One Wild Night



Standing by the window in his office, Tom wondered if he should have followed Lucy when she left or just stopped her from leaving entirely.

He had been to her office few minutes before calling Harry earlier, and seeing as she wasn't there, he had no idea where she had gone to.

He had trying calling but she wasn't picking up. His only source of comfort right now was knowing that her car was still in the parking lot, which meant she had not left the premises.

He had even gone to the storage room where she had hidden the last time to see if she was hiding there but she wasn't there either.

He couldn't say he was surprised by her reaction. He wasn't exactly disappointed either. This was Lucy after all. And if there was one thing he had learned about her, it was the fact that she liked to run away from her problems. She preferred to hide rather than face her challenges squarely, Tom thought with a sigh.

He glanced at his wristwatch and scowled as he wondered why Harry was yet to return his call. He walked out of his office and walked over to Harry's office to check for him, but Harry wasn't there yet.

Deciding to get busy rather than hang around doing nothing, Tom returned to his office and picked up the envelope containing the DNA samples.

He was certain that by the time he arrived at the lab, it would be open. He would rather do something productive with his time by taking the sample over for testing rather than stay around and worry. He would try to reason with Lucy again when he gets back.

Just as he headed for his private elevator, his office door opened and he turned around to see Lucy.

"Lucy," he called softly, surprised that she had returned so soon.

"Are you going somewhere?" Lucy asked when she noticed the envelope he was carrying and saw he had been headed for the elevator.

"Yes. But it can wait," Tom said as he watched her. Waiting for her to say something.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left that way," Lucy said apologetically as she shut the door behind her and stepped further into the office.

Tom shook his head immediately, "You don't have to be sorry. You did nothing wrong," Tom assured her as he approached her and stopped in front of her.

"I know I was wrong, Tom. You don't have to make excuses for my behaviour. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did…"

"You reacted how you knew to react. I showed up unexpectedly and told you something very shocking. It's expected that you would want sometime…"

"No! Just stop, okay? I know you're always trying to pamper me and make me feel good. I appreciate it, but now is not the time. I didn't think about how you must feel, and I made this about me, and that was wrong," Lucy said firmly, and Tom sighed.

Although he wanted to assure her that he meant what he had said and he didn't think she was wrong to react the way she did, let said nothing and decided to let her do the talking instead.

Lucy took a deep breath, "I know you were away for just two days, but I've been thinking a lot in your absence. And I've come to realize that I've been selfish. You're mostly at the giving end and I'm almost always on the receiving end. I'm more selfish that I realized. And what transpired between us earlier only reinforced it," Lucy said, while Tom continued to watch her.

He had no idea what she was talking about or where it was coming from, but he didn't think she was selfish.

Yes, there had been times when she came up with selfish suggestions such as the time she suggested he adopt a child she wouldn't care for, but he really didn't think she was selfish.

She had been single until she met him and he could understand that the concept of putting a partner's need first might be foreign to her, and he didn't fault her for it.

Besides, putting one's partner first was a thing of choice. It was his choice to put her first, she didn't have to return the favor out of a sense of duty. If ever she was going to put his needs before hers, he wanted it to be out of love and devotion and not because she felt she owed him.

"I've not been fair to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for always thinking about myself. And I'm sorry that every time something comes up my first reaction is to pull away from you. I don't want to only be at the receiving end of our relationship. I want to be there for you too, Tom. I want to stand by you. I hope it's not too late for that," Lucy said hopefully.

"You should know that between the time you walked through the door and now, nothing has changed. There is still every possibility that the little girl is mine…"

"I aware of that," Lucy said with a sigh.

"Still, it's too early for me to run away, right? I mean, I will never know how things will turn out eventually if I just pull away now," Lucy said with a shrug.

"Early? You still plan to run away eventually?" Tom asked thoughtfully.

"No. That's not what I mean. I won't lie to you or myself, Tom. I don't have it figured out yet. I'm scared. This whole thing scares me. I really don't want any dramas. But I'm here right now only because I'm trying for once to think about you and not myself. I'm trying to put your feelings first," Lucy confessed and Tom sighed.

"I'm sorry I'm complicating things…"

"No. Don't. You don't have to apologize. It's not like you cheated on me or anything. It all happened in the past, and you really do not owe me any explanation or apology for your past," Lucy said softly and Tom stepped forward and embraced her.

"Thank you, Jewel. This means a lot to me," Tom said and Lucy patted his back as she held on to him.

They remained in each other's arms for a while before Tom pulled away to look at her, "I was at your office earlier. Where were you?" Tom asked curiously.

"You went to my office?" Lucy asked, and Tom nodded as he went to sit on the edge of his desk and pulled Lucy against him.

"Yeah. I was worried. I wasn't sure it was right to let you leave that way," Tom explained and she smiled.

"I ran into Harry on my way out so we both went to the cafeteria," Lucy explained.

"Did you tell him I was here?" Tom asked and Lucy gave him a nod.

That explained why Harry had hung up without letting him speak, Tom reasoned.

"I did. Harry actually made me realize it was wrong to leave the way I did," Lucy confessed.

"I suppose he knows you came back to see me?" Tom asked, thinking that explained why Harry was yet to return his call or show up on his office. He was deliberately making himself scarce. Tom decided he owed Harry one.

"Yeah. I left him at the cafeteria. By the way, where were you going to earlier?" She asked curiously as she pulled away to look at him.

"I was going to head to the lab to drop off the DNA samples," Tom said and Lucy nodded.

"Oh! Can I come with you?" Lucy asked, and Tom arched a brow.

"It's work hours now," he reminded her, since he knew how much she liked to work.

