One Wild Night

Tom leaned back in his chair, satisfaction washing over him as he closed his laptop. It had been a productive day, with meetings and appointments wrapping up earlier than expected.

He glanced at the clock on his office wall and smiled. There was still some time left before the close of work. That meant Lucy didn't have to go home with Adolf today as she had been doing all week.

Picking up his phone, he called Adolf and asked him not to bother picking Lucy, since he was done for the day and would leave the office with her.

Because of his busy schedule, they had been unable to go on a date all week as they agreed they would be doing, and even though Lucy was not complaining, he knew that she must be feeling pretty bad about how late he got back from the office and how he was usually too exhausted whenever he got back to spend time chatting with her.

An idea began to form in his mind, one that made his lips curve in a silly smile. He decided to surprise Lucy at her office and kickstart their weekend a little early.

Gathering his things, Tom went into his office closet and when he found what he was looking for, he changed his clothes before heading out of his office.

The moment Harry's secretary, who was working for him in Harry's absence saw him, she blinked in surprise then stifled the urge to laugh.

Tom winked at her walked past her, and headed for the elevator. As Tom walked past some of the employees, they couldn't help but stare, but he ignored them all as he continued for Lucy's office.

The anticipation of seeing Lucy brought a lightness to his step. He couldn't wait to see her reaction.

Inside Lucy's office, she sat at her desk, immersed in a report she needed to finish before the weekend officially began.

She was so focused that she didn't notice Tom entering the room until he cleared his throat softly. Startled, she looked up, blinked in surprise, and then her expression quickly changed to one of delight.

"Howdy, ma'am? Tom Handy at your service," he said with a wink and she burst into a peal of delightful laughter as she pushed away from her desk.

"Tom! What are you doing here dressed like this?" she exclaimed, standing up to greet him.

Tom grinned, wrapping his arms around her for a warm hug. "I finished up early and thought I'd surprise you. How about we start our weekend a bit early?"

Lucy laughed, her eyes sparkling. "You always know how to make my day. Let me just finish this up, and we can head out," she said as she let him kiss her and then she returned the kiss.

After a moment she stepped away to look at him again and take in his outfit, "How many people saw you coming here dressed this way?" She asked, looking him over since he was dressed like he used to back when he was deceiving her and acting as her driver.

He had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to reveal his arm, he buttoned down the first three buttons of his shirt to reveal his chest, and he was wearing earrings and a nose ring.

"A whole lot," he said, and she shook her head.

"Ladies?"

"Mostly ladies," he said, and she scowled.

"You know what? Let's start by rolling down your sleeves. I don't like other women looking at what's mine," she said, and Tom grinned as she adjusted the sleeve of his shirt.

"And let's take out the nose ring…"

"C'mon! You're ruining all the fun," Tom said and she eyed him.

"You're CEO, love. You can do this outside of here. When we get home you can do this. But I don't think you should…"

Tom sighed, "Who says I can't do this as a CEO? Who made the rules? Why can't I dress and act the way I want in my own company? It's not like I'm dressed this way to go see a client. Everyone in the company has seen me this way before. It won't be their first time. Loosen up Lucy. Let's not place unnecessary expectations on ourselves," he said and Lucy contemplated it for a minute.

"Okay."

"So, tell me, do you like how I look?" Tom asked, wriggling both brows playfully and Lucy wrinkled her nose.

"Although it brings back memories of how we started and how I came to fall for you, I still…" she trailed off when Tom sighed dramatically.

"You haven't changed much, have you? You still don't know how to answer simple yes or no questions. I don't want the explanations," he said, and she smiled.

"Partially. It's not a full yes or a complete no," she said and Tom nodded.

"I can live with that. Now wrap up whatever you have left and let's get going," he said as he sat down opposite her chair and she went around the desk to get into her seat.

Tom watched her as she quickly wrapped up her work, and once she was done, she grabbed her things, and they headed out together.

"I must say I'm pleasantly surprised you finished early today. I was already mentally preparing myself to the office without you," Lucy said as they got into the elevator so they could ride back up to his office and leave via his private elevator.

"I'm glad I don't have to," Lucy said and Tom smiled.

"Me too. I'm glad you don't have to. I know it's been one hell of a week. Two more weeks and Harry will be back, and then things can go back to normal," he said and she smiled.

"Yeah. That means we are going over next weekend for the engagement, right?" Lucy asked and that sort of reminded Tom of the conversation he had with Harry earlier.

"Yeah. Looking forward to the trip?" He asked and she smiled.

"Yeah. I'm actually more interested in seeing Jade's reaction. I can picture it already," Lucy said with a giggle and Tom laughed.

"So, I take it you didn't get my text?" Lucy asked and Tom raised a brow.

"What text?"

"It said I was going to stop by to check on Sonia before going home," she said as they walked into his office.

