Chapter 4: Fooling Carla

“Do you think she's going to come?” Lucas asked Austin over the phone as his thoughts trailed off to the last conversation he had with Emma Smith.

Austin smirked as he listened to his friend, “Let me guess, you told her outright to marry you.”

“Yes, exactly, and I offered to pay her ten times her salary if she agreed to the offer,” Lucas replied.

“And you expect her to agree instantly, you must have scared the poor lady out of her wits. You could have at least taken it slow with her,” Austin answered back.

“Well, I didn't think it would take her this long to make a decision, and I don't think anyone would refuse to marry me,” Lucas replied before picking his keys from the counter table.

Lucas headed to the garage, he wanted to drive his Bentley but decided against it for some reason and drove his motorbike instead.

“Lucas, Lucas, can you hear me?” Austin called out, bringing him back to reality.

“What are you going to do if Emma refuses your proposal?”

“No way that is going to happen, she is going to accept,” Lucas stated.

“What makes you so confident now? Weren't you just worried?” Austin remarked before laughing.

“I just feel it, she's going to come.” Lucas declared before he let his motorcycle roar.

The truth was that he did not care if Emma rejected his proposal, he was going to make sure she accepted it. He was Lucas Anderson after all.

Lucas arrived at the office thirty minutes later. He immediately headed for his office. His next meeting was scheduled for later today, so he had about enough time for Daphne to brief him for the meeting.

He couldn't concentrate at all, he wondered what was going on with Emma Smith. Did she accept his proposal or not? He just wanted to know.

“That is all, sir. Here is the folder,” Daphne stated, handing the documents over to Lucas.

She was already on her way out of his office when she recalled that she had not informed him that Emma Smith was in the building.

“Sir, Emma Smith resumed today; she just went to HR, and that's why I had to give you the brief instead,” Daphne told Lucas before walking out of his office.

A smile tugged at the corners of Lucas's mouth, a blend of confusion and elation. The unexpected joy of Emma accepting his proposal caught him off guard.

He was going to see her soon, so he calmed down a bit. He decided to go through the documents that Daphne had left for him since he hadn't listened to her brief earlier.

Lucas was focused on it when suddenly he heard a commotion outside his office. He listened in and immediately knew who it was.

“You can't come in; Mr. Anderson is busy, and he isn't expecting visitors. Please go back,” Daphne declared to Carla to stop her.

Carla was not going to take no for an answer. She was going to see Lucas even if she had to barge in. He had been avoiding her calls and texts since he said he had a wife.

Carla scoffed. “He is avoiding me, right? I knew it.” she taunted.

Lucas grumbled when he realized that it was Carla who had been causing the commotion.

“Why was she here; she was supposed to stay away from me.”

Lucas was about to call his guards to take Carla far away from him when he had a second thought. This was a perfect time for him to introduce Emma to Carla before the dinner; that way, she was never going to think of getting married to him.

He called the front desk, and Daphne picked up on the first ring. “Let her in,” Lucas said to her.

Five minutes later, Lucas and Carla were both staring into each other's eyes. “What are you doing here?” Lucas questioned, trying to sound as calm as possible.

Carla knew that Lucas didn't want her there, but she didn't care. She had waited all her life to get married to him, and she was never going to allow him to marry another person.

Carla pouted. “Why, my love, you know I missed you.”

Lucas’s jaw clenched “I am sorry; I do not share the same sentiment. Stop being delusional, Carla; I do not like you… Heck, I HATE YOU!” He said through gritted teeth.

“You know that I can't and will never love you. I already have a wife.”

“I know that's a lie, you only said that because of Grandma.” Carla retorted.

Lucas smirked “You think, when do I ever make empty promises,” He taunted.

Carla paled immediately, and a muscle in her jaw twitched. Worry filled her mind, what if Lucas was telling the truth, but she was the only girl in his life, so how could he have gotten married without her noticing? She darted her eyes at Lucas, and she could tell that he was enjoying every bit of torment he was causing her.

She was about to tell him to prove it when the door suddenly got unlocked.

Lucas couldn't help but smile when she came in, Emma Smith. He had been waiting for her since forever.

“Hey darling, what took you so long,” he said huskily.

All color drained out of Carla’s face when he said that. She went pale. She turned her face to see who Lucas had been talking to but Lucas was faster.

Lucas had already rushed to block Emma out of Carla's sight.

Emma's jaw dropped when she heard Lucas. She felt so confused and didn't know how to react.

Lucas held her hands and pulled her close to him. His eyes lit up, and he grinned, and he inched closer to her.

Lucas, with a firm grip on her hands, drew Emma into an unexpected embrace. His piercing green eyes sparkled with genuine joy, forming crinkles at the corners. As he grinned, he inched closer to her.

Emma froze instantly, her thoughts were all over the place. What was he trying to do?

Lucas leaned in “Just go with it please, I need you to act as my wife.” he whispered. He wanted to make Carla think he had kissed Emma and that was why he leaned in.

He held Emma close to him and finally introduced her to Carla.

“Carla, this is my wife, Emma,” Lucas told Carla, but he had his eyes on Emma the whole time. His eyes lit up as he stared into Emma’s eyes.

“Nice to meet you Carla, Lucas has told me so much about you,” Emma said mockingly.

Carla stared at Lucas in disbelief, he was telling the truth. Her eyes blazed with anger as they narrowed in on Emma. She rose and stormed out of the office.

Laughter erupted from Lucas as he watched Carla's furious exit. “Did you catch that expression?” he mused, his amusement echoing through the room.

Emma looked keenly at Lucas and smiled. He sure looked better with a smile on his face.

“Please excuse me, sir, I will be on my way,” Emma said to him, heading for the door.

“Wait,” Lucas called out to her when she was almost at the door.

Emma stopped in her tracks when she heard his voice. He inched closer to her and leaned in on her neck.

“Lavender,” he said huskily.

Emma felt blood rush to her cheeks at their close proximity. “What was going on?”

“What did I just sign up for?” Emma mumbled sighing. It was just her first day, and Lucas already called her darling. Will she be able to do it, could she control herself?

Carla was walking out of Anderson’s company when she recalled something.

Lucas and Emma had no rings on, if Lucas had really married her, the least he could do was buy their wedding rings.

“Did Lucas really think he could fool me, he married a wife and he couldn't even buy her rings,” Carla snickered.

Carla formulated a plan in her mind; she was going to expose him during the dinner when he least expected it.

Lucas belonged to her and only her…