Lucy smiled, "I'm dating the CEO so I can afford to skip work for a couple of hours, can't I? If we could stop by my office, I will give my teammates some instructions before we leave," she said, and Tom looked at her again, wondering what she was thinking.

"You don't have to. I could go on my own or ask Harry…."

"Harry will be busy. Besides, I'm your girlfriend, not Harry. I will come with you," Lucy said firmly this time, and Tom's lips curved in an amused smile.

"If you insist," Tom said as he rose, feeling relieved now.

"I insist. Let's go."

"Why don't I bring the car to the front of the building why check in with your teammates?" Tom suggested.

"Or we could take my car and I drive you for a change," Lucy offered with a wink, and Tom grinned.

He could see that she was really going all out to make it up to him. Not that he needed her to, though.

"You don't have to…"

"I want to. You can think of it as me wanting to show you off. I told you Cora was at my office yesterday, remember?" Lucy said and Tom nodded.

"Yeah. What was that about? Did she cause any trouble?" Tom asked curiously.

"Let's go while I will tell you about it," Lucy said as she linked her arm with Tom's and pulled him with her towards the door.

"Well, she started by insinuating that things were not going so well between us. And then she showed me a picture of you and a lady at the club," Lucy explained, and Tom stopped walking and looked at her.

"She did what?" He asked coolly.

"She wanted me to explain why you were at an erotic club with a different lady if things were going so well between us," Lucy explained and Tom frowned.

"Why didn't you ask me about it?" He asked as he watched her, knowing that it must have bothered her a lot more than she was letting on.

"In front of her? Of course, not. Besides, you told me you were at the club anyway…"

"But I didn't tell you I was with a lady. This could have caused a major misunderstanding between us," Tom said, feeling very annoyed now, but Lucy could tell his anger was directed at Cora, not her.

"But it didn't. And now I know who the lady was," Lucy said with a shrug.

"Are you going to tell me it didn't bother you?" Tom asked, and she sighed.

"It did bother me a little since you said you were meeting with a man, and there was no man in the picture. But I decided to wait for you to get back so I could ask you about it," Lucy explained patiently.

"I'm not going to let this slide," Tom said with a fierce look in his eyes as he resumed walking.

"You can't fire her or discipline her…"

"Why not? I'm her boss and she invaded my privacy. I can do whatever I want," Tom said harshly as he opened the door, startling Eric who had no idea anyone was in the office.

"Good morning, sir! Good morning, Miss Perry," He greeted politely and they both called back a response but didn't break their stride.

"I believe I warned her already," Lucy said softly.

"Let's stop by her office and clear any doubt she has," Tom said in a tone that brooked no argument.

As they stopped in front of the elevator it opened and Harry stepped out. Immediately he saw Tom his mouth fell open.

"Oh, my God! Tom? Is that you? When did you get back?" He asked dramatically making both Tom and Lucy laugh."

Harry smiled when he saw their arms linked. Everything was going to be fine, he thought.

"Cut it out. Lucy already told me you're aware I'm back," Tom said with a grin.

"Oh, she did? I can't believe you can't keep a secret," Harry said dryly.

"I see you both are heading out. Tom, I will catch up with you later," Harry said as he slapped Tom's back and walked away.

"So, the kid is a girl?" Lucy asked as they got into the elevator, not wanting them to return to Cora's subject.

"Yeah. She is three years old," Tom said, and Lucy nodded.

"I suppose you saw her already since you have her DNA sample with you," Lucy said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. She brought her to see me," Tom explained.

"To the club?" Lucy asked with with wide eyes as they got into the elevator, and Tom chuckled.

"Of course, not. She brought her to the hotel," Tom explained.

"Oh," Lucy muttered, and Tom took her hand.

"You don't have to worry about her. We met and discussed in my office. I won't let this cause any trouble for you, I promise," Tom said and Lucy sighed.

"I know you won't," she said with a small smile.

"So, what was she like? The kid I mean?" Lucy asked, and Tom looked at her.

"Do you really want to know?" He asked with concern.

"Of course. According to Harry, there's every possibility that she might be yours. And I'm sure you believe it too. That's the only reason you must have decided to tell me about it before carrying out the DNA test, am I wrong?" Lucy asked, and Tom shook his head.

"If she is yours, as your girlfriend, I should know about her. I can't pretend like she doesn't exist," Lucy said, and Tom's brows pulled together as looked at her.

Someone who had suggested he adopt a kid but not get her involved in the kid's life was suddenly so curious to know about a kid that might be his?

It seemed to him like she was taking everything in too quickly. If it were someone else he wouldn't be worried, but for someone like Lucy, she was acting like it wasn't a big deal too soon, and he knew very well that that wasn't the case.

It made him worry about how she would really feel and think when she was alone. He knew she was trying to be this way for his sake, but she was trying too hard and he couldn't help being worried about her.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Lucy asked, poking his side as the elevator door opened and they got out on her floor.

"She seems very bright. Her name is Dawn. From our little interaction, I think she acts more like an adult than a kid," Tom said as they headed for her office.

"Like Jamal?" She asked with a smile and Tom chuckled.

"No. Not like Jamal. Jamal is completely different," Tom said thoughtfully.

"In what way?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Well, Jamal seems naturally mature. I mean, he observes everyone and everything. Dawn on the other hand seems like she was trained to not be a kid," Tom said, and Lucy frowned.

"That sounds kind of sad," she said as they walked into her office and every conversation and movement in the office stopped as her teammates looked at them.

Once Lucy had given instructions to those concerned, they both headed out of the office again and before Lucy could press the button for the first floor, Tom entered the button for Cora's office floor.