One Wild Night

The insistent chirping of the alarm clock was the rude awakening Lucy never needed. It shattered the peaceful slumber Lucy and Tom had been enjoying.

With a groan, Lucy slammed her hand down on the snooze button, her eyes still squeezed shut, momentarily silencing the shrill cry.

Sunlight, a traitor in the situation, streamed through the blinds, painting bold stripes across Lucy's face. "Ugh, what time is it?" she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

Tom, who had also woken up, reached for his phone, "Uh oh," he said, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice since he knew how upset would be when he told her the time.

"It's almost eight o'clock," he said after glancing at the time displayed on the screen.

Lucy's eyes snapped open, and she shot uprihht, horror dawning on her face. "Eight? P.m. or A.m.? Please say it is p.m.," she said, and Tom chuckled.

"You'd rather it is Monday night and you missed work? Besides, can't you see the sunlight?"

"We're going to be late!" she shrieked, throwing the covers off and scrambling out of bed.

She dashed towards the closet, flinging open the doors and rummaging through her clothes. "Where's that damn grey skirt?" she muttered, her movements frantic.

Tom watched the whirlwind of activity with a smile playing on his lips. "Not even a good morning kiss for your sweetheart?" He asked, and she shot him a look that could curdle milk.

"Maybe if we hadn't overslept, you'd have gotten more than a good morning kiss, but I don't have the time for romance right now. Not when I'm going to be late for work," she said as she returned her attention the closet.

She ditched the missing gray skirt and instead pulled out a beige colored tailored pantsuit and a colorful scarf.

"Relax," he said calmly. "I'm also going to be late but you don't see me being so upset," he pointed out.

"Easy for you to say, Mr. CEO. You are the boss. You don't have to worry about something like that," Lucy said as she took off her clothes and headed for the bathroom naked.

"Actually," Tom called after her, stretching languidly, "you don't either." He winked at her, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Not when the boss happens to be your very understanding boyfriend."

Lucy couldn't help but crack a smile at that. While she thrived on being independent and successful on her own merit, a part of her enjoyed the perks that came with being associated with Tom. Still, responsibility tugged at her conscience.

"Indeed. Get off the bed, my very understanding boyfriend. I don't have to be later than I already am because of you," Lucy called back to him from inside the bathroom as she pressed some toothpaste on her brush.

Tom chuckled as he rose, "I don't get why you're so worked up. Nobody's going to fire you or even question your arrival time."

Lucy walked over to the bathroom door to look at him with her toothbrush in one hand, and shot him an exasperated look. "That's not the point. I still need to be responsible, even if you are the CEO. You know me. I don't like the idea of being late. It's unprofessional," she said, her voice regaining a semblance of normalcy.

Tom crossed the room his smile widening. He enjoyed seeing this responsible side of her, the one that thrived on routine and accomplishment.

He kissed her forehead, "Alright, alright," he conceded. "Let's get ready for work," he said as he placed both hands on her bare ass and kneaded it.

"There should always be a little time for romance," he said, making her laugh.

"I will use the shower alone. When I'm done you can go in. I can't trust you to behave yourself and I don't have the time," Lucy said before disappearing into the bathroom, quickly brushing her teeth and washing up, Tom picked up his phone and wasn't surprised to see that he had several messages from Barry. He was sure they were reports of Henry's and Mia's day, and details of the dinner with Tyler.

There was also a text from Bryan letting him know Jeff would be at his office by 10 a.m. to discuss the details of his movement, and that Jeff's cousin who would be standing in for him had arrived.

Just as Lucy emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her hair, her phone buzzed on the nightstand, "Go shower," she told Tom as she picked up her phone.

"It's Tyler," she announced, her voice laced with curiosity. "He sent a message."

Intrigued, Tom joined her by the nightstand. "What's he saying?"

Lucy opened the message, and saw a small blue icon that indicated it was a voice recording.

"I think it's the recording of dinner with Henry Rosewood," Lucy said as she pressed play.

Diana's voice filled the room filled as she welcomed Tyler into the house.

"I'm guessing this is the lady you talked about," Lucy said, momentarily forgetting that she was in haste to get to the office.

Next, Henry's voice came up, and they listened intently as the conversation unfolded, Henry's words filled with self-assurance and thinly veiled arrogance.

