Chapter 5

Lucas POV

I went to the break room with my water cup.

Derek was leaning against the coffee machine, holding a half-eaten box of gift chocolates. When he saw me come in, he shifted to block the doorway.

"Lucas," he looked me up and down, "I heard you went to the island? Why didn't you go in for a drink before coming back?"

I walked around him to get water.

Derek followed, leaning against the water dispenser. "Stop pretending. Everyone in the company knows you have a crush on Mara. Look at yourself. Xavier is an overseas student-he's got talent and looks. You're just meant to draw. It's complete wishful thinking."

The water overfilled and some spilled, scalding my hand.

I ignored him and turned to leave.

Derek called out loudly behind me. "Stop having these inappropriate thoughts. They're a perfect match. People like you can only be background decoration."

Back at my workstation, Xavier was sitting on my desk.

He was holding an architectural model in his hand.

It was a small model I'd carved by hand the year I first joined the studio, given to Mara as a birthday gift.

Later, Mara thought it was tacky and casually tossed it in the company's junk pile. I picked it back up and kept it in the corner of my desk.

Xavier was playing with it, disgust on his face.

"What is this piece of junk?" He looked at me as I walked back. "Lucas, your taste has always been this terrible. Having something like this on the desk lowers the class of the entire studio."

I put down my water cup and reached for it. "Give it back."

Xavier raised his hand, dodging me.

A smile played at the corner of his mouth. His wrist relaxed, and the model dropped into the trash can by his feet.

"No need to thank me." He dusted off his hands and jumped down from the desk. "I'm just helping you clear out the garbage. From now on, only keep work-related things on your desk. Don't clutter it with this nonsense."

Low laughter came from around us.

Xavier straightened his collar, didn't even glance at me, and walked away.