AN – Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews you guys left for the last chapter! And I didn't take too long to update this time I hope!
As usual, just a few words to those of you without accounts who left a review, so I couldn't respond to them personally. Ann – I'm so pleased you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope I didn't make you wait too long for this update, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Kelly – I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and that Lucas turning up in Vegas was a surprise for you! I hope you like this update. Judy – So pleased you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you got my email with the preview in it? Kristina – I'm so pleased you are enjoying the story and I hope you got the email with the outtake in it?
Alright – so on with the story, Lucas is in Vegas, what do you think is going to happen?
Major, major thanks go to Rebecca, Kristen and Elle who did an amazing job reading through this for me before I posted.
Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty One
Haley felt like all the air had been sucked out of her body. Time seemed to stand still as she looked over Nathan's shoulder and saw Lucas standing on the other side of the door. She'd been so damn insistent on her stupid cheesecake, if only she hadn't asked for one in the restaurant, Nathan wouldn't have ordered her one and then they probably would have ignored the knocking on the door. But instead she had practically forced him to answer the door, an action she was regretting immensely right about now. She watched as Lucas' gaze moved over to her from where it had been on Nathan previously, and all she could see was the disgust and distaste in his eyes, something which she hated to see in anyone's eyes, let alone her boss'.
God she couldn't even imagine what this must look like to him, as far as Lucas was aware, she was still engaged to Tom, and as much as she wanted to shout out the fact that she had broken up with him, she knew that she couldn't, not when Nathan was standing here between them, not when she didn't want him to find out about it. She only hoped that Lucas didn't blurt it out in front of Nathan, Lord only knew what kind of a reaction Nathan would have to that piece of news, especially as Lucas would more than likely shout out that fact that she was engaged, when she wasn't. It would only serve to make things even more complicated than they already were, which hardly seemed possible at the moment.
Lucas couldn't believe what he was seeing. He'd had his suspicions, of course he had, things hadn't been as he had expected them to be between Nathan and Haley at all in recent weeks and the weird phone call he'd had with both Haley and Nathan that morning had made him even more edgy, even more cautious than usual. And as much as he had wanted to believe what Haley had said to him about Nathan getting drunk and having to sleep in her room, something had been off, and the more he had thought about it through the breakfast meeting he'd had with Tom and Mr Frost, the more his suspicions grew, until they got to a level where he simply couldn't ignore them for a second longer. He'd then returned to his office and booked the first flight out to Vegas, eager to ease what he thought and hoped to been his over imaginative mind. But to walk to the room where Nathan was supposedly staying, only to find him half naked and Haley all but naked against the wall next to him, well he was absolutely furious with the both of them. What the fuck did they think they were playing at? He didn't know who he was more upset with, who he was more disappointed with. But one thing was for sure, he was going to make sure that whatever the hell was going on between them ended right here, right now.
Nathan had wanted to slam the door shut when he saw his brother on the other side of the door, which quite honestly, when you were expecting a waiter to be standing there with a cheesecake in his hands ready for your hungry girlfriend to eat, and instead got your brother who was supposed to be miles and miles away in New York, catching you in rather a compromising position was quite a damn shock to say the least. His first thought was obviously for Haley, and when he looked at her over his shoulder, all he could see was the worry etched so obviously on her face, and he instantly wanted to hold her in his arms and make her feel better. But then his gaze dropped to her body and he saw that she was wearing practically nothing and he instantly grabbed his shirt off the floor and held it out to her. He thrust his shirt towards her body, suddenly feeling incredibly angry that Lucas just showed up here completely out of the blue. He turned his attention back to his brother while he continued to wave the shirt at Haley, who hadn't seemed to notice him at all. "What the fuck is this Lucas?" Nathan hissed at him, well aware that his brother was still standing in the hallway and therefore he didn't want to make too much of a scene. He also noticed that Haley still hadn't taken the shirt from his hands and he was quickly losing his patience with everything. "Hales, put the damn shirt on." He said in a stern voice, which seemingly seemed to get her moving as he felt her take the shirt from his hands, finally.
Lucas shook his head at his brother, wondering how in the hell he could have the audacity to be pissed at him when he was obviously having an affair with his fucking secretary for crying out loud, a secretary that was engaged to one of his employees. How he could be so fucking stupid was completely beyond him, especially when he owned this multi-million dollar company; for all the wealth it bought his brother, it definitely seemed that wealth and money didn't buy him any common sense whatsoever. "You know what Nathan; I could ask you the very same thing." He responded through gritted teeth, clenching his hands together at his side, which seemed to curl into a fist automatically as he desperately tried to resist the urge to punch his brother square in the jaw. "Now are you going to let me in or are we going to continue this conversation in the hallway?"
Nathan continued to grit his teeth together as he glared at his brother, anger running rife through his entire body. He could see from the pointed look that Lucas was giving him that he was also absolutely furious at him for this, but honestly, what right did he have to just show up here out of the blue and demand to be let into his room? However, he was also well aware of the fact that he would have to deal with him at some point, and maybe it would be better for all of them if he just let him in the room now so that both he and Haley could just get this shit out of the way, so that they could continue to enjoy their time away from New York. Hopefully once they satisfied Lucas' curiosity, he'd jump on the next available flight back to New York and leave them both in peace.
Haley had placed Nathan's shirt over her body, but half of the buttons were ripped so she had to hold it together so that she covered herself up adequately. But in all honesty, she could have been stark naked and not noticed, she was still in complete and utter shock that Lucas was standing just outside their hotel room. She watched their heated exchange, practically feeling the anger emanating off both Lucas and Nathan, and then watched in complete horror as Nathan stepped aside with an audible resigned sigh and allowed Lucas to walk right into their room. She was absolutely mortified and incredibly nervous about what revelations were about to be revealed as she continued to hold the shirt close to her body with her shaky hand. She felt like she should say something but she couldn't even find her voice at the moment.
Lucas watched in surprise as Nathan moved out of the way, allowing him entry into the room, which he was also pleased about as he had been precisely five seconds away from barging in there of his own accord, whether Nathan wanted him there or not. He worked hard not to show the surprise in his face, instead keeping it in its current angry stature, which wasn't difficult as he was still absolutely livid with the both of them. He glanced over at Haley as he walked past her as he moved into the room, noticing how nervous she seemed, even her hand was shaking as it held the material of his brother's shirt together on her body but instead of feeling sorry for her, his anger only grew, because she obviously knew she was doing something wrong, yet she hadn't done anything to stop it.
