PART 17

Lucas was only supposed to pick up a copy of the script for the new movie he was starring in but the director asked for him and his leading lady, Lala to do a quick read. He left the studio and hurried up to see Riley, but his excitement dissipated when he saw and heard Riley laughing quietly with a familiar man.

The sight of the two of them enjoying each other's company in the intimate atmosphere of the coffee shop shook him to the roots, something that hadn't happened to him before where a woman was concerned.

She must have felt his eyes on her then, and when she saw his expression, her smile fell, her expression turning serious, sober and very interested.

"Sorry for making you wait," he said.

"It's okay. Lucas, you remember Mr. Miyagi."

"Fudo. Mr. Miyagi sounds too formal. I hope you don't mind me keeping Riley company. It's a shame to have such a very beautiful woman sitting here all by herself," the man said smugly.

"You're right; as it happens I'm finding it harder and harder to leave Riley alone. I just turned my back quickly and next thing you know there's already a guy trying to pick her up," Lucas said through gritted teeth.

"Hmm... Riley, my invitation still stands. I hope you consider my offer and if you decide please feel free to contact me on my private number." Fudo turned to Lucas and told him in a clipped voice, "it's nice to meet you."

Lucas assessed Fudo as he walked away. For an Asian, Fudo is tall. His medium-length hair was jet-black. He wore fancy clothes but that still couldn't hide the street tough beneath. Anyone else would be fooled by him, but Lucas now adept at looking below the surface and never taking anything at face value was not fooled.

Lucas turned to Riley, "Let's go."

…..

Riley can tell that he's fuming. He'd been very quiet since they left the coffee shop. Lucas opened the door and he stood his gaze intent. Riley walked past Lucas and waited until the door closed behind him. He walked into the living room, hell; stalked in, anger reverberating with every step. She silently scrutinized him, gauging his emotions. Furious no doubt about that.

He obviously won't be the one to talk first so she went ahead and asked what was on her mind. "Has it occurred to you that this is becoming a bad habit of yours? You can't give every guy I talked to an attitude."

Lucas pretended to consider. "You know, you could be right. I'll take your concerns under advisement."

"Why are you so crossed anyways? For the record I didn't intend to meet Fudo there. You told me to wait for you at the coffee shop remember?" Riley said, her voice sounding defensive.

"Fudo? So you're on a first name basis now? May I remind you that the guy has a questionable background? He's a yakuza!" His voice had gone deadly quiet; a warning sign if she'd ever heard one. Not that she'd allow it to intimidate her.

"I know that! Why do you think I'm flirting with him?" Riley snorted.

"You were deliberately flirting with him?" What was wrong with this woman? Arguing with him, angering him when for all she knew, he has a very bad temper that can do her harm.

"Yes, I'm deliberately flirting with the guy. I need to get close to him."

"How close are we talking about?" he drawled.

Once the words sank in, Riley burst into laughter. She couldn't help it. What had started out as a strange, surreal conversation between the two of them had taken on something that went beneath the surface and resonated?

Lucas might have said something else if Nina hadn't interrupted. "Sir, phone call. It's ma'am Loca… ohh…sorry. I meant Lala."

"Take the call," Riley continued; her voice a raw whisper. "We'll finish this discussion some other time."

…..

It was kind of nice working in an office but she was going to become cross-eyed if she didn't get a break from looking at documents after documents after documents of facts and numbers.

Riley flopped back in the chair and grabbed the cup of coffee that Jhun had brought her earlier. Taking a sip, she wished it was a beer. The door opened and Jhun came in. "How's it going? Any luck?"

"I still have a couple of documents to look through."

Jhun started digging through a pile of papers on her desk. "I hate reading reports...if those were magazines I would definitely sit here and help you read." He looked up with a mischievous grin. "Your BF called. He wanted to let you know that he won't be coming home in time for dinner, apparently he'll be late. Something about a story line meeting. Hmmm, do I smell trouble in paradise?"

Riley shook her head. "How did Lucas coming home late jumped to us being in trouble?"

"Because Lucas will be spending time with Lalala-la."

Riley set aside a pile of papers, obviously not finding what she was looking for and Jhun's comment intrigues her. "What do you mean?"

"Hello, Lalala-la was Lucas' ex. You know ex-girlfriend, ex-sweetheart, ex-lover—"

"Jhun, I get it." Riley shrugged. "So what's the problem there?"

Jhun settled in with a hip against the desk. "You're not jealous? Well you should. If I were you I will install a GPS in his underpants. Just saying."

"Hmmm," is all she said. "Jhun, I'm leaving early for a meeting. I guess I'll just see you tomorrow morning."

Riley went back to searching her piles of documents. She like that Jhun took the hint and left her office. Riley wasn't sure how to feel about what Jhun had told her. She did read about the two being in a brief relationship. Did they re-connect? Is she Lucas' girlfriend? Riley clearly hadn't thought of the possibility that he has a girlfriend. She hadn't even considered about the effect of her actions if Lucas does have a girlfriend. Riley groaned, feeling stupid and guilty.

Sucking in a deep breath, Riley propelled herself into motion. She would not make a difficult situation any more difficult. She'll deal with this new information later. For now, the burden of her upcoming meeting was all on her shoulders, and she wouldn't shirk it.

Hello, my apologies for the late update...anywho, here's another chapter hope you enjoy reading. Please review and comment. Till next time ️ ️ ️