Page 15 of Be My Traitor

Isat there, trying to look like I was paying attention as Lucas moved on to the next item on the agenda in the weekly staff meeting. He was currently talking about his plans for the football team and how he wanted to get sponsorship from all the Houses so that they could go on a European tour playing against other Academies. As Knight heir, I should have been taking notes, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care. I’d ask my father to write a cheque for however much Lucas wanted and forget about it. I wasn’t interested in any of the details, but I knew better than to speak up and tell Lucas to move on to the next topic already. I didn’t want anyone to think there was any kind of conflict between the two of us. I was determined to be a consummate professional, regardless of my personal feelings about the head.

“Unless anyone has got something to say, I think we’re just about done.” At last, Lucas said the magic words. I held my breath, praying no one would speak up and when no one did, I jumped up, ready to make the dash to my car and go home.

“Milly, can I have a word?” My heart sank when Lucas called me over. Whatever he wanted couldn’t it wait until tomorrow? I’d spent more than enough time here today.

Reluctantly, I mooched over to him as the other teachers hurried out. As he left, Nigel put a hand on my shoulder in sympathy. “Good luck,” he whispered.

“Thanks.” I smiled ruefully, as I went to stand by Lucas.

“Give me a minute,” he said and it was all I could do not to roll my eyes in exasperation. He seemed to be shuffling round his papers for no real reason and it was annoying. Some of us had children to get home to. Out of everyone, he should have understood that.

Lucas looked up and watched the last teacher leave.

“What did you want?” I looked pointedly at my wrist as if I had a watch there. “Amber will get worried if I’m too late.”

“Sorry.” Lucas ran a hand through his hair. “I needed to talk to you about something and I’ve been struggling to think about the best way to approach it. The last thing I need is to be accused of sexual harassment in the workplace.”

“Why would anyone do that?” I frowned.

“Because I want you to go out with me.”

My face must have been a picture. When I heard him say that, my jaw dropped and my eyes boggled. “Are you serious?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Lucas shrugged. “You and I had fun together in the past, didn’t we?”

Fun wasn’t how I’d describe it. Mind blowing sex, maybe. Life changing consequences, but fun..?

“You’re right. This could open you up to being a sexual harassment case.” I was stalling I knew, but this had thrown me for a loop. “But I don’t see why that would matter. It’s not like you need the money.”

“No,” Lucas conceded, “but there are other reasons why I need this job. So, I figured I’d ask you out without any pressure so we can get this out of the way. If you’re not interested, say the word and I won’t ever mention it again. We’ll keep it strictly professional from now on. I’ll come round to pick up Amber but keep conversation to a minimum when I do and I won’t even think about what it would be like to spend time with you, get to know you better, discover the difference being a mother has made to you…”

He was saying all the right words, but the way he was looking at me suggested he had one thing on his mind: rekindling the fire we shared in bed.

I knew I should tell him no. I knew the best thing to do was to see if he could stay true to his word and be professional. I opened my mouth to turn him down.

“Yes.”

“Great!” Lucas’s smile lit up his face. “How does Thursday sound? That leaves us the weekend free to be with Amber.”

“Thursday would be good.” I nodded cautiously.

“I’ll make a booking. Do you still like curries?”

“The hotter the better.” I smiled.

“No problem. I’ll pick you up from yours at seven, okay?”

“Looking forward to it.”

Chapter 9

“What on earth was I thinking, agreeing to go out with Lucas?” I wailed, tossing yet another outfit on my bed. The pile of clothes was impressive, but I couldn’t find a single thing to wear that worked for a date with my baby daddy who I may or may not be interested in having a relationship with if only I could make up my mind.

“You were thinking that you deserved a little bit of fun after all these years living as a born-again virgin,” Ivy said. Although Claire had offered to stay late to look after Amber, I’d asked Ivy so I could have a bit of moral support while I got ready for my date. It turned out to be the right decision, since I was having a total crisis of confidence.

“Maybe I should phone Lucas and tell him I’ve got a migraine. No, a tummy bug. No, theplague!He won’t want to date a woman suffering from the plague, will he?”

“Milly…” Ivy shook her head pityingly. “It’s just a date.”

---