Chapter 119 - Naive And Gullible

Now that Lucy was relaxed on her couch, in the privacy of her home, she took a moment to reflect on all that had happened at the Cinema earlier that day. 

How had she not realized that Tom's change of attitude after Anita's arrival was that of annoyance and irritation and not embarrassment? Was she really that naive and clueless? And how come Anita didn't give her any hint that she had been in a relationship with Tom? Especially considering the fact that they were both 'friends'? Why was she hiding it? Perhaps she was ashamed to tell anyone that she had once been in a relationship with a mere handyman? 

If Anita was truly Tom's ex-girlfriend as he had said, and she wasn't interested in Tom as she had thought, why then was Anita so receptive of her friendship? Perhaps Anita wanted him back? No, Lucy thought with a shake of her head. That couldn't be the reason since if Anita was interested in Tom, she would have spent more time talking about him. 

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to think about all her conversations with Anita thus far to see what Anita could possibly want from her since Anita didn't seem to her like the type to just form friendships with just anyone without a plan.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise when realization struck her. Anita had asked more questions about the CEO and her position as the CEO's assistant during all their conversations. Why hadn't she thought of it? It made more sense that someone like Anita would be interested in the CEO.

Her brows furrowed in a frown again as she wondered why Anita had then suggested that all three of them hang out together if her target was the CEO. And why was Anita trying to matchmake her with Tom even after she had told her she wasn't interested in men? Was there something she was missing? Lucy asked herself with a weary sigh as she sunk further into her couch. 

She sat up almost immediately once again when she remembered what Tom had said about lying to her. What could he possibly have lied to her about? Or perhaps the lie was that their meeting wasn't a coincidence? He had planned it all? How was it possible for him to get a job at the company overnight and be her driver overnight when he was a mere handyman? Lucy mused, and she sighed when she couldn't seem to come up with anything meaningful. 

Perhaps she was being too relaxed and trusting around everyone and wasn't paying enough attention to what was going on around her. She would have to do better going forward.

Picking up her phone, she dialed Sonia's line since she needed to tell Sonia about her latest discovery, and maybe Sonia would be able to see whatever it was that she was missing.

Sonia who was had just finished freshening up and was on her way to the kitchen to fix dinner, glanced at her phone when it started ringing, and she grinned when she saw that the call was from Lucy. 

"The original love of my life," Sonia said in a teasing tone, making Lucy smile.

Sonia always had a way of making smile. She was definitely her favorite person in the world, no offense to her family. She loved them, but she loved Sonia just as much.

"Why does it sound like things are going really well between you and Bryan?" Lucy asked with an amused smile. 

"That is because... things are actually going very well," Sonia said and stopped by the dining table when she noticed that Bryan had left her laptop and journal on the table. 

Her lips curved in a smile as she sat down and turned on the laptop. She could guess that he must have been very flustered by her appearance and action to have voluntarily returned her writing materials to her so soon. 

"So how did your day go?" Sonia asked as she sat on one of the dining chairs since she could guess that it was going to be a long conversation since Lucy only called when she had something important to say or ask.

"Would you believe me if I told you that Anita is Tom's ex-girlfriend?" Lucy asked, making Sonia blink in surprise since she hadn't been expecting that. 

"What? Anita?" Sonia asked in disbelief "I thought you mentioned that she was the one he liked?" Sonia asked in confusion.

"I thought so too, but apparently I was wrong," Lucy said and went on to explain all that had transpired between them at the Cinema earlier. 

Sonia sighed when Lucy finished giving her the details, "I honestly don't know if it's because you have never been in a relationship with a guy before now, but you are the most naive and gullible lady I know. I can't even imagine how you can be this naive when you are the best friend of such an experienced person like me. I should..." Sonia let the rest of her words trail off when she caught a glimpse of Bryan from the corners of her eyes. She couldn't scold Lucy when someone else was listening.

Hearing Sonia call her naive and gullible, she winced. It was one thing to say that to yourself, but an entirely different thing to hear someone else call you that, "But it isn't my fault. How was I supposed to know that he lied about Anita being the lady he liked?" Lucy asked with a sigh. 

Sonia turned to look at Bryan and blew him a kiss when she caught him staring at her with a blank expression. She smiled when he looked away from her, "Well, I think you need to toughen up and keep your wits about you, especially whenever you are around that Anita girl. Something tells me that she is trouble, and she might be keeping you close only because she sees you as some sort of threat

Try not to let down your guard at any time, and be watchful of what you say whenever she is around you," Sonia said, not bothering to excuse herself from Bryan since this conversation had nothing to do with his brother. 

