16 - The CEO's Love

Chapter Sixteen

Lucas wasn't sure which between celebrating their wedding anniversary and reintroducing him to society was the chief intention behind his parents' extravagant party.

But, he was willing to bet on the latter.

In his opinion, there wasn't much to celebrate where his parents' matrimony was concerned.

Then there was the big tell—his father keeping him glued to his side, reminding everyone who came to offer their congratulations that next to him was his youngest son who had lived in the States for the past ten years.

Lucas wanted to ask him not to waste his time. That he wasn't interested in making connections in his corporate world. That he had no intention of taking over a part of his business empire.

But his father hadn't bothered to listen in the past. Lucas doubted he would now. So he let him run the show.

All the while, he kept his attention elsewhere. While his father tirelessly narrated of his achievements abroad, Lucas's eyes wandered the room, searching for a particular woman.

The party was well underway, but Amanda was yet to show. Was she going to attend, at all?

The rest of her family had arrived. Her sister with her husband, and her father too.

If she didn't show, this night would be useless for him. He had looked forward to it, for a chance to interact with her outside work. Because at work, she had managed to build a wall so thick and high between them, he was starting to grapple with self doubt.

No woman had ever pushed him away before. Whether for professional or personal reasons. Definitely not one who had spent an entire week in bed with him. They always came back for more, and he was always the one putting up the boundaries.

Yes, he had promised her that he would put what happened at the resort behind them. But he hadn't anticipated how hard it would be to kick her out of his head. He also hadn't anticipated that she would be so determined to avoid any kind of personal relationship with him.

Keeping things professional between them hadn't stopped him from imagining getting her out of the flattering outfits she wore to work and burying himself in her again. It didn't stop him from wishing that they'd met in different circumstances. Circumstances that meant he didn't have to give her up so soon.

In all the time he had spent hopping from one fling to the next, he had never expected to meet someone who made him want to stick around a bit longer.

When he met Amanda at the resort, he was insanely attracted to her. But spending that week with her, then watching her fight to regain control over the company allowed him to know her on another level.

Now, his attraction was beyond physical.

It wouldn't do much, though, if she was truly immune to him now.

Her history with the previous CEO definitely didn't help his case.

Maybe that was all that was keeping her away from him.

He got it. If he was in her shoes, he would run in the opposite direction before taking a step towards something that had burned him once.

He wished there was a way to prove his intentions.

He was about to excuse himself from his father when his mother, Susanne, appeared at his side.

"Are you going to receive her or not?"

He gave his mother a confused look. "Who?"

She was gazing toward the entrance. "Amanda."

He followed his gaze and lost his ability to breathe.

Finally.

Amanda was standing just inside the room, her eyes sweeping the room. His eyes made the trip down her body. She wore a red off-shoulder gown that hugged every curve of her body and flared at her knees. Her hair was in curls, falling to her shoulders and framing her face. The last time he had seen her with her hair like that, he was in her bed.

"She looks gorgeous, doesn't she?" His mother's voice crept through his unholy thoughts.

Lucas cleared his throat and smiled down at her. "She does."

His mother poked his arm. "What are you waiting for?"

"Huh?"

"Go ahead and bring her over to say hi to your father and I."

Right.

Lucas left his parents and walked towards the entrance, his eyes on Amanda. On his way, he noticed a few people staring at her and whispering. Gods, he was about done. How long were they going to keep acting like that whenever she walked into a room?

He walked faster to get to her, not wanting her to spend a second more receiving such attention.

"Amanda," he called when he got to her.

Her head swung to him, her eyes widening momentarily. She took a step back. She was always stepping away from him. He wanted that to stop.

He cleared his throat. "You look gorgeous."

She fidgeted with her clutch, her eyes resting somewhere beyond his shoulder. "Thanks."

"I'll walk you over to my parents," he offered.

She waved her hand in dismissal. "Don't worry, I'll find my way around."

"My mother insists."

Normally, he didn't care what his mother insisted upon.

Finally, she looked at him. "Fine."

He led the way to where his parents stood, their gazes on them. With too much interest in their eyes. It gave him the same feeling he got a week ago when his mother showed up at his place and handed him the invitation card meant for Amanda. He could almost see their matchmaking calculations hovering above their heads. He knew that if she wasn't the daughter of Chairman Lemaiyan, they wouldn't give her the time of day.