Haley found that she was locked in a trance, her eyes wouldn't move away from Lucas, no matter how much she tried to avert her gaze. She watched Lucas walk past her as he moved further into the room, eyeing her with such revulsion and disappointment as the worry about what he would say to her, worry about what he would think about this crazy situation completely overflowed around her body, seeping out of every single pore of her being until she felt like she would literally crumble to the floor.
Nathan closed the door to the suite behind him and glared at his brother as he watched him walk into the living area. He sighed deeply to himself and ran a hand through his hair, pissed off at the fact that he was making such a big fucking deal out of this. So what? He was in love with his brother's secretary, what was so wrong about that? But then he took one glance over at Haley and knew that he couldn't just dismiss all of this as something so casual, not when Haley was so very obviously anxious about it all. He just wanted to shield her from it all. He walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to him as he placed a kiss on the top of her head, rubbing his hand soothingly down her arm. "Stop worrying Hales. It'll all be fine, I promise." He whispered into her hair as he kissed her once more and began to walk them further into the hotel suite.
Haley hadn't even realized she'd been shaking so much until she felt Nathan's hand run up and down her arm. She closed her eyes as she felt him kiss the top of her head, and she willed herself to do as he had said, to not worry, but how could she relax? How could she be calm when all her secrets were seemingly moments away from being revealed? She buried her head into his chest, inhaling his manly scent and allowed herself to drown in him completely for a brief second, clearing her mind completely of all the worry she felt, of all the drama she felt coming, before she felt it begin to creep back into her mind, tainting all her thoughts back into a state of complete and utter panic. She then opened her eyes as she felt Nathan stop moving and stared at the floor, too nervous to look over at Lucas, so instead she concentrated on the carpet, tracing the patterns in it with her eyes, trying desperately to distract her mind once again even though she knew her efforts were completely futile.
Once Lucas reached the middle of the room, he turned back around, and scoffed out loud at the sudden display of unity Nathan and Haley presented, with his arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. His gaze flickered between his brother and his secretary, and he noticed how Haley avoided his eyes completely whereas Nathan's were focused on his own intently, glaring at him with such loathing he almost scoffed again, what right did he think he had to be so angry, he was in the wrong here, they both were so far over the morality line he was sure they couldn't even see it anymore. He continued to glance between the both of them, waiting patiently for them to start explaining themselves, but it seemed neither of them was going to bite the bullet, so it was up to him to break the deafening silence. "Well?" He said, completely flabbergasted at the whole situation and the fact that they weren't talking. "Aren't either of you going to say anything?"
Haley visibly flinched upon hearing Lucas' voice, hating how disapproving he sounded, how angry he so obviously was. She didn't lift her gaze from the carpet, for she was far too scared to look him in the eyes at the moment. She felt Nathan's arm tighten around her shoulders and she allowed him to pull her closer to him, even though she was already as close to him as she could possibly get, she felt much more protected and secure in his arms, she liked how fiercely he held on to her and she savoured it as she didn't know how long it would last, she didn't know if he would want to hold her once Lucas started revealing her secrets. She felt like she was on borrowed time, she could hear the invisible clock ticking inside her head, hammering along to the thumping of her heart.
Nathan pulled Haley closer to him, feeling her shudder as Lucas all but shouted at them. He glared over at his brother, not really knowing what to say, because what the hell could he say? He couldn't very well deny that there was nothing going on, but could he tell Lucas what Haley meant to him, would Haley want that? As far as Nathan could see, it was far better for him to be honest with his brother, and let him know that he loved Haley, rather than just lie and tell him that this was a one off thing, wouldn't that leave them in exactly the same predicament they had been in during the last couple of months? Wasn't it time for them to move their relationship forward, get it out in the open? Wouldn't it be better to give Lucas a chance to get used to the idea that he and Haley were an item, because he sure as hell wasn't going anywhere, but first he had to calm his brother down a little, because from the look of him, he was ready to fly off the handle completely at any given second. "Luke, I know this must look bad…" He started, but found that he was interrupted by his brother.
"Believe me Nathan, this looks far worse than bad!" Lucas interrupted as he ran his hands over his face in complete exasperation. How could his brother not see how wrong this was? How could he just stand there in front of him with his arms wrapped around Haley, and act as if this was normal behaviour? Didn't he understand that what they were doing was unacceptable, how could he be so nonchalant about it all? "What the fuck do you think you're playing at?"
"I'm not playing at anything!" Nathan shouted back, unable to control the volume of his voice given that his brother was shouting at him. It was just a natural reaction, a defensive play by him, but his yelling only seemed to fuel Lucas on further. He then heard someone knock on the door to the suite, and he wondered who the hell it could be now. He glared at his brother as he spun around and went to answer the door, finding the cheesecake he had forgotten he had ordered for Haley waiting for her, but somehow he didn't think she'd want to have it anymore, so he waved the waiter away and slammed the door shut behind him as he returned into the room, finding that Lucas practically had steam coming out of his ears.
"You clearly are playing at something? Why the hell are you fooling around with my fucking secretary?" Lucas barked back, wanting nothing more than to tear his brother's arm from Haley and throw them to opposite sides of the room so they were no longer able to touch each other.
"I'm not fooling around…" Nathan snarled back, hating the fact that Lucas could even think to insinuate that what he had with Haley was so meaningless; it couldn't be further from the truth. He automatically tightened his grip on Haley yet again, sure that his fingers would be leaving marks on her skin but he couldn't help the fact that he wanted to shield her from all that was being said, he didn't want her to have to hear any of the shit that was currently spewing from Lucas' mouth.
"Well what the fuck else can you call this?" Lucas roared back as he gestured between the two of them, and then angrily folded his arms across his chest, tapping his foot noisily against the carpet, waiting for Nathan to provide him with an explanation to this madness.
