Chapter Eighteen

Amy stepped into the elevator, fear and some unnamed emotion constricting her chest. She needed to talk to Tom. She couldn’t tell him over the phone, so she’d been edgily waiting since the night before, making it impossible for her to sleep.

She was in her fifth month as Lucas’s assistant, and she loved her job — well, the work part of her job, at least. She knew what she was doing and was confident in her abilities now. Esther had stopped by several times over the months and praised her progress, saying it was as if Amy had been with the company for ten years instead of a few short months. The two of them had grown close, and Amy never turned her down when she wanted to go have lunch or watch a movie.

She had two great friends now. Three, if she counted Joseph, who stopped by at least once a week to see how she was doing. He insisted on taking her to lunch, telling her she was too skinny and needed some meat on her bones before she was blown away by a strong wind. He was a wise man; it was never a bad thing to tell a woman she was too skinny. He’d obviously been happily married many years, and not only that, but listened to his wife.

Lucas was strictly professional with her. He’d give Amy her work assignments, with very little talk between them, and then he’d leave her alone. He never lingered but was always courteous.

She often found her gaze following him as he left the room, more often than it should, and she was in no way over her crush on him, but she was doing great at masking it. He’d been nothing but professional, which was what she wanted, at least what she should want.

Her disappointment each time Lucas left the room was a big giveaway in how she truly felt. She’d even tried going on a date with a guy from accounting, but that had been a disaster. He’d bored her to tears, and when he’d kissed her at the end of the night, she’d felt not even the tiniest smidgen of passion.

It seemed that she’d wake up in the predawn hours almost every morning with Lucas’s name on her lips, her body wet and ready. She was grateful he was keeping his distance because she’d never have the willpower to push him away if he made a move.

Her hormones were all over the place; at least she knew why now.

She had no other man to compare Lucas to, but she couldn’t imagine lovemaking to be any better than it had been with him. She seemed to be in a constant state of aching, her body desiring what her mind said she didn’t need. Why couldn’t it just be easy? Why Lucas?

If she was going to take the plunge into the relationship world, work past her fear of men, then why couldn’t it be a guy like Bob in accounting? Sure, he was boring, but he was safe, secure, and easy. He wouldn’t make her blood pressure spike. He’d be easy, mellow; so why not him?

She knew why not. She might think she didn’t want passion, but one taste was all it had taken to change her. One taste and it was like a drug; she had to have more. Some days were easier than others, and she knew today was just going to be one of those hard days.

Amy had put off taking a pregnancy test for too long because she already knew the answer. She’d obviously been wrong in her calculations. She’d been dealing with morning sickness for two months, and there were subtle changes in her body. She was naturally small, so most wouldn’t notice the tiny bump on her lower stomach, but she did. She finally broke down and took the test, then threw it in the trash. She’d already known the answer was yes.

The elevator doors opened and she made a beeline to Tom’s desk. He was on the phone, so she impatiently tapped her foot while waiting for him. He held up a finger and silently mouthed her an apology. He could see she really needed to talk to him.

“I’m glad you’re here early, Ms. Harper. Can you come to my office?” Lucas asked as he approached the desk.

Amy sent Tom a panicked look, but he was busy on the phone. There was nothing he could do to save her anyway. It wasn’t like Lucas knew anything. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she couldn’t tell him, even though she knew how wrong that was.

“Yes, of course, Mr. Anderson,” she finally replied just as Tom hung up the phone. She mouthed “traitor” at him as she walked behind Lucas.

Tom sent her a questioning look, but now she’d have to wait even longer to talk to him. There was no way she was taking a chance of Lucas overhearing their conversation.

“Let me stop in my office and grab my notepad,” Amy said as they came to their doors.

“You won’t need it. Go ahead and put your purse and coat away, then come in,” Lucas said as he went through his own doorway.

Amy took her time putting her belongings away. She knew Lucas wasn’t patient, but she was running on barely any sleep, and her heart was racing. She needed to speak to her friend, get some perspective, not sit in front of Lucas, taking in his scent, looking in his bright blue eyes, and fighting the urge to jump in his lap.

