Chapter Nine

"Do we need to do this?"

She asked again for the fifth if not hundredth time and Lucas decided that she is one daring woman, she has been asking the same question over and over again and he wanted to seal that pretty mouth of hers with his, knowing that if he did that she would run away and not look back helped him keep his senses. They were at a boutique and she has been asking the same question with every new clothing she tried on.

"Yes, baby,"

He replied which made her cringe.

"Stop calling me that," she mouthed over the lady fitting her dress, he laughed and shook his head.

When he had woken up this morning he had wanted to wait till she come to him herself but the thought of her changing her mind had driven him out of the house and towards hers, though he had met a shocker there, he didn't know she lived together with the weird guy from the designing team, he knew they were friends but he didn't know they were that closed, he wanted to ask her why they lived together he knew its not in his place to question her private life but that didn't stop him from wanting to know.

"How does this look?" She asked turning around so he could see the dress she was presently wearing, the dress looked like it was made for her with the silk perfectly fitting to her and enhancing her elegant shape, he curved his lips into a smile and gave a thumbs up.

They still had the bridge of an employee and an employer between and he needed that bridge gone, his father would probably be mad at his way of getting this particular deal, but he wasn't gonna back out, he needed to get Reuben's approval, and since he wasn't the only one eyeing the properties and knowing that most of the others were married which put him at a disadvantage since Reuben was a man of commitment.

He had waited up until he had got a reply from her last night, while he had been waiting he had thought of what he will do if she say no, no one else had come to mind giving him an idea of just how unhealthy his love life has been, it wasn't his fault though, he wasn't ready to settle down and chose to date only supermodels and actress who didn't do commitment either though he has not dated anyone in a while, his parents were already on his neck for marriage but he didn't and wasn't thinking of it, the last time he had been ready for marriage the one he chose had shown her true side only months to the wedding, and he had called the whole thing off.

"Do I still need to try more clothes on?"

Katrina asked bringing him out of his thoughts, he looked up at her and smirked.

"Not if you don't want to,"

"I didn't want to from the beginning,"

She replied with an eye roll, she is one sassy lady, and aside from the fact that she is someone he can trust with this, she is also very accomodating and comfortable to be with, if he ever thinks of settling down she will be the kind of woman he will choose.

"Okay we are done here let's move to the next step," he announced getting up and slipping on his coat. He gestured to the saleswoman and told her they will take everything she tried on.

"Are you for real? Are we gonna take everything? Don't get me wrong I love clothes but these are too much, what will I do with them when this is over?"

She let out.

"It's easy, you can wear them to the office, our next stop is the ring store," he said and waited for her outburst but rather than bursting out she got close to him and whispered.

"What do we need a ring for?"

He wasn't ready to tell her that part yet so he just smiled and patted her hair which made her drawback and eye him.

"You will find out soon, let's go pick out the rings darling," he said pulling her along with him.

"Shocker upon shocker, what have I gotten myself into?"

She said more to her self which made him chuckle, she has been mumbling to herself for over thirty minutes now,  he found it cute.

"You know you can just ask me, there is no reason to be talking to yourself,"

He voiced and she gave him the deadly look that he is slowly getting used to, he decided he liked this Katrina better, the one who doesn't do everything to please him, who shows her emotions and all, she had said a blatant no when he had picked a diamond ring and had held on to her word and they have ended up going for a gold band that cost far less than the ones he had picked. That doesn't mean he didn't fancy the other Katrina, both were the same woman and he respected both.

"I don't get it, why did we buy rings? Are we getting married or what?"

"No, we are not getting married but like I said you will find out soon,"

"I hate surprises, and what more, I don't like you, Lucas I prefer my boss, at least he tells me things straight up not keep some details to himself, some boyfriend you are,"

She said and he laughed out loud,

"At least you are addressing me as your boyfriend, progress,"  this is what they needed for the bridge to be completely broken so they can both play their parts well, he didn't like deceiving people but he wasn't willing to lose the deal, not when he had a chance to get it.

"Don't worry I may not be an actress but I know the drill,"

She responded looking at the emerald necklace on the case, she checked the price and dropped it.

He looked at it, smiled, and gestured to the saleswoman when she wasn't looking, the woman seemed to understand what he meant.

"Where are we going next? I am hungry I need food," she voiced as they exited the jewelry shop,

"To the airport, my lady,"

He responded opening the car for her.

"For real? I just said I am hungry,"

"I know I already made preparations for that,"

"Oh sorry, I forgot for a moment who you were,"

She said holding her mouth.

"That's good, forget who I am, especially as your boss, and think of me as the man you are head over heels for and the one you wanna spend the rest of your life with,"

He explained looking into her eyes, she seemed frozen in place.

"Hey, was I too direct?"

He asked when she didn't say a word.

"No, I was just shocked, I am not good at pretending but I will try"

"Is it that hard? To pretend to love?"  He asked feeling hurt for some reason but he shook it off.

"Don't worry Lucas I will do my best,"

She responded.

"We will do our best and when we finally get the deal we will celebrate together,"

He said with a smile as he started the car. He chose to drive them and not bother his driver for different reasons, the main reason being that he didn't want a lot of people to be aware of the part he and Katrina were going to play cuz he didn't want her to be uncomfortable when all this is done.

He looked up from the road to see that she had her eyes closed, probably sleeping or just thinking.

"Katrina, I am glad you agreed to do this with me, I promise I won't mess it up," he whispered to her.

"You better keep that promise,"

She whispered back.

They drove the rest of the way to the airport in silence, his head was filled with the what will be the possible outcome of this trip unlike every other business deal he has done in the past, this one looks like the hardest of them all, he didn't even know his stand, cuz as far as he knew a lot of other aspirants were ahead of him, not even cuz of the commitment aspect but in business too, he didn't know if he had a chance and until Reuben had invited him over he had almost given up but the fact that he was invited alone means he has a shot snd he wasn't going to ruin it which is why he had to ask her to be his plus one to avoid taking chances, he has done other deals with Reuben before and he knew him well enough to know that the old man values men with women, so old fashion but still. The property is a very big estate in New York which if he acquires, he hopes to turn into a five-star hotel, he just hopes he gets it cuz no one can handle that estate better than him.

He made up his mind that if he gets the deal he will give Kat a promotion even if he didn't get it she will still get it. He owes her that much for helping out all.