Chapter 7. A Man In Pain

Lucas POV

“Is he gone?” 

“Yes, boss.” Dan Burns, my assistant, informed me. 

I leaned my head on the back of my executive chair and closed my eyes, appreciating the reprieve the silence outside my office offered me. 

Greg Combs had been banging on my office door nonstop, creating a ruckus on my floor,  right after I sent down the memo that would fire him from his post, effective immediately. 

I cut him off totally, but not without paying him off handsomely. In fact, with the amount I paid him, he could retire in affluence if he chose to do so. 

“He’s threatening to sue you.” Oliver Mans, my lawyer and best friend said when he arrived at my office a few minutes ago. 

I shrugged and took the pen off my table and let it roll on my fingers. 

“That’s where you come in. Our contract was binding. There is nothing he could do about it.”  I explained. 

“Yeah, but adding a little clause about ethics in the company.” Oliver tailed it with a snort. 

I stood up.

“You know that I hated cheaters. I built my company with moral fortitude. Cheating is a big no.” 

“Cheating that you instigated.” He quipped.

There was censure in his voice, indicative that he opposed my actions since I took over as president of Greg Combs’ company. 

I smirked, and my eyes flashed in anger. 

“A man committed to his wife will never cheat, however hard it is.  He would resist the temptation because he did not want to hurt his wife. Greg Combs succumbed to temptation because he was a weak man. He has a fragile ego that needs to be fed all the time. Katherine Fielding should thank me instead. I took out of her life a worthless man." I told him.

“Will Katherine thank you later if she finds out that you gave Noreen Jacobs the push to seduce Greg Combs?” Oliver pointed out.

“Well, according to our initial investigations, Noreen loves Greg, and all is fair in love and war. Look at them finding true love.” I told him, my jaw twitching in repressed anger. 

Oliver shook his head. 

“At the expense of Greg's wife. You broke her heart, you know."  

The information caused my mood to become dour after that.  I knew what it would do to Katherine but could not resist the temptation. 

"She broke me, too, when she ran off with that man and left me right when I badly needed her the most. I only wanted her to get a taste of her own medicine. Let her regret the decisions she made for choosing Combs over me.” I bit out. 

“And what about Greg? Are you still thinking right, Lucas?  Greg did not betray you, but you took his company - his pride and joy.” 

Oliver’s words made me tremble in rage.  I stood from my executive chair to get a grip on my raging emotions. 

“Well, he took something from me five years ago. It is only fair that I took his happiness, too. An eye for an eye.” I told Oliver, whose eyes narrowed at me. 

“Are you sure you are doing the right thing?” 

I shrugged.  “They betrayed me. I just wanted to give them a dose of their betrayal.  What is wrong with that?”

“Listen, Luke. Don’t play with fire, or you might get burned in the end.” 

My eyes narrowed into slits. 

“Enough of that. Tell me, did Katherine take the check you gave her?” 

Oliver nodded. 

“She does not have a choice. At least, you saved her pride by not accepting money directly from you.”

"That's why I sent you there.  I know from our conversation earlier that Katherine repulsed taking my money. She would rather go back and beg that sc*mbag ex-husband of hers than come to me." 

"So you used the foundation instead." 

“No big deal. It's still my money.” I pointed out. 

“And what do you mean by that?” Oliver demanded. 

I knew Oliver disapproved of what I was doing, but because he was my best friend of so many years, he capitulated and supported me. 

I shrugged and leaned back in my seat. 

“It only means that everybody has a price. And one of these days, Katherine Combs will come crawling back to me, admitting her mistakes and asking for my forgiveness.”

A satisfied smile played on my lips in anticipation of that eventuality. 

I can’t help but relish in my thought that scene, playing it over and over in my head until satisfaction spreads all over me. 

“And when she does that, are you going to leave her alone so she can start anew?” 

At Oliver’s question, I felt something inside me rebelled. 

Do I want to let Katherine go after I taught her a lesson she won’t forget? Will I stop at that?