833 I Was Desperate
After Lucy's conversation with Amy, she returned to the office to join Tom. "So, where were we, Mr CEO?" Lucy asked with a grin.
Tom, who had been engrossed in his phone, looked up at her approach and jerked his head towards the door.
"I guess she has been informed of the funeral," Tom said and Lucy nodded as she sat on the edge of the desk close to Tom.
"Yeah. She is leaving now. By the way, I will be leaving the office by eleven. I need to pay a visit to the factory. I want to see what they are working on and have a meeting with them," Lucy said and Tom leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Everything alright? You didn't mention anything about the factory visit earlier. What prompted the sudden need?" He asked curiously.
"It's not exactly sudden. It has been scheduled since my last visit there and to be honest, I forgot about it until Amy talked about it earlier. We're launching Fall/Winter soon, and you know how critical this season is. I have to make sure everything is in place," Lucy said and Tom smiled.
"Always the perfectionist, Jewel. Makes the rest of us look bad," he joked.
A smile tugged at Lucy's lips. "Gotta earn my man more money to splurge on me," Lucy said with a wink making Tom laugh.
"So, are you driving? Who else is going with you?" Tom asked curiously.
"Trina and Ron. Ron will be driving. You know you haven't told me why you are in my office yet," Lucy reminded him.
"I called but you weren't taking your call," Tom began, a playful glint in his eyes. "Stuck in a meeting, phone on vibrate in your purse – the classic executive excuse, eh?"
Lucy chuckled, "Guilty as charged," Lucy confirmed, reaching for her handbag and retrieving her phone. "Sorry about that."
"No worries. I figured," Tom said, glancing at his wristwatch. "My first meeting ended early. And I want us to watch Harry's interview together if you are not too busy. It's starting soon."
Lucy groaned. "Shoot! I completely forgot about that. I have to leave for the meeting at the factory by eleven," Lucy said and Tom smiled.
"That means we still have an hour before you leave. Do you have any meeting before then?" He asked and she shook her head.
"Nope," Lucy said, relief washing over her. The prospect of spending some time with Tom, watching the interview they had all been looking forward to for weeks, was a welcome respite.
"Good. Let's go to my office…" Tom began, before a sharp buzz cut him short. The intercom on Lucy's desk crackled to life.
Lucy raised an eyebrow, then reached for the receiver. Tom watched her intently as her brow furrowed in a frown as she listened to what was being said.
"I see," Lucy said, her voice clipped. "Ask one of the security men to escort her up." Lucy said before replacing the receiver.
"That was reception. A lady is here to see me but she wouldn't give her name," Lucy explained.
A flicker of unease crossed Tom's face. "Then why did you ask them to let her in if you don't know who she is?" Tom asked in confusion.
"That's why I asked them to escort her up. Besides, you're here," she said and Tom shook his head, his lips pursed.
"I'm pretty sure you would have done the same had I not been here. You should be more careful, Jewel. The fact that she refused to give her name alone should make you turn her away. Anonymity is a red flag," he said with disapproval.
Lucy dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. "Let's just wait and see who it is," Lucy said as she settled down behind her desk.
Lucy glanced at her phone when it buzzed with an incoming call and she raised a brow when she saw that Amy was calling.
"It's Amy," Lucy told Tom before receiving the call, "Did you forget something?" Lucy asked curiously.
"Actually, yes," Amy replied hesitantly. "I forgot to mention that I left your apartment key under the doormat. Thank you so much for letting me stay at your apartment. I will be returning to my place when I get back. Lucas helped me changed the locks," Amy said and Lucy's brow shot up.
Lucas helping Amy change locks? Lucas seemed to be doing quite a lot for Amy. It seemed her brother was more involved in Amy's life than she realized.
"I see. That's fine. As long as you're alright," Lucy said and before she could hang up, Amy spoke again.
"Uhm, I wasn't sure if I should mention this, but I saw someone familiar on my way out. Rachel."
A jolt of electricity seemed to crackle through the air at the mention of that name. Lucy's face hardened, her jaw clenching involuntarily. Tom watched the shift in her demeanor with a mixture of concern and curiosity.
"Rachel?" Lucy hissed, her voice laced with a dangerous edge.
Tom's brow shot up in surprise. "Rachel?" he echoed, his gaze flitting between Lucy and the phone.
What was she doing here? Tom mused as his expression hardened.
"Yes." Amy said hesitantly on the other end of the line. "I thought you should know. I don't know if she is there to see you or not," Amy said since she remembered Miley telling her about Rachel's relationship with Lucas and all that Rachel had done.
A beat of silence followed as Lucy seemed to process the information. How dare Rachel show up there after all she had put their family through? Lucy mused.
The silence stretched, heavy with the weight of the past and the betrayal that still festered. Finally, Lucy spoke, her voice low and dangerous. "Thanks for letting me know. I'm pretty sure she is here to see me," Lucy said and after the call ended she looked at Tom.
