Chapter 317 - Dinner Is Served

[This chapter is dedicated to Rosa_Kennedy. Your support of our story is greatly appreciated.]

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Noah hurriedly got out of his car as soon as he parked it in his private spot at the basement parking of his apartment. He was hoping that he could catch Jess before she left.  He tried to call her but her phone was turned off and he does not want to call Luke to ask him where Jess was. 

The building security greeted him good evening but he simply nodded and went inside the elevator. Just as he got out of the elevator, Soraya came out of the hallway from Jess's apartment. 

"Soraya…" he called after her. She stopped and waited for him with Lucille's dog, jumping excitedly next to her. "…is Jess home?" 

"She sent me a message that she has to be at the lab." She looked down on the dog, "that's why I'm picking Macao because Lucille doesn't want him to be alone for a long time in Miss Jess's apartment." 

He exhaled a deep breath. Antonio was unhappy that he left the meeting with him just so he could talk to Jess, but it was useless since Jess wasn't home. 

"You're going back to Lucille's school, right? Let me drive you there." He said, pushing his right hand in his pants pocket. He was holding the bouquet of flowers that he got for Jess in his left hand. He got the flowers as a form of apology for her. "Let me just put these insides." He didn't wait for Soraya's answer and got inside Jess's apartment. 

Since Macao has been staying at Jess's place, Jess agreed to share his passcode with Lucille and Soraya. Just like him, the two can enter her apartment anytime. Lucille found it amazing that Jess's passcode is her birthday. 

When he entered the foyer, he headed to Jess's study and put the flowers he got for her in one of the vases that were inside the Chinese cabinet. He scanned her study and saw that Jess had a lot of reading to catch up with, based on the amount of papers sitting on her desk. 

He wondered if she was pushing herself too much. She's still working under Dr. Sison on top of being part of Luke's research team. He glanced at his wrist and saw that it was almost time for dinner. 

Soraya and Macao were patiently waiting for him and he decided that he could drop by at Lucille's school before going to the lab to check on Jess. 

"Have you eaten dinner?" 

"Not yet. Lucille wants to eat dinner with her friends after they finish their study session." 

The drive to Lucille's school didn't take long. He just dropped off Soraya and Macao before he headed to Matsugen to pick up the food that he ordered for Jess and Luke.

***

"Jess, we have a supervisor coming. Are you done with that?" Luke ambled to the lab table where Jess was looking down on the microscope. 

She didn't reply but pointed to the table next to her. Luke picked up the tablet and checked the data that Jess finished and smiled. She works fast and precisely. He was glad that she agreed to work with him. 

He was still checking the data when Jess straightened her back and asked. "What time will the supervisor be dropping by?" 

Luke looked up from the tablet, he was holding and glanced at the lab's door. "I think it's here. Wait…" He pushed himself away from sitting on the edge of the lab table and headed to the door. 

Jess knitted her brows on why a supervisor would drop by at the lab at this hour. It was already a quarter to ten. She has been working since she and Luke arrived at the lab and she forgot the time. Her stomach was already grumbling. She hoped that the supervisor wouldn't stay long, so they could get something to eat. She still has a lot of work to do. She wants her mind to be always occupied because it always wanders back to Noah whenever it's empty. 

But then, she failed. Noah never left her brain. Not for a single minute. She smiled sadly within herself, thinking what Noah was doing. Was he still at the office and what could be his reason for lying to her? She was thinking those things when he noticed that Luke hadn't come back yet. 

He's taking a long time to pick up the supervisor. Jess put down her glasses and went after Luke. She hadn't taken more than ten steps when she heard a familiar voice and her heart thudded in her chest. 

When she turned around the shelf, to the makeshift receiving area, right in front of the door—she saw Noah and Luke, talking. 

"Hey, Little Miss Jessie," he grinned, teasingly.

Luke didn't have to continue the rest of his greetings to know what's next. She rolled her eyes on him and walked to the stool that was next to the table where a spread of her favorite sushi was laid on. 

"You brought dinner?" 

Noah nodded at her questions. "Luke said, you haven't eaten dinner yet." And as if to prove the truth of what Noah said, her stomach grumbled with the sight of food. 

"Yeah. It's clear that I'm hungry." She picked up the chopstick and gave Noah a quick glance. "Thank you for the food." 

Noah smiled and watched her eat in silence. Luke grabbed one pack of sushi and stood up from his chair. 

"I'll go to my office first because I'm waiting for an important email." He smirked at Jess then left. 

Noah and Jess were left alone in an awkward silence. After eating another piece, she put down her chopstick and looked at Noah. "You done with work?" 

"No. Antonio threatened me with double murder if I don't come back at the office tonight." 

"You were that busy?" 

He reached for her hand, and breathed a sigh of relief when Jess didn't pull her hand away. "I have to finish everything here before I fly to Berlin." 

"And the girl?" She asked, looking straight into Noah's eyes who was clearly uncomfortable with her question.

"Uh-mmm…"