Chapter 4

Lucas POV

Three days after returning to the company, I clocked in on time.

The office was covered in banners, and the front desk displayed a poster of Xavier and Mara kissing on the island.

Several female colleagues huddled together sharing chocolates, their conversation loud.

"Mara and Xavier have such a great relationship."

"The island wedding cost two million dollars. They really know how to spend."

I walked through the crowd toward my corner workstation.

My spot was next to the printer, my desk piled with discarded paper.

No one paid attention to me.

"Lucas is here?"

Derek walked over holding a box of chocolates and casually tossed it onto my keyboard.

"Mara said everyone gets a share. Brought back from the island. A few hundred bucks a box."

I didn't look at the chocolates. I pressed the power button on my computer.

Seeing I wouldn't engage, Derek turned to the female colleague beside him and raised his voice. "Some people are just born to do grunt work. We eat souvenirs while they have to work."

Laughter rippled around me.

I logged into the company's internal network.

Derek was Xavier's assistant. I ignored him.

I opened the Brooklyn Library folder.

The initial draft inside was logically chaotic and completely unusable.

Obviously Xavier couldn't handle the client and dumped this mess on me.

I turned off the auto-sync function and changed the file path to my private network drive.

This time, the company wouldn't have backup copies of the source files.

"How's the proposal coming?" Mara's voice came from behind me.

The room instantly went quiet. Colleagues lowered their heads.

Mara stood by my workstation, staring at my screen.

"Just started." I answered.

"Hurry up." She tapped the desk. "Friday presentation. Xavier has a sore throat, so you'll present."

In the past, Xavier always handled these occasions while I assisted from below.

Having me go this time-I guessed the project was too difficult and Xavier was afraid of exposing himself.

"Got it."

Mara pointed at the chocolates on my keyboard. "Why aren't you eating them? You think they're beneath you?"

"I don't like them."

She sneered and turned to leave, but stopped after two steps. "My mom's sixtieth birthday banquet is this weekend. If the proposal passes, I'll let you make an appearance."

Attending Diana's birthday party as her legal spouse had become a reward.

"No need," I looked at the screen. "I'm busy."

Mara's expression darkened. "Suit yourself."

She clicked away in her heels into the general manager's office.

Ten minutes later, Xavier arrived.

He walked straight to my workstation, bent down, and lowered his voice. "Did you watch the whole thing that day? My wedding was pretty good, wasn't it? Thanks for the rough draft."

I stopped my mouse and turned to look at him, mockery in my voice. "It was good."

Xavier looked triumphant and straightened up. "Work hard. That's the only place you're useful."

He patted my shoulder, whistling as he walked away.

I pulled out a tissue, wiped the spot on my shoulder he'd touched, and tossed the crumpled tissue into the wastebasket by my feet.