Author's Note: This has been a difficult chapter to get out of my head. I had it all planned out, but it took forever to get it to flow the way I wanted it to. Sort of.
Thanks for the reviews! I really mean it. I don't expect them, but receiving them let me know what others think of what I've done thus far. So enjoy and let me know what you think of this chapter. :)
***April 1985***
Annette tapped her pen absently as she stared at another data print-out from the last batch of samples to be processed. Letting the pen drop from her weary fingers, she used both hands to rub at her bloodshot eyes. I would kill for a bath right now. And about 24 hours of straight sleep.
The past few months had been quite chaotic. For the small space they had been using before, it took a good deal of manpower to get all their equipment shifted into the new facility. Since this level was highly restricted, it came down to William, Albert and herself to do the majority of the move. It was one of the rare occasions to see both William and Albert without their labcoats on, their sleeves rolled up as they pushed and pulled equipment around. She had been right there with them, assisting where she could with the handcart. It seems like my role in life; to assist them.
Once they had everything in place, the facility itself needed a lot of repairs and enhancements to suit their highly hazardous samples and experiments. Even after a month, only about half of the area was suitably functional. The rest would have to wait for Umbrella to clear a few maintenance techs down to their level. In the meantime, they had already swung into full gear with what they had.
The introduction of two new assistants, Steve Moore from her previous team and Greg Mueller from bio-genetics, things had really shifted into a different mode as the amount of samples they could cover doubled. For Annette, it meant becoming an unofficial team lead which gave her even more work to handle on top of her original duties. It was hard to schedule any kind of free time for herself within the last month. I really should take this one off. No 'buts' this time. I can't even think straight.
Annette glanced at her watch, chewing on her lower lip thoughtfully. It's a Friday. I think I'll call it quits for today. But that means I'd have to talk to both of them...
Ever since the New Year's party, Annette had kept a distance between herself and them as much as possible. Neither of them had made much of an effort to talk to her either so she wasn't the only one guilty of being cold. Honestly, she wasn't sure what to think when it came to William and Albert. Their personalities were like night and day, but they did find a meeting point where their ambition was concerned. When they would actually work together, they were a force to be reckoned with. It didn't happen often nor did it ever last long. Right now, William kept insisting his way while Albert wanted to try different avenues. Stalemate.
She stared down at the work in front of her, rubbing at the diminished scar on her cheek that was nearly gone. "Everything looks like a blur right now." She groaned as any kind of concentration failed her at that moment.
Annette moved to her feet, slipping her chair back under the desk neatly. Lets go tell William. Hopefully I can poke my head in, say goodbye and find a hot bath ASAP.
As she stepped towards the small office William used, Annette waved at Steve and Greg. "I'm going to head off guys."
Greg peered up from his clipboard, his pen stilling. "Alright. We're almost done here." He paused. "Steve and I were going out for a beer and some wings. Want to come along?"
"Nah. I still have a bookshelf I need to put together. Thanks for the invite, but I feel like a wreck right now." She returned, trying to hold back a yawn as she finished her sentence.
Greg nodded. "Please get some rest, Annette. You look like the walking dead."
"Funny, Greg. I didn't know you had it in you." Annette jested, moving along her way towards William's office.
She was about to knock on the door as it opened. Her knuckles rapped on William's shoulder instead of the door itself. Annette sighed. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" She drew back her hand, slipping it into her labcoat pocket.
William rubbed the back of his neck briefly, his eyes focused on her. "Not really." As the silence crept up between them, he spoke again. "Was there something you needed to tell me, Annette?"
"Yeah. I'm going to head home for today. I think I'm going to take this weekend off too. I don't feel I'll be any help if I go another weekend without some downtime." She explained.
He nodded slowly, his gaze lingering on the active specimen tank nearest to his office. "Please do. I don't need you coming down sick or collapsing from fatigue when it can be prevented."
Annette tilted her head, assessing his haggard appearance. "You should take that advice more than I, William. When was the last time you slept more than three or four hours?"
William raised his eyebrows, staring upwards as he tried to find an answer.
She sighed. "I think you should take the weekend off too."
"I have a lot I still need to do before I even think of leaving today. I don't even know what I would do with myself with a whole weekend off..." William pondered.
Annette crossed her arms, shaking her head. "You're a lost cause. Hmm... Hypothetical question: what to do when your girlfriend talks about having a spare weekend? I'm not sure. What do you think?" Crap. Why did I say that?
