Bzzz, bzzz.
The girl's phone buzzed on her work desk as its screen lit up with the name, Lucien. She completed the sentence she was typing hurriedly before swiping at the screen to answer the call.
"Hi, Lucien. What do you want?"
Lucien had opened his mouth to greet her but the smile on his face was wiped when he heard the girl's tone. He paused as he thought about how he should approach her.
"Hello?" said the girl exasperatedly.
"Hey, how are you? Are you okay?" replied Lucien.
The girl sighed loudly, her phone now sandwiched between her right ear and shoulder as she continued jabbing away at her keyboard.
"Not really. I'm feeling very stressed out over this proposal I'm preparing for a potential investor that's due Monday. I've been procrastinating on it but it's super important that I get this done. Can I call you back after work? I'm busy right now."
"Sure, I'll be waiting," acknowledged Lucien calmly before the girl hung up on him.
Lucien sighed softly in his office. It was already 9 p.m. on a Friday and she was still hard at work. Well, so was he but he was used to it and that's the way it had been for years. It came with the territory. She was a motivated, ambitious individual who cared a lot about her company and he loved that about her.
In the back of his mind, however, he wondered if the girl's tone could be related to him sporadically answering her calls and texts over the past few weeks. He had been busy but he was also trying to keep her at a distance as much as he could while still caring for her.
Turning her phone to silent mode and placing it screen-face down on her work desk, the girl continued working on her company's investment proposal. She could not afford to be distracted and Lucien was definitely a distraction.
A wonderful one, actually.
But not right now. She had to focus.
About an hour later, her thoughts wandered away and she began recalling the call she had had with Lucien. She cringed, thinking about how she had snapped at him when she had picked up his call. She had been overwhelmed with the task at hand but Lucien certainly did not deserve to be on the receiving end of it. He had been so sweet and helpful, going out of his way to guide her despite having a busy schedule. He was the only reason she even had the opportunity to work on an investment proposal after his guest appearance on Miracle Finder skyrocketed that episode's ratings.
Why didn't they teach her how to prepare for an investment proposal at Loveland University? She huffed in frustration in her empty office. It was Friday night and everyone had fled on time as they had plans with friends unlike her. She felt lonely, realising how she only had room for stress on her plate from managing this company her late father had left her and none for an actual social life.
Wrapping up the deck and report as best as she could, she sent out a couple of emails to her team members for some projections and figures to spruce up the proposal. Hopefully, this would be enough. She will soon find out.
While turning off her laptop and packing up her materials, she picked up her phone and was surprised to see that Lucien had left her a text. She unquestionably needed to apologise for being short with him earlier.
"Call me when you're done."
She smiled and quickly dialled his number, her heart thumping just a little faster.
"Hey Lucien, I'm so sorry for snapping at you earlier. I just had a lot on my mind about work and it was completely unintentional."
Lucien chuckled softly before replying, "It's okay, I understand. Are you done with work now? I'm still at the Research Center, finishing up on grading some papers. I can come over and pick you up. Let me know if you need me to grab some supper for you."
Her heart started to race more at the thought of physically seeing him after such a long time.
"Yes, I'm done and packing up but noooo, you don't have to pick me up. I don't want to be a burden. And no, I'm good. I had a late dinner tonight."
"Silly, haven't I told you before? You're never a burden. I'll be there in 15 minutes. See you soon."
He hung up, smiling and 8 miles away, a girl was smiling to herself like a fool in her empty office. She was happy he was making an effort to see her tonight.
She zoomed about in her office, ensuring she was bringing home everything she'd need to make some progress on various work streams over the weekend before making her way to the ladies' restroom. She picked out a light lip gloss from her make-up pouch and dabbed some on her lips, pressing them together before smiling at her reflection. Pulling her hair band off her tight ponytail, she gave her head a little shake as her hair bounced down. She also unbuttoned the top two buttons of her top and pulled her skirt up an inch. There, all done.
Why was she doing this? Lucien was just being kind and giving her a lift.
He probably wouldn't notice any changes either way. Most men can be oblivious creatures. She rolled her eyes to herself before making her way down to the pick-up point at the entrance of her office building.
From a distance, she could just about make out Lucien's tall and lithe form, standing outside his silver car with his windswept hair. His dark, stormy eyes lit up and he smiled when he finally saw the girl. It was like he was seeing her for the first time again, her colour so remarkable to his world. In his world of greys, this girl truly sparkled.
"Hey, Lucien. Hope you haven't been waiting too long," she blushed as she called out to him. As the distance between them shortened, her heart started to thump faster.
"No, not at all. It's so good to see you again. Would you like to put your things behind?" he asked as he opened the passenger seat door for her.
"No, it's okay. I can hold onto everything. Thank you so much for the lift," she replied as she slipped into his car, placing her items next to her legs.
He climbed in next to her, "You don't have to thank me, your office building is on the way after all and this gesture has its own rewards. I get to see you."
