Lucas: The Hunter Brothers Series (22 page)

I
raised my eyebrows as she glanced across at me, laughing and shrugging her
shoulders and I couldn’t help but notice that Charlie watched her all the way
to the iron gates.

“We’d
better head home too. It’s almost your bedtime, Dex,” I smiled as he pouted.

“Will
you come again?” he asked hopefully, looking between the two handsome men who
were standing beside him and there was no way I would risk letting Lucas answer
this one.

“Lucas
and Charlie are very busy men, Dex,” I said, grabbing his hand and his bike and
setting off home before they could argue. If Lucas made promises to Dexter I
would never hear the end of it, and the whole compartmentalisation piece would
come crashing in around me. It was the last thing I could afford to happen. I
needed this space and to maintain control. I had given Lucas so much of that
already.

I
could hear them talking in low hushed tones as we reached the steps of the
apartment and Lucas went to grab the bike from me to carry it upstairs. I
strengthened my grip. “Thanks, but I can take it from here,” I said firmly as
he frowned down at me. Perhaps it was a little ungracious, but my independence was
hardwired when it came to my son.

“Thank
you for tonight. It was very kind of you to get Dex the bike, he really enjoyed
himself,” I smiled broadly as Charlie ruffled Dexter’s mop of blond curls.

“It
was great fun and you were awesome,” he grinned as Lucas held out his hand.

“You
are one mean cyclist, kid,” he smiled at Dex before planting a soft kiss on my
lips, turning and walking back to his car with Charlie. I wanted him to stop
and say something else, but he didn’t, and I made my way back to the apartment
with Dex and started to clean up the unholy mess.

“I
really like Lucas, Mummy,” Dex smiled broadly as I tucked him up in his duvet,
kissing him goodnight.

“I
know, Sweetheart, so do I,” I said, taking a very deep breath.
If only he knew just how true that was.

CHAPTER 17

I
hadn’t heard from Lucas for two days, apart from a text which had simply
informed me to be at Tuscany for one thirty which was exactly where the cab
pulled up as I leaned forward and paid the driver. I was definitely giddier
than I should be. This was business, he’d made that crystal clear, but it
didn’t mean I wouldn’t be thrilled to see him. My stomach swirled in
anticipation, walking inside as I felt the familiar hand on the base of my
spine, igniting my skin and doing nothing to quell my disproportionate
excitement.

I
turned my head, smiling up at him, trying to quash all thoughts of dominance
and bike riding and focus on the job in hand.

“Hey,”
he winked, sending my heart soaring as he guided me through another set of
glass double doors and I realised just how much I’d missed him. It was
difficult not to contact him. Every day I thought about it, but there were only
so many
business ‘problems’
I could invent when we had
so few clients. Up to now I’d decided against it, trying to stick to the rules,
but it wasn’t easy. He affected my thoughts just as powerfully as he affected
my body.

 
I was instantly aware of the eyes in the
restaurant trained on me as I walked beside Lucas. I could practically hear
them mentally assessing my shortcomings and wondering what the hell he was
doing with me as he led me towards the rear of the upmarket Italian restaurant.

 
It was a business lunch, not a date and I was
trying to maintain my professionalism, but it wasn’t easy under the intense
stare of every woman in the damn place.

Lucas
was probably used to it, but I wasn’t, and found it more than a little
intimidating, wishing I had worn something other than the machine washable suit
I’d bought on sale from the bloody supermarket. I looked nervously up at Lucas
as he glanced down, a curious frown etched on his face as I swallowed back my
lack of confidence. He wouldn’t appreciate it.

I
needed to forget it. He was my partner in the boardroom and the bedroom and I
deserved to be here I thought, not really believing that as I heard a familiar
voice call his name. I turned at the same time as Lucas, only to see Charlie
and an older gentleman occupying one of the private booths to the right.

I
smiled instinctively as Charlie grinned and the handsome man with black hair,
peppered with grey flecks looked suspiciously between the two of us. “Why don’t
you join us, we haven’t ordered yet,” Charlie smiled as Lucas slid into the
soft gold seat of the booth, gesturing for me to sit opposite. It didn’t look
as though I had much of a choice.

“What
are you two doing down here?” Charlie asked.

 
“Business lunch.
I
want to see how things are going with the events company,” Lucas replied as the
stranger sat next to him fixed me with a strange frown.

“What
events company?” he asked as Lucas smiled broadly.

“The
one I haven’t told you about yet, Dad,” he laughed as my heart lurched out of
my chest.
Dad?
Oh God.

