One Wild Night

Chapter 303 Career-oriented

　　”They’re all still looking in here because of you. Shut the blinds. You are distracting them,” Lucy chided Sonia, who was too busy looking around the office to pay any attention to the members of Lucy’s team who were following her with their eyes.

Lucy shook her head as she got off her seat and went to shut the blinds herself so that her team members would return their attention to work. They had been distracted enough for one morning.

She had been the one to spring the first surprise on them when she walked into the office carrying her stuff. She could tell from their faces that it had been a very awkward moment for them apart from Amy, who had seemed quite excited about the move and had helped her take the box to her office.

”There is no need for the atmosphere to be so tense. You’re human, after all, and you reacted the normal human way. I don’t owe it against any of you, and I can sure you that the CEO isn’t going to fire you over this,” Lucy had assured them.

”I’m very sorry, Director Perry. I feel very ashamed of myself,” one of the ladies had said, and Lucy waved it off. 

”It’s okay. I’m glad it was all sorted out. Besides, Amy told me you all did your best to help uncover the truth. So thank you,” Lucy had said with a small smile.

”Can I get you coffee?” The man who had knelt before her and Tom earlier asked, wanting to do something to ease his conscience.

”No, thanks. But maybe we can all have a team dinner one of these days. I’d like us to work well together without any form of tension or awkwardness, so please, let’s put what happened behind us,” she had pleaded politely and then walked away when they nodded their consent.

She had barely settled in when Sonia sauntered into her office dressed in a sexy mint-colored mini bodycon dress as usual with gladiator sandals, looking every bit like the celebrity she now was, thereby distracting her teammates who seemed excited about seeing the celebrity in their office. 

Sonia turned to Lucy when she remembered something, “Those silly people are the ones who gave you a hard time, aren’t they?” She asked, heading for the door, and Lucy quickly intercepted her.

Knowing Sonia, she would create a scene and just cause unnecessary trouble, “Let it go. I already addressed the issue,” Lucy said as she joined their arms and pulled Sonia away from the door towards the desk. 

”Still, I should give them an earful so that they will think twice before making you cry next time,” Sonia said with displeasure, making Lucy smile.

”I’m sure they will think twice about that now that they know about my relationship with Tom. So you don’t need to do anything about it, thank you,” Lucy assured her.

”That’s your boyfriend. They should know you also have a crazy best friend who wouldn’t hesitate to pounce on them if they so much as make you frown,” Sonia said, and Lucy giggled.

”That’s so sweet of you, but no, thanks. I’m fine. They were only being human,” Lucy said, and Sonia rolled her eyes.

”And your secretary who acted differently from them was being what? An angel?” Sonia asked sarcastically. 

”Yeah. I actually think she is an Angel. Both Amy, Alicia, Jasmine, you, Tom, and his family. I think you’re all angels. So let it rest, please,” Lucy said as she leaned forward and embraced Sonia.

”Whatever,” Sonia muttered with a scowl as Lucy straightened up and returned to her seat. Once Lucy was seated, she dropped onto one of the seats opposite her and looked around the office again, “Anyway, your office looks really cool. It’s nothing like I imagined. Now I wish I had an office too. What do you think?” Sonia asked, and Lucy’s brows arched.

”What do I think about what? You needing an office space?” 

”Yeah. That,” Sonia said with a nod. 

”You don’t need an office,” Lucy pointed out.

”Says who?”

”Says me. You can write from anywhere. And we both know that one of the things you love most about your job is that you can do it from any part of the country or world as long as there is an internet connection there. Having an office will just limit you to one place, and you are not that type,” Lucy said, and Sonia sighed as she went to sit opposite Lucy.

”True. You’re right. But you know, working from home makes people think you’re sort of jobless? But if I could just dress up and go to an office to write, I’d be seen as a serious-minded career lady or something,” Sonia pointed out, and Lucy giggled. 

”The world is changing now, and a lot of people work remotely these days. People no longer care about stuff like that. Besides, we both know that you don’t really care about stuff like that was why you chose to stick to writing despite the job offers you got after graduation. And underneath all this craziness of yours is a very homely person, so my answer remains the same. You don’t need an office space to prove anything to anyone,” Lucy said, and Sonia sighed. 

”Did Tom tell you that he offered to sign Bryan?” Sonia asked as she crossed both legs in front of her. 

”Yes. He mentioned it last night. What about it?” Lucy asked curiously, trying to figure out what this had to do with the previous question.

Sonia said nothing for some time, and then she sighed, “What do you think about me moving in with Bryan?” 

”Moving in?” Lucy repeated, not knowing what to think about it, especially as Sonia was jumping from one subject to another while she was trying to figure out how the subjects were all related

”Yeah. You can be honest as always with me,” Sonia said as she waited for a response.

”I suppose I don’t need to ask if you’re sure about your feelings for him and his for you?” Lucy asked, and Sonia nodded. 

”I know that you have always been free-spirited, but have you given this enough thought? Is it something you want to do? Or are you just considering it for his sake?” Lucy asked thoughtfully.

”I’m going to be honest with you, Lu. I can’t think of staying apart from Bryan. I thought I was going to die of heartache the night I spent at your apartment after breaking up with him. I’m crazy about him, Lu,” Sonia confessed, and Lucy smiled broadly at her friend’s confession.

”Does that mean that if he proposes to you for real, you’ll say yes?” Lucy asked, and Sonia bobbed her head.

”Of course. But that won’t be happening anytime soon. Neither of us wants the pressure that marriage brings into a relationship just yet. We just want to be together and explore ourselves and the world,” Sonia said dreamily.

