Author's Note: I am on a roll with updating this story. Unfortunately, I probably won't update again until Sunday at the earliest. I have a busy weekend ahead of me. Thank you for all of your reviews. Keep reviewing! I love it.
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The office Brooke works at is located down the street from the Barney's New York store, on 5th Avenue, above Midtown.
Running behind schedule, Brooke rushes into a Starbucks close to her office.
"Brooke, what can I get you?" the barista asks.
"Coffee. Venti. Fast!" Brooke quickly blurts out, handing the barista the money.
"Brooke?" a male voice asks from behind her.
Brooke freezes, "No. Oh no", she slowly turns around and plasters a smile on her face, "Hi there, Lucas."
"Why'd you run away when you saw me before?"
The barista clears her throat, leading Brooke to turn back around, grabbing the giant cup of coffee in the barista's hands.
"Thanks", Brooke says, starting out the door, but Lucas follows her.
"Brooke!" he pauses, "Brooke, stop."
Brooke turns around to face Lucas, "Why are you here?" she spits out.
"I'm teaching at a school here."
"And why are you following me?"
"I'm not following you."
"Sure", she pauses, "I have to get to work."
"On a Sunday?"
"Yes. I have to go", Brooke begins walking out the door.
Lucas follows her outside, "Let's do lunch some time."
"Yeah, maybe. Come to Barney's later. 7ish? We'll have dinner."
"Yeah, okay. That sounds good. I'll be there."
"Great", Brooke smiles a fake smile, "See you later", she waves.
"Bye."
Brooke walks up the street towards her office, leaving Lucas standing there watching, his hands shoved in his pockets.
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Brooke stomps up the stairs to her loft office space, trying to juggle her bags and the coffee cup, "Mara!" she calls out to her co-worker.
A young blonde appears from behind a rack of clothes, "Yes, Spunky?"
Brooke laughs at the nickname she obtained in the office many years ago, "I've run into my ex twice today!" she says, exasperated.
"Sam? Viv's dad?"
"No, an ex from high school."
"Is this the brooding guy I've heard about?"
"Yes!"
"And you're upset that you saw him?" Mara asks, trying to understand the story Brooke's telling.
"Ugh, yes. We have a history. An ugly history and I've started a new life here. And I like this life!"
Mara shrugs, "But what's wrong with seeing him again?"
Brooke takes a long sip of her coffee, "I don't know. Nothing, I guess."
"Alright. Now, tell me about Tribeca this morning. What did they have to show us?"
Brooke grabs a chair across from her friend, "A lot of patterns. Floral, but not Sunday Tea florals. Some great, long slinky gowns. I don't want to go with the floral stuff, but I'll be telling Grace to go with the slinky gowns."
"Sounds good", Mara notes as the office phone rings, "Hello?"
"It's Grace. There's some guy here waiting for Spunky."
"Okay, I'll tell her."
Both parties hang up and Mara looks at Brooke, "Some guy is here for you."
"What?" a surprised Brooke asks.
"Just go downstairs."
Brooke stands up, "I'll be back."
"If he's cute, don't come back."
"Ha ha", she pauses, "I'll be back."
Brooke walks down the steps to the lobby on the ground floor and finds Lucas standing there, looking silly and out of place.
"What the hell are you doing here? I thought we were meeting for dinner."
"We need to talk and I couldn't wait until 7."
"What is so important that you couldn't wait 4 hours?" Brooke asks, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.
"That girl you were with. Is she your…"
Brooke interrupts, "daughter? Yes."
"Is she…"
Brooke interrupts again, "yours? No. You think I would keep your kid from you for 15 years?"
"No, I guess not. I was just making sure."
"I got pregnant freshman year at UNC."
"Oh…are you married?"
Brooke laughs, "No. I didn't love her father. He's still in our lives, though. He comes to see Vivi a few times a month."
"Vivi is your daughter?"
"For a teacher, you sure catch on slow."
Lucas smiles, "Still a spitfire, I see."
Brooke smiles and puts her hand together like a clap, "Okay! Now that you know that my kid isn't your kid, you can leave and I can get back to work."
"Okay, sorry to bother you."
"It's fine."
"Do you still want to meet for dinner?"
Brooke shrugs, "Sure. I'll see you at 7", she emphasizes the time.
"Yes, I'll be here at 7", he smiles, "Bye."
"Bye Luke."
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