"Yeah, I already plan on doing that. Besides, I think she might be interested in the CEO," Lucy said and went on to give Sonia the reason she felt that way.

"That explains everything then. I believe she must have become friends with you because you are currently the closest female to the CEO in your office, and as such you are her first major opponent. I guess she is trying to size you up and make sure you are not going to stand in her way."

Bryan listened attentively to the discussion as he moved closer to the dining. Were they talking about Tom's ex-girlfriend? Did that mean that Tom's ex-girlfriend was interested in him? Bryan thought in amusement. This whole thing was just very funny and entertaining to watch.

"Hmm. I really hope you are wrong, cause that lady doesn't seem like a very normal person. I will have to keep making it clear to her that I'm not interested in the CEO and as such I'm in no way a threat to her relationship," Lucy said with a concerned frown.

"You don't owe her any explanation. But just to be safe you shouldn't let her know about your relationship with your boss's soon-to-be sister-in-law," Sonia said, turning to give Bryan a wink. 

Bryan's heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly turned away from her again. He shook his head at himself. Why was he acting like a lady? He had thought the little pep talk he had given himself a while ago in his bedroom had returned him to his default setting, so why was he acting like a sissy again? Of all the ladies on earth, why was he feeling this way because of this crazy one?

Bryan cleared his throat since he didn't want to continue with this line of thought, "I suppose that's Lucy? Can I say hi to her when you are done?" Bryan asked, making Sonia turn to look at him curiously.

"You want to?" She asked in surprise, and Bryan gave her a nod. 

"Yeah. You have met Matt, but I am yet to see your best friend or speak with her. I should do better," Bryan pointed out. 

Lucy strained her ear to hear what Bryan was saying, "I guess Bryan is there now. Let's talk later..."

"Hold on, Lu. My fiance wants to say hello to you. I hope you don't mind?" Sonia asked, and handed the phone to Bryan before Lucy could protest since she knew Lucy was likely going to decline.

"No-no-no. I'm not ready to speak with him yet. What am I going to say?" Lucy asked nervously, making Bryan's lips twitch with a smile as he listened to the voice of the lady his elder brother was interested in.

"I wonder the same thing," Bryan responded in amusement making Lucy blink in surprise. How could Sonia have handed the phone to him without her consent?

"Hi!" Lucy greeted with an awkward smile.

"I'm Bryan. It's nice to finally speak with you. I've heard so much about you," Bryan said, referring to all he had heard about her from both Sonia and Tom.

"I've heard a lot about you too," Lucy lied since Sonia hardly ever talked about Bryan, so the only thing she knew about him was that he was her boss's brother, and Sonia's fake fiancee. 

Bryan was almost tempted to ask what she had heard, and how much she had heard about him from Sonia, but he stifled the urge to do so, "I'm sure I've heard more about you than you have heard about me. By the way, Sonia told me that you are my brother's personal assistant?" 

She hadn't expected him to bring that up so soon, "Yeah," Lucy said since she had no idea of what else he wanted to hear. 

She wasn't the type to talk much, Bryan observed, "That's cool. We already discussed you, so I'm sure he would be meeting with you very soon," He said, wanting to see if he could find out what she wanted from his brother. 

Lucy's heart skipped a beat. "Soon?" 

"Yeah. Very soon. Is there a problem?" Bryan asked innocently, wondering why she sounded nervous.

"Not a all. I look forward to meeting with him," Lucy said before deciding to change the subject, "So how are you coping with Sonia? I hope she isn't frustrating you?" Lucy asked making Bryan glance at Sonia. 

She batted her lashes at him and gave him a sultry smile which made him turn away from her almost immediately. What was her problem? Why did she always have to do weird stuff like that? Bryan thought.

"She is a handful, but I think I'm adjusting. I'd like to know more about her from you if you don't mind," Bryan said without looking in Sonia's direction. 

Lucy giggled at that because she knew he was right about Sonia being a handful, "Sure. You can ask me whatever you want to know about her, and when you get fed up and are tempted to throw her out of your house, call me and I will come to get her," Lucy promised. 

"I will hold you to that," Bryan said with a crooked smile.

"Sure," Lucy said confidently.

"I will hand the phone to her now. I hope to hear from you more often going forward" Bryan said politely before returning the phone to Sonia.