a note explaining the changes.

She forgot the time until her stomach reminded her that she only had a tuna sandwich for lunch. She opened her phone to send a message to Luke and her forehead creased when she saw two miscalls and five messages from Noah.

She opened the message and the first two were photos of a boardroom. The third message was a photo of a boxed lunch. Apparently, he was working in the office and Antonio just ordered everyone lunch from a sushi restaurant. The fourth and the fifth message was sent just an hour ago, telling her that he was on his way to meet some investors.

She checked the time stamp of the miscalls and the first one was at the same time when she sent her message, the second one was the same time when he sent his fifth message.

Seeing that he sent five messages when she just sent one. She decided to take a snap of the neat file cabinet of Dr. Sison, she included a message of an apology and telling him that she just finished filing and on her way to the cafeteria in search of food.

She just got out of the laboratory when her phone rang, she didn't have to check who the caller would be. She grinned as she pulled her phone from her pocket and her grin widened, seeing that her guess was correct. The caller was Noah.

Noah was a bit irritable that he had a full schedule and Jess's phone was turned off that his messages and calls were unanswered. His meeting with the investors would probably last late at night. He has no time to pick Jess from work.

He was already losing his patience when he got another message from Jess with a photo attachment of a filing cabinet. He couldn't help but chuckle. He quickly called her before she could turn off her phone again.

"I can see that you are working hard. Antonio needed help filing in my office. The offer still stands," he said, without saying hello. It was an unnecessary word to say.

"I hate filing. You have no idea how glad I was when I finally finished it."

He chuckled, listening to Jess complain about her work. He loves the fact that she shared mundane things of her day with him; making coffee, finishing a task, and the seemed-to-be curt messages of her reminding him not to forget his lunch, may sound so cheesy but he loves it.

"What time will you clock out from work?"

"Right on the dot." she chuckled. The irony of telling the big boss that she would clock out right on the dot.

"Do it. Don't overwork. I wish I could drop by at your place later," he said with regret.

He doesn't have to say why he can't drop by at her place since her father was staying with her. Jess still doesn't want to introduce Noah to her father.

He wasn't going to push her but he wished he could meet the man and apologized for how he acted the last time they met.

"Will you work late?"

"Yes, baby, but don't worry. Antonio would do most of the hard work."

She chuckled.

And the two of them just listened to each other breathing through the line. There were probably a lot of things Noah wanted to say but if he was with Antonio, he wouldn't say them because Jess had a feeling what he was going to say was so inappropriate to be heard by others.

Just as she entered the cafeteria, Noah told her they had arrived at their destination and would just call and send her a message, depending on how late his meeting would finish.

They said their reluctant goodbyes, and Jess went to search for food.

She doesn't want to eat another sandwich but at the same time she has no appetite for a full meal, so she just got herself some soya milk and sat on one of the corner tables, scrolling her phone.

She was still on her phone when she received a message from her father asking her if she would be home for dinner.

She took a deep breath and replied to his message. Her heart was pounding on her chest with what she replied, but she decided that nothing would happen if she kept on holding onto her pride.

After replying to her father, she quickly sent a message to Luke too. She needed some moral support to be in the company of her father in public. She needed Luke to lighten up the situation.

***

"Where are we going to have dinner?"

"Matsugen," she replied without looking at Luke.

"No way? Seriously? You were able to get a table there without reservation? And here I thought you don't pull special favors."

Luke suddenly felt excited with the prospect of having dinner at Matsugen. When Jess begged him to join her and her father to have dinner, he canceled his previous appointment to be with her. Because he believed in sisterhood before pretty boys.

He never expected that Jess would bring him to one of his favorite restaurants that he could barely afford. But still, he considered it as his favorite despite being there just once and he had to wait for months to get a table. Jess decided at the last minute and was given a table for three.

"Don't tell me you personally know the owner for us to be given a table at Matsugen?"

"No. I don't know the owner. But my aunt does. So I gave my aunt a call and told her I'm taking my father for dinner. She happily obliged."

"I would love to meet this enigmatic aunt of yours. I heard Ellise talked about her too."

"You would love her. She's a riot."

"That I don't doubt," he chuckled. "By the way, what's your game plan with your father? How should I act?"

"Just be yourself."

"Are you sure? I mean -"

"My father wouldn't take it against you that you are gay. Though, it was so funny that he thought we were sleeping together when he first saw you in my apartment." She chuckled nervously. She was telling Luke to act himself, but the truth is, she has no idea how to act around her own father too.

"Can I flirt with him, then?"

Jess hit the brake and Luke almost kissed the dashboard if he wasn't wearing his seatbelt.

"I'm not looking forward to sitting down in public with my father, but I'm looking forward to the food. I didn't eat lunch today. Please, don't make me lose my appetite."

"You have to accept the fact, Jess, that your father was so fine. Like a well-aged wine."

"Shut up! Ewww, please, Luke. I'm telling you, though my father won't mind you flirting with him, I do mind!"

"But shouldn't I act like myself?"

"You wouldn't like to see me flirt and ogle at your father at the dining table, would you?"

"I don't mind. Because my father is old and I don't think you will find anything worth flirting with him, unlike your dad," he smacked his lips noisily like he was looking forward to devouring some mouth-watering meal.

"Disgusting! Please, Luke, don't. I just want you to lighten the mood. Enough for us to have an enjoyable meal without me, stabbing my father with chopsticks."

"Why would you stab your father with chopsticks?"

"Believe me, Luke. My father and I have a complicated relationship. I looked up to him but at the same time, I hated him."

"Okay then, I will behave. I'm also looking forward to the food. Since you are the one buying, I promised to behave."

"If you make me go through the meal without ending up in jail, I will get you a table in Matsugen with your new boy toy."

"Little Miss Jessie, you got yourself a deal!"