Chapter 8
Clarie held her breath as she saw the figure of a brown-haired woman standing at the door of her boss's office.
"Is Lucas Henderson in his office?" asked the brown-haired woman.
"He's inside, please." Clarie opened the door wide to let the woman in.
The brown-haired woman with blue eyes stepped past Clarie while flashing a warm smile. Clarie walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
The girl's heart was pounding.
"Helen, I think we'll meet at home after lunch," Lucas said, remembering his promise to Marion when he called yesterday.
"Ah, that! I was out of town when Marion called me yesterday. And, this morning I'm going back to the apartment, so you might as well stop by your office," she said casually. Helen was one of Marion's best friends who double as his wife's personal assistant.
"Oh, I see."
"By the way you have a new secretary, huh?" asked Helen with a teasing smile.
"Rebecca is on maternity leave, and I need a secretary to help me with work," Lucas said flatly without expression, he knew Marion would definitely tell his domestic drama to her close friends.
"And you get the most beautiful." Helen teases him again.
Lucas narrowed his eyes. "What is the relation?" he asked pretending not to understand.
"Oh come on Luke! We all know something must happen. Correct my guess?" Helen said with a playful smile.
Lucas glanced at Helen briefly, then exhaled slowly. "When do you want to pick up Marion's clothes, I have a meeting with my client later at 2 pm," Lucas said, changing the subject.
Helen smiled meaningfully, she knew that this man wasn't open at all, unlike Marion who was outspoken with her best friend.
"Now ?" she asked.
"Ok." Lucas got up from his chair and walked towards the door. "Miss Grady?" Lucas called Helen who was still sitting quietly in her chair.
Helen stood up, then approached Lucas who was still waiting beside the open door. The woman gave Lucas a naughty smile intending to tease him. However, the man was not at all interested in choosing to close the door again and follow in the footsteps of his wife's assistant.
"Miss Evans please rearrange the ad review schedule. I'll be back in an hour," Lucas told his secretary.
"Yes sir!" answered Clarie quickly.
Lucas and Helen walked towards the elevator to get off, for some reason, Clarie who saw that suddenly felt jealous.
"Hah, who am I to be jealous of!" she cried angrily to herself.
Lucas drove his car at a moderate speed, the city streets on this mid-afternoon morning were quite busy, but orderly. The distance from his office to his and Marion's residence was around 10 kilometers, not far indeed.
Helen sat in the passenger seat next to him. The woman had said too much the entire trip, while Lucas only responded with a mumble or 'yes' and 'no'.
Lucas stopped his car on the road in front of his two-story house without a fence. The two of them got off together and stepped into the house.
"This is the room," Lucas said while pressing the white door knob which was Marion's private studio. Helen walked into a room whose walls were painted a soft light pink. Marion's favorite color.
"When it's finished, I'll wait in front," Lucas said again, as he stepped away.
"Luke…" Helen called.
"Yes?"
"Could you help me?"
Lucas considered, then nodded and came back closer to the girl.
"What can I do for you?"
Helen walked closer to Lucas until there was no distance between them. Lucas began to have an inkling of what was about to happen. Helen's slender fingers crawled across his chest which was covered by a shirt and jacket. The woman's hand stroked gently, Lucas frowned.
"I can satisfy you if you want," whispered Helen in a soft voice in his ear. The woman's gaze teased him.
Lucas was seen swallowing hard, making his Adam's apple go up and down. Helen who realized this immediately kissed Lucas' cheek gently. Her fingers began to grope at every point of Lucas's body to make the man tempted. However, a second later Lucas threw Helen's hand from his body and away.
"When you're done call me, I'm outside!" he said, again the man walked away from the woman who was none other than his wife's best friend.
Helen stomped her feet in annoyance, and which sure enough she was rejected! Rejected by her best friend's husband! She knew that the household that Lucas and Marion were living in was just a cover. They had not been together since their marriage because Marion had asked, Lucas himself agreed to his agreement with Marion, that their marriage was only on paper.
Lucas is still sane by not playing with fire with his wife's best friend even though his and Marion's relationship was never tied. He felt enough with Clarie, and did not need another woman.
In less than thirty minutes, Helen came out with several dresses covered in plastic so they wouldn't get dirty. Lucas opened the driver's door and sat there. Helen grew increasingly irritated that the man was ignoring her, not opening the door for her.
On the way to Marion's studio, Lucas didn't say anything at all. While Helen was itching to chat but was afraid that she would be ignored by the man. This was the result of her act of offering sex to her best friend's husband. She was really embarrassed right now.
Lucas stopped his car in front of Marion's studio building. The man stayed where he was without wanting to get down and help Helen.
"You don't want to stop by and meet the others?" Helen offered politely.
"No need, I still have a lot of work in the office. I'm leaving, see you later."
Lucas immediately started the car again after replying to Helen. Better to be in the office with his secretary than with his wife's best friend.
Arriving at the office, Lucas immediately finished his work that had been delayed. Because this afternoon he was meeting a client outside to discuss business.
In the afternoon Lucas and Clarie went to the hotel where Adam Sanders was staying. Lucas seemed to be focused on the road they were walking on, while Clarie listened to the music playing on the car stereo.
They arrived at the hotel restaurant and waited for the client to come down to meet them. Clarie had contacted the man and told him that they were waiting for him.
Not long after, a tall man with straw-black hair came over to Lucas and Clarie's table. The man's face was no less handsome than Lucas, and still looked young. Clarie thought the Mr. Sanders in question was old, but he wasn't.
"Hello, how are you? Nice to meet you," said Adam Sanders kindly.
Lucas welcomed his client's helping hand as well as Clarie.
"Claire, right?" he asked.
"That's right, sir. I spoke to you on the phone," Clarie replied politely.
"As I thought, not only her voice is melodious but her face is also very beautiful. Nice to meet you, Miss Evans," Adam complimented Clarie.
Lucas tightened his jaw. There was a sense of annoyance he felt when the man praised his secretary. Is he jealous?