LUCAS, NOT MR THANE.

Who the hell walks up to her boss without any atom of  fear? Me. Sophia. The new Sophia.

“Mr, Thane.” I called out as my heels clanked on the marble floor. My new found confidence at its top.

“Ms. Morales?,” this man smirked, his voice, deep. 

I considered doing a 360 and going the opposite direction and not having to talk to him but I had walked this far. “A word?”

He raised an eyebrow up in surprise. This man was really high on the food chain, I should have to go through a process before reaching him but here I was blatantly asking to speak to him.

Trying to mask the flutter of nerves in my chest I start:“Mr Thane—”

“No need for the formalities,” he said, his lips curling in that half-smile“Lucas. It’s Lucas to you. .”

I nodded, my palms sweating. “Of course. Lucas.”

“So what is it you’d like to talk about?” He asked. 

“I—umm—“ I stammered.

He motioned for me to follow him down the hallway, “Maybe you’d be more comfortable in my office?” 

I followed him. Once we were in, He turned to face me, his gaze sharp.

“So…?” He irged

“It’s About that night. I want us to forget about it and pretend it never happened. The thoughts of it makes me anxious and I feel you might just suddenly fire me, but if we act like it never happened and start on a clean slate, you can only fire me if I underperform at work..”

“I won’t fire you because of that. We’re adults.” He said and inched closer to me. “And even if I try,  I can’t forget that night. It was heavenly. You were in that club, dressed in Red... that dress. That mask, it all did something to me.” He didn’t even try to hide the way his eyes roamed over me, slow and deliberate. “And now you, in this red heels? I can’t make my mind calm down ”

I blinked, feeling my face flush. “I didn’t wear it because —” I blabbered gibberish and nonsense.

“Shh…do not sabotage yourself or what I’m saying. No one was looking at anyone but you that night,” he interrupted. “And no one was looking at anything but you as you walked out of the elevator this morning.”

My breath caught in my throat. 

I swallowed, trying to control the heat in my face. “I’m not looking for attention especially not yours despite what you think and what you said yesterday. I don’t want to be seen by you or anyone else.”

I wasn’t sure if his words made me feel good or unsettled. Probably both.

The tension in the air between us thickening by the second.

He was standing inches from me now, close enough that I could smell his cologne— “But I wonder if you are as innocent as you look, Sophia.”

I looked up at him, trying to maintain some semblance of control. “What do you mean?”

“Everyone’s watching you now. You’ve gone from being invisible to... the center of attention. .” His voice lowered, his gaze never leaving mine. “Just like that.” He snapped his fingers to indicate how swift my change was.

My pulse quickened. “What are you saying, exactly?”

He tilted his head, studying me for a long moment. Then, almost casually, he reached out and touched a strand of hair that had fallen loose from my ponytail. His fingers brushed against my cheek, sending a jolt through my body.

“I’m saying that it’s only magic that can transform someone in the blink of an eye..”

I stiffened,. I couldn’t tell if he was being metaphorical or not.

“Again, I’m sorry about that night. I never meant to fall under your radar.” I reiterated.

“But you did” he cut in. “

“And you’re so breathtaking right now, I want to kiss you” he leaned in. I shifted an inch backwards.

“That’s all I wanted to talk to you about.” I said stiffly, trying to escape his gaze and everything that came with it.

He noticed.

“Looks like you love a good chase, Sophia,,” he said , his voice lowering with a hint of something darker. “Because I think you’re smart enough to know I want you again and even more intensely this time”

I didn’t answer. The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.

Finally, Lucas stepped closer again, his voice almost a whisper. “If you love the chase, then I’m in. I, too, love a good chase.”

I really didn’t have a response to that.

Sleep well eluded me that night.

I couldn’t sleep since I lay down on my bed.

I looked at the time “it’s 3:00am already…” I murmured.

Every time I closed my eyes, his voice echoed in my head. This man was obviously not ready to let me be anytime soon. 

But…

Was it The magic. Was it really working ?

My phone chimed. It was a text from an unknown number: “Can’t sleep. You’re all that’s on my mind.”

“Who’s this?” I typed, even though I could pretty much guess who it was.

“I’m sure you know who it is. Unless, you have all the people magically allured to you texting you” he replied 

“Mr Thane?” 

“For the last time, It’s Lucas, to you.” He responded,

Damn. This man had such a great aura that it even permeates through texts.

I want to type another reply but i suddenly dropped my phone back on the nightstand.

 I’d always been careful. Always. So I knew that getting involved and chatting this man will not yield anything good. He was my boss!

I dragged myself out of bed and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My face looked different. I could see it clearly now. My eyes were sharper, brighter, my features more defined. Even my skin seemed to glow with a light I didn’t remember putting there. 

“Is the magic working?” I whispered to myself in question for the second time today.

I had felt the confidence as I worked through the office today. 

My phone chimed again: “why aren’t you texting back?” 

“Because I need to get enough sleep, else I’ll be fired if I’m caught sleeping during work hours.” I shot a reply back.

“I’m the boss. You can’t get fired for chatting the boss. You can get a day off instead.”

I smiled. Such a man. Showing off.

“I like to work without any favors.” 

“I know that, I checked your employee history. It’s impeccable.” He replied.

“Can I call?” He asked.

“No, goodnight. Mr Thane.”

“If I have to remind you one more time to call me Lucas, it will be done with a smack on your ass while I pound into you.” He  texted.

I threw my phone far away from me and grinned.

***