"There's an unidentifiable black slime on my mac and cheese."

I glanced over at Jillian's tray and found the offending speck. I lifted the bowl and peered at it before putting it back on her tray. "It's a piece of charred fat from the ham pieces they threw into it. It's fine."

"How can you say that?" she demanded as we slowly moved a spot in the line. "What if it's some type of animal excrement—human or otherwise—or a fungal growth that will contaminate me with some kind of undiscovered strain of disease? Even if it doesn't, it’s just gross."

I rolled my eyes at Jillian who made a helpless, disgusted face. "Then don't eat it. Tell Mira to get you a new batch."

Her hazel eyes rounded behind the lenses of her thick, black, square-framed glasses. "And risk losing a finger or a hand? I swear, the people who ever complain about lunch get abducted into a some secret room where Mira chops them up for soup the next day."

The image didn't agree with my rumbling stomach and I made a gagging expression at her.

I adore Jillian but she was a whip-smart, crazy woman with a feisty personality and no brain-to-mouth filter.

"I think you said that one too loud. Mira's looking right at you."

We both turned at the familiar, laughing voice and found Ryan behind us, on the other side of the metal rail that guided the line, grinning broadly.

Jillian snuck a glance at the cafeteria manager who was forcefully flinging a large spoonful of stiff mashed potato on someone's plate a few spots down behind us. The woman, despite her small stature, was known to strike fear into the hearts of many lunchers in the cafeteria with just her pitbullish expression and complete lack of humor. She was currently looking at us with her beady eyes.

"Relish what time you have left with that hand, Jill. Won't be long," I teased her, earning a smack on the arm from her as I burst out laughing at the panicked expression on her face.

"Ryan, there must be a legal complaint I could make against someone mentally and emotionally torturing me with my deepest phobia," Jillian complained as she gave me another smack on the arm for good measure.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "And there must be one for battery and assault. Right, Ry?"

Ryan just laughed and shook his head. "Okay, enough you two before you seriously hurt each other.  I have to get in line to get food anyway. I'll talk to Mira and plead your case with her, Jill."

"Oh, good," I said with an excited smile. "Mira worships  you, Ry. She'll give you her firstborn in the next life if you asked."

Ryan attempted a stern look at me as we got to the till. "I'm not interested in anyone's firstborn but my own."

"I didn't realize you were thinking of babies now, man."

We looked behind Ryan and found Luke standing there grinning. 

Ryan, who must've recognized the voice, groaned and turned around to greet his friend. "Ah, Luke. How's it going, man?"

"Good," Luke answered as he clapped Ryan's back. "I must be missing some exciting conversations here if you guys are talking about body parts, legal complaints and firstborns."

I smiled. "Don't worry. None of those are related to you in any shape or form."

His eyes met mine and they were a deep blue sparkling with humor. "I'm glad to hear that. I'd like to keep my body parts, my freedom and my firstborn."

"Hi, Mr. Hedenby," Jillian greeted, watching Luke curiously. "We didn't realize you lunched here too."

I almost jabbed Jillian on the ribs. Of course we all knew that he never lunched in the cafeteria but Luke just smiled and glanced up at the menu overhead. 

"Well, I want to know what it is exactly that employees have been raving about—or not," he answered with a slight wince as he looked at the food on our trays after we finished paying. 

"It's not as bad as it looks," Ryan said, grabbing a couple of trays from the stack. "Come on. The only way to know for sure is to try some. Sit with us. The girls are going to grab our usual table."

"The booth will be cozy but I'm sure we can all squeeze in," Jillian said cheerfully, casting me a meaningful side glance. "We'll see you two there, okay?"

We started on our way to one of the booths lined up in the back against the window and Jillian leaned over to me and not-so-subtly whispered.

"Mr. H. is joining us for lunch, Max," she said as we put our trays down on the table and sat opposite each other in the booth. "What the hell is going on?"

I shrugged. "Luke is an old friend of Ryan's—they went to college together—and he’s now a new one of mine and yours."

Her brows disappeared under her blunt bangs. "Luke? You call Mr. H. Luke? Since when did you start playing Mara Jade to your Luke?"

"Who's Mara Jade?" I asked in confusion, sneaking up a glance at the two men who were still talking and waiting their turn at the till. "And Luke and I are just good friends because he's actually a pretty decent guy. He's not some pompous, arrogant snob. We're like pals."

“Mara Jade is Luke Skywalker's wife. Timothy Zahn introduced her in Heir to the Empire. She's part of the Star Wars Expanded Universe," she explained with a roll of her eyes as if this was something I should know. I bet not even the die-hard fans knew this.

"No, I'm definitely not his love interest," I said with a quick shake of my head.

"So you're Leia to his Luke then?"

I groaned. "Jill, I am not a Star Wars fanatic. And if I'm not mistaken, Leia is Luke's sister and no, even though there's no romantic interest between us, we are definitely not brother and sister."