“Jessica,
this is my father Silus. Dad, this is Jessica Evangelista. We’ve gone into the
events business together. It seemed like a way to save on agency commission,
run things in-house and pull in some external profit. Jessica is running it. It’s
a very small operation and in its early days. Once she’s turned it into the
success I know that she will, I’ll throw you a few shares,” Lucas grinned,
looking at his father whose eyes were fixed firmly on me.

“Is
this your first job out of University?” he asked as I shook my head.

“I
didn’t go to University,” I said, watching as his stare narrowed and he glanced
at Lucas. That was the first judgement right there, unless he’d noticed my
supermarket brand suit in which case it might be judgement number two.

“Jessica
studied at the school of life, Dad,” Lucas smiled as Charlie laughed and I
hoped to God he wasn’t about to tell him about Dexter as the waitress wandered
over to take our orders. I cast my eyes quickly down the list, ordering chicken
salad and psyching myself up for the inevitable next question. Silus Hunter
hadn’t known about the business and clearly didn’t like that fact. From the
look on his face I was pretty certain he already didn’t like me much either.

“So
what experience do you have in running a company, Jessica?” he asked as I tried
to hold back my pending grimace and pulled myself up further in my seat. As
introductions to the parents went, this was pretty shit. The answer was ‘none’,
but I wasn’t going to run with that.

“I
worked for Elite Entertainment for four years,” I smiled, hoping he’d leave it
there, but it didn’t look like he was about to.

“In
what capacity?” he shot back before I could even take a breath.

“Catering,”
I said as he smirked knowingly, casting another glance at Lucas. I wasn’t going
to spell it out that I’d been a waitress and a bad one at that, but from the
look on his face, it appeared that he’d already guessed. I was grateful for the
interruption as all eyes turned to the edge of the booth, until I saw who it
was and my fake smile faded instantly.

“Lucas,
Silus, Charlie, what a lovely surprise,” she purred, flicking her dark hair
over the shoulder of her immaculate pale pink suit that was certainly not from
the supermarkets own clothes line. This time I couldn’t hold back the grimace
as Lucas glanced across at me.

“Roberta,
you remember Jess my business partner,” he smiled as she looked me up and down
before turning a sickly smile back onto Lucas.

 
“Business partner?
I
thought she was your P.A?” she said cattily as Charlie laughed and Silus
frowned, no doubt wondering what the hell was going on.

“No.
She’s my partner in a new entertainments venture,” he said as she raised her
eyebrows before her gaze landed firmly on Charlie.

“I’m
meeting Scarlett for lunch, perhaps we should reconsider the venue,” she said
as Charlie looked at his father whose face was suddenly thunderous.

“Perhaps
you should,” he said firmly as she waltzed off, and I listened to her heels
clattering across the tiled floor of the restaurant, thinking all of a sudden
that I’d rather lost my appetite.

Lucas
seemed utterly oblivious to my current mood which was starting to irritate me,
as his father turned his gaze suddenly on his eldest son. “At least someone’s
got some sense, Lucas. I’ll never understand why you let a diamond like that
one go,” he said as my stomach lurched.

Lucas
took a sip of water, glancing at me briefly before back at his father and it
was immediately evident he was not about to share the fact that we were
romantically involved. Part of me was glad. The last thing I needed was to be
compared to Little Miss fucking perfect, and I wasn’t sure what he was supposed
to say anyway. ‘Hey Dad, meet my new sub, Jess’?

There
was another part of me though that was undeniably pissed off, wondering if it
was because he was ashamed of me. The comment about Roberta had only served to
fuel my insecurity and made me shrink further into my seat. For the first time
Lucas actually seemed to recognise my unease, sending me a reassuring smile and
wrapping his leg around the back of mine underneath the table in a comforting
gesture of support.

“I
let her go because I didn’t love her. We have a business partnership and that’s
it,” said Lucas firmly which appeased me momentarily. Charlie turned to smile
at me and I couldn’t help but smile back, noticing Silus watching me closely
and wondering if he’d guessed things between me and Lucas weren’t strictly
business
.

“Well
you ought to be grateful she’s changing her lunch plans, the last thing we need
is a run in with Scarlett Everett. That’s enough to give anyone indigestion,”
Silus said coldly, turning to Charlie.

 
“She’s always been evil. I told Everett when
she was two that she was the devil incarnate and I was right. He should have
left the little bitch in whichever Godforsaken orphanage he plucked her from.
Don’t you boys waste your life raising somebody else’s bastard, no good ever
comes of it,” he said spitefully as I gasped audibly, unable to look at anyone
and excusing myself quickly from the table.

