Chapter 157 - Big Brother

"Are you expecting a call from someone?" Tom asked Lucy without sparing her a glance while keeping his gaze on the road as he drove the car.

Lucy shook her head, "No. Why?" Lucy denied too quickly as she slipped her phone inside her handbag and turned to look at him.

She couldn't really understand why she was waiting to hear from Tom, but she was. He had disappeared all of a sudden and she hated to admit that this somehow bothered her. Maybe if Sonia had taken her call or returned her call, she would have had someone else to rant to, but apart from Sonia and Lucas, the only other person she could talk to was Tom. The very person that was making her worried. 

"Then are you worried about something? You have been taking your cellphone in and out of your handbag ever since we left the company," he pointed out, and Lucy looked away feeling slightly embarrassed that he had noticed that. To some people, her actions could be seen as rude, and maybe he was one of such persons.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I tried reaching Sonia earlier but she wasn't taking her call, so I guess I'm kind of worried about her," Lucy explained, as that was the only logical explanation, which was also partially true, that she could give him. There was no way she could tell him that she was worried because of her driver who had disappeared after leaving her in the hospital after their intimate night together.

"I see," Tom said, feeling slightly disappointed as he had thought that perhaps she was waiting to hear from him, "I suppose they are both busy with the reality show. If you're very worried about her, perhaps I could give my brother a call. That way you could speak with her and find out how she is faring," Tom offered.

"What reality show?" Lucy asked in confusion, making Tom realize that Sonia had probably not told her about it.

"I suppose she forgot to mention that she was going to be featuring in a reality show with my brother. You can check it out on any of the social media apps. Yesterday's interview has been trending all morning," Tom suggested, and Lucy gave him a nod as she took out her phone to do as he had suggested.

Tom turned to spare her a glance after some minutes and a smile touched his lips when he noticed the smile on her face as she watched the video on her phone with her earpiece tucked in her ear. 

When she called earlier he had been too upset and confused to receive her call, as he didn't know what to say to her at that point. And then he had been even more upset when Harry returned to inform him that the so-called cab driver who had been asking questions about him the previous day was a well-known private investigator among the elite class. 

Someone somewhere was curious about him, and it didn't come as a surprise to him as he had suspected that a car was following him the previous evening, but he had ignored it when the car drove past him as he parked the car in front of Lucy's house. Now that he knew for a fact that he was being watched, he knew he had to be more careful. Tom Handy had to disappear for some time. 

Although Harry had sent someone to find out who the investigator was working for and what they wanted from him, he knew that there was a need to hurry up with all he was doing and tell Lucy the truth before someone else beats him to it. 

He still didn't know exactly what to do about the whole thing yet, but one thing that was certain was that he couldn't be her next-door neighbor or driver anymore, and neither could he stay away from her. All he could do now, was stay beside her this way as Thomas Hank. 

Lucy who was watching the interview between Bryan and Sonia, had a wide smile on her face as she watched the easy and natural flow of the interaction between them. Somehow it felt really nice just being able to see Sonia this way with someone. She had to admit that they looked really good together. Her best friend was gradually becoming an A-list celebrity, Lucy thought with a grin.

Taking a closer look at them, she was no longer sure if Sonia was still just playing games with Bryan or if they really had something serious going on between them now. She hoped they did. It would be good to see Sonia in a stable relationship instead of her usual lifestyle of changing boyfriends every time she gets bored.

'Look who is talking. Wanting to see other people be in a happy relationship while running away from every form of emotional attachment with the opposite sex.' she thought with a mocking smile.

"You must love your friend a lot," Tom observed after a while.

"Did you say something?" Lucy asked, removing the earpiece from her ears to look at him.

"I said you seem to love your best friend a lot."

Lucy smiled softly, "I do. You have been driving for a while now, where are we heading to?" Lucy asked when she looked through the window and noticed that they were on the highway, somewhere far away from the city.

"Somewhere you can relax. How is your boyfriend? The childhood friend?" Tom asked, turning to look at Lucy was now looking out the window.

"He is okay," Lucy said with a soft sigh. 

"Does he stay here in Ludus? Or is it a long-distance relationship?" Tom asked as he returned his attention to the road ahead of him. 