”That’s fine too. It’s up to you. If you want to move in with him, you should do so,” Lucy encouraged. 

”What about you?” Sonia asked, eyeing Lucy curiously.

”I don’t suppose you’re asking if I want to move in with you both, are you?” Lucy asked with a grin, and Sonia giggled.

”As if Tom would let you out of his sight. He didn’t even want to sit apart from you. That guy is really crazy about you,” Sonia said, and Lucy smiled. 

”Yeah, he is. I just can’t understand why,” Lucy said with a small smile.

”What do you mean by that? Have you met you? You’re beautiful, smart, kind, sweet, charming, innocent, thoughtful, funny, crazy in a cute innocent way, and more. Girl, if I was a guy, I’ll marry you,” Sonia said, and Lucy laughed.

”You’re only saying that because you’re my best friend,” Lucy said, and Sonia grinned.

”So I guess I’m back to being your best friend, huh? I thought you disbestfriended me,” She said, and Lucy rolled her eyes.

”Don’t remind me of your betrayal. Else I might change my mind. And that word doesn’t even exist. Stop making up silly words.”

”Every word in the dictionary was made up by somebody. You’re just looking down on the words I form because you know me. But that isn’t the point. You’re amazing, and you deserve every bit of love you get from Tom and even more. I hope you won’t ever forget that,” Sonia said, and Lucy smiled at her.

”What will I do without you?”

”I can think of something. You’ll get into less trouble without me,” Sonia said with a wink, and Lucy giggled.

”Yes. I completely agree with that.”

”Before we digress again, that wasn’t my question,” Sonia said, returning their attention to her initial question.

”What was your question?” Lucy asked, at a loss.

”I said, ‘what about you?’ although I asked you about it yesterday, we didn’t get a chance to talk about it before meeting Candy. Why does it seem like you’re against the idea of getting married?” Sonia asked curiously. 

Although Sonia was one to act impulsively and carelessly most of the time, she was also a very observant and thoughtful person. Things hardly went past her without her knowledge, especially not when it had to do with Lucy. 

”I wonder how you always manage to remember stuff,” Lucy said in amusement, and Sonia shrugged.

”Some of us were born smart,” she said with a grin.

”And by implication, you mean the rest of us were born stupid, I suppose?” Lucy asked with a stiff smile, and Sonia giggled.

”Quit digressing. Is there something else that I don’t know about?” Sonia asked, looking all serious now, and Lucy sighed. 

”I don’t know if this will make any sense to you, but I’ve lived most of my adult life with the conviction that I don’t need any man in my life apart from my dad and Lucas. You know better than anyone else that I was not interested in men, or relationships or marriage until somehow I fell in love with Tom. Yes, the stuff that happened in the past contributed greatly to my conviction, but even though I’m in love with Tom now, I’m still not sure I want to go all that way with him. Does it make sense?” Lucy asked once she finished, and Sonia just looked at her.

”You love him, but you don’t want to be committed to him?” Sonia asked, wanting to be sure she understood Lucy.

”I’m committed to him. I just don’t want to get married,” Lucy said without meeting Sonia’s gaze.

”You love him and will be committed to him, but you don’t want to marry him?”

”Yeah. It’s just like with you and Bryan…”

”No, Lu. If I’m getting you right, it’s not the same thing. I love Bryan. He loves me. We both would love to get married to each other, but we don’t want to do so just yet. We will do it at a future date. Maybe some years from now, or even in a couple of months. Who knows? But what you’re saying, on the other hand, is that you don’t want to get married, am I wrong?” Sonia asked, and Lucy sighed.

”You’re not.”

”Is Tom aware? Does he know that you don’t want to marry him?” Sonia asked, and Lucy shook her head.

”No. We haven’t talked about that.” 

”I don’t know. I don’t know what to say or how to feel about this,” Sonia said with a slight frown. If she was being honest with herself, nothing Lucy was saying made any sense to her, “I thought your relationship with Tom would have changed that by now.”

”No, it hasn’t. I love him, but I’m not interested in getting married nor in having kids. It shouldn’t be a big deal, should it? Can’t we just be two people in love with each other without getting married? Oprah isn’t married to her man, and they’ve been together for decades. Marriage is only in papers. It’s not that big a deal…”

”Exactly! So do it! If it isn’t a big deal, do it! It’s just in papers, right? Then sign the fucking papers!” Sonia half-yelled, unable to hold back her annoyance anymore. She was scared that Lucy was going to ruin her relationship with Tom over this.

Lucy’s brows pulled together in disapproval, “Sonia,” Lucy called in a warning tone, “Barely three weeks ago, I didn’t even want a boyfriend, and you were okay with me not getting married. All you wanted was for me to be in a relationship of any kind with any man. Now I’m in love and I’m in a relationship, so what’s the problem? Asking me to be open about the whole marriage idea, isn’t that too much?” Lucy asked with a slight frown.

Sonia took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She tried to assure herself that if it was possible for her to switch from not wanting a relationship to being in a serious one because of Tom, then she could as well change her mind about marriage because of Tom. It might take some time, but it was possible. She would hold on to that.

”I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to impose my conviction on you,” Sonia said apologetically.

”It’s fine. We both know that, unlike you, I’ve always been more career-oriented than family-oriented. I want to do something for myself. This is one of the reasons I didn’t want to get involved in any relationship. I’m not willing to change that about myself,” Lucy said, and Sonia gave her a nod. She wasn’t going to argue with her or try to convince her otherwise. All she prayed for was that Tom would be wise and patient enough to handle this when the time came.