Lucas Handler

"Lucas! Wake up!"

I groan as jostling stirs me awake. Once I register that it's Talia desperately trying to wake me as if the building is on fire, my eyes shoot open and I jerk forward. "What? What happened? Are you okay?"

Talia's makeup-rimmed eyes are wide in panic which causes my heart to beat fast. What the hell happened? I reach over to grasp her arm but she steps back before I can reach her.

"Why the hell is your dad managing the layoffs?"

Even though Talia said words, my mind is still scrambling to get up to speed like Scooby-Doo about to run. "What?" I respond while rubbing my eyes.

Once Talia repeats her question with the same level of urgency, the message reaches the receptors in my brain and my stomach instantly sinks. What did Dad do this time? I grab my underwear from the floor and swiftly tug it on before searching for my phone.

"Lucas! Answer me! Why does your dad have this list?"

"I sent it to him," I respond just as I finally find my phone in my pants pocket. "What's going on? What did he do?"

"Why would you send it to him? This was something we were supposed to manage!" She crosses her arms in front of her while pulling up the sleeves of her robe.

"He asked me to send it to him. What was I supposed to do? Say no?" I pull up my inbox and spot the email in question right at the top. I quickly scan the body and let out a sigh. "Tal, he just sent his suggestions. We can still change the list."

"He already sent it to HR! They're probably already planning out the severance packages!"

I raise a brow questioningly. Why is Talia acting like the world is ending? She has to know that we need to make some big cuts on this. "So? Doesn't mean we still can't change it."

Her mouth moves to the side and her forehead creases.

"Here, let's hop on a call with him. We'll get it worked out," I say, hoping it'll diffuse the ticking time bomb in front of me.

She simply nods before sighing heavily and moving to the couch.

I pull up Dad's number and hit dial and speakerphone while I settle next to Talia on the couch. I place a hand on her leg peeping out of the robe as the ringtone starts. Her skin is so smooth. The warm memories of the night prior flush through me. I need more of her. On this couch. In the shower. Wherever we please.

After a few rings, Dad answers. "There's the man of the hour!"

"Hey, Dad, you're on speakerphone with Talia and me."

"Good morning, Talia!"

"Charles."

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Before I can start, Talia jumps in. "We saw the layoffs list, Charles. Frankly, I'm very concerned with some of the names on there."

"Oh? Which ones? I spent a lot of time assessing the impact of each. I can assure you this is the best list for the new company."

"Dad, I thought we agreed that Talia and I would make the final decision on this. I'm surprised you spent so much time on it knowing that." I shouldn't be surprised though. This is, yet again, another page out of the Charles handbook. But I am slightly taken aback by Talia's reaction. She isn't particularly fond of any of her employees. Who could she be upset over? I bring up the list on my phone as Dad starts talking.

"Well, I wanted you both to focus on Tucker and get this off your plate. And I'm glad I did, now seeing how much he plans to invest with us."

"What?" My mind spins while I glance at Talia. Did we get Tucker?

Talia's brows soften, likely registering my question, before she nods and whispers, "Tucker's signing with us."

Energy shoots through my veins. This is huge. This deal will set us up for the rest of the year.

"You nabbed Tucker! Where have you been? Didn't you see my email?"

I quickly scan the rest of his emails and find the one in question but I scrunch my brows after noticing only my name is on the "To" line. "It wasn't just me. Talia did it too."

"Well, whatever. I'm proud, regardless."

My heart warms. Dad rarely ever says stuff like that. But glancing up again at Talia makes my stomach twist. Why isn't she happy about this?

She clears her throat. "Can we get back to the layoffs? Charles, I'd like to make some changes to the list."

Oh, right. The list. I click back to the attachment and continue to scan the names. Then I reach the name I know is the cause for Talia's concern.

Imani.

Of course. How could I forget about Talia's favorite employee? She never said as much, but I can tell by the way her eyes light up every time she talks about Imani. It's as if they are best friends with the way they joke around. This is an easy fix though. We can just swap Imani's name with someone else's. I relax into the seat as I let Dad answer.

Dad sighs, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "What changes?"

"I don't want my assistant Imani Johnson on it."

"Well, we can't afford to have you both with an assistant. You'll need to share one."

"Then we'll let go of Ethan. Easy," I say. I'm not particularly attached to Ethan and I'd much rather Talia be happy with this situation.

"No. Like I told you both, I spent a lot of time on this list. I checked both of their backgrounds and Ethan has more experience than that young woman. Plus, she doesn't have a college degree, and that goes against policy."

