One Wild Night

By the time Lucy was done with her work for the day and it was closing hour, she dialed Tom's line to know if he was still very busy and how much longer she would have to wait for him since she could hardly go into his office now when he was most likely in the middle of a meeting.

He had mentioned something about having an important meeting with investors at around closing hour, so she knew she would have to wait for a bit. But she wanted to know how long she was going to wait so she could look for ways to fill her time.

She frowned when the phone rang once, twice, then went to voicemail. Even though she knew that Tom was very busy this period and had a lot on his place, she couldn't help the pang of disappointment that shot through her.

Figuring that he probably couldn't take a phone call in the middle of his meeting, she decided to send him a text to see if he would respond to that.

Typing a message, she forced a chipper tone, [Hey Ace. Finished work. Where are you? Miss you already.] Adding a playful emoji at the end, she hit send, hoping it would nudge him to respond.

Lucy's eyes were fixed on the sceeen and she bit her lower lip as she waited for him to respond.

Frustration bubbled up inside her. Couldn't he at least answer his phone and let her know what was going on? She mused, a crease appearing between her brows.

A niggling worry began to gnaw at her when there was no response after ten minutes. This wasn't like Tom. He usually kept her updated on his schedule, especially when it meant them going home together. She tried calling again but still it didn't connect.

Deciding not to jump to conclusions, Lucy gathered her things. She picked up her blazer and slid into it before walking out of the office with her handbag.

She headed for Tom's office, wanting to check on him and see why he wasn't taking her call. The once-bustling office was now deserted, the silence amplifying her growing unease.

Lucy frowned when she turned the doorknob and the door didn't open.

Tom wouldn't lock his door this way when he had a meeting going on, would he? She mused as she turned the knob once again, but the door was locked.

Instead of calling Tom again, she dialed Harry's line this time, "Hey, sorry to bother you. Have you heard from Tom? I can't seem to reach him," she said the moment Harry received the call.

Harry didn't miss the worry in her tone, "I guess he's still busy with the investors…"

"His office door is locked," she interjected.

"Tom had to take them to see the resort earlier," Harry explained.

"Oh," Lucy murmured, displeased that Tom had left the company without bothering to inform her of his movement.

"Yeah. And you know the network isn't very stable over there yet," Harry said and Lucy sighed.

"I see. By the way, I saw the interview earlier. You guys did great," Lucy said as she headed for the elevator so she could leave now since it was obvious that Tom wouldn't be going home with her.

"Thanks. I'm sorry about Candace's slip," he said apologetically.

"Well, it was bound to come out sooner or later. Although, I tell you I've been receiving curious glances all day. And I'm sure some people are going to want to suggest that I got to where I am because of you or bring back the rumors about you hooking me up with Tom so I can convince him to promote you," Lucy said and Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Does that bother you?"

"Maybe it would have bothered me in the past, but not now. What can they do other than talk behind me? Besides, I'm sure as long as I keep delivering and doing my best here, everyone would get to agree that I deserve my position sooner or later," Lucy said and Harry smiled.

"I'm glad we share the same sentiment," Harry said, and after talking for sometime they hung up just as Lucy exited the building.

Lucy debated whether to try calling Tom again or just head home herself. The thought of navigating the city traffic alone after a long day wasn't appealing, but the alternative – sitting here waiting indefinitely – wasn't much better.

With a sigh, she decided to bite the bullet and hail a cab. Just then, her phone buzzed with a text. It was Tom. Relief washed over her mixed with a healthy dose of annoyance as she read his text.

[Hey, Jewel. I'm so sorry I missed your calls and can't call you back right now. I'm at the resort. Don't get pissed that I didn't mention it. It wasn't planned. It just sort of came up. And now these investors are taking forever to make a decision and I'm stuck here with them for longer than I planned. You can ask Adolf to pick you up. I'm so sorry, love.]

Lucy sighed since she could hear the hint of apology laced with fatigue in his text. [No problem. I'm taking a cab home.] she texted back.

Another text arrived from Tom. [Please don't take a cab. Use one of the cars in the private lot if you can't wait for Adolf. It's safer.]

Lucy appreciated his concern, but the thought of driving one of Tom's luxurious cars home alone didn't appeal to her. [Thanks, but I would rather take a cab. Just meet me at home when you're done, okay?]

[Please take one of the cars. It's not safe for you to be out alone at night.] Tom texted back.

Lucy rolled her eyes. If he could text for this long why didn't he call?

[I will be fine. I'm a grown woman. I can handle a cab ride.] she texted back, and without waiting to receive another text from Tom, she hailed a waiting cab and got in.

She ignored her phone when it buzzed with another text notification and told the cab driver where she was going.

After a moment, she glanced at the message, [Alright, my grown woman. Be safe. And just so you know, Mia has moved in as discussed. There was a change of plan. I will tell you about it when I get home. Need to focus now. Love you and the scowl on your face.]

Lucy rolled her eyes when she saw the last line even though a smile was now playing on her lips.

