They were halfway down Montgomery Street before Nathan said anything.

"Are you alright?" Haley asked quietly, putting her anger aside.

Nathan nodded, staring at the road ahead.

"You didn't seem very happy about that meeting," Haley commented.

"Yeah, that whole thing is a mess...." was all Nathan would say.

Haley sat back in the seat, wondering if this lunch idea had been a mistake.

"Where do you feel like going?" Nathan asked, looking at her for the first time since they'd left the office.

"I don't really care...I do need to get back within an hour though, to be fair to Melissa," Haley replied.

Nathan shook his head.

"How about we get a sandwich then?" he asked.

Haley agreed.

Nathan parked the car and the two got out to head to a sandwich shop.

"Are you sure this was okay?" Nathan asked. "We could have gone to a nicer place."

Haley shook her head, "this is fine."

They ordered their food and sat at a table.

"Listen, the reason I wanted to bring you to lunch...is because I owe you an apology," Nathan began.

Haley was silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I know, I did the predictable asshole routine and walked out this morning...and I'm sorry. I go into something with good intentions and I end up screwing things up every time...but I don't want to do that anymore, not with you."

Haley just nodded, still silent.

Nathan looked into her eyes. "I like you Haley. I really do- I know we haven't known each other very long - but this isn't just about sex...I'm sure that shocks you but its actually the truth...and I'd like to see where this could go...that is, if you haven't gone back to hating me."

Haley gave him a half smile and rolled her eyes, teasingly, "well, leaving again was a jerk thing to do especially after you chastised me for it...but we're even now so we can just forget about it....and I have to admit that despite your attitude at times, I like you too."

Nathan's smile turned into a grin.

The two got their food and enjoyed their lunch, everything a little more comfortable since they'd talked through everything.

"So, are you going to do the commerical?" Haley asked, after Nathan had told her the whole story.

Nathan sighed, "I don't know...I'm kind of getting pulled in both directions here...Lucas would kill me if I don't do it."

"Well, you have to do what's right for you though..." Cara replied.

"I wish it were that simple."

Haley was quiet for a moment. "...you don't want to have to work with Lisa...is that it?"

Nathan looked down at the table. Lisa was something he really didn't want to talk about, especially not with Haley-- at least not for now.

"Lisa is based in England but does some print work here in the States. She and I met when I was just starting out in PR and she was modeling at a shoot for a campaign we were working on in L.A....and we found that there were some things we couldn't see eye to eye on," Nathan said after a minute. "So to go back into that situation, it could have the potential to create more problems."

Haley nodded, not pressing for more information. She could just sense there was more to the story given the amount of hostility Nathan appeared to have toward Lisa and the lascivious looks Lisa was giving Nathan in the office before the meeting.

~~~~

After lunch, Nathan and Haley headed back to the office. Haley mouthed a simple 'Thank you' to Melissa for deviating from the usual lunch schedule and Melissa smiled in reply.

Nathan and Lucas had a couple of other meetings with more clients.

Melissa went to lunch and Haley was back to work in the office.

Haley was completely alone in the office when the front door swung open.

Lisa walked through the door, pushing her oversized sunglasses on top of her head.

Haley looked up and gave a small meek smile.

"Yes, hello," Lisa said barely looking at her. "I need to see Nathan Scott, please. Is he still here?" her British accent very evident in her speech.

"I think he's still in a meeting...would you like to leave him a message?" Haley asked.

Lisa looked around the office, pushing her designer purse higher on her shoulder. "I'd actually like to wait for him, if he's not going to be very long."

"I really don't know how long the meeting will last," Haley said in an even tone.

Lisa just looked at her for a moment and took a seat in one of the chairs next to Melissa's desk.

She pulled out her Blackberry and that was that.

It was as if Haley was alone in the room.

Friendly girl, Haley thought wryly to herself.

Lisa was tapping away on her Blackberry, never looking up once.

~~~

Twenty minutes later

Nathan and Lucas shook hands with the gentlemen as they walked out of the conference room.

The gentlemen let themselves out the front door. Lucas walked through looking for Melissa. He stopped and turned around immediately after he had seen who was sitting near Melissa's desk.

Nathan walked out of the conference room, where Lucas was, and saw his expression. Lucas was trying to motion quietly over his shoulder.

Nathan looked beyond Lucas' shoulder to see Lisa.

He rolled his eyes, feeling his patience wearing very thin.

He then looked from Lisa to Haley, who was actually looking back at him.

He gave a small smile to her and crossed the room.

"Lisa, can I help you with something?" Nathan asked as Lucas made a beeline back for the safety of the conference room.

Lisa looked up from her Blackberry and flashed a grin, "oh could you ever!"

He rolled his eyes, clearly irritated now. Her blatant sexual innuendoes were not what he needed right now.

"I'm serious...what are you doing here?"

"Well, I just thought maybe we could splash around town a bit...I seem to remember you were quite the tour guide when you took me home to North Carolina to meet your family...so I thought, maybe I could enlist your services here," Lisa said smiling, the blatant flirtation causing a rise in anger from the girl across the room.

Haley sat at her desk, feeling herself getting more and more jealous. This girl had clearly been a lot more than just a coworker if he'd taken her home to meet his family.

Get a grip, she thought. It's not like the two of you have anything exclusive...you have no right to be jealous, she tried to reason...but it didn't seem to be working very well.

"I don't think that's going to happen," Nathan said, a fake smile plastered on his face. "...and it never will, again."

Lisa faltered only for a moment. She noticed him glance at the girl sitting at the desk.

She picked up her bag from the floor.

"Well, if you change your mind...I think you know where to find me," she said.

Haley shook her head. It was amazing how one person could just exude such sexual energy and confidence. The charisma and apparent power this female had over others started to become more understandable.

Nathan sighed as Lisa left the office without another word.

He turned to look at Haley. "I'm sorry about that....that's...Lisa."

Haley smiled weakly. Thoughts began running through her brain like wildfire. Suppose she did continue to see Nathan to see where things led....and if he chose to do the commercial and had to see Ms. Sexuality everyday....

She could see there would be some jealous days in her future. It was inevitable.