BXBX NOVEL Chapter 63 - What The Heck?
"Who were you talking to? You know someone who knows the boss?" Tom asked as he parked the car. He didn't bother to hide the fact that he had eavesdropped on her conversation. Of course, he had heard her. If she didn't want him to hear her conversation she wouldn't have made the call in his presence. He wasn't sitting on top of his ears, and he definitely hadn't left his ears at home. She had made the call in front of him, so it was only fair that she satisfy his curiosity.
Lucy met his gaze in the rearview mirror, and she looked at him as if she was contemplating whether or not to share such a classified information with him. At least this was a normal conversation between friends when compared to what he had done the previous evening. She was going to keep treating him as a friend regardless of what he says or does. That way he would get used to being a friend and stick to the friend zone, Lucy reasoned.
After a moment's hesitation, she finally said, "You can keep a secret, right? You can't tell anyone else about this. Can I trust you?"
"I'm sure you know you can," Tom said, and Lucy leaned a bit forward in her seat as if she was scared someone else might hear what she wanted to say.
"Remember my best friend, Sonia? She is engaged to Bryan Hank, the CEO's younger brother," Lucy said in a whisper, making the hair on Tom's neck stand on end. Maybe if she looked close enough, she would notice the goosebumps that had appeared on his exposed arm at her words.
WHAT THE HECK? How had this happened? Of all the ladies in the world, his younger brother was engaged to Lucy's best friend? Did Bryan possibly know Lucy? There was no way this was a coincidence like the rest 'coincidences' since he hadn't planned for this to happen. He would have been busted even before he started? Tom reasoned in his head, as he tried to maintain a neutral expression. Luckily the surprise on his face was real even though it was for a different reason from what Lucy was thinking.
"You're surprised, right?" Lucy asked with a small smile.
"Wow! I'm very surprised. It's a very small world, isn't it?"
Lucy decided to leave out the part that it was a fake engagement, and nodded her head, "Yes, it is. So maybe she can help me to get his pictures. I think I will feel more at ease when I know what he looks like, and maybe find out a thing or two about his personality," Lucy said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Yeah. I understand. Good luck with that. I hope you show me his picture when you finally get it," Tom said with a polite smile as she opened the car door, getting set to get down.
"Maybe if you're nice I will show you. Remember, you can't tell anyone else about this. The last thing I want is for everyone in the company to find out about this. They would assume I got promoted because my best friend got engaged to the CEO's brother, and I don't want that," Lucy said with a frown, and Tom nodded in understanding.
"You don't have to worry, my lips are sealed," Tom promised and used his fingers to make a zipping gesture on his lips. She gave him a nod as she got out of the car.
"See you at lunchtime!" He called out to her as she walked away, reminding her that she had asked him to have lunch with her the previous day.
Lucy regretted doing that now, as she walked towards the building. She had made an impulsive decision the previous day, and now she couldn't back out of it. Although she intended to keep being nice to him, she wasn't sure she would be very comfortable with him in a closed space after all he had said. That he had acted properly during the drive to the office wasn't a guarantee that he would act properly during lunchtime. It had taken all the courage stored up in her reservoir to face Tom that morning. She didn't think she had any courage left to face her boss and then to face Tom too.
Her lips curved in a smile when an idea suddenly occurred to her. Perhaps she could cancel lunch with Tom by telling him that the CEO said he doesn't want her having lunch with anyone around his office premises? She was certain the CEO was going to be a wet blanket after all. She would wait for Tom to bring her food as usual, and then she would tell him that he couldn't eat with her in her office. That should work, Lucy thought happily. Proud of herself for coming up with such a brilliant idea, she hummed a happy tune as she got into the elevator.
Once she disappeared from his sight Tom dialed Bryan's line. He listened to it ring for a while before it disconnected. He dialed Bryan's number again, and the same thing happened. He kept dialing Bryan's line as he waited for him to take his call. Why was Bryan not taking his call? Tom wondered anxiously as he dialed Mia's line.
"Good morning, Mr. Hank," Mia greeted politely.
"Is there a reason my brother isn't taking his call?" Tom asked, ignoring her greeting.
Mia would have been offended but she could hear the worry in his voice so she answered, "He is with his fiancee, so maybe he is busy?" She asked, guessing that Bryan had not told his family that it was a fake engagement.
"His fiancee? She is with him?" Tom asked at the verge of panic.
"Yes. She arrived yesterday," Mia explained, making Tom panic even more. What if he was unable to reach Bryan before his fiancee talked to him? How could Sonia have been on the phone a while ago, yet Bryan wasn't close to his phone? He wondered irritably.
"Thank you. Please if you're able to reach him, do let him know I need to speak with him as soon as possible," Tom said before hanging up.
He got out of the car and headed for his private elevator.. He was just going to spend his time working on his disguise while waiting for Bryan to give him a call.