So, he knew she was displeased. Alright. She would be waiting for him at home, Lucy thought with a sigh as she shoved her phone into her handbag.

The cab ride home was a blur of city lights and honking horns. Lucy leaned back in the seat, a mix of emotions swirling within her. A flicker of annoyance at Tom's lack of communication, and a spark of curiosity about the change of plans regarding Mia's presence in the house.

Even though Tom had said it was impromptu and apologized for it, she couldn't help being annoyed that he had waited until she reached out to him before telling her about it, when he knew very well that she would be waiting for him.

As much as she understood that things like this were bound to happen, that didn't stop her from being peeved.

As the cab pulled up to their familiar gate, Lucy paid the fare and stepped out, the cool night air a welcome change from the stale air conditioning.

The mansion loomed ahead, bright and magnificent. It felt strange, approaching it alone, without Tom's usual presence beside her.

Taking a deep breath, she did the facial recognition identification at the gate and stepped inside.

Although she could have let the cab take her in, but she was in the mood for a little stroll to regulate her emotions before going inside to see Mia and maybe she needed a little exercise since it's been a while she did any.

As she strolled up to the front door, she wondered what could have possibly changed in the plans, since Mia was not expected to move in so soon.

Just as she got to the door, her phone buzzed with a phone call and she pulled it out from her handbag to take the call.

She rolled her eyes when she saw that it was Tom, before receiving the call.

"Before you say anything, I know that you're mad," Tom said before she could speak and she snapped her mouth shut.

"I'm sorry for not communicating my movement to you. I should have called you while I was leaving the office even though it was impromptu, and I shouldn't have waited until after you called to reach out to you. I was carried away. What can I do to make you feel better?" Tom asked and she sighed.

"Why are you calling now? And why were you only texting before?"

"I was still with them. Told them I had to respond to an important email. And now, I'm on my way home to you. Tell me you are home now," Tom said and she shrugged.

"I'm standing outside the front door about to go in," she said, letting go of her annoyance, "So? How did it go? Are they interested in investing?"

"I will give you the details when I get home. Do you want me to get you anything on my way?" Tom asked and Lucy raised a brow.

"Anything?"

"Absolutely anything."

"A bowl of ice cream will be fine. Preferably cookies and cream flavor."

"Got it. Anything else?" Tom asked, wanting to make it up to her for upsetting her.

"No. I'm not letting you off the hook so easily by making you believe you can appease me by spending some money..."

"Bounty chocolate and Danish cookies?"

"Forgiveness is my religion," Lucy said with a grin and Tom chuckled.

"I will get them all, I promise. I want you to be in a better mood by the time I get home," Tom pleaded, and she smiled.

"Alright. I'm not mad anymore but I will try to be in a better mood. Just don't keep me waiting for too long."

"I won't. Do you mind checking on Mia? See how she is settling in?" Tom asked and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Like you need to ask me to do that before I do it. Bye. Get here soon," she said before hanging up.

As she walked into the house, she headed straight for the guest room which she had asked them to prepare for Mia beforehand.

Before she could knock on the door, it opened and Mia smiled when she saw her, "Hello, Lucy. Thanks for letting me stay here. I'm sorry for any inconvenience my being here might cause," Mia said and Lucy waved it off.

"There is no inconvenience. How are you doing? Have you settled in? Is there something you need or want me to get you?" Lucy asked with a friendly smile and Mia shook her head.

"Nah. I'm fine. Thanks. I was just going to get a bottle of water. I see you just got back from work. You don't have to worry about me," Mia assured her.

"Would you like to have dinner alone in your room or will you join us at the dining?" Lucy asked and Mia paused for a moment.

"I wouldn't want to intrude. It's bad enough that I'm here..."

"It won't be intrusion, trust me. Besides, you are yet to talk with Tom. You have to start getting familiar with him since he would be the one taking care of things when Harry leaves for his vacation in a couple of days," Lucy said and Mia nodded.

"Alright then. I will join you for dinner. Thanks for having me here," Mia said and Lucy smiled.

"I will have one of the domestic staff come get you when dinner is served. I should freshen up now. If you need anything you can let me know," Lucy said before turning to leave.

"Uhm, have you heard from Sonia?" Mia asked, stopping Lucy.

"Oh! Yes. I did speak with her last night," Lucy said and Mia nodded.

"I suppose you told her everything that's going on and asked her not to worry?" Mia asked, and Lucy nodded.

"When next she calls, can I talk to Bryan? I don't know if she's going to tell him or not, but I think he should hear it all directly from me. I can't use my phone right now," Mia said and Lucy nodded.

"Sure. Maybe after dinner I will give her a call and then you can talk to her," Lucy said and Mia smiled.

"I will appreciate that very much. Thank you," Mia said and Lucy walked away.

As Mia watched Lucy leave, she couldn't help but think about how lucky she was to be surrounded by such nice and kindhearted people.

She sighed as she thought about how to go about telling Bryan everything. Although she hoped that Sonia had told him about it already but she doubted it. She knew very well that Bryan would have called to hear from her had he heard from Sonia.