Zoe Bailey made her way down the winding stairs to the coffee counter in the cafeteria of the central Biosyn student building. Her morning lecture wasn't scheduled for another half an hour. She ordered her usual strong tea and sat down in a stylish, but uncomfortable, wooden chair. It was her third week working as a guest lecturer for Biosyn and she was still adjusting. There was a lot that had lured her to the tucked away Italian mountain campus - generous pay, an impressive boost to her career and most importantly to Zoe, a fresh start.
She scanned the cafeteria as she sipped her tea. There were already plenty of eager young students milling about. Some deep in discussion, others tapping away at their laptops. Zoe had been impressed with the tenacity and drive of the students in her lectures. She was enjoying their eager engagement in her sessions, their bright eyed optimism about a better future, even if their tender youth made them naive. Zoe had been like that too at their age.
Zoe looked around again then checked her watch. Time to head to the lecture theatre. As she began to ascend the stairs she spotted who she'd been looking for, the infamous man in black himself - Dr Ian Malcolm. While they hadn't formally met, his reputation around campus proceeded him. He was Biosyn's rock star lecturer and the students (and fellow academics) could not get enough of him. He caught Zoe's eye and smiled at her. She smiled back at him as she passed. This had become a daily ritual for the two of them since Zoe had arrived and each morning Zoe could feel a flutter of attraction inside of her. Ian was older, but still attractive as hell. A silver fox. It had been a long time since she had felt that way about a man and it was enough to put a spring in her step for the rest of the day.
Ian couldn't help but smile at the woman he'd been passing each morning on his way for coffee. She was younger than him, mid to late thirties he's estimated, well dressed and sexy in a subtle, academic kind of way. Just his type. Today as he came down the stairs he observed her - hair in a braid over her shoulder, silk shirt unbuttoned just enough to hint at her breasts below, high waisted pants and heels. He licked his lips and resisted the urge to turn back around to watch her make her way up the stairs. He was here strictly on business he reminded himself. Although come to think of it, why should he deny himself some pleasure at the same time? As he made his way to the coffee counter he looked over his shoulder hoping for one last look at her. Their eyes met and she shot him a flirty look. He really needed to introduce himself.