"Congratulations on your anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Erikson," Amanda greeted politely when they came to the pair.

"Thank you, Amanda. Ah, look at you, growing more gorgeous with every passing day," Mrs. Erikson cooed.

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"Tell me, how is it, working with my son? Hopefully he isn't giving you a hard time?"

"Given that he is in cahoots with my Dad, he definitely is."

The couple laughed while Lucas looked at Amanda, amused. He leaned in towards her. "Telling on me, are you?"

"I could ask them to take you back," she whispered back. "I'm sure Eson Corp could do with your talents."

He smirked. "It's not going to be that easy to get rid of me."

Susanne extended her hand and rested it on Amanda's forearm softly. "Thank you so much for showing up, dear. Please do visit us some time, we've missed you in our home."

Lucas wondered when the last time Amanda had been at their home was. He couldn't remember her from before he left.

Peter smiled at the two. "We have more guests to receive, we'll leave you two."

And just like that, the two were left alone again. Lucas wasn't complaining.

He turned to Amanda. "Have you been to my home often?"

"Probably once in the past ten years. Your mother is too nice."

"She's like that when she wants something from you."

"What could she possibly want from me?"

He shrugged. She was already busy running away from him. He didn't want to scare her farther away with talk of his parents' ambitious matchmaking efforts.

Amanda's eyes followed the Eriksons. "They look so good together after 35 years in marriage."

Lucas grabbed two glasses of champagne from a server and handed her one. "Don't judge the book by its cover, Amanda."

She took a sip of her wine and met his gaze. "You're right. I should stop doing that."

***

Amanda was not sure exactly what she was doing. After the Eriksons left, she was supposed to get away from Lucas, find someone else to keep company.

Instead, she remained by his side, ignoring every little voice in her head telling her to walk away.

Heavens, he looked gorgeous.

Even after seeing him on an almost daily basis at work, he still stole her breath away.

And here, outside work, she found herself becoming reckless. Allowing herself to savour the effect he had on her. Pretending that she didn't notice the raw desire in his eyes.

Pretending that a part of her didn't wish he would disregard her warnings and kiss her.

The past two weeks had been exhausting, if not hellish. After several visits to her father's office, she was on the verge of giving in. He didn't seem to be giving in to her request to abandon the newest project approved by the board. He had the majority voting shares and until he transferred them to her, there wasn't much she could do.

It frustrated her to no end.

Every night she went back to her apartment knowing that Rebecca was winning this battle, she felt as if she was losing control.

It made her feel as if she was failing in everything.

At such moments, she wished to lose herself in something that made her forget her current reality for a while. Such wishing always ended up digging up memories of her time with Lucas in her cabin.

And it wasn't just the sex that she craved. It was how attentive and caring he had been. He had probably acted that way because he found out she was battling heartbreak. Still, it was proof that maybe he could be the perfect antidote to the loneliness that was threatening to choke her.

There was only one problem, though.

He was her CEO.

As long as he was in that position, she couldn't risk touching him.

"For a moment there, I thought you weren't going to show up," Lucas confessed.

She almost hadn't. But she had nothing better to do.

"Didn't think it mattered to you whether I showed up or not."

"I've been dying to see you outside work," he confessed.

What did that mean? Should she ask?

Lucas shifted, getting closer to her. "We are no longer strangers. You know everything about my background now. Can we talk again about what happened at the resort?"

Amanda swallowed. Was this not what she was hoping for? That somehow, she could get past the reason she had pushed him away so hard?

His family was wealthy, and currently, her future as the sole owner of Lemaiyan Fits was uncertain. There wasn't much he could cheat off her.

But that didn't keep her red flags from flashing.

It was frustrating.

How could she want the man, yet have trouble convincing herself to take the plunge?

Was she going to give in to her fear of appearing stupid again if she got into something with him and everything went south?

"Evening, Amanda. You finally made it."

Their attention turned to the new arrival.

Keith, Rebecca's husband.

Amanda's gaze went elsewhere, looking for an excuse to disappear.

He beat her to it. "Lucas, my man, is it okay if I steal her for a minute?"

Steal…