He pursed his lips, his expression becoming impassive. "Annette, we should really talk. We haven't had much of a chance since that party. Could I come over tonight once I get off?"
"Will it be sometime before midnight?" She retorted. Damn. I didn't mean to sound angry.
William frowned at her. "Would 8PM be a good time to stop by?"
"Yeah. That will be fine." Annette answered, rubbing her eyes as she turned to head towards Albert's office. Listening, she heard William walking away, talking to Steve about some recent data spikes in his reports.
Annette didn't waste a moment to knock on the door. Great, he's going to come over tonight. Why couldn't it be tomorrow when I've had a chance to sleep first?
"Come in." She carefully opened the door as the doorknob was a bit tricky. Albert raised his head from a full vial rack with varying samples. He straightened to his full height as he noticed it was her.
"I'm going to..." She started to speak.
Albert slid the rack back into the refrigeration unit, closing the door. "Leave for the day? Perhaps the weekend? With Birkin in tow? Your voice tends to carry."
"So, you were listening?" Annette sighed.
Albert removed the latex gloves from his hands with care, dumping them into the biohazard bin near his desk. "No. Both you and Birkin speak quite loudly. I do not have to strain myself to hear anything." He sank down into his office chair. "Have you given any thought to the experiment I would like to run?"
Oh hell. I've been so busy I forgot about this. Well, he doesn't need to know that. Annette leaned back against the door, making sure it stayed closed. "What you ask is incredibly risky and you don't even have a sample of..."
"Actually, my contact managed to come through. It is not much to work with, but I did get a sample of Ms. Ashford's legacy." Albert offered.
Annette blinked. She didn't think it would've been possible to get a sample of the T-Veronica strain. "Well, if I did say yes, where would we conduct tests? Store samples? Disposal?"
Albert leaned back into his chair. "My office here will suffice for the testing. I will keep the data within my quarters. William will not notice. He will think I am just running a different variety of tests contrary to his which is true. I will make sure everything runs smoothly."
"You sound like you do underhanded tests like this all the time." She smirked. "As for assisting you, I have so little time as it is. Where do you propose I squeeze this into my schedule, Albert?"
Albert raised an eyebrow. "The answer is quite obvious. Spread your workload around will free up some of your precious time. Mr. Moore and Mr. Mueller are more than capable. I did pick them, after all."
Annette rolled her eyes upward. "Yes. Yes. Like I could forget that last detail. I'll see what I can do, but I will only assist you if you ask nicely."
That statement earned her a displeased frown. "I..."
"I was kidding. You take everything so serious all the time that jokes fly right over your head." Annette chuckled.
Albert continued to frown. "Perhaps you do not understand my sense of humor."
"You have one?" She laughed amusedly, her hand moving down to the doorknob. Before she could slip out, Albert spoke up. "We need to discuss the specifics further."
Annette licked at her dry lips. "Can we do this after I get some rest? I already have enough on my plate tonight."
"Ah, yes. How could I forget?" He smirked. "Come see me first thing Monday morning. I usually take my breakfast around 6:30AM in the cafeteria."
She nodded affirmatively. "Alright. I'll see you Monday. Please do get some rest. You look fatigued."
Albert turned in his chair, his attention returned to his computer screen. He was already back in his element. Speechless? It must mean I'm right then.
Stepping halfway out of his office, Annette leaned back to explain. "Your shoulders slump ever so slightly. Good night, Albert." The door closed with a click.
Still focused on his work, Albert rolled his shoulders absently.
***8:05PM***
William had stood outside Annette's door for the last five minutes. I wanted to talk, but I don't know what to say now. I had everything ready in my head, but now I'm completely blank.
There was a loud thump, breaking through his muddled thoughts.
"Annette?" He knocked forcefully on the door. He could hear a loud curse with more mild crashing noises. The knob turned, opening the door wide as Annette backstepped hurriedly to return to what she had been doing.
William moved into her living room without another word, stopping short as he realized what she was working on. He started to laugh, holding on to the door frame to steady himself.
"Wha-What?" Annette flustered as she leaned two sides of the unfinished bookshelf together on the floor. She had already returned to sitting cross-legged in front of her current project.
Closing the door behind himself, William crossed his arms casually, still dressed in his usual labcoat attire. "Need a hand?"
"I can manage this. Some of the drilled holes are off-center so I'm trying to correct that on my own. It's just hard to hold onto and drill at the same time." Annette held up a small corded drill.
