Lucas – 3. chapter

The meeting lasted over two hours. In that time, Lucia thought through a thousand possible consequences of what she’d done. Consequences for him, that is, because how she would react herself, or how she wanted to explain any of it, she still had no idea. The stress was enough to push her into a different decision. Stop thinking. Just wait. She’d maneuver her way through today and figure something out by tomorrow.

Finally, the conference room doors opened.

Everyone involved walked down the hallway together, their voices low and calm. By the elevators, they shook hands. The clients stepped inside. Lucas and Peter remained standing in silence.

“Yes!” Peter roared triumphantly, jumping into the air.

“We’ve got it! Lucas, you’re brilliant, perfect, you’re a god!”

Her boss said nothing and headed toward the offices.

“How did you even come up with this? I would never have thought of doing it this way! You got them. We’ve got it!”

Lucas passed through the doorway. As he walked by Lucia’s desk, he glanced at her. She deliberately didn’t turn around. He continued into his office without breaking stride.

When Peter passed her desk, he stopped.

“Do you know your boss is a genius? You should’ve seen them. Their faces! It was phenomenal!”

She forced a smile.

“Lucka, make us some coffee,” he added, then kept walking. She was already standing when he called back, “Actually, no. Open a bottle of champagne. This has to be celebrated. This is the deal of the year!”

She waited a moment, almost expecting her boss to cancel the request. He stayed silent.

So she went to the kitchenette, set two glasses and a bottle on a tray, and carried it in. This time, she couldn’t avoid his gaze. He was silent, looking straight into her eyes, clearly waiting for her to be the one to lower her gaze.

His face showed nothing. No joy. No anger. No curiosity. No question. Nothing.

She focused on opening the bottle instead. Peter kept talking loudly, praising him and describing the situation in vivid detail. She poured, set the bottle down, and waited for both of them to take their glasses.

“Um… will you need me for anything else today?” she asked cautiously. “It’s getting late. I’d like to go home now.”

Peter answered immediately.

“Lucka, where would you go? Have a drink with us. Grab a glass!”

She smiled at him and shook her head.

“Thank you.”

Then she looked back at Lucas.

“Lucia, I would appreciate it if you joined us for a toast. It truly was a success,” he said in a clear, condescending voice with no emotion in it whatsoever.

“Really, no. Thank you. I can’t.”

When he raised an eyebrow in displeasure, she added, “I’m driving.”

“Fine. I still need to speak with you. Wait a moment.”

He took a sip. Lucia groaned.

“I actually need to be somewhere in about an hour…”

“I’ll be with you in a moment,” he insisted.

She returned to her desk and sank into her chair. Her pulse quickened. She tried to steady her racing heart with a deep breath. She considered a cigarette, but then heard the two men next door arranging an evening drink. A moment later, Peter walked past her.

“You’re supposed to go in there,” he said with a grin and disappeared.

She closed her eyes for a second, then stood up.

“I’m listening,” she said, already speaking before she stepped inside.

“Sit,” he said, gesturing to the chair opposite his desk, still casually angled from where Peter had left it.

She obeyed.

“Do you have an explanation prepared for what happened today?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest. His tone was openly hostile. Her carefully calm expression vanished instantly. She blinked and looked away.

“Not really,” she whispered.

“Are you taking some kind of course?”

“…No.”

He nodded.

“Then let’s recap. You’ve been working for me for over a year. Just last week, I asked you for a fairly simple chart with three variables. What you handed in made me question how you even manage to operate a coffee machine. And today, in seventeen minutes, you manage not only to understand a complex analytical assignment, but also to think it through, complete it, propose solutions, and even identify errors in the brief that no one noticed before you. You build advanced tables and charts, correct faulty inputs, and deliver a report worthy of a manager who’s spent the last ten years doing nothing but designing and running solar power plants. And you have no explanation for this?”

She had heard him shout before, but never at her. She had probably expected something calmer. She didn’t know what to say, so she stayed silent. She bit her lip and stared at the floor.

He let out a sharp, disbelieving snort. For a moment, he said nothing, visibly trying to rein himself in. Then, in a steady voice, he said, “I want an explanation, Lucia. A very good one. And I will get it.”

He gave her a threatening smile when she finally looked up at him, frightened.

“This can go the easy way, or the hard way. And believe me,” he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the desk, “you do not want to see me get ugly.”