Chapter 19 - Coincident?
It seemed to Tom like Lucy's eyes were going to pop out of their socket seeing how she was looking at him in disbelief. He tried to look equally surprised as he stepped out of the car to join her and Harry.
Lucy swallowed convulsively as she turned to look at Harry, hoping they were at the wrong vehicle, "Who... Who is he?" She asked, cocking her head in Tom's direction.
"Oh, that is the personal driver I mentioned. Come over and say hello to your boss." Harry said to Tom who remained by the door acting like he didn't know whether or not to act like he knew her.
"Good day ma'am." Tom said with a polite bow without meeting her eyes, while Harry watched them both in amusement.
Lucy looked at him, completely lost for words. How could this be a coincident too? Wasn't it too much? First the club, next her next door neighbor, and now her driver? None of it made any iota of sense. She opened her mouth to let Harry know that she didn't need a driver, but paused when she remembered Tom telling her the previous evening that he was hoping to get the job to keep body and soul together. She definitely couldn't turn him down simply because of her personal business with him. Besides, she had asked him to forget it ever happened, so it would seem petty of her to deprive him of his job simply because she couldn't get over the fact that he had deflowered her. Moreover none of this was his fault, right? He had only offered to help her check her list.
"Miss Perry? Is there a problem?" Harry asked when she still didn't say anything.
Lucy swallowed, "Not at all. Everything is perfectly okay." She said with a stiff smile.
"Okay then, I will leave you two to get acquainted. I have work to do." Harry said with a discreet nod at Tom before walking away.
"I..."
"You have to be kidding me. Are you really going to say this is coincident too?" She asked immediately Harry was out of earshot.
"I could just quit if it makes you feel so uncomfortable. The moment I saw you, I realized even I wouldn't believe this was mere coincident too." Tom said with a shake of his head, "If you say you don't need my service, I'll absolutely understand." Tom said, and started to walk past her, but she shook her head.
"This is going to be really awkward... But we have to keep things professional, okay? You're my driver and you can't cross the line simply because..."
"Simply because we had a one night stand, I understand." Tom finished the sentence before she could.
"I was going to say simply because you're my next door neighbor." Lucy said, giving him a pointed look, "And I'll appreciate it if you don't bring that up again if you really want to work for me." She warned before turning to leave.
"Sorry ma'am." Tom called out, "When can I pick you up?" Tom asked as she walked away, making her pause to look at him.
"When I'm done I'll let you know."
"When will you be done?" Tom asked insistently, "Since I can't just hang around here waiting all day, I have to go and fix other things, so I just need to know when I can leave there and start coming back to pick you up. Or we could both exchange our contact numbers, that way you can reach me an hour before you're ready to leave." Tom suggested.
Exchanging numbers? Of all guys in the whole of Ludus, how had she ended up having a one night stand with someone she would not be able to get rid of? Now not only did she have to face him at home, but she also had to deal with seeing his face even at work? Everyday?
"Ma'am?" Tom asked politely.
"Shouldn't you hang around the office with the other drivers? What if I need to go somewhere urgently?" Lucy asked with a slightly raised brow, and then paused when an idea struck her.
"You know what? Just hand me the key, I will drive myself around while you do your handy man job. You don't need to drive me anywhere." Lucy said, hoping he would agree and just get lost.
"And my job?"
"You can collect your paycheck every month end. No one needs to know I'm driving myself around. It's a win-win for us both." She said with a shrug.
"No. I'll rather drive you around and take the paycheck. Don't worry, I'll just find the other drivers and join them to do whatever they do while waiting for their boss." Tom said with a smile making her frown.
"And your handyman job?"
"I'll do it whenever I find the time. This job is more important than that. So you can go in, I'll be here waiting for you till whenever you are ready to leave." He promised her as he returned to the car.
What was going to happen now? Lucy wondered as she walked away uncomfortably, while trying not to look back, since something told her he was probably checking out her backside. She wasn't having a good feeling about any of this. And it wasn't helping that Sonia's suggestion to keep him as her sex partner was still very fresh in her head.
Tom on the other hand had a grin on his face as he watched her walk away. He tapped his pocket where the thong she had forgotten in his bedroom the previous day was safely tucked. He had gone back to his mansion to pick up a couple of his personal effects, and his house servant Maya had gifted him the underwear which Lucy had left behind in her haste. He chuckled as different ideas ran through his mind on how best to present the underwear to her.
All he had to do now, was find the best way to while away his time while waiting for her to close from work.