Chapter 170: Playing boss

Each step he took seemed measured, controlled, and professional. He stopped in front of him.

“Mr. Alex,” he said evenly, his tone stripped of emotion, “your meeting with the Sonia Company is in ten minutes.”

Alex didn’t respond immediately.

He just looked at him, studying and searching. As if trying to find the crack in that calm Lucas had just built.

But Lucas didn’t flinch or look away. And somehow, that calm hit harder than all the anger before.

The air shifted again, quieter but no less dangerous.

Lucas stood there, waiting for his response. Ten seconds passed, fifteen, still nothing.

Alex didn’t move, or speak. He just kept his eyes on the file in front of him like Lucas wasn’t even there.

Lucas’s brows pulled together slightly. “Mr. Alex, I said your meeting with the…”

“I heard you,” Alex snapped suddenly, his voice sharp enough to cut. “I’m not deaf.”

The words hung in the air.

Lucas blinked once, then chuckled softly.  “Oh dear,” he said, tilting his head just a little. “May I remind you that a good boss should respond to his subordinates politely? If you conti—”

“Enough!” Alex barked, slamming his pen down on the desk.

The room fell silent instantly.

Alex looked up now, his eyes hard, authority radiating off him.

“You’re not here to counsel me,” he said coldly. “You’re here to follow my orders. Do you hear me?”

Lucas held his gaze for a moment. Then, a faint smile.

“Sure, boss, sorry I forgot my place. I'm just an ordinary secretary.”

Alex’s jaw tightened.

“Now,” he said, voice low and controlled again, “go back to your seat.”

Lucas didn’t argue this time.

He turned smoothly and walked back to the desk, dropping into the chair like nothing had happened.

But the tension didn’t leave the room. It settled a bit but waited,

like both of them were just getting started.

Two hours later, the office door opened.

Alex stepped in, loosening his tie slightly, his expression still carrying the weight of the meeting. But the moment his eyes swept across the room, he stopped.

Lucas’s chair was empty.  Alex’s brows furrowed instantly.

“Margaret,” he called, already reached for the intercom.

“Yes, sir?”

“Where is Lucas?”

“I… don’t know, sir. I haven’t seen him leave or return.”

That didn’t sit well at all. Alex ended the call without another word and strode straight to his system, fingers moving quickly as he pulled up the office cameras.

The screen flickered. Then Lucas appeared.

Alex leaned closer, eyes narrowing. On screen, after Alex left for the meeting. Lucas sat at his desk for a while, flipping through papers with clear disinterest. Then he leaned back, exhaling in frustration before picking up the intercom.

A few minutes later, Judy walked in, placing a tray of neatly cut fruits on his desk.

Lucas muttered a thanks, then stood, carrying the tray across the office, to the couch.

Alex’s jaw tightened slightly as he watched.

Lucas settled comfortably, balancing the tray on the table as he ate, completely at ease, like the office belonged to him.

“Unbelievable,” Alex muttered under his breath. But he didn’t look away.

After finishing, Lucas set the tray aside and picked up his phone.

Alex’s eyes sharpened. He couldn’t hear. But he could see.

Lucas was talking, his expressions shifting, his tone clearly not casual.

Then an angry face with a sharper and more defensive reaction.

Alex’s fingers curled slightly against the desk. Whom is he talking to?

On screen, Lucas shook his head firmly, pacing a little now. His lips moved faster and more intensely.

Then, he stopped and exhaled.

He dropped onto the couch, just like that. Seconds later, he stretched out fully and closed his eyes.

Alex stared at the screen waiting.

But Lucas didn’t move again.

He had fallen asleep.

The office felt too quiet again.

Alex pushed away from the desk slowly. Then he walked over, step by step, until he stood beside the couch.

Lucas was right there sleeping peacefully, like none of the chaos between them existed.

Alex’s gaze softened, just slightly.

His eyes traced Lucas’s face, the tension gone from it now, replaced by something unguarded and real.

Then suddenly, a flicker of conflict crossed Alex’s expression.

Anger, doubt, and something deeper. He exhaled quietly, almost like he didn’t mean to.

“Lucas…” he murmured under his breath. His eyes lingered a moment longer.

Then, softer, he whispered, “Why can’t you just say you’re sorry for what you did?”

A pause followed.

His voice dropped further, almost lost to the silence. “Just apologize so we can move on, hmm.”

Lucas didn’t stir, and that silence felt heavier than anything else.

The conversation Alex didn’t hear was between Lucas and Jason.

Lucas had barely settled on the couch when his phone rang.

“Yes, Jason.”

“Yeah,” Jason’s voice came through immediately. “Have you two settled things yet?”

Lucas let out a dry laugh, rubbing his temple. “Does it sound like we have, when he is stressing me?”

“So what happened?”

Lucas leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “He’s still convinced I did something. And I’m not saying anything until he decides to investigate it himself.”

Jason exhaled. “You’re really sticking to that?”

“Yes,” Lucas said firmly. “I’m not begging for forgiveness for something I didn’t do.”

Then, after a beat, he added, irritation creeping in, “And guess what? He changed my job.”

“What?”

“He made me his second secretary.”

Jason burst out laughing.

“Wait…seriously?” he said between laughs. “Oh, he’s gone completely insane.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “This isn’t funny.”

“No, it is,” Jason insisted, still amused. “That’s not anger, Lucas. That’s fear.”

Lucas frowned slightly. “Fear of what?”

“Losing you,” Jason said simply. “That’s why he’s acting all possessive.”

Lucas didn’t respond immediately.

“He still loves you,” Jason continued. “That’s obvious. He’s just waiting for you to apologize so he can calm down.”

Lucas’s expression hardened.

“I owe him no apology.”

Jason sighed. “I know, just cooperate with him. Play along. If you have to…seduce him.”

Lucas scoffed. “You’ve lost your mind.”

“I’m serious,” Jason said. Otherwise, you two will keep tearing each other apart.”

Lucas was quiet for a moment.

“I could fix this,” he said slowly, “but I won’t apologize for something I didn’t do.”

Jason exhaled. “Stubborn like him.”

Lucas smirked faintly. “We’ll see where this whole cat-and-rat drama leads.”

The call ended.

Lucas stared at his phone for a second, then tossed it aside and muttered, “Alex, I will wait for your investigation.”

He relaxed and then fell asleep.

Back in the present, Alex stood over him, watching. His gaze traced Lucas’s face, searching for something that wasn’t there.

But Lucas slept on.

And that suddenly irritated him. The calm, the silence, and the absence of an apology.

Alex’s jaw tightened. He reached out and tapped Lucas, harder than necessary.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he barked.

Lucas stirred abruptly, eyes snapping open in confusion as he pushed himself up. For a split second, he looked disoriented. Then he saw Alex, glaring at him.

“Oh come on, there was nothing on my desk.”

Alex snapped, “Get me mixed juice.”