Nathan could feel Haley's heart racing through the material of his shirt that she was wearing and he was sure that she could feel his own heart beating just as fiercely. He took a deep breath as he realised that the only way to shut Lucas up would be to just admit the truth, given that he had instantly suspected that what he had just seen was him and Haley having a fling. He squeezed Haley's shoulder for a brief second, hoping that she would understand that it was time for them to open up and tell the truth, they'd been hiding this for far too long now. "I love her." Nathan said, filling the silent room with his words, which seemed to make the air that was surrounding them feel heavier somehow.
Haley sucked in a sharp breath when she heard what Nathan had just said and her eyes instantly picked up from the floor and moved up to Lucas' face, taking in his reaction. She cringed inwardly as she saw the shock that was on his face, watching as his eyes moved between her and Nathan disbelievingly and all she could do was shout at him from inside her head; she was pleading with him not to say anything, he couldn't, she didn't want him to spoil what she had with Nathan, she really didn't want him to find out about Tom this way.
Lucas couldn't believe what he had just heard. His brother, in love, with Haley? No. His brain simply wouldn't accept that explanation. He didn't know what he had been expecting, he had half been hoping that he had just walked in on what was a onetime thing, and thankfully he'd interrupted them at just the right time. He kept moving his eyes between Nathan and Haley but his brain was so bewildered he didn't actually see anything. Love? It couldn't possibly be love, how the hell could Nathan be in love with Haley? He had to be joking, that had to be it. He felt almost relieved as he burst out laughing, waiting for Nathan and Haley to join in with him, confusion marring his features after a minute or two when he realised that it was still him, and only him laughing, and Nathan remained in his defiant stance with his arm wrapped securely around Haley's shoulder. His laughter died off as the dread and realisation overcame him; his brother had been telling the truth, he really was in love with Haley. "I'm sorry, what?" He said, surprised that he had even managed to string together that barely there sentence amidst all the confusion which was clouding his brain.
Nathan could by now feel Haley actually quivering in his arms. He leaned his head down and placed a kiss on the top of her head as he watched his brother officially lose his mind. Why the hell was he laughing at them both like that? "It'll all be okay Hales." He whispered reassuringly as his hand resumed its tender rub of her upper arm. Lucas' laughter eventually died down and he raised his eyebrow at him as he continued to glare at him with his hostile stare. "I love her." He repeated in a serious voice, wanting no doubt of his words to even be considered, as he waited for his brother to completely erupt and go absolutely ape shit on him, because he damn well knew it was coming.
Lucas' eyes widened in shock as his brother's repeated words resonated inside his brain. His brother sounded so convincing, he sounded so certain that he was really in love with Haley that he almost didn't want to question it, not again, but he had to because he just couldn't allow himself to believe that was true. What about Tom? How could his brother be in love with someone who was engaged to be married to someone else? "But you can't be in love with her!" Lucas blurted out as his brain continued to whirl in confusion, his eyes still not wanting to see what was right in front of him.
Haley's eyes snapped back up to meet Lucas' gaze as his words filled her ears. She saw his interrogating glare focus on her and she stared back at him imploringly, begging with him not to continue with that line of thought or speech because she knew exactly what he wanted to say, she knew that the reason he had said that Nathan couldn't be in love with her was because of Tom and she was pleading silently with him to just stop. She watched him as she felt her heart rate pick up to what had to be catastrophic levels, and she knew that Nathan could feel it too as she felt his hand squeeze her arm in what had to be an effort to help calm her down, but not even Nathan's touch could soothe her now, not when she was about to lose everything.
Lucas continued to stare at Haley and could obviously see that she was nervous about something. He took in her stature, the way she cowered her body into Nathan as tightly as she could get it, the way she was rubbing her foot nervously along her leg, and as he raised his gaze to her face, he could see that she was biting down on her lip, a characteristic he instantly recognized as her being anxious about something; working with her for nearly a year had taught him more than just a few things about her. But as he raised his gaze further, he caught her stare, and was slightly taken aback by how desperate her eyes were. He grew concerned and confused for a brief second, before he instantly realized that she obviously hadn't told Nathan about Tom.
Nathan could feel the rage beginning to bubble right underneath his skin, getting closer and closer to the surface until he couldn't control it anymore. He was absolutely furious with his brother, he wanted nothing more than to just punch his mouth shut, but instead he clenched his free hand into a fist at his side, knowing that violence wouldn't really serve any purpose, apart from making himself feel better, of course. "And just why the hell can't I be in love with her Lucas?" He spat back, wondering why the hell his brother's eyes had lost some of their earlier disgust as he watched him eye Haley, what the hell was going on?
Haley couldn't take her imploring eyes off Lucas. She knew that he got it, she could tell from the way his eyes changed in their stare the very second he realized that Nathan didn't know about Tom, she could practically feel the atmosphere of the room change suddenly, and she knew that Nathan had to have felt it too, which was incredibly dangerous. She just prayed that Lucas would understand her need for him to not blurt it all out right this very second; she honestly hoped he would give her the chance she needed to explain this all to him, just so that he would understand.
Lucas couldn't wrap his head around the enormity of this situation right now. Nathan had just declared his love for Haley, his secretary, who was engaged to one of his own employees, and he didn't even know about it. What the fuck kind of tangled web had he got caught up in? He felt this overwhelming need to protect his brother from all of this, because in all honesty, he didn't think he'd ever heard him say that he loved anyone in his entire life, so that kind of made this moment a huge one. But it was so wrong, so very wrong. How the hell could they work this one out, and what the fuck was Haley playing at? His anger towards her was growing with every second that passed, but then he had to stop and question himself, because, would the Haley that he hired, the honest girl, with mountains of common sense and decency do something this cruel to someone, let alone the owner of the company she worked at? Surely not? He debated about what he should do, speak up, or give Haley the chance to explain herself, going back and forth, before he sighed heavily, knowing that he needed to answer his brother, a sudden light flicking on inside of his head that would get him out of his outburst. "What about the coffee shop girl?" Lucas asked.
"She is the damn coffee shop girl Luke." Nathan responded through gritted teeth, finding himself completely and utterly exasperated with the whole situation now. He just wanted to be left alone with Haley so that he could make sure that she was okay, she was his one and only concern. "Do you know what Luke? I don't actually give a shit what you think about this to be honest. I'm sorry that Haley happens to be your secretary, but I love her and anything that you say or do won't stop me from feeling that way about her. So you're just going to have to find a way to deal with this, because nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop me wanting to be with her. I can promise you that."