"So, you want us to do that?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Although I've been talking to her over the phone, I want to see how she is doing," Lucy explained.

"So, what should we do? Go there now, or get home first and get ready for our date before going there?" Tom asked as they got into his private elevator.

"Whichever is more convenient for you," Lucy said and Tom nodded.

"Let's go there then. That way when we freshen up, we'd be fresh to our date," he said with a wink and she giggled.

As they drove to Sonia and Bryan's place, the excitement of the weekend ahead filled the car with a buoyant atmosphere.

When they arrived at the house, the door was answered by a woman in her thirties whom neither of them recognized. She had a warm, welcoming smile and introduced herself as Sally, the new housekeeper.

"Good evening. Please come in," Sally said, stepping aside to let them enter since she recognized them both from the interview which they had done regarding Lucy.

As they walked into the living room, Sonia and Bryan appeared from a side room. Sonia's face lit up when she saw Lucy.

"Baby! It's so good to see you!" she said, moving forward to hug Lucy.

Lucy grinned, happy that Sonia sounded more like herself, "It's great to see you too," Lucy said, returning the hug.

She stepped back to look at Sonia. "You look so much better now. You've regained your color."

Sonia smiled, glancing lovingly at Bryan who was exchanging pleasantries with Tom. "Thanks to my doting husband here, who has refused to let me do anything on my own."

Bryan chuckled, pulling Sonia close. "Just making sure you and our little one are okay."

"Oh, wow! Tom. You look different," Sonia observed and Tom winked at her.

"Yeah. I was aiming for a different look. What do you think?" He asked and Sonia glanced at Lucy who shook her head, before giggling.

"I think you look gooood," Sonia said and Lucy shut her eyes while Tom leaned forward to kiss Sonia's cheeks.

"Exactly one of the many reasons I love you," Tom said making Sonia giggle.

As they all settled into the comfortable living room, Sally came in with a bottle of wine and glasses for them, and after she left Lucy looked at Sonia.

"How are you doing? And how is our little bun doing in the oven?" She asked and Sonia smiled.

"Very fine. You won't believe I felt its very first movement two days ago," Sonia said in a high pitched voice that told Lucy just how excited she was.

"Really?" Lucy asked, her eyes lighting up and Sonia bobbed her head.

"I've always read about how those first movements may feel like flutters, you know. And then two days ago I was just speaking to it and rubbing my tummy and then I felt it move. It was the most beautiful feeling ever. It was as though it was trying to reassure me that it was okay and I don't have to worry about anything," Sonia said, her eyes gleaming with tears, and Lucy teared up too as she held Sonia's hand.

Tom and Bryan exchanged a look, and in unspoken agreement they both rose and walked away with their glasses to the game room so they could talk about other things while leaving the ladies to cry or do whatever they wanted.

Tom and Bryan discussed Jeff's arrival and how he was settling in at Henry's abode, and Bryan told Tom about the visit from Jeff's cousin.

"Do they really look very much alike?" Tom asked and Bryan shrugged.

"I could tell the moment I saw him that he wasn't Jeff, but I don't think a stranger who has seen Jeff only once or twice would be able to tell the difference. They do have similar body builds," Bryan said and Tom nodded.

"I suppose that's good enough. By the way, has Jade told you anything about her ex?" Tom asked and Bryan shook his head.

"No. Why?"

"I spoke with Harry. It seems like that bastard messed up Jade more than we realized," Tom said and explained what Harry had told him.

"That's messed up," Bryan said with a frown, "I wish he were alive. Then we could fuck him up," Bryan said and Tom nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's hope that Harry is able to handle it. It's going to be really stressful for him and he's going to need all the patience and understanding in the world," Bryan said and Tom chuckled.

"What's funny?"

"You. You suddenly sound like an experienced old man. Who would believe you were once a bad boy? Sonia did a terrific job taming you," Tom said and Bryan chuckled.

"In case you have forgotten, I am a married man. And it will interest you to know that I tamed Sonia too. And what the hell are you wearing earrings and nose rings for? You look weird," Bryan said and Tom laughed.

"This was the bad boy look I pulled to win Lucy's heart," Tom said and Bryan shook his head.

"I can't believe someone like Lucy fell for someone who looked this way. You look like a delinquent teenager," Bryan said and Tom glared at him.

"Whose idea was the bad boy thing?"

Bryan chuckled, "So, you couldn't be a bad boy without these? You think this is all a bad boy is about?" Bryan asked in amusement.

"And you think those useless advise you gave me would have helped? (Chapter 32) I only got a chance with her because I didn't act entirely like a jerk," Tom said and Bryan shook his head.

"Why are we even having this conversation right now? Oh, right! Because you are looking like a delinquent," he said with a nod.

"Whatever. Let's play a game," Tom said, pointing to the ping pong table.