Tom chuckled at Mia's subtle attempt to send a message through Tyler. Unfortunately even though they had more than one means to know what was happening in the house, there was hardly a way to send a message to her yet until Jeff was there.

"He plans to hurt her again and have Tyler treat her?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide with fear.

Tom covered her hand with his, "Don't let it bother you. We will try not to let it get to that," Tom promised.

Just as the recording ended, Lucy's phone rang. Tyler's name flashed on the screen.

"At this rate, we are not only going to be late to work. We might miss it entirely," Lucy murmured, knowing that Tyler most likely wanted to talk to Tom.

"Don't worry about me. Go ahead and receive the call. You can dress up while I talk to him. I will try to be fast," Tom assured her and Lucy received the call, putting it on speaker.

"Hey, Ty! You're on speaker with both of us. Are you calling to hear my voice? Or do you want talk to my boyfriend?" Lucy asked and Tom grinned.

"I will like to talk to Tom if he's there with you," Tyler, who had just arrived home from the Rosewood mansion said.

"It's high time you start calling him directly instead of bothering me," Lucy hissed at him, making him chuckle.

"You got my message, right? Send it to Sony," Tyler said before Lucy could hand the phone to Tom.

"Sure. Thanks for doing it," Lucy said before handing the phone to Tom and walking away to go dress up.

"We just listened to the recording. Tom said, his tone amused. "Quite the performance."

Tyler chuckled. "Yeah, he's something else. Tried to play the benevolent host, but it was clear he was fishing for information. You heard, right? I'm going to be his doctor. I figured I accept the job and maybe you can have the opportunity to talk to her if or when she visits my office," Tyler explained.

"I'm hoping she won't have any reason to visit your office, Tyler. But I'm glad you accepted the offer. Thank you."

"It's the least I can do since he would never have known she was alive had I not alerted him to it," Tyler said with a sigh.

He was very certain now that if anyone ever asked him what he regretted most in his life, exposing Mia would be his response. He should have just minded his business and kept his mouth shut.

"Don't beat yourself over it. I have to go now. I'm running late for work. If anything comes up, please let me know. And thank you once again for doing this."

"It's no problem at all," Tyler replied.

"I will text you my number now, so you can reach me directly," Tom said before hanging up.

Immediately he hung up, he turned to look at Lucy, and chuckled when he saw her pointing to the bathroom for him to go freshen up.

"Fine. I heard you," he said as he headed for the bathroom.

By the time Tom stepped out of the bathroom, Lucy was fully dressed and had laid out his clothes on the bed.

"I'm very tempted to take a cab and leave you behind to come when you please," Lucy said, as her eyes darted to the clock which just struck nine.

"If it will make you happy, do it," Tom said easily as he dried his hair.

"Unfortunately, it won't," she muttered and Tom chuckled again, the sound warm and pleasant.

"Then relax. I will escort you to your office if you want me to. And if you feel so bad, maybe you can give Amy a call to let her know you're running late," Tom said patiently.

"Do you remember the last time we fought over being late to the office?" Tom asked, and Lucy nodded, a smile tugging on her lips.

"It seems like such a long time ago (chapter 442)," she said, remembering how upset she had been, and also how Jamal had gotten upset when Tom yelled.

"Yes. Now tell me, did the office building fall apart because you were not there early enough?" Tom asked and she scowled but didn't respond.

"We had a misunderstanding over it, yet your absence or rather late presence didn't affect anything at the office. I'm not justifying lateness. I'm just saying, we are late already. Arguing or fighting with me isn't going to change that. Instead, if you're really worried, just let Amy know you'll be a bit late. Text or give her a call so she can make the necessary adjustment to your schedule, and then relax," Tom said before returning his attention to getting ready.

Lucy sighed as she texted Amy, and when she was done, she forwarded Tyler's message to Sonia, making a mental note to call and check on her when she gets to the office.

"Have you heard from Candace about Aaron's arrival time?" Tom asked, and Lucy shook her head.

"I sort of forgot about it. I will chat her up now," Lucy said and when she opened their chat, she saw that Candace had left her a message in the middle of the night already.

"He should be here by 1 p.m." Lucy said and Tom nodded.

"Let's meet in my office by noon and leave for the airport then," he said and she nodded in agreement.

Once Tom finished getting ready, they walked out the door, hand in hand.