Lucas didn't quite know what to say about all of this. Haley was the coffee shop girl? So how long had this affair been going on for then? He frowned over at Haley, completely doubting the person that he thought she was, which he hated doing, but what the hell else was he supposed to think?
"So if you don't mind Lucas, I'd appreciate it if you left us in peace." Nathan said as he stared defiantly over at Lucas, daring him to open his mouth and say another word to him. He continued to glare over at his brother, who was looking at Haley with the strangest expression on his face, which Nathan didn't like the look of at all, and then watched in grave satisfaction as Lucas started to walk over to them. He stepped out of the way, pulling Haley back with him before he released his grip on her and followed Lucas out to the hallway where he watched him pause for a second. "I presume you'll want to come to the meetings tomorrow?"
Lucas opened the door which would lead him back into the corridor and turned around to face Nathan, nodding his head in answer to his question, but his mind was completely distracted as he hoped that he was doing the right thing by not telling him about Tom, because surely, Haley had to have an explanation for all of this, he couldn't allow himself to believe that she had been leading him on for months on end, he knew deep down that she wasn't like that. But those thoughts did nothing to ease the guilt he felt at keeping this secret from him. His only easing thought was that if he felt like this, Haley must feel a million times worse than he did.
Nathan nodded his head back at his brother curtly but stiffly, wanting to get back to Haley as quickly as he could. "Well we're on level 2, executive room 54 of the conference centre, we're meeting a nine in the morning." He said and then watched as Lucas looked at him strangely for a brief second, then wandered off towards the elevators, presumably to his own room. Nathan stared after him with a weird expression of his own on his face, before he shook his head of his worries and closed the door to his and Haley's room quickly.
Haley didn't know how she should be feeling right about now. She supposed that she should feel relieved, relieved that Lucas hadn't spilled her secret, albeit inaccurately. But she couldn't bring herself to feel that way, not at all. The guilt was eating away inside of her, and she knew that she should take this as an opportunity to tell Nathan about how she was engaged to Tom, and she knew that she should tell him who Tom was, especially as Lucas knew about it now. But then she thought back to all those times she had tried to talk about him before, and how Nathan had always told her to not talk about those kind of things, and then came the devious and deceitful thought that made her still think that she could get away with saying nothing, if only she could just explain it all to Lucas before he unveiled the truth to Nathan. She absolutely hated being caught in this web of lies that she had seemingly so expertly spun for herself, but she hated the thought of losing Nathan even more. God, she felt completely lost, she was battling with selfishness over honesty, her brain felt like it was going to explode given how fast it was spinning, and all she wanted to do was to cry. Wallow in her own self pity. Because she hated the idea that the easiest way out of all this seemed to be to just keep her mouth shut, however wrong she knew that action was.
Nathan walked back into the room and found Haley seemingly glued to the very spot he had left her in. He took in her appearance and could see that she was on the verge of crying and he absolutely hated that she was feeling like this all because of his ass of a brother. He walked up to her and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before leaning down to place a soft kiss on her lips. He then took his shirt off her body, unfastened her bra and led her into the bedroom, pulling back the covers as he lifted her up off the floor and placed her down in the bed, before climbing in himself, pulling her back into his chest as he cradled her in his arms. "I'm sorry I had to tell him Hales, but I promise you, everything's going to be fine." He whispered into her hair as he placed a kiss on the top of her head, waiting for sleep to claim them both.
Haley closed her eyes as the tears fell silently from her eyes. She didn't deserve his compassion, she felt like she didn't deserve him, not in the slightest at the moment. But she also felt completely paralyzed as she lay in his arms. Being wrapped up in arms brought a bittersweet numbness to the feelings whirling around inside of her, and as wrong as it was, she wanted to bask in it for as long as she could, because she knew, at any given moment, Nathan could find out about it all, and she honestly thought that he wouldn't want anything to do with her once he knew, especially if he found out from Lucas and didn't even allow her the time to explain.
~*~
Haley placed her hand over her mouth in an effort to cover her yawn. She was so incredibly tired, she hadn't slept a wink last night, her mind had been far too active for her to even contemplate resting. Any other night she was sure that the gentle rise and fall of Nathan's chest against her back would lull her to sleep right away, but that hadn't worked last night, not when she had felt that she had been on borrowed time with him; she had almost wanted to savour every moment of last night, given that the power to devastate their relationship was now in Lucas' hands, and she didn't know if he was planning on playing that card anytime soon. And she had more than paid the price for her lack of rest this morning, she wanted nothing more than to lay her head down on the table and catch even a couple of minutes sleep, surely it would help somewhat with the tiredness she felt. She knew that Nathan could tell that she was exhausted, she caught his gaze from across the table on more than one occasion but the atmosphere of the room had changed dramatically from yesterday. Gone was the flirtatious air that had surrounded her and Nathan yesterday, and tension so palpable she could feel it running in a chill up her spine was now in its place. She could feel Lucas' eyes trained on both herself and Nathan constantly and she found it incredibly unnerving.
Lucas wasn't concentrating on the meeting at all. It had taken him hours to finally fall to sleep last night, the guilt at having decided to not tell his brother what he knew about Haley and Tom whirled uncomfortably in his stomach while he lay in bed, over thinking and overanalysing every single detail. How had he missed the fact that something was going on between Haley and Nathan? Had he really been that blind not to even consider the notion that something was developing between them, or were they simply too good at hiding their feelings and their relationship for him to have seen anything? Either way, he wished he had found out sooner, that way maybe he could have intervened before Nathan's feelings for Haley had grown so deep, if he had noticed it before then he could have put a stop to it all before he had fallen in love with her. He continued to stare between the both of them, trying to catch a look, a silent exchange, just something between them, to prove that he was right, to prove that he should have seen it, but so far he hadn't seen anything, which frustrated him no end, but also eased his conscience somewhat as well.
