One Wild Night

After his phone conversation with his siblings, Tom returned to the Den and found Lucy watching a soap opera while Jamal slept on the couch beside her with his head on her thighs.

He stood by the door and watched as she patted Jamal's hair distractedly, but she didn't really seem like she was paying attention to the soap opera. She looked more like she had a lot on her mind.

"Care to share what you are thinking about?" Tom asked, startling Lucy who turned in his direction, and she smiled at him.

"Random thoughts. Let's get Jamal to bed. You need to get out of those clothes," Lucy said as Tom approached her.

Without saying a word, he lifted Jamal off the couch and Lucy stood up and turned off the television before following him out. After they tucked Jamal in, they both went to their bedroom.

"Is everything okay?" Lucy asked as she sat on the bed while Tom took off his work clothes which he was still wearing.

"Yeah. Why?" Tom asked as he paused to look at her.

"I mean Jade and Bryan. Are they okay? Have your parents and Bryan met with that Simon guy?" she asked, and he gave her nod before giving her the details of their conversation.

"Also, Jade wants me to help her do a background check on Candace," Tom added as he continued to undress, and Lucy raised a brow.

"Why? Is Candace aware of it? Is she okay with it?"

"No, she isn't aware," Tom said and went on to explain what Jade had told him concerning the details of how Candace ended up at the orphanage home.

Lucy sighed, "This is tricky. She must have moved past that now. Taking her back to her past might be like reopening her wounds, and there is every possibility that Candace wouldn't appreciate this gesture regardless of Jade's intention. Especially if you uncover something unpleasant about her background," Lucy pointed out.

"I don't think Jade will tell her about it if we find something unpleasant," Tom said, torn between standing there and continuing the conversation in just his boxers or leaving her to go have his shower.

Lucy shook her head with disapproval, "In the same manner you want to secretly investigate about Aaron and Sara without Harry's knowledge?" Lucy asked, but Tom didn't miss the disapproval in her tone.

"Why do you sound that way? You think it is wrong?" Tom asked, and Lucy shrugged.

"I'm not trying to judge you or bring back the past, but I don't think I like how you and your siblings keep secrets from the people you say you care about. First it was me, now it's Harry and Candace, I wonder who is going to be next," Lucy said, and Tom's brows pulled together.

"Lu, all those situations are not the same," Tom pointed out as he went to sit on the bed.

"Are they not?"

"Yes, they are not. I'm not trying to make any excuses, but the reason I lied to you is different. In Harry's case I'm trying to help him, and as for Candace, Jade wants to help her understand why her uncle left her at the orphanage and help reunite her with her family," Tom explained patiently.

"The situation might be different, but your action is the same. Tell me honestly, if you were Harry would you like him to go behind you and do what you're about to do? Who knows what family secret you might uncover, and how it might affect them? Do you think you would want Harry to do the same to you? No, don't answer that yet, I'm not done," Lucy said, raising a finger to stop Tom before he could respond.

"I know you said Harry would have done something to help you. What I'm asking is, do you think he would have gone about it this way? I understand you and why you want to do this, but no matter how much I think about it, I don't think it is right, and I don't think Harry will appreciate this. I wouldn't want you to do anything that might affect your relationship with him," Lucy said, and Tom raised a brow.

"So what do you propose I do? Pretend you didn't hear anything? Say nothing to Harry, and do nothing about it?" Tom asked, and Lucy shook her head.

"I've been thinking about it. I think I should speak with Aaron," Lucy said thoughtfully.

"If it's bothering him that much, then he probably needs someone to speak to. I could get him to talk to me, that way if it's something Harry needs to know about I will convince him to talk to Harry," Lucy said, and Tom looked at her skeptically.

"What if he doesn't confide in you?"

"Then I will have no choice than to tell Harry what I heard. You shouldn't get involved. I understand you don't mean any harm, but I think you need to change your approach of getting things done," Lucy said, and Tom sighed.

"When are you going to speak with Aaron?"

"Tomorrow. I could take breakfast to him and then find a way to talk with him," Lucy said as she reached for Tom's hand.

"I love you, Tom. I just think you need to learn how to be there for those you love the way they want you to, not how you want to," Lucy said, and Tom gave her a nod.

"I've heard you. I will try to do better. What about Candace? I already promised Jade I would look into it," Tom said, and Lucy shrugged.

"I can't stop you from doing that. That's between Candace and Jade," Lucy said, and Tom gave her a nod.

"Alright. I will let you handle Aaron your own way, but if it doesn't work, you will have to tell Harry about it, and you both will have to let me handle it," Tom said, and Lucy smiled at him.

