Web Of Lies

The next morning, Noah woke up early and went to pick up Lucas. Noah had actually been working with Lucas for 4 years now, but unlike Ryan, he wasn't close to him at all. Thus, Lucas always booked a separate room for him when they traveled and he never discussed any private matters with him.

4 years ago, Noah had deliberately approached Lucas because of his sister. He heard that she was admitted to the psychiatric hospital because of him, and according to his sister, Lucas Lee had seduced her during a blind date, played with her feelings, then abandoned her when he was done. So, he wanted to get close to the man to get revenge.

But the first 2 years that he worked for him, Lucas appeared to be just a normal young heir who was starting up his own business to prove that he could be self-sufficient from his crazy rich family in Hong Kong. He was completely focused on work and didn't meet with any women at all. For a short while, Noah questioned whether there was a misunderstanding.

But then the 3rd year came around, and out of the blue, Lucas suddenly started attending blind dates organized by his father again. That was when Noah saw another side to the man that he didn't see before. A side that probably his sister was familiar with.

Noah didn't attend every single blind date with Lucas, but on the occasions that he did, he witnessed how cold, arrogant, rude, and heartless he was towards his date. Many of them even ran out crying. Then, just as he thought things couldn't get any worse, in June last year, Lucas attended a blind date on his own with a young ballet dancer from Shanghai, and he was mysteriously bailed out of the police station the next day. Ryan was the one that went to bail him.

When Noah questioned Ryan about it, he told him it was nothing, but it obviously seemed as though he was hiding something. Later that day, Noah saw on the news that a woman had been found dead in an alleyway that morning, and when he saw the photo of the woman, he recognized her as the young ballet dancer that Lucas met the previous night.

He put two and two together and came to the conclusion that Lucas was involved. Since that day, he had been paranoid about Lucas' every move.

As Noah pulled up outside Lucas' hotel, he saw him speaking to Ryan seriously in the lobby before they went their separate ways and Lucas boarded the car. "Ryan's not coming with you?" Noah asked casually.

"No, I'm not working today," Lucas replied.

He then instructed him to drive to another hotel along the Vegas strip.

Noah was a little confused at first. Lucas was there on a business trip, and apart from the blind date with Delilah last night, he had no other appointments, so who was he meeting at the hotel?

But when he pulled up at the hotel and saw a familiar face walk out, he opened his eyes wide in shock and almost continued driving.

"Open the door for Miss Yeung, please," Lucas instructed.

Noah sighed. Although he didn't want to, he had no excuse not to do as he was told, so he stepped out of the car, walked around to the door for the back seat, and opened it up. "Miss Yeung, this way please," he said unwillingly.

Maya glanced at the man. Although he was trying hard to hide his surprise and discomfort, she could tell that he was panicking on the inside. "You're the driver from yesterday. What was your name? I don't think we've been introduced," she asked, pretending not to know him.

Noah lowered his head with respect and stuttered, "I...uh..."

At that moment, Lucas leaned toward the door impatiently. "This is Noah Thompson, he's my personal driver. I thought you said in your message that you can't wait to see me, why are you still lingering outside and not boarding the car?" he teased.

Maya bent over slightly and peered into the car to look at the man sitting on the other side of the back seat. Today, he was wearing a pair of black jeans with a white shirt, a long grey coat, and a grey scarf; a slightly more approachable look than the black set of clothes he was wearing the previous day. Maya raised an eyebrow in confusion. [Message? What message?]

But, before she questioned the man, she realized it must have been Delilah. After all, she was the only one with his number.

Forcing a smile, she climbed into the back seat and said, "I'm glad you got released."

Lucas looked at the woman. He was originally worried that she had left without him because she misunderstood him, but now that he saw her again, he felt a sense of relief.

"I was innocent so they naturally released me," Lucas smiled.

Maya nodded her head and watched as Noah climbed into the driver's seat. He glared at her through the rearview mirror and she looked at him reassuringly. Just as he started the car, Lucas suddenly turned to Maya and asked, "By the way, who bailed you out? I thought you were here on your own..."

Screeech! Noah instinctively stepped on the brakes when he heard this question and the two people in the back jolted a little. Lucas quickly grabbed onto Maya protectively. "What happened?" he asked as he tried to look in front of the car.

Noah cleared his throat nervously and quickly shook his head, "Oh, it was nothing. I thought someone was about to cross the road."

Lucas sighed and turned back to check on Maya. "Are you OK?" he asked.

Maya nodded. Fortunately, she had already latched her seatbelt as soon as she sat down.

As she nodded, she felt the man's palms against her arms. Although it was winter and she had a few layers of clothes on, she could still feel his warmth and it made her heart flutter a little. Blushing slightly, she quickly gathered her composure and thought of an answer to the man's earlier question. "My best friends bailed me out. I'm here with two of my best friends."

"Oh," Lucas replied in understanding. Without any suspicion, he commented, "They certainly arrived at the police station quickly..." He was simply glad that she was OK.

But Maya moved away from the man and tried to hide her guilt by looking out the window. "Yes, they happened to be nearby..." she replied shamelessly.

Lucas nodded his head. Even though it sounded too coincidental, he did not doubt the woman.

Maya sighed to herself when she saw that the man completely believed her. It was only that morning that she was on the brink of revealing herself to him, but now, she had to continue weaving her web of lies until she was certain that he was innocent. If he was to believe someone, she was definitely the worst person to choose.