William stepped closer, kneeling down to help hold the boards steady. "For once, let me be the assistant. I believe I can handle it." He gave a thumbs up before holding the first board firmly. Assistant? Thumbs up? When did I become this hopeless?
She raised her eyebrows, her hair loose and still damp from a recent bath. "Well, if you insists, just hold it steady. I've already marked where I need to drill." She tucked her hair behind her ears, moving to her knees to start drilling.
William watched her work quietly, barely paying any attention to what he was doing. It would be much quicker if I simply did it myself. As he noticed her starting to have issues with lining up the boards, he reached out to tap her shoulder. "I've put a ton of these together when I started at the training facility. Let me finish the rest."
Annette shook her head as she guided the board he was anchoring to the one it would be connected to. "I thought you were just assisting? Can't handle not being in charge for once?"
"I..." William didn't have a good answer, afraid of saying the wrong thing. Damn it...
Her voice caught his attention as she finished screwing the two boards together. "So, what did you want to talk about?" He assisted holding the second board as she affixed it carefully to the other side.
"Um... well... Don't you know?" William muttered as he couldn't manage to come up with anything else to say. Well, that was pathetic.
Annette examined her handiwork, not giving him the time of day as her attention was elsewhere. "Perhaps I want to hear you say it. I think I deserve that much." Her voice wavered, settling the bookcase down as the base was finished.
He rubbed the back of his neck absently, moving to sit on the couch next to her. "I didn't mean to... I didn't want to... yet I did. I can't take back what I did. I..." He sighed heavily, leaning back on the couch as his head rested on the couch back.
Annette slouched back against the couch, sitting cross-legged amongst the remainder of the bookcase parts. Her fingers plucked listlessly at her baggy grey sweatpants. "That night had been everything I hoped for until that point. If you would've asked to come over for the night, I wouldn't have said no, but you never truly listen to me. Whether it's this relationship or with work."
William's mind felt like it went into overdrive for all the wrong reasons. Stay over? Damn it... focus! His hands came up to rub his tired eyes. "I do listen even if it doesn't appear I do. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, I'll do it."
"Finish my bookshelf and we'll see where we stand after that." She scrambled up to her feet, tiptoeing around the tools and pieces to get to her kitchen. "I was going to have a Coke. Would you like something while I'm up?"
He rose to his feet slowly, sidestepping the bookshelf-in-progress to follow Annette into the kitchen. "Yeah, I'm pretty thirsty if you have one to spare." His eyes took in her living quarters as he moved. It doesn't look like she's done a lot with her space, but neither have I.
Annette sipped from her bottle of cold coca-cola, sighing happily. "That hit the spot." She picked up the second bottle on the counter, holding it out to him. "Cap's already loose..."
William took the bottle with a half-smile, removing the cap with his thumb. "Thanks, Annette."
She returned his smile, her hip leaning against the countertop as she took lazy sips. William did the same as they drank together in silence. At that moment, his eyes landed on the small potted plant by her sink. That's the first decoration I've seen so far. I wonder if it's a special memento...
William nodded in the direction of the plant, attempting small talk. "So, does this plant have some sentimental value?"
Annette froze in mid-gulp, her eyes shifting towards the plant. "As in that I've had it a long time? Only a little while since my birthday, but it's become a part of my daily routine. It's quite beautiful."
He polished off his bottle of soda, moving towards the sink to place the empty bottle there for the time being. He inspected the small plant as he drew closer. A blue bud? "You got it for your birthday?"
There was a long pause. Before William could turn to see her expression, she wandered back to sit on her couch with her half-full drink. With her attention drawn away momentarily, he rotated the plant to get a better view of it. There was one full bloom that had been faced away; a blue rose. Wesker... but why?
William spoke up, his voice terse. "Who did you get this from?"
"Does it matter? It was in front of my door after I dropped off the floppy with Albert. There wasn't a name or a note saying who. I suppose it wasn't you?" Annette answered quietly.
William swallowed his pride for the moment, stepping back into the living room to start putting the rest of the bookcase together. His mood had turned foul without a moment's hesitation. It's likely she knows and playing me for the fool. Regardless, why did Wesker go to such lengths... Oh no...
"Careful! You're going to damage the wood!" Annette patted him on the shoulder to get his attention. Stopping, he turned his head to lock his gaze with hers. "It was from Wesker, wasn't it?" He snapped, trying to gauge her reaction.
