Chapter 152: In your office

Chapter 152: In your office
Third person

After her friends left, Valerie settled into her plush chair, propping her legs on the desk as she gazed around the room. It felt so relaxing to be here, surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of the office.

She already had a lot of things changed, like Adam's stupid chair, where he'd sat to commit lots of atrocities.

As she sat there, she couldn't help but think about Karen and Adam. She knows that Karen hadn't shown up at the office due to the embarrassment of their defeat. But Adam… where could he be hiding?

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Frances poked her head inside. "Hey, new CEO!” She beamed.

She entered the office, her eyes darting around the room and her smile intact. Her hands rested on her waist. “How does it feel to be back where you belong?"

Valerie laughed, feeling a surge of happiness. “Come on in!" She urged her best friend.

Frances moved further into the office, her eyes still scanning the place. "You know, Ash, I think you should change that table,” she suggested. “It reeks of that bastard."

Valerie giggled, nodding in agreement. "I know, right? But no matter what I change, the amount of workload he has left reminds me of him every time I'm here.”

Frances chuckled. 

“And besides, it's actually my table.” Valerie pouted. “I chose this design and Adam just borrowed it for a while.”

“Up, up, up,” Frances urged with open arms, gesturing for her best friend to stand up and hug her.

“Why are you always so dramatic,” Valerie groaned but she stood up anyway. Frances enveloped her in a warm hug. The ladies remained like that for minutes, each of them glad to have the other in their life. 

The sound of Valerie's phone ringing had the women disengaging from each other. 

“I bet a hundred bucks that it's Lucas calling,” Frances said, extending her pinky to Val.

“And why should I make a bet with you?” Valerie laughed, rolling her eyes. "Hey, babe," she said, answering the call.

Lucas's voice was warm and teasing on the other end. "Hello CEO, how's work today?”

Valerie's smile widened. "Not bad. How's your end?”

“Fine… I was missing my woman badly, so I decided to treat her to lunch.”

Valerie’s cheeks flushed red and Frances poked her head in Valerie's space, flashing her a teasing smile. “You look like a red flag right now,” Frances whispered and Valerie shoved her away playfully, her cheeks getting even hotter.

“I'll finish this up in a bit,” Val said into the phone. “Maybe you can come in the next twenty minutes.”

“Take your time, milady. I'm already outside.”

“No way,” Val beamed. “I'm coming out now.”

Val hung up, her smile still intact and tossed her phone inside her bag.

Frances grinned at her. "We're going for lunch, right?" She exclaimed, picking up her bag already. 

"Not at a bar,” Val chided, hoping to annoy her friend. Then she eyed Frances suspiciously. “How did you even know about that?”

Frances raised a brow at her friend's statement. “What do you take me for? Someone who likes bars a lot?”

“Mmmh, well…” Val laughed and raised her hands in mock surrender.

“Oh, wow…” Frances drawled at Valerie's reaction. “I'm not telling you how I know about the lunch,” she frowned, pretending to be hurt. 

"I'm sorry," Valerie laughed, clinging onto her best friend, who was playfully trying to push her away. “Please tell me.”

“No.”

The ladies carried their bags and headed out of the office. Valerie asked Elliot to go for lunch since she was going out with Lucas—who would also drop her back at the office. 

As soon as they stepped outside, Valerie spotted Lucas parked in front of the building. The sun cast a warm glow on him; he was wearing a pair of pants, a leather jacket, and sunglasses, which was a stark contrast to his normal dressing style. Beside him stood Calvin. 

As they reached the men, Lucas scooped Valerie into his arms, his lips descending on hers. When they broke the kiss, she turned around to introduce Frances to Calvin.

Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she saw her best friend's and Calvin's lips locked in a kiss. 

They broke the kiss and Valerie kept staring at them like she'd just seen a ghost. “When did you two…” she trailed off, her mouth hanging open.

Frances laughed and rolled her eyes playfully. "You're late to the party, Val." 

Valerie turned to Lucas, “Hey! You don't look surprised.” Her tone was accusing. “You knew about this too?”

He just smiled and shrugged. She widened her eyes at his reaction.

“Why was I the only one left in the dark?” She grumbled.

Frances laughed again. “You had a lot going on for you; I didn't want to tell you about this.”

“You should have told me still.” Valerie frowned, her hands resting on her waist. “I can never be too busy to hear about your love life.”

“I'm sorry,” Frances pouted.

“Apology not accepted,” Val groaned, making Frances laugh again as they all entered the car.

After lunch, Valerie walked back to her office, lost in thought. Frances was really something, she thought, smiling to herself.

As she entered her office, her secretary looked nervous, her fingers shaking.

"Uhm. M-ma'am," she stuttered.

“What's going on, Cassie?” Valerie asked with a serious expression, noticing the woman's distress. 

“It's Mr. Smith,” she revealed. “He's in your office. I tried to stop him, but—”

Valerie frowned. She had expected Adam to show up here, but not this soon. And right now, Elliot was away. 

"It's okay,” she said to her secretary in a calm voice. “Just do what I told you earlier."

The secretary nodded eagerly and stood up, hurrying out of the office.

Valerie watched her go, a thoughtful expression on her face. She walked over to her office door and pushed it open.