Lucy pursed her lips as she considered the most suitable way to answer his question. If she said he lives in Ludus, he might want to meet him, or find out more about him, or even ask why she had been alone at the hospital without her boyfriend. On the other hand, if she told him he wasn't here in Ludus, then he might want to get closer to her more than was necessary.

"It's a long-distance relationship, but he plans to move down here pretty soon," Lucy said with a small smile, and he gave her a nod.

"I hope he doesn't mind you hanging out with me this way?"

Lucy opened her mouth to respond, but her breath hitched when Tom suddenly took the left turn, and she caught a glimpse of the scenery ahead of them.

She had thought he was taking her to a restaurant or perhaps a cinema, or maybe a game arcade, but this was completely unexpected. Ahead of them was a landscape of proud rocky mountains, and somewhere between the large rocks was a sparkling waterfall. Now she wished she could wind down the window and stick her head out the window to inhale the air.

As if he could sense her desire to wind down the window, he automatically wind down all the windows in the car, and Lucy stuck her head out the window and inhaled the fresh mountain air as she admired the view ahead of her, "This is so beautiful," she whispered in awe. 

"I've been here a couple of times, but it still leaves me completely breathless each time I take the turn," Tom confessed as he looked at the mountains that lay ahead of them. 

Reluctantly breaking her gaze away from the mountains she turned to Tom, "How did you find such a place?"

"The first time I came here was ten years ago. It was my second year in college, during a school camp trip. The moment I saw this place, I felt an instant connection to it. I wanted to own it. I always thought it would be a good spot for vacations, honeymoons, weekend getaways, and all of that. It took me quite some years before I was able to purchase it," Tom revealed with a small smile as he parked the car somewhere away from the mountains, and turned to look at her. 

"You can't bring anyone else here. It's currently off limit from the public as I'm working on building an exclusive hotel and resort here."

"Oh!" She exclaimed quietly as she looked away from him with a slight frown, wondering why he had brought her here if he wanted to keep the location a secret from the world. She knew from novels and the few movies she had seen that men only took women to such special spots if they were interested in them. He wasn't interested in her, right? Although she had lied to her parents that he was her boyfriend, she had no desire in getting involved with him. Not when she had Tom.

She quickly shook her head to get rid of that thought. Thinking this way was going to get her in trouble. She didn't have Tom. He was a temporary boyfriend. She needed to keep reminding herself of that. 

"So? What do you think?" He asked, watching her intently with his head slightly cocked to the right side as he tried to figure out what she was thinking.

"About what? This place?" Lucy asked, turning to meet his gaze with a slightly confused frown.

Tom gave her a nod, "Yes. I also want to know what you think about building a Resort here."

"You don't intend to demolish the mountains, do you?" Lucy asked looking around them. 

It was only after asking the question that she realized that she was talking to him casually, as she would to a friend, instead of her boss. This made her wonder why she was no longer feeling so anxious around him. It seemed like the more time she spent in his company, the more relaxed she became around him. This wasn't good. 

Tom smiled, "How can I when it is the center of attraction here?" He asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt and reached out to open his door, "Hold on," he said to her as he got out of the car and went to her side of the car to open the door.

Why was he doing this again? He didn't have to. He wasn't interested in her in any way, was he? Lucy mused as she picked up her handbag.

"You should leave the bag behind. And your heels too," Tom suggested as he bent down to take off his shoe, leaving only his stockings on.

"But..."

Before she could protest, he reached into the back seat of the car and dropped his shoes before picking up a pair of new stockings, "It's going to be more comfortable for you to wear this, trust me," he said, as he urged her to put on the stockings. 

Lucy knew that he was right as it was going to get tiring for her to walk around in her heels, but she doubted that was the case for him as his shoes looked pretty comfortable, "Why did you take off your shoes?" She asked as she collected the stockings from him. 

"So that you don't feel silly walking around in the stockings all by yourself," Tom said with a silly grin, which made Lucy suddenly giggle, surprising them both. 

Who would have thought the cold and aloof CEO she had seen in action just yesterday could have such a good sense of humor? "Thanks for being so considerate," she said to him as she took off her shoes and put on the stockings. 

"You're welcome," Tom said with a small smile, happy to see her laughing this way. 

As Lucy stepped out of the car, she decided to straighten some things between them before proceeding.. She cleared her throat and pasted an innocent smile on her face as she said, "I'm so thankful that I have a big brother like you to rely on."