Jillian's lips pursed in protest. "Unless you two treat each other like siblings, there's always a chance that you could develop some romantic interest for each other so you have to make up your mind whether you're his Mara Jade or Leia. Pick which Skywalker you really are."

"What are you two, uh, discussing so passionately about?" Ryan asked as he and Luke arrived at our table. 

Jill gave him an irritated look. "Star Wars."

Luke caught my eye and glanced at Jillian. "Hmm. You definitely have the most interesting conversations."

I laughed and scooted over to the side as Luke slipped in beside me. Ryan sat next to Jillian.

"What did you get?" I asked as I looked over at Luke's tray where he nudged his food apprehensively with his fork.

"This is supposed to be a teriyaki chicken bowl," he said, glancing down at my club sandwich. "I'm starting to reconsider."

"Just wash down every bite with some soda," Ryan advised. "It'll be fine."

I watched as Luke lifted a small amount into his mouth and started chewing slowly.

I could see he was turning a little green and his upper lip was sweating.

"Good?" Jillian prompted, unable to hide the hint of amusement from her voice. "All the newbies make the same mistake of getting the teriyaki chicken. I'm sure it's just all the scraps from yesterday's lunch tossed together with some teriyaki sauce."

"I did warn him but he insisted," Ryan said with a smirk before taking a bite of his pizza. 

Luke didn't say anything to his defense—just took another forkful of the notoriously awful dish and forced it down his throat with a big gulp of his soda.

I couldn't stand his suffering.

"Here, you can have this," I said as I took away his rice bowl and placed my plate in front of him. The sandwich had been cut into four pieces and I still had two left. "I have an apple and a brownie so I'm good."

He looked at me desperately. "No, I'm fine with what I—"

"Just eat it," I told him with a stern, meaningful look before he sighed and picked up a slice of the club sandwich. 

He looked relieved as he started chewing.

"Here." I handed him a napkin and he grabbed it along with my hand which he gripped and laid on the table as he finally swallowed down his food. Some of his color returned. 

"Thank you," he said softly, smiling at me weakly. "That teriyaki dish was the most repulsive thing I've tasted in my entire life."

I grinned and took a bite out of my apple. "Now you know what people here are raving about—or not."

He released my hand and dabbed the napkin all over his face. "I think I might have to make some serious improvements on the food service here. If someone went home with food poisoning after eating that... that, I won't blame them."

Jillian nudged Ryan's arm. "I think you did your job here, Ry. It's about time we get some proper food around this place."

"I'll write that down on my list of priorities," Luke said with a solemn nod. "It seems that I haven't been very aware of a lot of things around here."

"Well, you've spent a lot of time in New York," Ryan said with a shrug. "No one blames you. Knowing your father, I can sympathize with the pressure you get."

Piqued by more personal details about Luke, I glanced at him as I asked, "Is your Dad mainly in New York?"

He nodded. "Yeah, he actually still runs Hedenby Bank. It's his pride and joy. I get to do all the running around looking after everything else."

"That sounds like a lot of work," Jillian commented. "It's amazing you can still join mere mortals like us for lunch. Or do coffee runs in the morning."

I kicked Jillian on the shin under the table and she barely managed to suppress her gasp. She didn't scrimp on the full-on glare she levelled me though.

Luke just chuckled and picked up the last of his half-sandwich. "Ah, yes. Crazy busy people like me do need the occasional breath of fresh air or a caffeine boost. Cleo's was actually quite nice. They had a huge variety of creative coffee mixes."

"You've been to Cleo's?" Ryan asked in genuine surprise. 

If Luke noticed the interrogation Jillian started and Ryan inadvertently joined in, he didn't show. 

He nodded at Ryan. "Yeah, Max and I went this morning."

Ryan's brown gaze slid over to me and I squirmed slightly under it. 

Just like everyone else, he suspects something is going on, the voice in my head said. Because no one is going to believe that neither Luke nor you have an agenda to this surprising friendship, if you can call it that.

I inwardly sighed and finished my apple while half-listening to the conversation around the table.

Jillian, seeming pleased with that sort-of test she threw at Luke, was now openly talking to him and cracking a joke here and there. Ryan seemed to be having fun too although I caught the speculative glint in his eye once or twice when his gaze would stray to me.

I participated in the conversation a little, preoccupied by the torrent of possibilities I was torturing myself with as I sat there and weighed the different variables of this strange situation with Luke.

People were going to ask a lot of questions—some of them not so nicely—as long as I was in Luke's company. Did I really want that kind of attention? 

As soon as people started questioning my principles, it would be harder for me to move up or forward in the company. 

Was this pseudo-friendship really worth it? 

When was anyone ever worth it for me? 

And what if this really was a genuine friendship? Could I give it up? 

It wouldn't have been the first.

I was prodded back to reality when Luke's warm hand settled on my knee under the table, patting me as if he knew my thoughts. I glanced back at him and saw that he was still chatting with Jillian and Ryan.

