One Wild Night

Tom was seated beside Lucy in Priscilla's office, and he had a contemplating look in his eyes as he tapped his forefinger on the desk thoughtfully.

"Ace?" Lucy called softly since they were all waiting for him to speak.

They had just listened in on Priscilla's phone call with Rebekah, and they all wanted to know if Tom had any counterplan in mind.

"Go on and do what she asked you to do," Tom told Priscilla.

Priscilla exchanged a look with Maya before looking at Tom, "Are you sure you want me to do that?"

"Yes."

"But that would mean I won't be able to attend the dinner party with you," Lucy reminded Tom.

"Don't worry. You are going to be at the party," Tom assured her confidently before standing up and giving her a hand to help her stand up.

"I will keep in touch with you. Let me know if she lets you in on any other plans," Tom told Priscilla and Maya as they both rose to see them out.

Neither Tom nor Lucy said a word to each other until they got into the car, and Lucy turned to Tom, "You have a plan, right?"

"I do. Don't worry about it," Tom assured her as he started the car.

"Are you going to tell me about it?" Lucy asked, and Tom shrugged as he drove out of the parking lot.

"There will be no need for you to travel if the event they're planning won't hold," Tom said simply.

"But you asked her to go ahead with Rebekah's plan," Lucy pointed out.

"Yes, I did. But I'm going to shake things up at the foundation, so the event doesn't hold. But they don't have to know about it until a few hours before you are expected to leave," Tom said, and Lucy looked at him thoughtfully.

"Shake things up?"

"Yes. They will be too busy trying to save their head to want to go on with their event," Tom said, and Lucy's brows pulled together.

"Won't Priscilla and Maya be affected negatively by it?"

"Of course, they will be."

"They will be affected? They are our people. Shouldn't we look out for them?" Lucy asked, and Tom spared her a glance.

"No," Tom said simply.

"No? Why? Don't tell me you don't trust them."

"I don't. And you shouldn't either," Tom advised.

"If you don't trust them, why are you letting them in on everything? What if they tell Anita's mom?"

"In business, everyone works for their own selfish interest, and right now, Priscilla and Maya are on our side because it favors them. They know that Rebekah doesn't stand a chance against me. Don't think for a moment that they are on our side or they are doing anything for us out of loyalty. You can't trust anything that isn't based on loyalty," Tom said, and Lucy nodded in understanding.

"I see."

"And don't worry, I have people watching them and observing their texts and phone conversations. Even if they don't tell us everything, we would know their plans," Tom assured her, and she relaxed.

"Shaking things up at the foundation won't affect the interview, would it?" Lucy asked after a brief moment.

"No. Her daughter's father-in-law, who is a chief judge, would help her clear the mess. The whole purpose of shaking things up is for you not to travel at the said date, not expose them," Tom explained, and Lucy nodded.

"Thank you," Lucy said softly.

"What for?"

She shrugged, "For making sure all the bases are covered and looking out for me."

"If I don't do that, who will? Besides, we both know it's my fault all this is happening. I have to take care of it quickly," Tom said and glanced at his phone when it rang.

He received the call and placed it on speaker when he saw it was Jeff, "Yeah?"

"We just got into Ludus and are on our way to your house," Jeff explained politely.

"I will meet you soon. Make sure he doesn't go anywhere," Tom said and hung up the call.

"Don't be too hard on him," Lucy advised, and Tom turned to look at her.

"As a brother or as a businessman?"

"Both."

"I will do my best. Try to have as much fun as you can. Send me pictures too. I transferred some money to your account," Tom added hesitantly, and immediately Lucy fished inside her handbag for her phone.

She was more than surprised to see the six figures alert, "What's all this for?" She asked with a slight frown.

"I've never given you money before. I wasn't sure how much I could send," Tom said without meeting her gaze.

At first, he had wanted to let her find out about it on her own after she left, but on second thoughts, he didn't want to fight with her over the phone. He wanted them to clear it up so it wouldn't cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.

"I don't need it," Lucy said quietly.

"Consider it a gift from me. I want you to have it," Tom said, turning to look at her.

"Please," he added when he noticed the stubborn pride that had crept into her eyes.

"You have given me so much already, and I'm yet to give you anything in return. This makes me feel very uncomfortable," Lucy said, not liking the feeling.

"I have given you material things. Things money can buy. You have given me far more than that. Please keep it. Don't feel uncomfortable, please," Tom said, and Lucy shook her head.

"You have also given me things money can't buy," Lucy countered.

"Can you be a little more accepting of gifts from me? Please, Jewel. It's how I express love. There are a lot of things I desperately want to do for you and things I want to get you, but I'm unable to do them because I don't want to fight you over them. I feel hurt when you refuse to accept gifts from me," Tom said, and Lucy frowned.

"You already got me so many expensive clothes today, and now this. The money is too much. What am I supposed to do with it?" Lucy asked, looking visibly distressed by the thought of all that money in her account.

