The CEO's Favorite

Chapter Eighteen

I sigh as I stare at the woman who suspended me last week. I open my mouth to dismiss her, but then again, Lucas has always been known to talk more than he should. "It's not." He tells her with a straight face. "I'm suspended and Gabriel said I could come."

Nessa scoffs. "Like mother, like son, eh?" Today, she's putting on a plaid skirt that's mid-thigh (I'm certain if I wear something that short, she'll say I'm trying to seduce Gabriel, but I pretend I don't see it) and a green blazer over a black singlet that reveals a bit of cleavage. She looks stunning as always, but her attitude always ruins it as well.

"I am so not in the mood for you, Nessa. Move along."

She doesn't move. Instead, she crosses her arms over her chest, protruding her breasts. I shake my head. If I keep up with her, I'll probably get late. I try to walk around her, but she blocks my path. My tongue pokes the inside of my cheek and I try the other side. She blocks me again.

I arch a brow. "What do you want?"

She gives me a dirty look, then squats down to Lucas' height. "What's your name, buddy?"

I scoff inwardly. I want to tell her Lucas is not her buddy, but I can't have Lucas seeing his mom being a bitch. Man, it's so fucking hard being nice. "I'm Lucas. You can call me Luke or Luca. Some of my friends do."

"Yeah?" She asks and he nods. She gives me a sour smile before looking at him again. I look at my watch and tap my foot in impatience. "Alright, Luca. Gabriel said you could come?"

"Yes," he answers happily. I don't know what it is about Gabriel that lights up his face. This is going to be a fucking disaster. "Mommy didn't want to bring me, but he insisted, and I'm happy he did because this place looks cool. I would've been stuck at home with a random babysitter since my usual babysitter went on a trip."

I let out a short laugh as he took a deep breath at the end of his sentence, but of all the things he said, Nessa only caught on to one thing. "He insisted," she repeats Lucas' words. "And where exactly did you meet 'Gabriel'?"

At this point, I should've just covered his mouth with my hand, but then again, I make bad decisions a lot. "Oh, he came to my school with mommy when I got in trouble with the principal and he followed us home."

"That's enough." I drag Lucas behind me.

Nessa stands up slowly. "He followed you home, huh?"

"Have a nice day, Nessa." I smile tightly and this time, she doesn't try to stop me when I leave.

Because of Lucas' big mouth, I now have to brace myself for the onslaught of rumors that will follow. I don't really blame them. There's no plausible explanation for why Gabriel was in my house.

Lucas asks me who that interesting woman was and I wave him off, telling me she's just an employee.

When I drop Lucas off in Gabriel's office, his smile is blinding; both their smiles are blinding. At this point, I'm certain Lucas is closer to Gabriel than I am to him.

"Be good," I tell Lucas as I leave Gabriel's office, but I'm not even sure he hears me because he has already started blabbing on to Gabriel about the size and decor of his office and how he can see the whole world from the office.

Not properly focusing on my path, I collide with a hard body, almost falling if the owner of the body didn't catch me in time.

"I'm so sorry," I apologize, knowing that it's my fault. If I didn't have so much on my mind, I wouldn't have run into him.

"It's no problem."

The familiar voice makes me pause. It's quite early. What is he doing here? And it doesn't seem like Gabriel is expecting his presence. I wonder what he'll say if he goes into Gabriel's office and sees him with a child; my child. "Oh, Mr. Hernsburg. Good morning."