Chapter 76: It's not working.

Chapter 76: It's not working.
Amara's POV

I tried to focus on my work or on a clip on the TV, but Vanessa's words kept replaying itself in my head. There was every chance that it was said out of jealousy, pain and the intention to make me feel bad, but there was also that slight chance that she had meant it and actually knew what she was talking about. Besides, hadn't Lucas said that he and Vanessa were really close friends before he asked her to get into this deal with him? If they were as close as what he was saying, then she probably knew him very well and knew how he was with women.

Fuck.

No matter how hard I tried to think about this, I couldn't come to a conclusion, so I decided to call someone else. Lila.

“Hey girl.” She called as she plopped herself on to the couch in my cubicle.

“I'm so glad I'm dating Andrew now. At least I get to come up here whenever I want without any guards glaring daggers at me.” We both laughed at her words. “But I still feel pretty jealous though.”

“Jealous?” I swiveled my chair around to where she had already made herself comfortable. “Of what?”

“I mean, I know you're isolated from everyone, but you're not even a social person anyway, so that's not too bad, but your office is literally the most comfortable one in this whole building besides Lucas'.”

“Lila, it's not that great. Chill.” I scoffed a laugh as I turned back to my computer.

“What do you mean? You've got a comfortable couch that you could even lay on if you wanted, you've got a freaking TV all to yourself when ours have a huge TV for a cubicle set of five. Girl you've got it good up here.”

“Whatever.” I laughed, knowing that this argument was going nowhere in my favor.

“So tell me. Why did you call me up here?”

“How did…. whatever that man called you to go?”

“Girl,” she got up from the chair, clearly agitated and excited to tell me about what had happened, “I've never been so freaking mad at anything in my whole life. Do you know all they were calling me for was to identify the people that worked on that project together and this man said that there was something important that I had to work on before the noontime. He didn't even work on the project with us and he was trying to claim that he did.”

“Just calm down.” I laughed. “Maybe he just needs the raise.”

“Well if he needs the raise, then maybe he should work for it. He was assigned for that job with us, but he never showed up, Amara. Not once. Whenever I asked Zoe to go check on him, she'd report back that she saw him eating burgers and fries and he said he wasn't feeling so well. I used to be so mad, but I let it go because I didn't want someone that would come and kill our streak. I didn't even know it was that man, but when I found out today, I made sure Mr Hanson didn't put his name on the project list. He doesn't deserve it.”

“Oh wow. Okay.” I chuckled and leaned back on my chair.

“So, why did you call me up here? I know it was definitely not to ask me about that, so go on. Spill it.”

I heaved a sigh and asked her to take a seat which she did before I started speaking. 

“So I met Vanessa at my door when I came up this morning, and she had quite a lot to tell me.”

Lila leaned in, obviously interested, so I went ahead and unloaded everything for her. “And now I'm wondering if she could just have been saying that to hurt me or she really meant it.”

“There's no way she would have really meant it. She was definitely saying it to hurt you. Like come on, think about it. How would she have known all that.”

“She would have known it because she and Lucas were close friends before they struck this deal.”

“Okay, I get what you're getting at, but now Vanessa wants him in a not so contracted way. If she knows he dumps ladies like that, why would she be interested?”

“Shit. I never thought about it that way. You're absolutely right.”

“Mhmm.” She nodded with a smug look. “That bitch is just trying to get into your head, and from what I just witnessed right now, she pretty much did. My job here is to get her out.”

“And you successfully did.” I laughed as she leaned back with a smile.

“Uhh, Amara.”

I turned to the door at the familiar voice. 

“Babe.” Lila hopped off the chair and hurried to Andrew who was standing at the door.

“Andrew? Do you need anything?”

“Lucas calls for you. He said you two have business to talk about.”

“Okay.” I nodded and got up from my seat, glad to be away from the fawning couple when they start doing whatever it is they want to do in there.

“Hello.” I smiled as I walked into Lucas' office to see him staring at his computer screen in frustration. Something he seemed to be doing a lot lately.

“Amara. Come here.” He got up from his seat and leaned on the desk, watching me as I walked in.

My heart stuttered in my chest as I walked forward to where he was.

“Andrew said that you had something to talk over with me.” I made my voice intentionally soft, and the way his eyes darkened showed me that it had worked.

Go to hell, Vanessa. It's not my fault you're not the liked one, is it?

“So about the client meetings we went for, which one was the sportswear partnership one and why did we accept it? Because if my brain is not failing me yet, I run a technological innovations industry and they run a sportswear…..stuff, so what are we partnering together for?”

I laughed at how confused he seemed and started explaining to him all that was said that day with the owner of Foot Deck, but all of a sudden, I realized he was most likely not even listening to what I was saying. His eyes were trained on my lips and he looked somewhat dazed.

“Lucas?” I called, a bit worried about….. whatever was going on in his mind.

“I keep trying to stay away from you but it's not working.”

Fuck. Why did he have to pull that right now? 

“I … I have to go.” I stuttered as I got up and started making my way to the door.

I didn't really want to leave, but I had a feeling that Vanessa was listening in on our conversation one way or the other and I didn't want her getting more mad at me than she already was, because she seemed like someone that could do crazy shit, and I really didn't have the energy for crazy.

I expected Lucas to stop me, but he didn't, so I tried to convince myself not to look back.

We really had to figure this out.