"Imani."

"Excuse me?" Dad responds.

"Her name is Imani," Talia clarifies through gritted teeth.

"That's what I said."

A vein bulges in Talia's forehead and I can see the anger bubbling up inside of her. I quickly jump back into the conversation. "Well, why can't we afford to have two assistants now? We did get Tucker after all."

"It still goes against policy."

Talia stands up. "Not McAvoy's policy! We have no such rule! She's more than qualified for the job and if Lucas is okay with letting Ethan go then I don't see what the problem is."

"Mm, no I don't think it's a good idea. That's one policy we'll need to keep in place after the merger so we would be laying her off anyway in about a week or two. Why delay the inevitable?"

"Dad, how -"

Before I can finish my sentence, Dad interrupts. "This reaction is surprising. Especially from you, Talia. I know we haven't worked with each other for very long, but it makes me wonder if you're able to make tough decisions."

Oh fuck no.

"What the fuck? Do you even hear yourself, Dad?" Heat flushes through my body as I grind my teeth. I can take it when Dad says stuff like that to me, but hearing it directed toward Talia is fanning the flames of fury throughout my body.

"I'm just saying I would expect a little more decorum from you both. Anyways, I have to go. We can discuss this later."

The line cuts without another word, and I glance up at Talia who's standing there with a face getting redder by the second. "What the actual fuck, Lucas?"

"What? Why are you looking at me like that? I'm just as pissed off as you are."

She shakes her head. "You sent him the list causing this whole mess!"

"It's not like I wanted him to handle it. I had every intention of working the list out with you. My dad just gets like this sometimes."

"You sent it to him knowing he acts like this?" Her voice borders on shrill.

"Calm down! We'll just wait until we're face to face with him again and work it out."

Apparently telling Talia to calm down has the opposite effect I intended for it to have because her nostrils flare even wider and her face grows redder before she swings her arms in the air. "Calm down? Don't tell me to calm down! You did this knowing how your dad would react! And can I argue with him about it? No! Because he's on the fucking panel deciding who gets to win the CEO position."

I make a face. She has no problem arguing with people including Bill. Why does it matter if she argued with my dad? "This has nothing to do with the CEO position. Remember my dad won't even have much weight given there's a conflict of interest with me in the running. And I argue with him all the time."

"He still has some weight in it!"

"Barely any! It's the board that's making the decision."

"Whatever! I still can't believe you would do this."

"You're acting like I'm trying to sabotage you." When Talia doesn't respond, just standing there with arms crossed and a scowl sealed across her face, my eyes grow wide and something tightens around my lungs. "What the fuck? Do you think that?"

"Can you blame me? I don't get why you would send him the list in the first place."

"Oh my God. This is the fucking internship all over again." I move to grab my pants. Once we start talking about the internship, there is no way we can have a civil conversation. No matter how many times I tell her it wasn't me who tried to sabotage her, she never fucking believes me. Why should I expect it to be different now? Even after the past couple of months of getting to know each other. Even after I almost told her I loved her last night.

"You tell me! Is it?" She follows me to the bedroom where my pants are on the floor.

"For the millionth time, I did not try to sabotage you." I pull my pants up and move to find my shirt.

"The receptionist said she saw you!"

"What?" I turn to face her. This is a new piece of information. I heard before that Talia thought someone saw me "take her packet" but never knew it was the receptionist.

"The receptionist said she saw you digging around my bag and grabbing it."

"What the fuck? I wasn't anywhere near your bag!"

The walls between us that we managed to start tearing down over the past couple of months start moving back up.

Talia shakes her head. "I can't do this again, going in circles. Just leave."

My stomach hardens. This situation is the worst possible ending to the best trip of my life. "Great. So that's it? You're just going to jump to conclusions about me? Like every fucking time?"

Talia shrugs but keeps her stance firm. "I'll see you back at the office. I'm going to take a domestic flight from the airport."

I swallow hard and shake my head slowly in disbelief. On the one hand, I hate that she could even think I'm trying to sabotage her. It irks me beyond anything I've ever experienced before. But, on the other, I want to smooth out the creases in her brows, hold her in my arms, and tell her everything is going to be okay.

The truth is, I don't know the answer myself. Will things be okay if we can't move past a history muddled with arguments and accusations? Will things be okay if we can't resolve a future stained with cut-throat competition? Will things be okay if the woman I fell madly in love with is squeezing my heart toward breaking point?

"Fine." Without another word, I grab my shirt and shoes, and make my way out of her hotel suite, slamming the door behind me.