I
all but ran to the bathroom with my heart pounding through my chest, my face
flushed in anger as I steadied myself on the sink and tried to calm my
breathing. What the fuck?

 
I couldn’t believe what Silus Hunter had just
said, his stinging words ringing through my ears and I knew right then what his
attitude would be if he ever found out about Dexter.

He’d
want Lucas back with the bitch Roberta and me gone, not tainting his wonderful
son with my lack of education, cheap suits and bastard child. I was reeling.
Half of me wanted to storm over there and say my piece, but it wasn’t an option
and I knew it. I was Lucas’s submissive and his business partner and I had to
keep my head professionally at the very least.

I
doused my face in water, trying to calm the angry redness and took a deep
breath, debating whether or not to call my sister. She wouldn’t have just sat
there and taken that, but what the hell else could I do?

I
stayed there for what felt like forever; surprised that Lucas hadn’t come
looking for me. I eventually walked back into the restaurant that was bursting
with activity only to see that Roberta had suddenly decided to occupy my seat,
smiling at Lucas and laughing whole heartedly. So that was why. He could argue
that he didn’t love her all he wanted, but there was no denying he enjoyed
spending time with her. I wasn’t convinced it was all business and it gnawed in
my gut.

They
were closer in age and they were certainly closer in class and education. They
were two beautiful, glorious specimens, and I knew that if they’d have walked
in together everyone would have been thinking what a wonderful couple they
made, not mentally calculating her shortcomings. My mind was swimming in
negativity, hurtful thoughts crashing through my brain, sucking me through a
vacuum of insecurity and I knew I couldn’t go back to that table. I had to get
out of there.

I
raced through the restaurant, noticing that no one was bothering to look at me
now. Without the arm of the man I walked in with, I was the invisible girl I
had always been and as I hit the street my insides were churning. I pounded the
pavement, drowning in anger and hopelessness, wondering what the hell Lucas
would make of my disappearing act. He wouldn’t be happy and probably even less
so if he realised the reasons behind it.

I
wished I had more experience when it came to men and was better equipped to
handle the barrage of negative emotions that seemed to hit me out of nowhere
like a wrecking ball, crashing through my skull and consuming me whole. I
wasn’t sure what to do, pulling out my phone and sending a text.

‘I’m not coming back’

As
soon as I sent it I was flooded with guilt. None of these feelings were his
fault. They were my insecurities, my own illogical jealousy and doubts. Lucas
had done nothing but reassure me, but it didn’t cut through the hurt I felt as
I glanced behind me, suddenly wondering if maybe I should go back. If it had
been a stupid move personally, it had been epically foolish professionally.

I
jumped on the red London bus that pulled up alongside me, splattering my skirt
with the gritty remnants of rain at the edge of the pavement, and grateful for
the first time that my suit was machine washable and not Chanel. I wasn’t even
certain where it was going, but needed some space to think, taking a seat
behind the driver and checking my phone. He hadn’t text back.

The
comment from Silus had stung deeply, but the lack of communication from Lucas
was stinging even more. He’d be mad, furious probably, and it was the last
thing I wanted, staring at my phone as we weaved slowly through the busy
streets until I finally hopped off near Charing Cross and decided to head home.

I
waited for the right bus this time, looking around me at the people in the
queue and trying to assess whether their lives were half as complicated as mine
had suddenly become. I wasn’t sure what was going on in my head. One minute I
was elated, soaring under Lucas’s sexual instruction, and the next, rapidly
spiralling out of control into a vortex of pessimism, insecurity and self
disapproval. I’d never behaved like this before and needed to run it by my
sister. No doubt she’d have a theory on it and I needed to hear it whether I
wanted to or not.

“He
said what?” she snapped angrily as I regaled the tale of my disastrous business
lunch. “I hope you gave the old bastard a piece of your mind,” she said as I
sighed deeply. Maybe I should have, but what did it matter. It wasn’t as if
Lucas was raising Dexter or ever would. “No, I ran,” I replied, listening to
her pace around the apartment.

“I’m
not good enough for him, Chas. I don’t know why I even thought I could make
this work,” I said, swallowing hard and I could tell from her breathing she was
absolutely furious.

“He
is the one who isn’t good enough for you,” she spat as I heard the sound of
persistent banging in the background before Lucas’s low deep voice boomed
across our lounge.