Annette could do little more than stare at William with her mouth agape. She managed to find words, trying to keep her anger at bay. "If it wasn't you, then it was probably him. I never asked since I assumed it was you." Hopefully he'll buy that. I would never get Albert to admit it anyhow.
William frowned slightly, breaking the stare to continue finishing the bookshelf. At his current haphazard pace, she wondered if she would have something even resembled the instructions.
She placed her soda down on the floor, patting the open spot next to her. "Stop. Please just stop. Come sit up here and we'll talk."
Without another word or glance, he moved to sit on the couch next to her, hunched over as his elbows leaned on his knees. "I... worry, Annette, when it comes to us. We barely had a chance before I went a made a mess of things. If you're willing to give me a second chance, I promise to try harder."
Annette readjusted to mimic William's crouching style, her hands folded loosely. "No. Don't promise. Just saying you'll try harder works, but I'm afraid of the 'next time' that will occur. What will it be next time? A bloody nose? A busted lip? Cracked ribs? I don't want to have to come between you and your anger again. Perhaps we're just not ready to be a real couple yet." She trailed off, having a hard time putting her emotions into words.
William stared at the floor, his shoulder sagging. "I... I would never hurt you on purpose. This past year has been exhausting. Between work and dealing with bureaucratic red tape, it does take its toll on me after a while. This doesn't justify what I did, but please understand that I'm under a lot of pressure to get results."
She straightened enough to slowly start to slide an arm around his hunched shoulders. Her touch made him jump for a moment before sinking into her one-armed embrace. "One day at a time, William. I'm here to support you as much as I can in both work and this." I'm not even sure what 'this' is.
William continued to lean into her arm and shoulder, seeming to take solace in such simple contact. "I've been pushing forward so long that I never stopped to consider everything else. Ever since the training facility, it had been a constant race to prove one's mettle... I..." His voice broke off, resting his head on her shoulder.
Together, they sat in complete silence for close to ten minutes. Annette stroked her hand along his shoulder with tender reassurance. "When I was little, my father always pushed me so hard to achieve the best I could. Even when I cried and rebelled, he weathered everything and kept pushing. If he hadn't been that jagged rock in the maelstrom, would I even be here right now? Without his support, I likely would've been lost."
"That sounds rough. Is he still that stubborn?" He asked.
She shook her head slowly, running her free hand through her loose hair in her eyes. "He passed away two years ago to pancreatic cancer. My parents had me later in life, but it was common on my father's side of the family. I remember how we used to ride along the riverbank after supper..." I miss those halcyon days.
William's head lifted from her shoulder, releasing her arm as he returned her kindness. His arm gently pulled her closer, her head moving to lie in the crook of his neck.
"I'm alright, William. We got to say our goodbyes. That's more than some people ever get." Annette whispered against his shoulder, resting into his arm. His stubble is rubbing against my forehead.
After a few more minutes, he slipped his arm away. "It's only going to take a few minutes to finish your little project here..." In that moment, she grabbed his loosened tie, pulling his unsuspecting lips against hers.
Annette eased her grip on his tie, leaning back to gauge his reaction.
William didn't give her that moment as his arms enveloped her gently, renewing the kiss that he didn't want to end. As the kiss deepened further, her arms slid along his shoulders, her fingers gliding into his thick hair. Softer than it looks.
With gentle insistence, Annette guided him to stop with gentle pecks. She tried to catch her breath, her eyes locked to his. "Will..."
William traced his warm fingers along her back, leaning his forehead against hers. "Just say the word and I'll go." He whispered under his breath.
"Mmm... You always jump to conclusions." She placed a kiss on his cheek, her eyes watching his. "Might I suggest moving somewhere that isn't covered in with tools and small screws?"
Without a moment's hesitation, William swept her up into his arms, smiling. "Where to?" Her hands encircled his neck, leaning over to whisper in his ear. "My bed is quite comfortable."
"As my lady commands." With careful effort, he dodged the debris field that was her living room, heading through the open door into her darkened bedroom. He eased her onto the bed gently, stepping back as he removed his labcoat and tie.
Annette watched as he undressed himself down to his grey pants. She raised an eyebrow, wearing a sly smile as she drank him in the pale light. Nice. Very nice. After such a display, he moved to sit at the foot of the bed, his back facing her.
"Don't be bashful." She chuckled, sliding her middle finger along the curve of his back. She felt him shiver under her touch.
