Monday was a refreshing start. After the hot and steamy Saturday night he had, Lucas welcomed the busy stressful day of work with open arms. To think he was gullible enough to believe Sara would let sleeping dogs lie irked him. She was never one to do things for the sake of it. She wouldn't have seduced him just because she missed him or their passionate love making. She wanted something from him and he would be damned if he didn't find out what it was before the weekend.

Pushing back his swivel chair, he grabbed his pad and his jacket, and strolled out of his office. His PA was at his feet, rattling off his business schedule for the day. He had a conference meeting with some investors from Russia by 10 and a business meeting with their Chinese oil drilling corporation later in the day. His plan for a revolutionary eco-friendly petrochemicals was drawing clients like moths to a flame and the Russian delegates was currently their highest bidder so far.

James, his right hand man, met him at the door of the conference room, telling him the investors were already sitting inside. Lucas nodded and inquired about the slide for the presentation which was confirmed by his PA. James pushed open the double doors of the conference room and Lucas strode in with a practiced smile on his face.

"Gentlemen, please welcome. I trust your flight to Nigeria was pleasant." He greeted warmly as he shook hands with all six men present. The only female in the room was Mr. Luchtein assistant, Elsa who was pretty and Lucas winked suggestively at her before moving to stand in front of the room.

"I welcome you all to the headquarters of the Caspian-Asiegbu Petrochemicals and Petroleum Explorations Limited, C.A.P.P.E.L. I am the C.E.O of the Petrochemical arm, Lucas Caspian-Asiegbu and I would love to say it's an honor to be doing business with you, Mr. Luchtein." He gave the man a bow which he acknowledged.

"We at CAPPEL are impressed with your interest in our new range of motor oils and lubricants, which is 100% chemically tested and proven, and is also eco-friendly. Our goal here is to be the sole distributor of world-class motor oils and your contribution to make this project a success is very much appreciated."

"In front of you is the prototype of the various models and brands we are planning to launch into the global market at the beginning of May. The delay is mainly because we await approval from the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON). Please go through them and ask your questions, Mr. Luchtein. Thank you," he concluded, moving to take his seat.

Soon enough ideas were thrown to the table and Mr. Luchtein couldn't help voicing out his concerns about the new product. Lucas was more than pleased with the questions and proceeded to squash his fears with the slide presentation.

He tapped the button of his pad and realized the PowerPoint slide was missing. Frowning, he glanced at his PA, who scrambled quickly to his side to check also. Then a minute later, she apologized about not sending the revised copy to his pad.

After a quick apology to the delegates, Lucas moved to the side to allow his PA setup the system. James walked up to him to mumble in his ear.

"It's not her fault, despite what you think. I'm responsible for this error." He pleaded while casting a glance at Lucas PA, Stacy, who was working with the system.

Lucas scoffed. "I hardly care about your office romance, James, but Stacy had just one job. This mistake cannot go unpunished."

"And I'm saying you should take it out on me. Punish me instead. If I hadn't been too busy distracting her at work," he stated in a placatory tone.

"There must be a penalty for dereliction of work in the office, don't you think?"

"I'll bear it all is what I'm saying."

"This matter is..." Lucas trailed off as a moaning sound came on the speaker. Stunned, his gaze flew to the projector and his features paled. He watched in horror as the events of Saturday night was being shown on it.

For a few dazed minutes, Lucas and the other nine persons in the room watched in utter fascination and mortification as the camera was panned on his exposed chest with his head thrown back as a woman who was backing the camera effectively was going down on him. If the situation hadn't been so delicate, Lucas would have laughed at the absurdity of it all but he knew better.

Hurriedly, James ran to the system and he and Stacy struggled to shut off the video. The delegates were now whispering in low tones to each other discussing the event. Lucas gaze met with Elsa and she smirked at him, satisfied at his humiliation. He tipped his head at her and excused himself from the room. The meeting would probably have to be rescheduled as he was not in the mood for work at that moment.

Thirty minutes later, James and Donald sat in the sofa that was adjoining his desk space in his office, leaving Lucas behind his desk as he watched the video with ample concentration. He didn't know why he requested to see it but he had and now he couldn't help but marvel at the ingenuity of this scheme.

"I don't like this at all," he commented, a frown creased his brows.

"I don't think much damage was done. This was a personal issue and cannot affect the company in anyway," James explained, looking at Lucas anxiously.

"I do not like the angle the camera is. There's not enough lighting. I have six packs but it's hardly visible here!" He uttered in consternation, squinting his eyes.

Two pairs of Jaws dropped. James was baffled, Donald was incredulous.

"What?" Donald was the first to recover.

"That is not the point here!" James screamed in frustration.

Lucas glanced briefly at them and shrugged. "What then is the point? The deed as far as I know is done. It can't be changed. Or maybe it can, if I could just fire a few people right this minute!" He stated daring James to go contrary.