Amy slowly walked into Lucas’s office, hoping the conversation wouldn’t take long. She wasn’t ready to face him yet, not after taking that test. She never should’ve done that during the week. What was she thinking?

She was surprised to find him standing by his window. He was just staring out of it, his hands behind his back as he looked down on the morning fog blanketing the Seattle lights. She stood near his desk, not knowing if she should say something or not.

“I have a business trip next week and I need you to come with me,” he said, still not turning around.

Amy’s heart started thumping. She hadn’t gone on any trips with him yet, and he’d left many times over the last few months. She wondered what this one was all about, and why he needed her there all of a sudden.

“Where to?” she finally asked, not that it mattered. All that really mattered was the fact that she’d be alone with him, completely alone.

“It’s in Australia. We have a vineyard there, and we’ve been having problems. It seems someone’s purposely trying to sabotage our crops. It’s taken many years to develop our great reputation for exceptional products, but one bad shipment could destroy all that,” Lucas said as he finally turned. Amy could see the frustration he was feeling, but she still didn’t see why she needed to go with him.

“This could take a couple of weeks and I need an assistant. I’ve been taking Esther on trips with me, but she’s finally put her foot down and refuses to travel anymore, so I need you to go,” he said, obviously figuring out she was confused.

At his words, she felt red-hot anger boil up inside her. He’d been going behind her back and not allowing her to do her job. She’d thought she was doing so well, when all along he hadn’t trusted her. She felt betrayed, which was a strange emotion to be feeling over a job.

She still hadn’t said a word when he spoke again.

“Look, Amy, none of this had to do with your work performance. Let’s just leave it at that,” he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“I see,” she replied stiffly, though she didn’t see at all.

“You are so unbelievably naïve. I can see you’re angry and hurt that I didn’t ask you to come along. Do you really want me to spell it out?” he practically bellowed.

“No, I’m fine,” she responded, thinking it was time to leave. She was obviously ticking him off.

“I didn’t take you because I knew the minute the jet got in the air, we’d end up in my very large and comfortable bed … and we wouldn’t be sleeping,” he said, looking right into her shocked eyes.

Amy gasped at his boldness. It didn’t get any more black and white than that, she figured.

“Well, I … uh … see,” she stuttered as she took a step back.

“I have a meeting to go to. We’ll finish this conversation later,” he said, dismissing her. The way his words were spoken seemed like a threat, though. She had no doubt they were getting closer to a confrontation.

She couldn’t figure out if she was more afraid or excited by the prospect.

She quickly retreated to her office, where she spent the rest of the day on her computer. She didn’t get a moment alone with Tom as Lucas sent her more and more work. She plugged along until Tom came in and jumped on her desk.

“Amy, it’s late, and I’m more than ready for happy hour. Come, girl. Let’s whisk you away from here.”

“I’m sorry, Tom. I didn’t realize what time it was. It’s been an unusually stressful day. I’ve been trying to talk to you since this morning, but then I got swamped,” she said as the stress of the night before came crashing back down on her.

“Well, never fear, the day is over, and I’m going to take you out to paint the town,” he said, practically bouncing on her desk.

“First off, Tom, it’s a weeknight, and not all of us can stay up until three in the morning and then function the next day. More importantly, though, I really need to talk with you somewhere quieter than our usual hangout,” she said, trying to keep her voice low.

“If intimacy’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get. I know this incredible club I haven’t taken you to before. We’ll go there, have a few drinks, and then we can both browse for hot guys. They come in right out of the office and look fine in their business attire,” he said with a whistle.

Amy couldn’t help but laugh. It was impossible to stay worried when she was with Tom. He was just so full of life, and he had a way of easily making her see the positive side of things.

“I’m game. It couldn’t hurt to meet my future Prince Charming,” she joked, not meaning it in the least. Her thoughts tried to turn to Lucas, sitting only one room away, but she refused to let him creep into her mind.

She had to vent to Tom, and the reality was that she wouldn’t be dating for a very long time, if ever, because in about six months, she’d have a newborn baby.