William raked a hand through his hair, drawing in a deep breath. "I just don't want to rush this... I'll put my shirt bac..." He gasped as he felt a gentle bite on his neck as another set of hands started to run down his bare chest. Her lips pressed under his ear, whispering. "Rush what?" She placed down his neck as she awaited an answer.
It was likely at that point that William lost all ability to speak. Nimbly, he moved to his feet so quickly that Annette nearly fell off the bed. He was quick to catch her, brushing his lips past hers teasingly as he stretched his frame along the bed with her.
In one swift motion, William leaned over her, his hair tickling her nose as he bent down to claim her lips once again. His hands were gentle as they unbuttoned her grey nightshirt and started to explore every bare curve at his leisure.
Annette closed her eyes as each sensation tingled up her spine. I'm melting.
One by one the remainder of their clothes were carelessly tossed aside. Their naked bodies touching together for the first time while their hands caressed and aroused one another. Time and thought ceased to matter as each touch became bolder and every kiss turned hungrier. When their bodies finally joined, their voices rose in unison in the face of such passion and need. Every emotion escalated to the highest peak and left them breathless in each other's arms.
William held Annette tightly to his side, his hand resting at the small of her back. Her head rested on his chest, her arm draped over him lazily.
Annette closed her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat, placing a kiss on his chest. "That was wonderful..."
"It does make me glad to hear you say that." He murmured, not wanting to shatter that still, perfect moment as everything else didn't matter except them. As he felt her shiver against him, he lazily drew a vagrant blanket around them. With the warmth around them, they were lulled into a fitful slumber.
At the soft chime of the alarm clock, Annette opened one bleary eye to see the time. 6:00AM? I forgot to turn it off... Ah, but William... With a quick motion, the alarm was silenced as she snuggled back into William. "I could get used to this." She whispered to the dark.
A moment later, she felt his fingers stroking through her loose hair. "So could I."
Annette laughed quietly, comfortable where she was situated. "As long as you're good..." She squeaked despite herself as a hand pinched her. "That's not being good, but two can play at this game!"
William squirmed as her fingers pinched his leg. "Oh, that's it." His fingers delved to her sides, starting to tickle her. As she started to flail around with laughter, the blanket was thrown aside as she tried to escape. Eventually, he stopped his rampage as she gasped for air.
"That was underhanded or should I say double-handed?" Her cheeks were flushed from exertion as she stared up at William. I've never seen him smile like that. He seems so relaxed.
William brushed a thumb along her lips, staring into her eyes. "Marry me."
He's... WHAT?
Annette's mouth hung open as she wanted to reply, but her brain hadn't formed a response. "Umm..."
"Think on it. I don't need an answer immediately, but I'm quite serious." William caressed her cheek as he spoke. "I was prepared to ask this earlier, but I went and made an ass of myself. There's no one else I would want in my life other than you. I've never been this sure about anything in my life. This is how I feel, Ann, and I just wanted to make sure you knew."
"Say the words." Annette started to blush thoroughly. He's serious!
William wore the brightest smile she had ever witnessed on his face in the dim light. "I love you, Annette."
"Again."
"I love you, Annette." William leaned down to give Annette a soft kiss.
Annette stroked her fingers along his rough cheek, her eyes starting to tear up from the sheer emotion of this moment. "I love you, Will. I knew on that hill in the snow. It was just... right as this moment is now."
William laughed wholeheartedly, pulling her into a big hug. As their lips met again, the world would have to wait till Monday.
Along with the bookshelf.
***Monday, 6:25AM***
Wesker placed his food tray on the table nearest to the exit. This was his usual table; every meal was taken here and this had become his table. It had a prime position closest by the cafeteria exit. Now all he had to do was wait while he finished his first meal of the day. It would not have killed her to be early.
He flipped open the newest Raccoon City newspaper to lay flat on the table, scanning the front page for any relevant news as he sipped at his fresh coffee. As he reached for a piece of toast, Annette rushed in as she checked her watch. She is fifteen minutes late... Typical.
As Annette caught sight of him, she progressed to his table. "I'm sorry I'm late. I... forgot to set my alarm clock." She gathered her loose hair, quickly tying it back with little care.
"Please go get yourself something to eat. It will appear more natural that way." Wesker took a bite from the toast slowly. Wrinkling his nose, he took a moment to spread a thin layer of strawberry jam along his toast before taking another bite. Better.
