"And what do you recommend, Ms. Heartfilia?"
Lucy eyes snapped up at the question. The Cobeson group's heir and her ex-personal bodyguard, Jacob, stared at her expectantly, before sighing hopelessly. They both knew she hadn't heard him, and that she hadn't heard a single word in the past two hours. But Lucy couldn't make herself focus. She could only finger the small business card in her skirt pocket and count down the minutes until this meeting was over.
"Call me when you get the chance, Miss Lucy," the mystery man had said.
The heavy stare of her father burned into the back of her neck as she straightened and cleared her throat politely. "I'm sorry, Jacob, but could you repeat that one more time?" She smirked when he scowled at the use of his first name. As she listened to Jacob explain to her how their parents' companies' competitors were driving down prices on products, and how they could potentially fix the problem, all Lucy could think about was how restrictive the pencil skirt she was wearing was, and how she would much rather be lounging on top of a table that was sticky with beer as she laughed with—
A quiet cough echoed through the room, and Lucy snapped her eyes up to see all eyes on her once again. Jacob blinked and asked, "What do you think would be the most efficient way to beat out our competition?"
Lucy hummed and tried to recall anything he had just told her, but her mind was blank. "Well, Jacob," she said, earning another frown. "I've found that people are always looking for something that benefits them, others be damned." Lucy was glad to see that he swallowed guiltily at her jab. "So wouldn't the wisest move to be to find what our competition is promising, and go from there?"
Silence. All of the other employees were giving each other secret looks, and Lucy coughed under her breath to regain their attention. She gave a sickly sweet smile and gave the slightest glance to her father, who looked red in the face. From shame or anger, Lucy couldn't decide just yet. "I'm sorry if my advice is a little general. It's just that my father still hasn't told me what the family business is yet. I offer my humblest apologies."
To her right, her father snapped his notebook shut and leaned back in his chair. "Meeting adjourned. Thompson, have those reports on my desk by the end of the week. Cobeson, good work today, son." After one more moment of shocked silence, everyone stood and went toward the door. Lucy went to follow them, but she caught her father's eye as she stood and slowly sank back down. 'Here we go again,' Lucy thought, preparing herself for the third lecture this week.
As soon as the room cleared out, Jude Heartfilia let out a deep sigh. "It's almost like you don't want this, Lucy."
"I don't."
Jude's jaw jumped. "Oh, so you would rather go play hooker at some bar? Living forty dollars at a time when you could be living on forty-billion?" Lucy didn't say anything, didn't blink or move. 'Nice try, Father, but after all of these years I'm out of tears.'
"It shouldn't be so hard to just listen and answer a few questions. Instead, you make me look like a fool." Lucy still only stared straight ahead, tapping her fingers on her thighs in an erratic rhythm. "And your little snarky comment about knowing nothing about the business, I'm not going to waste my energy teaching you when you obviously have no real interest." A long silence ensued, and Lucy could feel his temper starting to boil. He growled under his breath at her lack of acknowledgement. "Say something, Lucy."
Lucy gave him a side glance. "I'm leaving." She stood up and strutted toward the door, her skirt covering all of her thighs to where only her knees could move. As she went, her father called out to her.
"This rebellion can only go on for so long, my Lucky Lucy." She slowed at the use of her moniker in the family business, gritting her teeth to avoid responding. It was just what he wanted. "That little punk is gone, and you have nowhere to go. You can't hide from your destiny."
Lucy finally made it out of the door and slammed it, biting her lip so hard she tasted blood. She wiped at her eyes and hiked up her skirt to run to her room, where she slammed the door again and went to her desk. She put her head in her hands and took a shaky breath. 'Just when I thought I was out of tears.'