Chapter 10 - Neighbor

Immediately Lucy returned home from work that evening, she collapsed on the couch. Luckily for her finding an apartment in the city had been much easier than she had thought possible. Immediately she was informed of her promotion on Friday, the first thing she had done was check for available apartments on the net, and she had been able to get an affordable one on such short notice. Her parents had suggested she live in a hotel since the company had offered to give her allowances to take care of her living expenses until she was fully settled, but she had seen it as a wasteful venture, especially since she didn't like the idea of lodging in a hotel.

She took off her shoes and sat up to have a good look around her apartment. She was yet to fully unpack, so her things were scattered all over the place. And she winced when she saw the clothes she had worn the previous night on the floor. She had taken it off and dumped the gown on the floor along with her shoes as she quickly changed into her work clothes that morning.

She forced herself to stand up, and then took off her office clothes and changed into a short and crop top, before bending down to pick up the clothes. Soon she got busy with arranging her things and putting everything in place. She was sweating profusely, and her clothes were all messed up by the time she paused to take a break and drink water. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it was past 7 PM already, and she had been busy for over an hour.

She raised her head when she heard the sound of her doorbell. Why was anyone ringing her doorbell? She wondered as she dropped the bottle of water she had been holding and headed for the door to see who it was. She spied through the window and her heart almost dropped when she saw Tom standing there with something which looked like a tray in his hand.

Tom? How did he find out where she was living? Did he have someone follow her? She had deliberately turned down the man's offer to drop her off at home and had only pleaded with him to drop her off somewhere she could easily get a cab to her house, so how on earth had he found out where she was living? This was supposed to be a one-night stand for crying out loud! Lucy thought, at the edge of panic as she tried to make up her mind on what to do.

"Hello?" Tom greeted making her jump back in surprise when she realized he was now standing in front of the window looking directly at her.

"Oh! Hi! Who... Who are... Who are you?" She stuttered, pretending not to recognize him. She knew she was looking quite different in her glasses and with her hair tied in a bun, so she was counting on that to help keep her identity.

"Hi! My name is Tom. I'm your next-door neighbor, came to welcome you to the neighborhood." Tom said with a grin as he held up the tray so she could see the contents. Lucy's stomach rumbled in protest when she saw the apple peach cobbler he was carrying, reminding her she was yet to eat anything all day.

Next door neighbor? Oh, God! The mansion where they had passed the night wasn't his? How was he her neighbor? "Oh! Okay!" She said, feeling thankful that he hadn't recognized her.

"The door?" Tom reminded her.

"Oh! Yeah! I'll get it!" She said with a nervous laugh as she quickly moved over to the door to unlock it, and nervously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear the moment his face came into view.

She reached out to take the tray from him, but Tom moved it out of her reach as he walked into her apartment, "You're just unpacking? Do you need help?" He asked when he noticed the way she was sweating and saw some of her furniture and photo frames on the floor.

"No, I got it. Thanks." She said, standing away from him with both hands in her pocket.

Tom noticed she was yet to shut the door, and he could tell it was a polite way of telling him he wasn't welcome to stay, "Oh come on! I just have to help you unpack. I can't let a pretty young lady like you move all this heavy stuff around yourself." Tom insisted we he dropped the tray on the table and faced her, "So what can I do? Hold on! why do you look so familiar?" He asked peering into her face.

Lucy swallowed nervously and quickly turned away from him, "Do I? I'm not sure I've met you before." She said with a nervous smile which made Tom chuckle.

"I guess you're one of those people," Tom said with a smile.

"One of what people?" She asked in confusion.

"The sort to forget everything that happens after taking alcohol. Don't worry. It's fine. I remember enough for us both. Wow! Who would have thought you'd end up becoming my next-door neighbor? Could this be coincidence or Fate?" He asked sounding genuinely surprised.

Lucy cleared her throat, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're Lucinda Perry, aren't you? We met at the club last night." He said as he picked up her company's identity card from the table before she could stop him, making Lucinda's face color with embarrassment.

"Wow! You look really different with your hair up, and with these glasses on. I almost could not recognize you." Tom said as he looked at her with a grin.

"What do you want?" Lucy asked with a weary sigh. He wasn't going to blackmail her, was he? Her heartbeat doubled at the thought as she looked at him with a frightened expression on her face.. What if he had taken nude photos of her and was going to demand money or leak them on the net? She wondered as she started breathing really fast.