Annette blinked as if coming out of a daze. "I'll be right back." She hurried into the cafeteria line, picking up an apple bran muffin and a coffee. Wesker watched her out of the corner of his eye. She is out of sorts. More than usual.
As she returned with her breakfast, Wesker thumbed through the newspaper, removing the business section before scooting the rest out of the way. With a brief motion, he had it folded neatly to continue eating while absorbing the current business climate.
"So, what specifics did you want to go over, Albert?" She asked as she fixed her coffee to her preferred taste.
Wesker continued to glance over the stock numbers. "In a hurry now? It is not something to be rushed regardless if you are late."
Her nostrils flared as they always did when she didn't agree with his thinking. "Yes. Surprise. You win. How is this different than usual?"
"This is not a joking matter." He stared at her coldly over his coffee. "Are you ready to proceed or do we stop here?"
Annette frowned as her fingers broke her muffin into bite-size pieces. "I won't apologize for being late. If you're ready to talk, I'm here to listen."
Wesker arched an eyebrow, placing his coffee down to return his attention to his meal. With fork and knife in hand, he neatly sliced the omelet and sausage both into eight slices. He would wait out her out. It never took long.
Annette watched how meticulous he was with his breakfast with a crooked smile. "I'm sorry. It was just a very eventful weekend and I'm afraid I didn't sleep much." She popped a muffin piece into her mouth.
Not long at all. Wesker set aside the cutlery, finishing his breakfast as he listened. Wiping his mouth with one efficient brush of his napkin, he tossed it on the empty plate in front of him. "I would like to start testing with the T-Veronica virus. This I have already told you. The documentation is lacking to say the least when Ms. Ashford met her untimely demise. Even if it killed her, there might be properties we can salvage from it."
"Is there any existing data that we can analyze or is it locked in a file cabinet somewhere it won't see the light of day?" She asked inquisitively, stirring the straw in her coffee idly.
Wesker nodded once. "There is not a lot to go by, but there are a few documents that were submitted that I managed to get a hold of before they were sealed. Even with this information, we will likely need to start from the beginning." His hand slipped under his labcoat, bearing a black floppy disk.
"I will need this back." As Annette went to take it from his hand, he jerked it back. "I am entrusting you with this information. Your analytical skills will be the second set of eyes, following my own. Please let me know what you think once you have finished digesting this data. Once finished, I will need it back." He handed it to her after that, watching as she slid it into her front labcoat pocket.
Her eyes stared at him directly. "Trust is a hefty word, especially for you. Why can't you convince William to work together with you on this? You've known each other for what... five years?"
"William is on his own path as am I. Specifically, I need someone who can be objective and not be afraid to push their limits. Out of all the qualified scientists, only you have some amount of backbone and sense. That is why I asked." Wesker kept to a low tone. Will this satisfy her ego enough?
Annette pursed her lips in thoughts, letting out a small sigh. "So, I'm the only one you can rely on other than William? Is that what you're getting at?"
"Do you have any questions relevant to this project?" Wesker stated bluntly.
Annette rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "You never like to give any answers. It's almost like pulling teeth from a chicken as my father would say." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll help you as much as I can spare. It might not be much as my free time is in short supply."
"I told you to delegate some of your duties to Mr. Mueller and Mr. Moore. You can certainly find the time if you rely on them to do more of the lab prep." Wesker noted.
She gave a halfhearted shrug. "Like I told you earlier, I'll see what I can do. Unless you tell William that I need to work with you a while, then my time is going to be limited."
Wesker tilted his head. "Perhaps I could ask. Would there be any objections?"
"With William, I can't really say for sure. He becomes a different person when his research is involved." She answered. "Sounds like someone else I know." She leered at Wesker.
Wesker folded his arms across his chest. "Do you really know what you are talking about?"
"Obviously not." Annette spoke as she finished off her coffee before rising to her feet. "I should get going. I told Will I would be in the labs around 7AM."
Wesker arched his eyebrow again. "Will?"
Annette smiled brightly, her teeth flashing. "Yeah. It was a good weekend." She mentioned with a happy sigh, taking off for the exit.
Now that I think back, Birkin was not in the labs at all this weekend either. Together? Wesker rubbed at the bridge of his nose, easing the tightness building between his eyes. When he straightened his dark shades, his eyes focused on the remainder of Annette's muffin - one piece left.
Without a second thought, he slid the muffin chunk into his mouth stealthily as he moved from his seat.
Wasteful.