Chapter 18

Lucy looked at Jack's office from the corner of her eye. The man was not the same anymore. It was like he was a different person all together. He smiled and he even chuckled. Chuckled. Something he had never been fond of doing.

She wondered who the hell or what the hell had put him in such a good mood. She had a great guess. But she didn't want to break her own little heart so she banished the idea out of her head.

But it was obvious that Jack was this way because of someone. It wAs probably the girl he had been looking for. Lucy sighed and looked down. She was feeling really insecure.

What did the girl have that she, Lucy, didn't? What was she like? How was she? What was her personality like? Did she make him laugh? What was her secret?

"Lucy," she heard from the intercom. She shook off her thoughts and went into a professional mode. Yeah, he didn't like her like that. But at least she was something in his life. And that for her was enough.

"Come to my office." Jack's tone brooked no arguments. And Lucy kind of liked that. She liked how he was dominant. She loved that authoritative air he always took on. It was... sexy.

She didn't dwell on her thoughts for much longer, preferring no wake the Beast's wrath. Jack hated sluggish people and she was doing her best to be the model person. The type of person he wanted.

Lucy stood up from her chair and walked to Jack's office. She knocked then walked in. Jack was sitting behind his desk as usual. But something was different. Instead of the brooding look he always sported, his face was bright and smiley.

Lucy furrowed her brows in confusion but didn't say anything. She didn't want lightning to strike her that morning. All she said was, "You called sir?"

"Yeah, take a seat," Jack said and closed the open file in front of him.

Lucy sat cautiously. She had never stayed for longer than five minutes in Jack's office. He usually called her to tell her to maybe cancel an appointment, call someone, or something like that. And those things took about three to five minutes.

"Yes sir?" she said, unconsciously leaning towards Jack.

"Cancel my one pm appointment. I won't be able to make it. Send him something. Tell him anything. I don't care. I will not be there," Jack said and Lucy almost dropped her mouth open in surprise.

In all the time she had worked for Jack, he had never cancelled or postponed an appointment. And this one, though not major, was a quite big one. And would tie up some loose ends.

"Sir? Are you sure about that?" Lucy asked cautiously. She really didn't want Jack to get on her case but she really needed confirmation too. This behavior was really unlike her boss.

"Lucy, I just spoke audibly and understandably. Did you not hear me?" he asked and Lucy gulped a bit. His tone was calm but so so scary.

"I did, sir. I just wanted to make sure I had not misheard you," she said hesitantly and Jack gave her a nod.

Lucy swallowed, gathered some courage, she didn't know where from, and opened her mouth to also Jack a question. "Sir, anything special put you in a good mood of late?"

Her heart was beating loudly. She did not want to anger him. That was the last thing on her mind. All she wanted was to know who her rival was, the person who was able to make the great Jack Knight laugh and smile at will.

Jack looked at her intently. "Do you mean I have not been agreeable since you started working here?"

Shit. That was not what Lucy meant. She looked up at him, biting her lip and saw that his expression was completely serious. He did not look like his question was a jokey one and Lucy was at a loss of what to say.

"I– no sir. I just wanted– I mean... Sir, I didn't mean it in a bad way," she said finally, her expression apologetic.

Jack smiled a half smile then said with a completely straight face, "Don't forget to cancel the appointment. You can leave now."

It was funny how his expression had changed so quickly. But Lucy didn't wait for Jack to tell her again. She got out of her seat and went to her own office.

She sighed when she sat down at her desk. Then put her head on it for a few seconds. It was stressful having feelings for someone who didn't consider you, who didn't give you the time of the day. It was really stressful.

Lucy took in a deep breath then lifted her head and picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes Mr. Jackson? Yes, this is Lucy from Mr. Knight's office..."

***

Jack kept the file he had just finished working on aside. Normally he would give someone else to treat it, because all he had been doing was checking for loopholes. But this project was way too important to leave it in the hands of someone who was probably going to fuck it up.

He stood up and walked out of the office, shooting a frazzled Lucy a nod and nothing else. She was getting bolder. She felt like she was entitled to something from him. That could not be further than the truth.

In his head, she was nothing but his efficient personal assistant. She didn't mean anything to him, as callous as that sounded. And if she continued being in her feelings, he was going to have to fire her.

Jack had already reached the parking lot and he got into his car. He found himself smiling. And he knew it was because of Ana. She had managed to alter his sense of reasoning.

Yes, Jack didn't do one night stands. He preferred having an arrangement with someone he could trust and take care of his sexual needs. Since the episode almost three years ago, he had learned his lesson. Some people were not to be trusted.

He had broken a lot of rules so far with Ana. First, he had had a one night stand with her. And normally, after one night stands, it was over. No more contact. But he had tried to find her. And now that he had found her, he wanted to know. He wanted to know what had pulled him in so much with her.

Jack had met a lot of people. He had met smart, beautiful women. But none of them had managed to spark his interest. And he didn't know why Ana was so different. No that was false, he kind of got it. After their last encounter, he understood why he had been so taken up on her. She was witty and she had conversation. He found himself wanting to be free with her. And it was a shocking first.

Jack didn't have a mysterious past, he didn't have any treacherous ex. But his parents' marriage had taught him one thing. That love was fickle.

It was state of mind and not a feeling. And in as much as some people tried to pretend they felt it, Jack had never believed in it.

But with Ana, it was such a short period of time since he had known her, but he felt like she was the closest thing to love he was ever going to feel. It did not make him feel giddy, did not bring butterflies to his stomach. But he knew it was something.

He didn't care that she was protesting now. He knew that she was enamoured by him too. Jack was going to convince her that both of them would be worth it. And he was going to do it very soon.