"I guess now we know the identity of your visitor and the reason she refused to give her name," Tom said and before she could respond a knock sounded on her door and they both turned to see a security guard usher Rachel into the office.
The once vibrant, self-assured Rachel stood before them a crumpled mess. Her designer clothes, usually impeccably styled, were wrinkled and stained. Her face, usually meticulously made-up, was pale and streaked with tears. The moment the guard saw Tom, he bowed his head politely, his eyes filled with a flicker of recognition.
But it was Rachel who stole the show. In a dramatic flourish, she went straight to her knees, landing with a soft thud on the plush carpet of Lucy's office. Her mascara-rimmed eyes darted between Lucy and Tom, a flicker of desperation battling with the remnants of her former arrogance.
"Lucy! Oh, I'm so glad Mr. Hank is here too," Rachel cried, her voice cracking with emotion. The practiced confidence that had once flowed from her was replaced by a raw vulnerability that was as shocking as it was unexpected.
Lucy, however, remained unmoved. Her gaze was a glacial blue, her posture rigid with suppressed anger. "What are you doing here, Rachel?" she asked, her voice devoid of warmth, each word a carefully aimed ice pick.
"Please help me," Rachel pleaded, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry for everything. Please help me…"
Lucy's lips formed a thin, humorless line. Help you?" Lucy cut in, her voice laced with a dangerous edge. "After everything you've done? After the lies, the betrayal? You expect me to simply forget?"
"What lies? I never lied or betrayed you. I've only ever loved Lucas. My only crime was asking him to choose between us and I'm very sorry…."
"Seriously? That's your only offense?" Lucy cut in with a humorless laugh as she turned to Tom, "Can you believe her right now?"
"If that's your only crime, why are you here then? You want her to help you get back with Lucas?" Tom asked when it dawned on him that Rachel was not yet aware that they were aware of the role she had played in Lucy's abduction and scandal.
Rachel bobbed her head as tears stream down her cheeks. "Yes. I'm so sorry. I miss Lucas. I can't live without him. I need him," Rachel cried.
"Lucas is what is important to you right now? You are not worried about your dad going to jail and your family losing everything? Lucas is your problem?" Lucy asked with a shake of her head.
"Please, Lucy. I know he is here. I saw Sonia's wedding pictures. Please help me," Rachel pleaded.
15:30
Tom, ever the silent observer, watched the exchange with a keen eye. Though a part of him wanted to ask the security guard to take Rachel away, but he knew it was best to leave it up to Lucy.
"Do you really expect me to help you after all you put me and my family through? Did you think we will never find out what you did? How you gave Jamie the information he needed to abduct me?" Lucy asked and watched as color drained from Rachel's face and her eyes widened.
"You are surprised, aren't you? Yes. I was just as surprised. I was even more surprised to know you told your cousin, Anita, about my past so she could use it against me," Lucy said and Rachel shook her head in denial.
"No. No, Lucy. That's not true. Whoever told you that is lying against me. I didn't do any of that. No. No, Lucy. Please listen to me. I didn't know Anita wanted to use that information against you. I didn't expect her to twist it that way either. I'm sorry, Lucy. Please believe me. I know there is nothing I can say to make it right. But please, Lucy, you have to believe me I didn't know Jamie wanted to abduct you either. I never knew his plan. I swear on my life. He only told me he was interested in you and would like me to help him get to you by giving him information about you. I agreed because I thought he wanted you to be his girlfriend and if you had a boyfriend you would spend less time with Lucas. I never knew he had other plans. I swear, Lucy, I never knew he was going to do that. I was desperate. I didn't know what else to do," Rachel cried.
A humorless scoff escaped Lucy's lips. "Desperate? Desperate to come between my twin brother and I? Explain yourself, Rachel," she said, her voice as cold as the arctic wind. "Why should I help you, after everything you've done? You even got my mom arrested. What makes you think anyone in my family is ever going to forgive you and accept you? Give it up, Rachel. The ship with Lucas in it has long sailed. You won't be receiving help from me," Lucy said and Rachel broke into a sob.
The sight of Rachel crying, however, did little to soften Lucy's resolve. She had learned the hard way not to be swayed by such theatrics.
"I have to get back to work. See her out, and make sure she never shows up around here again. Have a good life, Rachel," Lucy said, and watched as the security guard led a weeping Rachel away.
Lucy drew in a deep breath as the door closed behind them, and Tom looked at her with concern, "Are you okay?" He asked, and she gave him a nod.
"Better than I thought I would be when I see her. I don't think I'm as upset now as I was weeks ago," Lucy said and Tom raised a brow.
"Really? Why not?" He asked, and she shrugged.
"I don't know. Maybe I've healed a great deal and I've accepted what happened as my past and I've moved past it. Or maybe I'm still moving past it," she said and Tom smiled.
"That's good to know," Tom said as he glanced at his watch. "Let's go to my office. The interview has started."
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