"Take Sonia shopping. Buy her whatever she wants to cheer her up. I just want you both to have a good time," Tom said, and Lucy shook her head.

"Please do not send me such an outrageous amount ever again," Lucy said, and Tom nodded.

"Alright. I will learn to tone it down, so you don't feel too uncomfortable," Tom promised, and she sighed.

"You should do that. I guess this money is just going to sit in my account," She murmured, and Tom smiled.

"Thank you for accepting it," Tom said as he drove into the airstrip where the pilot was already waiting.

They both got out of the car, and the air hostess who was flying with them came to take Lucy's bag.

When Lucy noticed the way the lady smiled at Tom as she greeted them, she embraced Tom, "It's our first time being apart," Lucy said with a sigh as Tom wrapped both arms around her.

Although she was still not over her mild annoyance at Tom sending her such an outrageous amount of money without asking first, she was missing him too much already to let that get between them.

"Yeah. I will take care of things here while you do what you can over there," Tom said as he kissed her forehead.

"Don't smile at any lady or let any lady smile at you while I'm away," Lucy warned as they watched the hostess leave, and Tom chuckled as he led her into the jet.

"What about Jade, Candace, and our moms?"

"They are family. They don't count," Lucy said, and Tom grinned.

"Samantha and the maids?" He asked, and Lucy giggled.

"They are all exempted. You know what I mean," she said, slapping his arm playfully.

"You've ruined me for any other lady. I'm all yours," Tom promised as he took her lips and kissed her longingly.

"Don't let any man look at you," Tom warned as he pulled away from Lucy, and she giggled.

"How am I supposed to do that? Become invisible or blindfold them?" She asked, and Tom shrugged.

"I don't know how you are going to do it. Maybe I should have gotten you a t-shirt with my face and name printed on it," Tom said, and Lucy laughed.

"Very funny. Don't miss me too much."

"I will. As a matter of fact, I'm going to lay the dress you wore last night over the pillow so I can perceive you and dream of you," Tom said, and Lucy laughed.

"I wish I thought of taking your shirt with me," Lucy said with a pout.

"It's not too late. I could take this off and give it to you right here," Tom suggested, and Lucy looked at him incredulously when he attempted to take off his shirt.

"Don't. The air hostess will get a glimpse of your body. She was already trying to flirt with you," Lucy said, and Tom chuckled.

"Letitia wasn't trying to flirt with me. She is happily married to one of our engineers, and they have two lovely girls. You will meet her husband at the anniversary party," Tom assured her, and Lucy blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh! I see," Lucy said, and Tom chuckled again.

"I should let you leave now. I love you," Tom said as he kissed her temple, but Lucy grabbed his arm as he started to leave.

"I'm missing you. I can't watch you leave," she said, and he gave her a lingering kiss, and she sighed against his lips.

"Don't make it any harder than it is already for me, Jewel," Tom pleaded against her lips as she kissed him back.

"Alright. I will be a big girl," Lucy said with a sigh as she pulled away from him.

"Good. I'll be here waiting," he said, and without looking back at her, Tom quickly walked away.

Lucy sighed as she watched him leave, feeling both sad and guilty at the same time.

Sad because she was missing him already and didn't want to be away from him. And guilty because she felt like she was being selfish.

She wasn't sure it was okay for her to be feeling this way when Sonia was heartbroken and needed her.

She was supposed to be in a hurry to go to Sonia and be by her side, not here craving for Tom this way.

Why couldn't she and Sonia just get a break from all these dramas and enjoy their friendship and relationship in peace? She mused with a sigh.

Away from there, as Janet and Andrew picked up their bags and headed for the door, ready to leave for the airport to join Evelyn and Desmond, the doorbell rang.

"Are we expecting anyone?" Janet asked Andrew, and he shook his head as he stopped the bag and went to see who was at the door.

He was surprised to see two police officers by the door, "Is this the residence of Janet Perry?" one of the officers asked after they introduced themselves to Andrew.

"Yes. I'm her husband. May I know why you are here?" Andrew asked just as Janet joined them at the door.

"Are you Janet Perry?" the officer asked Janet.

"Yes, I am. What can I do for you?" Janet asked with a polite smile, and the other officer stepped forward.

"Miss Rachel Peterson has filed a complaint against you for destruction of property. You have to come with us to the station," the officer said, and they were both surprised when the other officer began to read her Miranda rights to her.

"What? Rachel did what?" Andrew asked in disbelief.

"You have to be kidding me. She had the right to do that after everything she did to my children?" Janet asked incredulously.

"Let's go," one of the officers said.

"Yes, let's go. Drew, give Evelyn a call and let her know we won't be able to join them. You can get our lawyer and meet me at the station," Janet said as she followed them.

"I'm following you right now. I just need to get the car keys," Andrew said as he hurried into the house to pick up his phone and the car keys so he could follow the police car.