Page 2 of Where We Met

Shannon smiles. “No biggie. Just let us know when it’s ready, and we’ll plan a girls’ night.”

“I didn’t know you guys were taking this class,” I tell them as I take a seat.

“We wanted to get one more class all together before we graduate. This was the only one left in the business college that we could all get credit for toward our own degrees,” Aubrey explains.

“How was your winter break?” Tricia asks me.

It was my first Christmas with my new family.

Ithasbeen a bit of an adjustment, if I'm being honest. For the longest time, it was just me and my dad. I don’t remember my mom, but the many photos I have of her prove she was a beautiful, full-of-life woman. My dad has always said that I get my sense of adventure and desire to explore the world from her, and it makes me happy to know that I'm so much like her.

“It was good. Nice to be home,” I say. “How about you?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “Can’t complain. My parents got along for once, and my sisters were tolerable.”

I bend down to get my laptop out of my bag and set it on my desk.

“Hello, everybody. Welcome to Managing Cultural Differences. My name is Lucas Giannelli, but you all can call me Professor Luke.”

I hear a low gasp come from Aubrey while Shannon and Tricia giggle next to me. I’m about to ask them what’s so funny when I look up at the front of the room.

I’m hit with quite possibly the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on. His dark hair is cut short on the sides and left a little longer on the top. He has green eyes that pop against his olive skin, and his short beard makes him look like someone who belongs on the cover of a magazine.

Who is this guy?

I would have known if there was a professor this sexy walking around campus, especially if he’s part of the International Business program.

My heart starts to accelerate, and I find myself sitting up straighter as I fix my hair.

What am I doing? He’s myprofessor.

“Now, I know some of you are taking this class as an elective for business, but some of you are International Business majors. By a show of hands, who here is majoring in International Business?” he asks.

I raise my arm and look around to see only about twenty others raising their hand. Most of my peers took the class last year, but like I said, I wanted an easy senior year.

Professor Luke scans the room as he evaluates how many of us are majoring in International Business. I’m usually not one to squirm at the attention of a man, good-looking or not, but I feel my body tingle the second his eyes land on mine.

He looks almost surprised at the sight of me, letting his gaze linger on me for a moment. I sit up straight and don’t allow my stare to waver. When he finally tears his glance away, I’m not sure if I’m imagining it, I manage to convince myself that I’m probably just making it up in my head.

I need to get a hold of myself. This isn't like me.

“To my right, you will find your TA for the semester, Rebecca. She will be assisting with grading papers and answering any questions you may have along the way. While Rebecca passes out the syllabus, I will tell you a little bit about myself. Like I said, my name is Lucas Giannelli, and I own Giannelli Family Selections with my siblings. We travel the world tasting the finest wines you can imagine, looking for the best of the best to recommend to our clients around the country.”

Not only is he gorgeous, but he’s cultured too? My libido is taking a hit right now. Is it hot in here? I look around at everyone else, all perfectly content in their seats. Meanwhile, my body feels like it’s burning up.

Professor Luke starts walking closer to my side of the room as he continues.

“I still work full-time with my siblings but am here at your university to help fill this role until they find another professor. I’m honored to be able to share what I’ve learned in my travels with you guys. Now some of you are here to fill in some credits, and that’s okay, but for the others…” he says just as his eyes fall to me, and I swear there is some kind of electricity buzzing between us. “I’m here to answer any and all questions. I want you to learn as much as you can from what I’ve experienced in my career over the years.”

As the syllabus stack for my aisle reaches me, I grab one and pass it down the line.

Professor Luke starts to read it over and I do my best to pay attention to his words and not the man speaking them.

“In this class, we will go over many different techniques for how to work with people from different backgrounds. All of what we learn will be geared toward your final assignment, where you will be partnered up with an overseas university student, given a real-world issue faced by companies, and work together to find a solution.”

I’m bursting with excitement at the thought of being connected with someone overseas. I can’t help but wonder who I am going to get and what country they’ll be from.

I’ve never left the country before, but I’ve always wanted to, hence my future career choice.

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