Eventually the mid-morning coffee break came and Haley felt too awkward to hang around in the room, what with Lucas and his scrutinising glare still focussed on her and Nathan, so she decided to leave the men to talk business and wandered along to the business centre reception so that she could pick up the faxes which should be waiting for her about the valuation performed yesterday. She entered the room full of equipment and wandered over to the pigeon hole designated for their room, pleased to find that the fax was waiting for her. She picked it up and began to flick through it quickly, checking that all the necessary documents were there. It was only then as she turned around to walk back out of the room that she realised that Lucas had followed her. She stood still, completely rooted to spot while trying desperately to find some words, only she didn't know what the hell to say to him. She started to panic, the blood began to pump wildly through her body, her heart was beating frantically and her fingers clenched the valuation in her hands so tightly it was a wonder the paper didn't crumple entirely.
Lucas didn't know what had possessed him to follow Haley when she left the room they had been stuck in all morning. He could see that Nathan was trapped in what looked like a lengthy discussion with Mr Felton so he knew that this was his window of opportunity to get some answers to the questions he kept asking himself, and even though he knew that now was so not the best time and place for this discussion to happen with Haley, he also knew that he wouldn't be able to hold off his curiosity much longer. He continued to watch Haley, who had suddenly become incredibly nervous again, fidgeting uncontrollably, which was in turn making him rather uncomfortable too. But the anger and the guilt he currently harboured for his brother by far overruled any other emotion he felt. "How could you do this to him?" He eventually said, filling the silence that had enveloped them for some time now, the fury he felt making itself more than known. In this very moment he completely disregarded the fact that she was his secretary, because right now, she was simply a woman who held enough power over his brother to completely shatter and break his heart, and he wasn't going to stand for that.
"Lucas, I know what this must seem like to you but you don't know all the facts." Haley returned, finding herself keen to calm his anger down a little before she explained what had happened between her and Tom.
"Well Haley, I think you'd better damn well start explaining them to me then, because as far as I can see, my brother, who I've never heard say he loved anyone in his whole life, seems to feel that way about you, yet you are engaged to one of his employees! I mean what the hell are you doing?" Lucas hissed back at her, rather conscious of the volume of his voice, given that they were in a far from private place at the moment.
"I'm not with Tom anymore." Haley explained and watched as Lucas' face twisted in disbelief.
"What do you mean you're not with him? I had lunch with him yesterday Haley, and he seems to think that you are still very much engaged to him." Lucas returned, wondering if she had somehow lost her mind or something, how could she think that they weren't engaged and Tom think that they were? It wasn't something that you could get confused about, either you were engaged or you weren't, so what on Earth was she talking about? Was she simply lying to herself now as well as everyone else?
Haley couldn't help but scoff at Lucas' words, was Tom seriously still deluding himself that they were together? How could he even think such a thing when she had very clearly told him that they were no longer an item, no longer engaged? "I told him that it was over, he just refuses to accept that." She returned.
"What? So you're not engaged to him?" Lucas responded, his mind was now so confused he couldn't even think straight. If she wasn't engaged to him then did that make all of this mess okay?
"No I am not." Haley said forcefully, wanting to make that fact more than clear.
"And Nathan knows that you were engaged to Tom?" Lucas asked, because if he knew that, and also knew that they were no longer together, and he accepted it, then wasn't all of this fine, wasn't there no need for him to worry at all. He could almost feel the weight being lifted off his shoulders; the guilt was beginning to slowly melt away from deep inside of him, the relief he felt in that moment was so uplifting, he breathed a deep sigh, safe in the knowledge that he hadn't in fact been keeping things from his brother at all.
Haley had been rather surprised with how Lucas' demeanour had changed so drastically, from utter anger towards her when he had first walked into the room, to now talking to her incredibly amicably, yet he had just asked her the one question she really didn't want to have to answer. She could see from his face that he would probably accept their relationship had everything been out in the open, yet that was so obviously not the case. She thought about lying to him, but she was tired of keeping things from people, she didn't want to get herself even more tangled up in this mess, and anyway, if she did lie to Lucas and tell him that Nathan knew everything, wasn't the risk of Nathan finding out about Tom even greater than it was already?
Lucas' face fell as he continued to watch Haley, the torment making itself unpleasantly known on her face and he knew in that instant that Nathan didn't know everything. But what didn't he know, didn't he know who Tom was but he knew that she had been engaged, or did he know who Tom was but didn't know that they had been engaged? "He doesn't know it all, does he Haley?" He asked, the dread creeping its way back into his voice.
Haley bit down on her lip nervously, feeling so small in that moment. She shook her head, avoiding Lucas' gaze completely because she really didn't want to see the disappointment and anger that she knew would be there, feeling enough of it from within herself without needing the judgement of someone else adding to it.
"God Haley!" Lucas cried out, exasperated once again at the situation Haley had got herself into. "What doesn't he know? That you were engaged at all or doesn't he know about Tom?" He asked, unsure at the moment which of those would have been the worst option. He supposed if Nathan didn't know about Tom then that would be quite major, but then again not telling him that you were engaged was also quite a big thing to hide, especially given how recent it had been.
And right about now, Haley wouldn't have minded one bit if the ground just decided to split open and swallow her up. She slowly lifted her eyes from her feet and met Lucas' demanding gaze. "He doesn't know about any of it. He only knows that I had a boyfriend." She admitted, the guilt at keeping these secrets from Nathan so prevalent she could barely take it.
And that had been exactly the answer Lucas hadn't wanted to hear. "How can he not know who Tom is Haley, you do realise that he works directly under Nathan, don't you? I presume Tom doesn't know about the two of you?" Lucas responded, not believing what he was currently hearing in the slightest.
"No Lucas, he doesn't know about Nathan and I and I'd appreciate it if things stayed that way." Haley responded, suddenly finding some strength from somewhere deep inside of her, because that was the very thing she didn't want to happen, Tom finding out about her and Nathan so soon after she had broken up with him would have a catastrophic effect so far reaching she didn't even want to think about what would happen if that ever came to fruition.
"Well you can't hide from him forever Haley! And what effect do you think this will have on Nathan when you eventually decide to tell him?" Lucas responded, finding that he was growing tired of these lies Haley had seemed to encase herself in. Didn't she know that she was only delaying the inevitable? She was going to have to deal with this at some point, surely she knew that much?
