Zoe was clearing her handwritten notes off the lectern when the door to the lecture theatre opened. Without looking up she called out "If you're needing further explanation about the radiosynthasis process I suggest you start by taking the time to read the Mycological Research article I referenced at the end of the lecture."
"That sounds fascinating, I might just do that," came the playful reply.
It wasn't the voice of a student. Looking up she saw him. Ian.

He slowly began walking down the stairs, hands in his pockets, and made his way to the stage. His lecture was next.
"Sorry," started Zoe, embarrassed. "I, uh, I thought you were a student."
Ian smiled at her as he made his way to the lectern. He was close enough for her to smell his cologne. He smelt amazing.
"So this is what I know about you so far," he started. "You're a mycologist with a caffeine addiction," he picked up one of her notes and continued, "you make a lot of handwritten notes in very pretty handwriting and I'm also assuming you're single and you'd perhaps like to get a drink with me later. I'm Ian Malcolm."
He held out his hand to her. She reached out and shook it. His grip was firm, his hand warm. She admired his forward, though somewhat cocky, introduction.
"Zoe. Zoe Bailey," was her reply as she looked into his eyes. He closed his other hand over hers. Zoe felt her cheeks flush.
"You've made some observations I see," she said tilting her head to the side, trying to stay cool. "What makes you think I'm single?"
"Well," he started. "You're here working in a secluded Italian mountain range for a company that pride themselves on their punishingly antisocial work hours and…" he paused and reached for her left hand. "You're not wearing a ring on your finger."
He smiled at her playfully. She gently pulled her hand away from his and looked away. "Sorry, I guess I got that wrong" apologized Ian, surprised that his usual smooth talk had taken a sudden turn for the worst. Zoe cleared her throat and looked back at him.
"A drink. 7 o'clock? The lounge bar?" She asked, the mood abating. Ian nodded.
Gathering her things in her arms, Zoe began to walk away just as the first trickle of students began to enter the theatre for Ian's lecture. She couldn't help but notice that the student demographic skewed young and female. She turned around to look at Ian who raised his eyebrows in a way to suggest he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Ian checked his watch. 7:03pm.
"Hi."
Ian looked up from his armchair to find Zoe standing in front of him. Her hair was pinned up, soft tendrils framing her face. She was wearing a thin strapped dress that hugged all the right places and accentuated her toned form. She'd clearly dressed for him. Ian stood up.
"Hi," he replied with a smile. "Let me buy you a drink."
He touched the back of her arm and they walked together to the bar. Ian order a scotch, Zoe wine.

They sat on a couch in the corner of the lounge facing out the full length windows to the snow capped mountain range, the twilight sky a stunning shade of blue and purple, the stars beginning to reveal themselves for the evening.
"I'm surprised there aren't more people here," commented Zoe looking over her shoulder and around the room.
"Like I said earlier, the work hours are pretty antisocial." Ian took a sip of his drink. "How are you finding it here so far?"
She took a sip from her glass as she decided how best to answer. "It's… it's interesting."
"That's a very diplomatic non-answer," replied Ian with a dry smile.
"I can't put my finger on it," she continued. "It's all very impressive and shiny. They say all the right things about changing the future for the better, but…" She trailed off and looked intently into Ian's eyes, her brows furrowed, hoping he'd be able to relate to her uneasy feeling.
"Ah yes, the Promethean Dilemma," Ian replied, rubbing his fingers on his chin, suddenly lost in thought. A silence hung in the air for a moment. Zoe was curious about Ian. He was enigmatic, deep. She sensed he knew more than he was letting on. There was so much she wanted to ask him, to learn about him. She also felt a strong attraction to him and she wondered if he was feeling it too.
"How did you end up here?" She asked, hoping to move on.
"Well, I uh, lectured for a long time around the place, mostly Texas. Biosyn just seemed like a change of pace. Plus, I have a few kids out this way, so it's great to be closer to them." Zoe learned that Ian had five kids, three adopted and two biological. His adopted children grew up in Paris with their mother, an ex-wife of Ian's. She learned he'd been married, and divorced, a number of times yet remained on good terms with all of his former wives.
"A man's character can be judged on the way he treats his mother and his ex's" commented Zoe. She also believed it would be hard not to continue to like someone as charming as Ian.

"Enough about me. I want to know everything about you," started Ian as he tilted his head to the side and touched her arm, which she had stretched out across the back of the couch like an elegant feline, with his fingertips.
"I feel like I struck a nerve earlier about the marriage thing. Are you divorced? Kids?"
"No and no," Zoe replied. "I, uh…"
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Ian reassured her.
"No, it's just…." She took a breath and began. "I was with someone for a very long time. He was a great guy and we were very much in love but it got to the stage where he wanted to settle down with a family and I realized we were on different paths. Unfortunately I had this realization when he was down on his knee proposing to me. That was two years ago and I've only really just begun feeling okay again."
"Ouch. That's rough. Is that why you're here? You've exiled yourself to the mountains?"
"I had actually exiled myself to Ukraine after the breakup to study radioactivity in mushrooms. There's some exciting findings around the regenerative properties of fungi that can consume radiation. There's the real possibility of being able to harness this knowledge to help in the recovery of cancer patients after radiation treatment. That's also the reason Biosyn wanted me here. The increased likelihood of cancer in cloned organics is still a real problem. The research could change that too." Zoe sipped her drink.
"Well most people just get a haircut or join a gym after a break up, but I guess radioactive mushrooms work too," Ian quipped. The comment caught Zoe off guard, she couldn't help but laugh. Ian smiled at her.
"You have a very pretty laugh," he said, moving in closer to her and laying a hand on the hem of her knee length dress. Zoe's heart began to quicken. "So, what's your next move?" He asked her playfully. The comment was open to interpretation.
Zoe leaned closer into Ian, her hand on his bare forearm, his black sleeves rolled up.
She could feel his finger tips finding their way under the hem of her dress.
"I think you should come back to my room," whispered Zoe, her eyes locked on his.
Her next move was already in play.