He flashed her his classic Lucien smile and her cheeks were stained pink yet again.
"Do you ever get bored of teasing me, Lucien?" she asked quietly as he released the handbrake and started the drive back to their apartment complex.
He let out a laugh that was musical to the girl's ears before turning up the radio. She relaxed in the passenger seat before turning towards him. She looked him up and down, revelling in the fact that she could observe him without any consequences since he was concentrating on navigating the traffic. He looked so good with his lab coat off, in his tight gray dress shirt with his pastel pink tie loosened around his neck, one button undone and smelled even better. He never did tell her what shampoo he was using and she was beginning to doubt if a shampoo could replicate the smell of grass after a thunderstorm. His smell. She inhaled, continuing to stare at his face, memorising his features, not knowing when she'd see him again.
Lucien had felt her eyes all over him ever since he had gotten into the car but had enjoyed every second of her attention so far. He had been sneaking glances at her half-exposed thighs and collarbones, trying to maintain eye contact with the road as he drove. He felt himself get hard from picturing where he wanted her creamy thighs to be - straddling his hips ideally and he shifted in the driving seat. He chewed the inside of his cheek, wondering if she had been dressed this way all day in her office or if this was all for him. He really hoped it was the latter. However, he froze when he heard her drawing in a breath loudly again and mused to himself that his little fool had gotten bold in his absence.
"Did you just inhale loudly?" he asked quizzically, narrowing his eyes and turning to face her while the traffic light switched to red.
As if mirroring the traffic light, the girl's face turned red too before she could come up with a response. "Did you get a new car air freshener?"
His lips curved up ever so slightly before he shook his head no.
This sly little kitten.
In his eyes, there was a faint aura of yellow around her body. Her colour gave away her deceit even though it wasn't ill-intentioned.
Staring up at his face meekly, she noticed some dark eye circles had popped up since she last saw him and quickly switched up the conversation before he naturally started teasing her again.
"I haven't seen you around or heard from you lately, Lucien. Have you been busy? You look tired."
His heart dropped, hearing that and he internally winced. He was hoping she would not bring it up but there it was. Out loud and in the open. His foot pressed on the accelerator as the traffic light switched to green and he turned into their apartment complex.
"Yes, I've had a very busy schedule the last month or so between teaching a couple of classes, grading some projects and working on my research."
This was the truth but these weren't things that would have stopped him from giving her his time of day. They hadn't before and they never would.
He parked his car and exited it, picking his bag up from behind before slinging it over his shoulder and walking over to the passenger side to open the girl's door.
"Need any help with your stuff?" he asked her, to which she shook her head, her hair swaying on her shoulders. She stood up from the car and he absently stroked her hair before locking the car.
"Your hair looks good when you let it down," he said and shades of pink dusted her cheeks again while they walked into the elevator of their apartment complex.
"Thank you," she whispered as they stood in the ascending elevator, facing each other.
She was internally squealing that he had noticed the difference in her appearance. Lucien licked his lips, as he eyed her up and down, his dark eyes lingering on her lips for a second too long, noticing how shiny and tempting they looked. He shivered visibly, relishing the way the baby pink shade complemented her skin tone and her pink cheeks. The girl watched him from under her eyelashes as his eyes made their way down to her exposed calves and lower thighs yet again, smiling when his Adam's apple bobbed up and down from swallowing.
The elevator's sharp "Ding!" rang through the air, breaking the spell they were both under and the girl stepped out, making her way towards her apartment in the dark hallway with Lucien tagging along behind, his gaze fixated on her perfectly round derrière .
She stopped in front of her door, with Lucien right beside her and made eye contact with him. She smiled silently, her heart beating wildly and passed her laptop bag to him before fiddling through her handbag for her keys.
She suddenly became all too aware of his proximity at this late hour and she nervously pulled them out but they slipped through her fingers. Lucien was quick to move even closer to her and caught them with a clink. She was able to feel the warmth emanating from his body as he passed them to her and her hand shakily took them from him. She exhaled deeply before unlocking her gate and door, kicking off her shoes as she entered.
Looking behind at Lucien with an overwhelming sadness etched across her face, she thought about when she'd get to see him again. He stared deeply into her warm, brown eyes and felt an ache in his chest at having to say goodbye to his colour all over again. She broke the silence.
"Lucien, it's been so long since we've last seen each other and we haven't had the time to catch up lately. Would you like to come in? I can make you a drink and we can chat away for a while?" she asked, her brown eyes lighting up with hope.
He knew he should say no. He knew she was bad for him.
But oh, so good.
He knew he should be pulling away from her. Yet he couldn't help it.
What harm could one chat do?
He knew exactly what kind of harm it would do, how it would undo the progress he had made in the last month but he found himself smiling at her, nodding as he pushed his shoes off. The smile that broke out on her face blew his breath away and he was glad his heart had won control over his body.