Tuning back into the conversation, I caught the tail-end of Jillian's statement.

"...yeah, they're a great local talent. You should totally come and see them."

"I'm sure I can free up my Saturday evening," Luke told them as he downed the rest of his soda. "Nine, right?"

"What's at nine?" I asked, puzzled for a moment.

"The Rogues & Rascals gig on Saturday, remember?" Jillian reminded me. "You're still coming, aren't you, Max?"

"Oh, yeah. Of course," I answered with a small laugh. "Sorry, I tuned out for a second but yeah, I'm still in. Ry, you're still picking me up, right?"

Luke's hand on my knee tightened with a squeeze as Ryan nodded in confirmation. 

"What?" I murmured at Luke, frowning at him in confusion. "You're coming too?"

Luke gave me a strained smile. "Yes, I said I would. I guess I'll see you there then."

I smiled. "Yes. Bring Terrence if you can tear him away from his computer."

"Who's Terrence?" Jillian asked.

"My good friend—and occasional driver, when he has the time," Luke answered and pride swelled in me. He saw Terrence as a friend first. Being his driver was just... a minor detail.

"He's a budding novelist too," Ryan added. "Good guy. Yeah, bring Terrence if he's up for it."

Luke nodded. "I'll talk to him about it."

Before we knew it, lunch was over and we carried our trays to the stacking station. 

"Are you going to eat that last piece of brownie?" Luke asked as he glanced at my tray.

"Um, no. I'm full," I said as I watched him reach over and pop the small piece of brownie into his mouth. "I've got another one in my purse upstairs if you still want some."

He just grinned and helped me and Jillian put away our trays.

Ryan's cellphone rang and he talked briefly on it before turning to us with a sigh. "HR is pulling me for a conference call right now. I'll head out, okay?"

"Alright. See you, dude!" Jillian said with an attempt at a manly pat on Ryan's shoulder which just caused him to laugh.

"Max, keep her out of trouble, okay?" he said as he reached out and ruffled Jillian's hair. "Luke, I'll see you later, man."

Luke nodded. "Yeah. Meeting at three, if I'm not mistaken. See you, Ry."

When Ryan was gone, Jillian sighed. "Okay, I've got ten minutes before I'm back at work. I'm going to go out and ping a portal from the gift shop across the street, okay? it just opened this morning."

Luke watched as Jillian took out her tablet and started rapping on its screen before glancing at me in question. "What portal is she talking about?"

"It's a real-time based game she's playing where there are portals in different locations and she physically goes out to each one she could get to and reports it in or something like that," I explained with a smile. "Don't ask me how it works. Jill will happily tell you when you have half an hour to listen."

Jillian looked up and grinned. "Lucky for you, Mr. H., I'm the one who doesn't have half an hour right now. I've got to go. The portal's only going to take six pings before it vanishes. Adios, amigos!"

And just like that, she ran out of the cafeteria.

"Before you say anything, Jill is a really special girl and she's a sweetheart if she's not kicking your ass," I said as Luke and I started walking out of the cafeteria. "Don't judge her right away. She'll grow on you."

Luke smiled. "She already is. She's funny and a little fierce."

For some inexplicable reason, I felt a pang of... jealousy? 

Really, Max. You're going to play that card?

"Is that why you're coming with us to the Rogues and Rascals' gig this Saturday?" I asked before I could stop myself. I only just managed not to smack my mouth with my hand.

Luke chuckled. "I'm going because Jill said you're going and you don't normally go out. But I don't want to intrude on your date with Ryan."

I scoffed. "I'm not on a date with Ryan. He lives on the same side of the city as I do so he's just picking me up on his way. Jill can get really drunk and I don't have a car so when we're out and Ryan's there, he becomes our designated driver."

His brows furrowed in thought. "So, you're not dating Ryan. Are you dating someone else?"

"Why would you like to know?" I asked teasingly.

He gave me a chiding look—or a lame attempt at it anyway. "I don't want to tread on anyone's toes. Or at least I want to know if I am. I know it's a bit... peculiar that I'm hanging out with you a lot but I like your company and if that will become a problem for someone, I want to know about it."

"No, not really," I said with a sigh. "Am I treading on anyone's toes?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. Right now, I only like your toes."

I burst out laughing and he grinned, the brief awkward moment we just had disappearing quickly.

We talked about the band on our way to the elevators where I managed to convince him to go straight up to his floor instead of accompanying me to mine.

I hadn't been back at my desk half an hour when Terrence arrived with a big grin, a small stack of spring-bound manuscripts and a small box with a large mint-chocolate cupcake inside it.

There was a note tucked behind the cupcake that simply said:

Thank you for lunch but until the food here gets better, you're stuck eating it with me. No excuses. -L

I had no idea what I was up against with Luke but he might just win it if I weren't careful.