Chapter 4: Rekindled

“So, what do you think?” Lucas asks his best friend. It was the next day and they were both at the Augustine Company within Mason’s office. Lucas was hanging out here with him even though they were still within working hours, sitting on his desk. Even with the amnesia he’s had the past three years, the man has never changed.

“Think? Well… I think it’s great that you’re getting your memories back. Even a tiny bit counts…” Mason’s words trail off and he sweats as he remembers his boss’s threat from yesterday. 

Davis ordered him to not mention Aria and to keep her name out of his head. The distress could make him sick. Lucas is his best friend, how could he lie to him? They’ve been friends for years. When Mason had a nasty divorce, Lucas let him stay at his house for as long as he liked and even gave him rides. Hell, he still does. And now he’s being forced to lie to his face. But what choice does he have? He doesn’t know what Davis is careful of.

Mason clears his throat to make sure his voice doesn’t waver as he speaks again with his eyes on his papers, still trying to work while in the middle of their conversation. “However, it’s just a woman, Lucas. She was probably just a fling you’ve had in the past. It’s best to forget about her and focus on what’s going on in the present instead of muddling over the past.”

Lucas frowns as he hears his friend blow him off. “Damn… that’s surprising. I thought you’d be more ecstatic.” Mason winces but doesn’t say anything else. Lucas heaves a sigh and looks away while crossing his arms. “Perhaps you're right… but either way, we’ll be working together for a little while so it’s not like I can’t see her.”

“Just keep your head screwed on straight, Lucas,” Mason murmurs. 

Lucas watches him carefully, noticing that Mason is acting a little off, but eventually dismisses the thought and grins while placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t I always?”

Mason gives a wry snort as Lucas finally gets off of his desk and calls over his shoulder. “Well, it’s almost time for me to meet with her again so I’ll see you later.”

“Already?? I mean… uh, good luck, Lucas.” Mason quickly tries to get a hold of his startled reaction before Lucas can question him. The former heir CEO looked a bit surprised but he brushed it off thankfully.

“Thanks, but don’t need it.” Comes Lucas’s cocky response before he leaves Mason’s office. Mason’s fake smile fades as he watches his friend go and then he looks back down at his trembling hands. What if Davis gets impatient with his nephew’s continued meddling with Aria? Will he take it out on him?

But there was more than one reason that Lucas wanted to see Aria. She may have been the very first thing that brought back the tiniest shred of memory, but, there was also something else she brought back as well. Something much stronger but it wasn’t an image in his head. No, it was a warmth in his chest. A desire to be with her. Songbird… and yet, through all the yearning, deep within his heart he could feel a sharp stab of guilt. He couldn’t help but wonder, why is that?

He drives to the small company again to meet with the agent he’ll be working with. Upon entering the lobby, he was surprised to see a different woman there. She turned around and faced the handsome man with an alluring smile. With strawberry blonde hair and a busty body, any man would be drooling over her but Lucas just frowned in disappointment. Where’s Aria?

“Mr. Augustine! It’s a pleasure to meet you. I heard you were seeking a partnership with an agent, I will gladly assist you.” She says while walking forward towards him. He recognized her face from photos, she was this company’s boss. The woman must’ve heard that he was looking for an assisting agent and gladly took the spot from Aria. But Lucas wasn’t there for just partnership anymore.

“Where’s Ms. La Belle?” Lucas asks straight up front, not caring for the woman’s name or what else she has to say. Her sexiness turns sour as soon as he asks for the other agent’s name who works beneath her. 

“She’s not at work today.” The woman stubbornly says. She was very used to getting her way from men because she didn’t even bother to hide the jealousy in her eyes.

Lucas crossed his arms. “Then tell me when she is. I won’t work with anyone else.” He says stubbornly before turning around and fixing to leave. Before he walks out the door, he calls over his shoulder. “Oh yeah, I’ll be taking my business elsewhere too.”

The boss winced. She knew he was willing to spend a lot of money on his projects and her company needed it. She grumbled some curses under her breath before forcing a smile. “Fine, fine. Of course, anything you’d like. I’ll give her a call.” She finally says while turning away. Her fake smile turns grouchy before her back even faces him.

Lucas could hear her mumbling stuff on the phone in an aggressive tone that sounded as if she was making threats. By the time she turned around to face him again, she pasted that smile back onto her big lips. “She’ll be here shortly. Have a nice day.” This time, she didn’t hesitate to leave the room. It looked as if she was silently seething and she didn't want to get out of the room right then and there or she’d blow like a volcano. 

Lucas walked outside the lobby and waited patiently while leaning his back against the wall. Some women rubbed him the wrong way and she was a part of that pack. His head lifts as a car pulls up into the half-full parking lot. Aria stumbles out of her car, looking a little messy. Her glasses were gone, meaning that she must have eye contact. This time her hair was up in a neat ponytail. She smiles and waves as she approaches.

“Hey, Lucas! I mean, Mr. Augustine.” She quickly corrects herself with a small smile.

Lucas was about to return her greeting but he flinches when another pounding headache pulses through his skull. Another memory flickers a vision through his tightly closed eyes. He hears her voice singing again, and then he sees her smaller hand gently grasped into his as music for a slow dance begins to play. Again, he sees her smile and feels her heat as her body is pulled very close to his.

Aria sees his sudden falter full of pain just like yesterday and she quickly runs over and grabs his arm again. “Lucas!”

When he snapped out of the memory, her face from the slow dancing between them was at the same distance as it is now as she worriedly held on to his arm. Instead of a tender smile, her big gray eyes were filled with concern. A blush lights up his cheeks when he realizes how close they are and he quickly turns his head away.

“I’m fine… don’t worry about me.” He runs a hand through his blonde hair again as if trying to brush off the embarrassment with his pain. “Did your boss give you a day off today or something?” Aria’s concern changes into something darker and she doesn’t look him in the eye. He had suspicions that the boss had purposely sent her home today just so that she could be his assistant. And by Aria’s reaction, his suspicions were true. After being a bully throughout most of his youth, he can see another one in an instant. 

Lucas could feel a vein throb in his neck as he turned away, back towards the building. “That’s what I thought. Stay here, I’ll go have a word with her.”

“Wait! Don’t!” Aria more frantically grabbed at his arm to stop him. “It’s not worth the trouble, Mr. Augustine, please…” Her last words are whispered. It was true that she didn’t want him to get in trouble with her boss, but what bothered her most was seeing him get aggressively confrontational. It brought up bad memories from their past that she was still struggling to forget. 

Lucas sees her desperation and decides to relax his body. “Alright… well, I guess let’s get back to work, shall we? Oh, and call me Lucas.” The handsome man gives her a grin. Aria’s distress eases away as she gives a nod and one of her tender smiles. Her smile was so distracting that he almost tripped as he walked next to her and she giggled as they walked into the company.

Across the street, a car was parked with the driver still in the seat, hidden behind tinted windows so dark that they almost appeared black. But from behind those windows, somebody watched the duo from afar with cold resolve.