Haley suddenly grew incredibly protective, the damage she saw upon telling Nathan all of this flashing in front of her eyes and she didn't like it at all, she didn't want to do anything that would make him feel that way, ever. "Why the hell does he have to know Lucas? I know how much it will hurt him if he does find out, which is exactly the reason why I haven't told him. He knows I had a boyfriend and he knows I have since broken up with him. He also knows that I love him and he's happy. Why ruin all of that just for semantics?" She hissed back at him, folding her arms across her chest as she did so, hoping that this would add to what she hoped was a rather intimidating demeanour.
"Haley, there is a huge difference between having a boyfriend and being engaged." Lucas responded. "By saying yes to Tom you were committing to him for the rest of your life, don't you think that Nathan deserves to know that fact? And don't even get me started on you not telling him about the whole Tom thing. Do you think that Nathan is going to want to hide away with you for the rest of his life? What are you expecting Haley, for Tom to suddenly quit at Scott Investment Management so that you can continue living in your fairytale with Nathan? You need to wake up to the reality of this situation. Both Tom and Nathan are going to find out about this sometime, and you know it will end up being much worse if they don't hear it from you."
Haley's mouth had dropped open throughout that entire speech, wanting to interrupt and say something back to him but he hadn't given her a chance. And now she didn't know what the hell to say, as his words echoed in her mind, confusing her. All she knew was that she didn't want to have to tell Nathan about Tom, because she was scared of losing him, of hurting him. "I still don't think…" She started, but abruptly shut her mouth when she saw the door opening behind Lucas.
"Oh, hi Lucas, Haley."
Lucas turned around and saw Mike holding up some papers, indicating he had something to fax or photocopy or whatever he needed to do. He nodded his head in greeting and then turned back to Haley, wanting to convince her, to have her promise him that she would tell both Nathan and Tom about each other, and soon, but he watched as Haley shuffled past him, obviously rendering this conversation closed.
"I should get this valuation back to Mr Felton." Haley mumbled as she walked to the safety of the door, and exhaled a huge sigh of relief once she entered the corridor, pleased to have managed to escape the tension filled room. She continued to walk towards their meeting room, the weight of Lucas' words weighing heavily on her mind, but she continued to tell herself that she was doing the right thing by not saying anything, for both Nathan and herself. At least she hoped she was because if she searched a little deeper inside of herself, she would reveal that she didn't want to tell Nathan about Tom for mostly selfish reasons.
~*~
Lunch was filled with an awkward air of tension. Haley felt like she was being followed around by a dark cloud which wouldn't lift at all. She also found herself sandwiched between the two Scott brothers, which caused a strange sensation to whirl about inside of her. On one side of her, she could feel Nathan's warmth, radiating out to her just like it always did, but then on the other side all she could feel was this chill of hostility coming from Lucas. And she couldn't help the shivers that run up her spine every now and then because of it. She nearly knocked the table with her leg when she felt Nathan's hand land on her thigh. She managed to calm down the shock that he was touching her like that while they were surrounded by people and she felt him squeeze her leg gently, as if to ask her if she was okay, and she managed to sneak a glance over at him and offer him a quick smile, hoping that he wouldn't see the confusion behind her eyes.
Nathan didn't know what the hell had happened, and he didn't quite understand why she seemed to think that Lucas finding out about them was such a big deal. He only saw it as a good thing, because now that he knew about their relationship, what reason was there to hide it from anyone else, surely he had been the last person Haley had wanted to know about them, so what now was holding them back? She had seemed a little jumpy and uncertain around him this morning, but everything seemed to have changed incredibly when she had come back into the meeting room with that fax in her hands; suddenly she seemed so very distracted and distant. And as they sat at the table in the restaurant they had chosen for lunch with everyone who was working on the project, it seemed to him that she was in another place entirely. He had placed his hand on her leg incredibly gently, so as not to startle her but she had still jumped about ten feet in the air, which only made his concern for her grow to unexplainable levels.
Haley continued to eat her lunch, not really paying any attention at all to the delicious food she was eating, she could hardly taste it given how distracted she was with her thoughts. She breathed an audible sigh of relief when Lucas announced that he was going to head straight to the airport after lunch was over, given that he had more important meetings with Mr Frost to attend tomorrow in New York. Nathan had since removed his hand from her thigh, given that it was hardly the most appropriate time for him to be fondling her, but she could tell that his focus was almost entirely trained on her. She could sense the worry he carried for her, but with the knowledge that Lucas wouldn't be around for the rest of their trip to weigh her down with talk of spilling her secrets, she instantly felt lifted, and she also noticed the slight change in Nathan's demeanour also.
Nathan continued to watch Haley closely, and noticed the sigh of what could only be described as utter relief that she released when Lucas had said he was heading back to New York this afternoon, and he couldn't help but wonder if Lucas had said something to her while he hadn't been around. But that was impossible wasn't it, because Haley had been with him all morning, aside from her stepping out of the room briefly to get a fax and another time to use the restrooms. He must be getting slightly excessive with worry over her, he decided. He took the last sip of his coffee, before leaving the table to use the restrooms himself, only when he was satisfied that Haley would be okay with him gone, and besides it wasn't like Lucas could shout and scream at her in front of Mr Felton anyway.
Lucas saw this as his chance to get the final word in with Haley, given that he needed to leave for the airport and that Haley was finally without Nathan at her side. He carefully glanced around the table, pleased to find that Mr Felton and all his associates appeared to be in deep discussion about the favourable valuation Haley had organised for them. He leaned over slightly so that Haley could hear him despite the fact that he would need to speak in practically a whisper so that no one else around the table would hear him. He had sensed how on edge she had seemed since last night, and it had only proceeded to get worse, which wasn't going to help her development here in Vegas at all. "Listen Haley." Lucas whispered. "You need to relax, okay; you being as skittish and panicked as you currently are isn't going to help anything. I'm not going to tell Tom, nor will I tell Nathan because I honestly think that is something that you need to do."
Haley once again could feel the weight she had been carrying around with her lift off her shoulders. She was safe, safe from the fear that Lucas would tell everyone everything. She closed her eyes for a second as she allowed the relief to wash over her completely, allowing the worry and dread to melt away from her body. She then opened her eyes and turned her head towards Lucas, wanting to express her gratitude for him respecting the fact that this was her decision, and hers alone to make. She was glad of the fact that he seemed to think he had no right to tell people, and quite honestly, she wholeheartedly agreed with him. "Thank you." She said sincerely as she looked him in the eyes without anxiety for the first time since he had landed in Vegas and turned up to her and Nathan's hotel room.
