Chapter14
1406 Words
LUCAS’ POV
I had barely settled into my chair when I heard a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Emily stepped inside carrying a stack of folders against her chest.
“Good morning, Mr. King.”
“Morning, Emily.”
She placed the folders on my desk before pointing to the one at the top.
“The revised partnership agreements came in this morning. Legal has already approved them, they just need your signature before they’re sent back.”
I nodded and opened the first folder.
“Did legal ever get back to me about the Westbridge proposal?”
Emily looked at me for a second before smiling.
“Natalie has already handled that.”
I looked up from the papers.
“She did?”
Emily nodded.
“She followed up with them yesterday afternoon. They sent the revised documents first thing this morning.”
“I don’t remember asking her to.”
“You didn’t.”
Her smile widened.
“She noticed it had been sitting in your pending files for a couple of days and figured you’d want it completed before the weekend.”
I glanced back down at the folder in front of me. Sure enough, clipped neatly to the front was the revised proposal, along with a small handwritten note reminding me where to sign.
I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth.
“She’s… efficient.”
Emily laughed softly. “Efficient?”
“Hardworking, I mean.”
“She really is.”
I glanced behind Emily to see Ethan walking towards my office. I looked back at her.
“I’ll send these back soon.”
“Okay sir.”
Then she left.
“Was I interrupting?”
Emily smiled a little before walking past him.
“Do you have to flirt with all my employees?”
“Not all. Pretty sure Natalie’s off limits.”
I shook my head and looked back down, trying to pretend the words that came out of his mouth didn’t have some sort of effect on me.
“What do you want, Ethan?”
He sat down and slid my coffee cup toward him. “Mia isn’t here. Neither is Natalie, apparently. I haven’t seen her all day.”
“It’s a Saturday.”
Ethan took one sip of my coffee and almost spat it out.
“What is this?”
I looked up at him with a confused look. “Coffee?”
“Since when do you drink coffee without sugar?”
“There are two cubes in there. Natalie says it’s better.”
Ethan laughed. “When did you guys get to that stage?”
“What stage?”
“She’s fixing your coffee now? What next knotting your tie?”
“I’m busy, Ethan.”
He dropped the cup and stayed quiet for a few seconds.
“Is she absent because of your questions?”
I didn’t answer him.
“It’s Saturday but she's still your assistant. Which means she kinda always has work to do?”
“Apparently she’s done all of it.” I looked up at him. “She’s done literally everything.”
“Oh.” Ethan leaned back in his chair and sighed. “No wonder she’s so tense.”
“What do you mean?”
“I stopped by her office a few days ago to introduce myself properly. She looked startled when I walked in.”
“She always looks tense. Maybe I’m overworking her.”
“Or maybe she’s a single mom who needs as much as she can get.”
I sighed and leaned back. My thoughts pulled me back to her again against my will. I still couldn’t get over how dismissive she was.
“Speaking of single moms,” Ethan spoke again.
“Victoria’s been asking when you’re coming to visit.”
I rubbed my eyes.
“You’ve been ignoring her calls.”
“I’ve just been busy. I’ll call her later.”
Ethan’s phone started ringing.
“Speaking of the devil”
He picked it up and put it on speaker.
“Hey mum,” I spoke first.
“Lucas?”
“Yeah it’s me.”
“Oh great. It felt like I’d forgotten what your voice sounds like.”
“It hasn’t been that long mum, don’t be dramatic.”
“Try being on the receiving end.”
“I’ve just been really busy with work, you know. Ethan’s here, he can testify.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Really?” I said.
“Whatever. All I want to know is when I can have a full family dinner with the both of you.”
“I’m free,” Ethan said.
“Lucas?”
I gave Ethan a look.
“I’ll let you know.”
“What’s making you so busy anyway? Isn’t the new assistant doing her job?”
“She’s not the owner of the company, Mum. She can only do so much.”
“You and your company. I won’t be surprised if you marry them one day.”
“He probably would,” Ethan added.
“You know when I die, you are both going to regret it-"
“Alright, alright,” Ethan said.
“You need to stop talking like that,” I added.
“But it’s true.”
“Alright fine. Ethan and I will work something out before the week runs out.”
“Fine.”
“Love you mum,” we both said.
Then she hung up.
“So glad I didn’t get the dramatics,” Ethan said.
I scrunched my eyes at him. “Just leave.”
“Alright, alright.”
But he stayed in his chair staring at me.
Then he spoke.
“What’s the real reason you’re avoiding going home?”
“What?”
“I didn’t need to hear you and Emily compliment Natalie’s hard work for me to know how much burden she’s taking off you. So if it’s not work holding you down, what’s the real reason?”
“I don’t know…I’ve just been avoiding it ever since she told me about Carl, or whatever his name was.”
“I don’t like him either, to be honest. But it’s been years since dad died. She deserves to be happy.”
“Yeah, but not with someone like him.”
“You know your mother, she’ll probably break up with him in a week or two…if she hasn’t already.”
I laughed. “You’re probably right.”
“Well,” he said. “I’m going home. Try not to spend the rest of your day thinking about work.”
“No promises.”
“I wasn’t expecting any.”
The door clicked shut behind him, leaving the office silent once again.
I finished signing the last contract, gathered the remaining files into a neat pile and checked the time.
A little after four.
Earlier than I’d expected.
For once, there wasn’t another report waiting for my attention or a meeting someone had forgotten to schedule. Natalie had somehow managed to clear almost everything before the weekend. I can’t remember the last time my workload had been this organized.
I grabbed my car keys, switched off the lights in my office and headed downstairs.
The drive home was unusually peaceful. Weekend traffic had already started building up, forcing me to stop at a red light a few blocks away from the shopping district.
Absentmindedly, I glanced out the window.
Then I saw her….
Natalie.
She was standing on the opposite side of the road, holding Ava’s hand.
The child was saying something while waving her free hand in the air as if she were telling the most important story in the world.
Natalie laughed.
It wasn’t the polite smile she wore around the office. It looked real. For the first time since she’d walked into King’s Corporation, she didn’t look tense. She looked… happy.
Ava suddenly pointed toward a stationery store across the street, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.
Natalie smiled, nodded, and together they crossed the road.
My eyes followed them until they disappeared through the glass doors.
Bright Beginnings School Supplies.
A sharp honk sounded behind me. The traffic light had turned green.
I blinked, shifted my attention back to the road and drove away.
But for some reason…
The image of Natalie laughing with that little girl stayed with me the entire drive home.
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