38

LUCAS' POV.

I got into my car, ready to go to work, and thought about Emily. I had wanted to say something to her, but she looked so unwelcoming as she focused on whatever it was she was typing. I also decided not to say a thing because Katie seemed to be heated up, and I understood that they were probably going through a tough time, trying to apologize to the people John had to disappoint.

Emily not wanting to be friends with me did nothing to douse the flames of curiosity growing in me.

It only sparked more interest within me for her, as I wanted to know why she was so different. She had not even seemed to give it a thought. Immediately I asked to be friends, her eyes looked at me like I had to be kidding her. That was a little hurtful.

She looked like she'd be a fun person. Based on the things I had heard about her from John, it seemed like it'd be nice to get to know her more.

When I got to work, Tray was on one of the sofas in my office, typing frantically.

"Good morning." I greeted, walking in.

"Good morning, sir. I hope you had a lot of rest?" He asked, getting up to greet me.

"Of course, I did. I'd love to work from home though." I said, without realizing it.

"Because Emily works at home." He said, comically, and I laughed.

"I don't know. Maybe the stress from work is just too much." I said, settling into my seat, and twirling around.

"Think about it. You've never wanted to work from home. No, not once. Why is it now of all times that you decide you wish to work from home? I'll ask you again, Lucas. Are you sure this is just because you're intrigued by her, and want to find out more sides to her, blah, blah, blah?" He asked.

"Yes." I answered firmly.

"You didn't even give it a thought. Think about it before replying." He said, but I laughed.

"There's nothing to think about." I told him, dragging a few files close to me.

"Why are you not falling for her then? Who else are you going to fall for if not her?" He asked, closing the files I opened.

"She was once engaged to John." I pointed out, looking up at him.

"We both know that's an excuse."

"The family still thinks they're together." I added.

"That's also an excuse. Does the family also have to intrude on your personal feelings? I'm telling you, Lucas, if you let her go, you'll grow old without a woman. Out of a billion women you've met and interacted with, you only found one interesting enough to want to know more, so what? You just let her go? That means you have to wait to meet a billion more women before finding another interesting one." He said, and I laughed.

"Really funny hypothesis. Well, I don't know. This woman I want to get to know doesn't want to get to know me."

"Wait, why? That's insane. What woman wouldn't want to get to know you?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the desk.

"Exactly." I said, hitting the desk lightly. "I asked her to be friends, but she turned down my offer, and even excused herself."

"Speechless."

"Indeed."

"What's her deal? I mean, even men fall for you. Your charm, your brains, your smile. Doesn't she see all of that?"

"Apparently, she does not. Now, can we return to more pressing matters?" I asked, and he sighed.

"Now I understand where your interest comes from. So, okay… let's go back to business. Mrs. Mayer's team is here already, so you have to meet them." He said, and I got to my feet.

"Shouldn't you have said that from the very beginning?" I asked, leaving the office, with him following closely behind me.

We got to the large work space where the teams for both companies were to work together, and they all rose when they saw me.

"Okay, I'll be very brief since I understand you all are very busy. First off, A good morning to you all." They returned my greetings, and I wondered why there were so many women, and why they all had so much makeup on.

I continued, "I'd like to thank you all for coming down here. I know it's not exactly pleasant. I've been on the thirteen-hour flight, and I know it's hard to be on a plane for that long. The fatigue, jet lag… all that. So, I appreciate it. Your stay here will be a pleasant one as I have hotel rooms booked for your use, and everything you need— feeding, working tools, comfortability— will all be given to you freely, in exchange for us all doing our best, and making LuxNight a hit product out there. Do we all agree to that?" I asked, and their replies were louder than I expected.

After that, came the applause, and they refused to stop. I hadn't even said that much. It was clear the ladies were trying to catch my attention.

Unfortunately, I had no time for that.

"I hope our little time here is peaceful, and productive." Tray added, and I gave a little chuckle. He was talking indirectly to the women who looked like they'd spend half the day on makeup, and the other half, trying to impress me.

When I got home, later that afternoon, I had a strange happy feeling. Katie was typing, and Emily was stretching on her seat.

"Let's have lunch. Aren't you both hungry?" I asked, and Katie smiled.

"Yes. We'll pack up right now." She said, turning off her laptop, and shutting it. Emily studied her carefully, and I wondered just what she was thinking.

We all went to the dining room and sat.

"How has it been going? Are they being cooperative?" I asked, minutes later, as the maids served us buffalo chicken wraps with blue cheese and celery.

Emily bit into hers, placing her other hand on the other side of the wrap to prevent the content from spilling out.

"Most of them are really annoyed, and three of them want to talk in person. Emily has to see one of them tomorrow. I'll see one today, and tomorrow as well." Katie replied, and began to eat slowly.

Katie and I talked more a bit about the clients, and I caught a few shy smiles on her face, occasionally. Emily was silent the whole time, and was onto her second wrap, munching silently.

Shortly, Katie received a call, and got to her feet.

"I'm sorry. I might have to leave first. The client wants to meet now." She said, looking truly sorry.

"Oh no, it's fine. It's okay." I said, and she left.

Emily seemed to tense up as it was just us two left, and I could see as she began to munch faster on her food, so she could leave.

"You know, a friend of mine slept with a strange woman, but she doesn't want to admit that she owes him an apology, and it's bothering him. He needs advice, so I thought I should ask." I said, and she dropped her wrap, looking frustrated.

"I don't see how it's the woman's fault. They did it together, and even though she seduced him, he could have stopped her. After all, he's stronger than her. Also, she was drunk, and drugged, and couldn't even…"

"So you finally admit it." I cut in coolly, and she stopped, with her mouth open, not even realizing she had said more than I did.

She closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath.

"Yes, we slept together, so what? I remember it clearly. It was an accident. I was drunk, and drugged by that crazy bartender who fled the next morning. It will never repeat itself, and also, I'm not a woman who goes around sleeping with strangers she doesn't know. You don't have to worry about being with such a loose woman because I'm not. So, I want us to forget it ever happened. To completely erase that night, and put it behind us." She said, heatedly, and then, she froze, looking past me.

I furrowed my brows, and turned around. To my greatest shock was Sadie with her hands loosely over her ears, looking horrified.