Page 12 of His Perfect Woman

“She’s using me to fix a few problems of her own. But I guess you’d know about that if you really were such great friends. She and I go way back. Definitely further than you. So, I certainly don’t need you lecturing me with all your protective bull shit. And while you may be off the clock, I’m not. In fact, I never am as far as you’re concerned. I refuse to entertain this with you now or at any other time.”

He threw his hands up in mock surrender and walked out. I shook my head as I watched him leave. The balls on that guy...

I went back to my office, thinking about Trent the whole way. What was that guy’s deal? Victoria swore they were just friends, but I could spot a territorial guy from a mile away. I had been practicing it with her my whole life.

So, why was this guy giving me all these jealous vibes? It only made me more anxious about Victoria’s answer. I needed this whole thing to go through so I wouldn’t have to worry about guys like him. If I couldn’t have her, no one would. There would be me and at least one kid standing in their way.

The rest of the day crept by painfully slowly. I’d managed to get my head into my work for a while, but then I’d check my phone and feel even more anxious about not having heard from her. Now it was more than just our friendship riding on the line. It was her, Trent, my siblings, my business...all dangling in her hands. It was exactly why I’d never told her how I felt to begin with. I didn’t like giving up that much control.

By a quarter to seven, I was starving. And had no real reason to be working as late as I was. My office was mostly dark, lit by just one lamp on my desk and the blue glow of my computer screen. A cup of cold coffee sat on a coaster by the keyboard and an equally-cold box of takeout sat not far from that. It had been there since lunch.

I chewed my lip for a moment and finally jumped up, preparing to leave for the evening. Everyone else was already gone. Camille and Jada were too pissed to say goodbye at the end of the day, and Joshua had just swung by for a minute to offer a sheepish, pitying wave. They all knew I was waiting. They were waiting, too.

As I slid into my coat, my phone dinged with a text.

Victoria: Call me.

I immediately dialed her number. “What’s up?”

“I thought about everything.”

“And?”

“And...I’ll do it. If you’re sure. We have a lot to discuss, but...yes. Let’s try to make this work.”

I blew out a huge breath of relief and happiness. I couldn’t let on all the reasons it filled me with joy, but I could at least show how relieved I was.

“You won’t regret it, Victoria. I promise you.”

“We’ll talk more tomorrow, okay?”

“You got it.”

She hung up, and I felt much better about leaving the office. It was harder to wait for things at home, and now I didn’t have to worry about it. I was already on the elevator when a small hand shot out between the sliding doors, stopping them from closing. They parted again to reveal Camille standing there, looking even more pissed than she had earlier.

“I thought you were long gone.”

“I worked late. I see you did, too,” she answered tightly, stepping in next to me and pressing the button for the lobby. “I happened to overhear your conversation with Victoria.”

“Oh. Just so happened to catch that, did you?” I shot back skeptically.

She turned to me in dead seriousness—even more so than usual. “Be careful, Lucas. Okay? I know this all looks good on paper, but people can get hurt when it comes to this kind of thing. I’d hate to see that happen to either of you. Especially if you get far enough into this that kids are involved.”

“There’s no ‘if’ about it. That’s what we’re doing. But everything will be fine. There’s a lot you don’t understand.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” I smiled tightly.

“I’d hate to see everything we’ve worked towards these past five years go down the drain over one small, poorly thought out misstep. There are other ways to fix your little press conference slip up. Just think about it, will you?”

Before I could answer, the doors opened. Camille walked out and was already halfway towards the doors before I could gather myself up enough to step out. I hated for her to put a damper on my good mood—what did she know anyway?

7

Victoria

Over the years, Lucas and I had hung out a million times. Watching movies in pajamas, grabbing a quick, casual dinner out on the town, or commiserating over drinks at the end of a long, hard work week. The hangouts had become more sparse in recent years, but that still didn’t explain why I was suddenly pacing my apartment, chewing my nails down to nothing and checking my reflection in the mirror over and over again.

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