"You know what you have to do though Haley, please don't keep this from either Tom or Nathan for much longer though. You have to tell them and I think you know that too, deep down. I have faith in you that you'll make the right decision on this." Lucas whispered back to her, giving her one last look, pleading with her to tell them both incredibly soon, because he knew the longer she waited the harder it was going to be for Nathan especially to take. He then stood up from the table and said his goodbyes to Mr Felton and the rest of the team, before leaving the restaurant, praying that he had done the right thing in leaving this in Haley's hands.
~*~
Haley hadn't wanted to go out for dinner, nor had she wanted to head on down to one of the restaurants in the hotel, so instead they had opted for room service. Nathan watched as she ate the cheesecake she'd had to forego last night with a smile on his face, pleased that they were able to now get back to spending some quality time with each other for the rest of the trip, with hopefully no more unwelcome interruptions. Now that Lucas knew about their relationship, and seemed to be fairly accepting of it from what he had seen, he was actually excited to get back to New York and be able to act like a normal couple with Haley, finally. But his smile soon faded yet again as he continued to watch how preoccupied she seemed to be, while appearing incredibly vacant to him all at the same time. He sighed deeply as he reached over and clasped her hand which had been resting on the dining room table in his, startling her out of her daydream. "What's wrong baby?" He asked.
Haley jumped as she felt Nathan's hand land on hers, and she moved her eyes away from the wall she had been staring at and smiled softly at him. She had a whole heap of worries which were mulling around in her mind, yet she didn't feel like she wanted to share any of them with Nathan at the moment. She placed the fork which had been hovering in her hand back down on the plate and then moved her hand to cover Nathan's, wanting to reassure him that everything was okay. "I'm fine Nathan, honestly." She said, hoping he wouldn't read too much into their practically silent dinner, cursing herself for not being able to be a better actress.
Nathan frowned as he looked intently at her, not believing that everything was fine at all, because he had seen how distant she had been all damn day. But he didn't want to labour the point. "If you want to talk Hales, I don't mind listening." He responded, hoping that she would take him up on his offer because in all honesty he didn't want her to be like this. But he left it up to her, the ball was firmly in her court, and if she didn't want to talk to him then he couldn't very well force her to, even though he sincerely wished she would.
This was it, this was the perfect opportunity for Haley to say something, to tell Nathan about Tom and how she had been engaged to him, but to explain how wrong it had all been and tell him how right everything felt when she was even in the same vicinity as him. She licked her suddenly too dry lips and squeezed his hand which was still covered by her own, suddenly hyperaware of every little sound, the loudest to her being her rapidly beating heart which roared in her ears. She focussed her eyes on him, suddenly becoming incredibly nervous and tightening her grip on his hand as if she knew instinctively that by opening her mouth to speak he would start to slip away from her, and she desperately didn't want that, she wanted him with her, by her side, she wanted to love him, always.
Nathan could feel Haley's hand tighten around his, like she was holding on to him for dear life and he continued to look right back at her, seeing the desperation in her eyes. He didn't understand what was troubling her so much; he didn't understand why she was looking at him like she was grieving for something she had lost. None of it made any sense to him at all. "Haley?" He questioned, wanting to break into the silence that was currently surrounding them, which seemed to be suffocating him, filling his mind with dread and fear and worry. He just wanted to make it all okay.
Haley heard Nathan calling her name and it felt like she was being woken from a trance. Lucas' earlier words had been running through her mind like a mantra, but when Nathan pulled her out of her thoughts, which she felt like she was drowning in, it was as if she suddenly saw clearly everything again, the fog inside her mind clearing, giving her a much better outlook on everything. Why would she ever be so stupid as to tell Nathan about Tom, when she was so sure that she wouldn't need too? What was the point in sacrificing something she cared so much about for something that had happened in the past and no longer meant a thing to her, when the man in front of her now meant everything? "It's nothing; it's just been a strange day, what with Lucas and all." She returned and then gave him a proper smile, one in which she was distracted by what she now realised were completely ludicrous thoughts.
Nathan could sense the change in her; suddenly she was back to her old self again, which he was so very pleased about and her grip on his hand had ceased to be so desperate and now she was softly stroking his hand with her fingers. He considered her for a moment longer, looking at her with such intensity, just to make sure that she really was okay. She had been right, of course, today had been an incredibly weird day, but one which he felt had given them a big step forward in their relationship. "It certainly has been a strange day." He said, coming to the conclusion that whatever had been troubling her had passed. "Come on, I have a surprise for you." He said as he stood up from the table and yanked on her arm gently, before leading them into the bedroom. Once inside he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. "Did you bring anything to swim in with you?" He asked as he pulled his head back so that he could look at her, smiling to himself at how beautiful she was as he swept her hair away from her face and secured it behind her ear.
Haley looked up at him in confusion. "I did." She returned, wondering where he was going with this.
"Good, get changed and then walk right down to the end of this corridor until you get to the stairs, and walk right to the top. I'll be waiting for you up there." Nathan instructed as he released her from his hold and walked over to his suitcase, pulling out his swimming trunks which he quickly changed into, before grabbing the keys he had obtained earlier on in the day when he was given another tour of the building, as well as his mobile phone.
Haley watched him as he rushed past her and grabbed one of the fluffy dressing gowns the hotel provided, put it on his body and then walked back past her, kissing her on the cheek as he went, while she remained rooted to the spot.
"Get moving Hales." Nathan called over his shoulder as he laughed at her confused expression.
"But it's dark out." Haley responded in a puzzled tone.
"I know. Just meet me at the top of the stairs." Nathan said and then opened the door as he made a call on his mobile, checking that what he had planned could actually happen, before he closed it behind him and made his way down the hotel corridor.
~*~
Nathan smiled as he watched Haley ascend the last of the stairs, dressed in a fluffy white dressing gown which matched his own. He could see the apprehension in her eyes, and he had to chuckle at that. "Relax Hales, we're not doing anything wrong, I promise you." Nathan said as he held the door open for her, watching as she walked past him and then the followed behind her, closing the door behind him so that they would have their privacy.
