Chapter 4
After that team outing, Sophia seemed to have it out for me.
She kept messing up on the project we were both working on, then bailed, claiming she wasn’t cut out for it
The deadline was breathing down our necks, and the client’s calls were nonstop.
The project was full of holes, and I was drowning.
Everyone was pulling overtime, and I’d already pulled three all–nighters in a row.
Only Lucas didn’t show.
He and Sophia both refused to work late.
A coworker was furious and called Lucas.
Before she could finish, I heard… noises on the other end of the line.
And Sophia’s voice, saying, “The office has plenty of people. They don’t need you.”
The call ended abruptly.
The team was livid.
Someone walked past the door, and without even looking, a coworker shouted, “Lucas is completely whipped by that drama queen-
After three sleepless nights, I finally patched up the mess.
I stumbled home to crash.
The front door slammed open, and the smell of alcohol hit me.
I barely opened my eyes.
There was Lucas, disheveled and furious.
“Emily, did you snitch to Mr. Anderson/about me not doing any work?”
He yanked me out of bed.
“You have no idea. If it weren’t for that call, I’d have been on third base by now!”
I thought I was still dreaming.
Did I just hear that?
Fetared at him, confused?
Lucas was beyond annoyed.
You’re the one who wanted me to come back and work, right?”
“So why are you lying around? Let’s go, back to the office.”
“Sleep? Who cares if you’re tired? If you’re so tired, just die already!”
Finally, I suapped awake.
I shoved him off with all my strength.
He stumbled back but caught himself.
“Stop pretending.”
“You think I don’t see through your little games?”
“Don’t mess with me again, or you’ll regret it.”
Three days of nonstop work had left me voiceless.
I pointed at the door, gesturing for him to get out.
When I finally shut the door behind him, his dark expression stuck in my mind.
After that, I came down with a fever.
The doctor said it was from overworking and my immune system crashing.
Work can’t be rushed.
I had to ask Mr. Anderson for a day off.
Knowing how much I’d been through, he approved my paid leave without hesitation.
But I still needed to hand over the project files to the company.
I’d left in such a hurry that I didn’t bring my laptop.
My old one was still at Lucas’s place.
With Mr. Anderson breathing down my neck, I had to go get it.
I didn’t trust the security at internet cafes.
It was work hours, so Lucas should’ve been at the office.
Only his mom should’ve been home.
I really didn’t want to see him.
When I got to his place, I was about to knock but noticed the door was slightly open,
“Mrs. Thompson, you forgot to close the door.”
I called out as I pushed the door open.
But there, on the couch, was a woman fresh out of the shower.
Her hair was still dripping, and she was wearing an oversized T-shirt, her bare legs propped up on the coffee table.
She didn’t even flinch when I walked in.
“Oh, it’s the future wifey.”
Sophia tugged her collar down.
“It’s so hot today.”
I stared at the hickeys on her neck, speechless.
“Lucas is such a handful. I told him not to leave so many marks. It’s embarrassing.”
She stood up, pointing out each mark like a tour guide.
“He had my legs over his shoulders, and then he just had to kiss me here, and here-”
I cut her off before she could strip righ
in front of me..
“Spare me the details.”
She adjusted her shirt, giving me a pitying look.
“You’re so uptight. He doesn’t like girls who play hard to get.”
“Chasing after him won’t work. It’ll just annoy him more.”
“Do yourself a favor and give up.”
“I heard you two haven’t even held hands.”
She looked down at me like I was beneath her.
“I don’t like wasting time with women, so don’t blame me for what happens next.”
Before I could process what she meant, she slapped herself–hard.
I froze.
“What are you doing?”
Just then, Lucas came out of the bedroom.
He was shirtless, scratch marks visible on his back.
And he reeked.
Sophia immediately threw herself into his arms, sobbing.
“Lucas, I didn’t know you two were a thing.”
“She saw me here, got mad, and slapped me. It’s my fault. I’ll just go-”
Lucas glared at me, his eyes blazing.
“Emily, can you stop being so dramatic?”