Donald sighed audibly. "Stacy cannot be blamed for a mishap she probably knows nothing about. Whoever did this is trying to blackmail you. Getting it into your company would probably require a few bribes and loopholes but it doesn't mean it cannot be done."

Lucas glared at him as if he had horns atop his head. "Are you implying that I have terrible workmanship here?"

Donald looked away slyly. "I'm merely saying anyone close to you could have done this and is letting your PA take the fall for it."

Lucas eyes narrowed at the direction this conversation was going. "My PA is the only one responsible for my files. If she let someone else do her job for her, she should be held accountable for any mishaps whatsoever. If she cannot do her job well, I'll love to know about it this instant!"

James stood up from the sofa. "And I already told you to leave her out of this. I was the one who interfered with her work. I was the one who led her astray."

"Perhaps I should fire you instead if all blame is to be heaped on you." Lucas finished dangerously, his eyes brimming with anger.

Silence sweet across the room as James glared at Lucas challenging him but he did not waver, clearly bent on firing someone.

The beep of his phone cut through the strained atmosphere like a knife. Pulling out of the staring contest, Lucas glanced at the number on the screen and frowned. He rarely gave out his personal number to just anyone but knew he had to answer this one.

"Hello, who's this?" He queried once he answered the call.

He heard a deep sigh but the person at the other end spoke up. "Hello, Lucas. It's Sara. Don't you have my contact already?"

He scoffed, realizing he had been expecting her to call him since their Saturday night rendezvous.

"Yes, it's you and no, I do not have your contact," he replied tersely. "To what do I owe this call all of a sudden? I was of the opinion we had finished our talk on your 'nonexistent' parental rights."

"Yes, and I was hoping you'd be understanding but never mind.. " she trailed off, obviously exasperated by his words. He smiled at the knowledge. "I sent you a gift. A video gift. Did you like it?"

His eyes clamped shut as he fought against telling her off.

"I should have known your unceremonious visit to my suite halfway across town was not because you missed me or our love making. Tell me, how did you manage to come up with such a brilliantly vile plan all by yourself?"

A pause went through. "That's beside the point. I made a video of you with a pretty good angle and a nice friend helped me send it to you. I have more where that came from in case you're wondering."

He scoffed. "You're bluffing."

"You definitely won't think I'm joking when all entertainment channel online gets a wind of this video. Do you know the scandal that comes with this?"

He doubted her actions would really do any damage to his company but he wasn't willing to take the chance when there were easier ways of getting things done. Like negotiations. As for his reputation, the video was merely in sync.

"I think you should worry about your image. If that video gets out, you'll be the one to suffer more." He tried to play with her conscience.

She exhaled loudly, obviously resigned about the situation and his lips curled up into a smile. "I don't care about that as far as it gets me what I want."

Dreading this talk but realizing the inevitability of it had him asking.

"And what exactly do you want, Sara?"

She didn't pause to think about it. She didn't have to.

"My son, Lucas. I want my son."

++++++++++++++++

Lucas knew he was way in over his head whenever it concerned the Amadis. He should not have let them see they still affected him despite everything. They were gold-diggers, they had absolutely nothing before they met him and had used the simple fact that he loved Sara to swindle him, almost leaving him bankrupt. Perhaps that's why he found it completely unbelievable that they were not swimming in wealth. Of course, Evelyn, Tonya and Antonia maintained the façade that they knew what wealth was, but he could see right through it.

Sara, on the other hand, was another case altogether. There was nothing to suggest she had been part of their schemes since it was pretty obvious they kept her out of their circle but it was impossible. She had to have been there, she had to have been part of it, orchestrated it even, so why did he doubt himself? Lucas wondered, standing from his swivel chair.

Slowly, he strolled to the huge glass wall in his office overlooking the National Theatre. It had been exactly five days since their arrangement and he still couldn't understand why he had let her think she had the upper hand. He could easily have thwarted her plans without blinking, called her bluff and threaten her if necessary but he hadn't. He had let her think the video would actually tarnish his image or ruin his company and he knew exactly why.

It was because somewhere deep in his heart he was still very much in love with her and wanted to maintain contact with her. He knew it was a very bad idea but he hardly cared at the moment. Truth was that he doubted he ever stopped loving her. Their divorce had hurt like hell, then the lonely nights that followed after, the nights he drank himself to stupor just to forget her, but never once did he ever stop loving her. The feelings may have dulled over the years but they were still there. And coming back to this city had awakened them. Actually, that passionate night with her had awakened his heart and he knew no amount of alcohol could dull them again, at least not while she was close, very close to him. And he accepted that he didn't want to dull them.

Smiling, he strolled back to his swivel to sit. He was eagerly waiting for tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere up there, I mentioned the full name of his company. Damn, it was my genius mind at work again when I came up with that name and its acronym. I deserve some accolades but chocolates will be fine😄. And votes too😎

So while Lucas is waiting for tomorrow, you guys will be waiting for next update. Yep, sounds just about right.

Comment and don't forget to click on the left button as usual.

Thank you people😍😘