Haley walked through the door which Nathan held open for her and gasped at what she saw in front of her. "Oh my gosh! It's beautiful." She said as she took in the rooftop pool Nathan had discovered. The lights in the pool were on, making the water seem warm and inviting, and she wanted to jump in right away. "How did you manage to get us access to it?" She asked, hoping that Nathan had been honest when he said that they weren't doing anything wrong because she was sure that they weren't actually supposed to be here.
"It belongs to the presidential suite on the floor below, but seeing as there's no one staying in it, I thought we might make use of it." Nathan returned as he walked over to one of the sun loungers and took his robe off his body before diving into the water.
Haley couldn't keep her eyes off Nathan's body as she watched him gracefully enter the water, seeing the tautness of his muscles on every inch of his body as he glided underneath the water, before he resurfaced, looking incredibly sexy with the water droplets hanging from his dark mass of hair which were twinkling at her in the dim light that surrounded the pool. She watched him motion to her with his hand, inviting her to join him and so she stripped the robe off her body and dropped it into a heap beside her, before she walked over to the water's edge and sat down, dripping her feet and half her calves into the water, smiling over at him shyly as she did so.
Nathan was completely mesmerized by the mere sight of her. She looked absolutely phenomenal in her black string bikini, her legs looking lusciously long, her stomach toned and trim, the curves of her body so womanly and inviting that he could feel his fingers twitching as he continued to tread water, longing to touch her. He swam leisurely over to her, unable to keep the smile from his face as he watched her sit down at the pool's edge. Once he reached her he stood up and ran his hands up from her ankles to her knees, parting her legs slightly so that he could stand in between them as he continued to run his eyes over her body, before they settled on her face. "Do you want to come in?" He asked as his hands moved further up her legs.
Haley nodded her head at him and felt his hands move further up her leg until they settled on her hips. She then felt him lift her body up as he began to slide her into the water, walking away from the edge of the pool towards the middle and she rested her arms on his shoulders, keeping more of her body out of the water than in. She felt Nathan's hands move up her back and she breathed in deeply, trying to get her body adjusted to the temperature of the water. She lowered herself down further into the water and as soon as her lips were level with Nathan she felt him pull her into his body, his lips covering her own. And in that moment, Lucas' words came back to haunt her, they whirled eerily in her mind and she had to pull away from Nathan, trying to do so slowly so as not to raise his suspicions, needing to create some space between them. She swam back to the side of the pool and calmed herself down, pleased that he hadn't seemed to notice the sudden change in her demeanour.
Nathan watched as Haley lay her head back and began to float on the surface of the water, finding that he was unable to do anything but stare at her, marvelling at her beauty, at just how perfect she was. She held onto the side of the pool with one of her hands, keeping herself afloat as the other moved through the water, and she appeared to be deep in thought. His eyes ran over her body again, covering every single inch of her form as he watched her for a while and he couldn't help the hardening of his cock in his trunks, which suddenly seemed to feel really constrictive and he knew he couldn't keep from touching her again for much longer. He walked over to her and found himself standing by her head, so he leaned his face forward so it was covering hers, the shadow he created causing her eyes to open and he smiled at her. "I love you so much baby." He said before he leaned his head down to place a gentle kiss on her lips.
Haley lifted herself up from the water back into a standing position and leaned back against the wall of the pool as she watched Nathan move so that he was standing in front of her and she smiled up at him. Lucas' words were still rolling around in her mind, but hearing Nathan proclaim his love for her helped to silence those thoughts somewhat. But she still had this niggling thought running through her mind as she debated with herself, should she really listen to Lucas and tell Nathan about Tom? "Do I make you happy Nathan?" She asked, because she needed to know, she needed to hear him say it, that way she'd feel so much better about her decision to not say anything to him about it all, well no more than she had already, which was very much in all honesty.
Nathan smiled back at her as he shook his head at her. "How can you not know that already baby?" He said. "You make me the happiest person alive. There's no one else for me, only you. Nothing could ever take me away from you." He returned seriously, looking into her eyes as he spoke before he ran them over her body, down to where her breasts were currently bobbing at the surface, finding himself growing harder still as he lifted his gaze back up to meet Haley's.
Haley smiled wistfully as she allowed Nathan's words to resonate inside of her. He loved her, she made him happy, and he wanted to be with her, regardless. She basked in the knowledge of all three of those things, knowing that nothing else mattered, especially the revelation of secrets he so obviously didn't want to hear, given his previous reactions to her talking of Tom. She looked up into his eyes, noting their darkened hue as he waded in the water towards her, closing the slight distance that was currently between them and she willed him to get to her quicker, the need for him making her entire body yearn with longing. And when he finally reached her and she felt his hands run up her thigh and over her hips before they settled on her waist. She held her breath in anticipation as she felt his mouth lower to her lips, and she closed her eyes, hearing him whisper his words of love for her as his mouth hovered over hers. "I love you too." She whispered as she wound her hands behind his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers, feeling his lips softly meet hers as this wave of love crashed down on her entire being so forcefully, she felt like she was drowning again, only this time, she allowed herself to drown completely, because there was no better feeling than to feel as if you were drowning in the arms of the man that you loved. So Lucas maybe right about one thing, she was living in a fairytale, but her fairytale wasn't make believe, it was real, and she knew in that moment that she was certain that her not saying anything to Nathan was the right thing to do, because they deserved their own happy ending, they both needed their happy endings to be with each other, and she was going to make sure that nothing got in the way of that happening. And as for the big bad wolf? Well she'd deal with Tom when they got back to New York, but right now, as she felt Nathan's mouth tongue lick her lips and she parted her mouth in welcoming, she was going to concentrate all her efforts on showing Nathan just how much she wanted him, she was going to show him just how much she loved him.
AN – Okay! So Lucas knows... and Nathan still doesn't know... how long is that going to last? Please let me know what you thought of the chapter by leaving a review.
And also there's roughly 2,000 words-ish outtake which follows on from where I ended this chapter, just let me know in a review if you want me to send it to you and I'll get it to you ASAP. I just felt like the chapter came to an end more naturally where I ended it.
As well as the outtake, as usual there will be a preview for the next chapter available to those of you that want it when I get it written, again, just let me know in a review if you do – if my current chapter plan goes ahead as planned there's a whole heap of drama happening in the next one.