"Sure," Lucy said, and her smile widened as Tom pulled closer to her and kissed her.

"Thanks. I need to shower now. I'll join you in bed soon," Tom said as he stood up.

"Don't take too long else I might fall asleep," Lucy warned as he walked into the bathroom.

"It's been a long day, you should sleep now," Tom said as he returned to where she now lay on the bed, and kissed her forehead, nose and lips despite her protest.

"I'll wait for you," Lucy said as she tried to sit up, but Tom gently pushed her back down.

"Don't fight it. You can go to sleep. If you're up when I get back that's fine, if you're not, it's fine too," Tom said before walking away.

By the time he returned from the bathroom and joined her on the bed, Lucy had slept off, so he turned off the lights, and cuddled her before drifting off to sleep himself.

The next morning, as they both prepared to leave the house for the office Tom decided to give Harry a call to find out how Aaron was doing and know if he would be able to make it to the office.

Harry who had been in the middle of an argument with Aaron, in his bedroom, paused when his phone started ringing, "Good morning, Tom. Sup?" He asked while still looking at Aaron who was scowling at him.

"Good morning, HaHa. How is your old man doing today?" Tom asked, and Lucy, who was listening in on the call, smiled.

"He's doing better than he was yesterday, but I need to stay home with him to be sure..."

"He don't need to do any damned thing! He's just trying to skip work so he can laze around the house. Don't let him slack off, Tom," Aaron called out to Tom, before turning to Harry.

"I've told you countless times that I'm fine. Just go to your damn office and stop fussing over me like some old granny over her first grandchild," Aaron cut in with an angry hiss.

Although he loved having Harry around him, he couldn't help feeling guilty whenever he saw him, despite his resolve to tell him the truth later.

All he needed now was for Harry to leave the house, so he could find a way to fix his phone's broken screen and contact Sara so he could fix a meeting with her.

Tom chuckled, "If he can say all that then he's fine," Tom said, while Harry eyed his father.

"I'm not leaving him all by himself. I need to keep an eye on him and make sure he gets enough rest even if it means bringing him with me to the office," Harry insisted.

"Wow! Nobody told me today was bring your dad to work day. So because you're Co-CEO now you think you can do whatever you like," Aaron hissed at him, and this time both Harry, Tom, and Lucy laughed.

"I need you to accompany me to a meeting with some foreign investors today. So how about Lucy comes over and keeps him company instead while you come to the office?" Tom suggested, since that was another reason he had called.

"Lucy? Doesn't she have work to do at the office?" Harry asked skeptically. Although he wanted to stay with his father, he also needed to be at the office as he had work to attend to, and not all of the work could be handled from home as he had done the previous day.

"Hello, Harry! I don't have anything serious to do. I can assign my tasks to my teammates," Lucy responded before Tom could.

"Hey, LuLu! You really don't mind coming over to keep this grumpy old man company?" Harry asked, and Aaron's ears perked up when he heard that Lucy was coming to keep him company.

"Lucy, you can come over. I'm sick of seeing Harry around here," Aaron called out to Lucy, and Harry scowled at him.

"I don't mind. Is there breakfast or do I need to get something on my way?" Lucy asked curiously.

"If it's Samantha's delicacy, you can bring some on your way here. I'd love to have some too. Alright, Tom. I will get ready for work while I wait for Lucy," Harry said, and Tom exchanged a look with Lucy.

"I will drop her off at your place and then we can head to the office together," Tom said, and Harry agreed before hanging up the call.

"Lucy is coming over. She will spend the day with you," Harry informed Aaron, who smiled with satisfaction.

"That is not a problem," he assured Harry as he walked away to go and freshen up.

"Are you sure you can get him to talk to you?" Tom asked, and Lucy gave him a nod.

"I will do my best. Don't worry and just leave it to me," she assured him.

"Let's get going then," Tom said as he stood from the couch held out a hand to help her up.

"Call me if anything comes up," Tom said as they walked out of the house together.

"Relax, Tom. Don't fret," Lucy said as she rubbed his arm in a soothing gesture and Tom gave her a nod.

Just as they both got into the car, his phone started ringing and he received it when he saw that it was a call from Eric, the talkshow host.

"Good morning, Mr. Howells!" Tom greeted after he received the call.

"Eric is fine, please. I hope it's not too early to talk?" He asked politely.

"It's not. Is everything alright?"

"I wanted to let you know that I'll be sending out the invite to Rebekah Miller today. One of our guests was involved in an accident and can't make it to the show so I was thinking I should replace her. Is two weeks okay for you?" Eric asked, and Tom grinned.

"It's perfect."