Chapter 18
Lucien
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Isip the last of mycoffee before grabbing my keys, mentally preparing myself for the confrontation with my secretary that I’ll no doubt be bombarded with the second I walk through the doors.
Cambria and Atlas are halfway out the front door ahead of me when Dorian asks, “So now that the building is just getting the finishing touches, when’s the party?”
Cambria stops mid step to look at me in confusion so I elaborate. “The building the two of you are finishing up today was purchased by my company. It’s common practice when we do so to throw a party for the investors before it officially opens.”
Her eyes light up. “Are you going?”
A sense of dread fills my stomach. “It’s customary I make an appearance, yes.”
Atlas smirks. “And Lucien, the benevolent man, typically invites the construction crew from the project to look good as well. Don’t ‘ya, Luce?”
Cambria grins. “Why Atlas, that would include little old us at the boss’ fancy shindig.”
Dear god, no. This can’t possibly end well.
“It falls on one of the days we need to cross over, unfortunately, so looks like we’ll all need to miss out this year.”
I usher them out of the house, heading for my car a bit quicker than before and hoping they’ll drop it. The last thing I need is Cambria pulling something in this crowd like she did with Belinda. It could be career suicide if the rumor mill starts.
“We can shake up the schedule, don’t worry,” Dorian teases, knowing exactly where my head is at. “You’ve never missed attending one before. It would start awful rumors about your frequent disappearances, Luce. No worries, we’ve got your back!”
I pin him with a glare as Cambria skips over to me while Atlas waits at his bike. “I promise to be on my best behavior.” She makes some strange symbol over her heart with the promise.
“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” I finally admit cautiously.
Her face falls like I just murdered her puppy. “That’s fair, I just figured I’ve never been and it could be fun, but it’s not a big deal. We can stay home instead.”
Groaning, I catch her hand as she starts to turn away. I pull her back to me and use my other hand to tilt her chin up. Her eyes are sparkling with amusement instead of tears, though she’s still sulking.
“You’re trying to manipulate me,” I accuse.
She bats her eyes. “Is it working?”
I exhale a heavy breath. “A little.”
She grins, but I keep my face stern. “You can’t steal from any of the investors. Belinda will have likely already told them about me taking you in before we ever even arrive, and it will cause a lot of problems for me if you pull something like that,” I warn.
“I solemnly swear not to steal a single thing,” she vows.
Dorian was starting to pull out of the driveway, but stops to shout out his window, “Low bar, Luce, you’re leaving yourself wide open!” He pulls away and I mentally berate myself.
“No stealing, or any other criminal activity that could result in backlash for me,” I amend.
