Chapter 10: A sense of attraction

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“Where are we going?” Liam asked Lucas for the umpteenth time. The latter had called him over to the parking lot of their company only for Lucas to drag him into his car.

“We are going to see someone,” Lucas finally answered.

“Who?” Liam probed.

“Justin Gerano,” Lucas answered, and he stepped on the accelerator.

"Ahhh!" Liam groaned as the beef between Lucas and Justin wasn't something he wanted to be a part of.

The two men were egotistical idiots who were always trying to triumph over one another. Liam sighed as if it was his fault for introducing them to one another that fateful night in the bar.

What had started out as a celebration turned out to be a competition as someone dared the two men to see who would pass out from drinking too much alcohol.

It was a statement made as a joke but for Lucas and Justin who viewed everything as a competition, they didn't take it the same way.

The end result was that both men had to be carried to their cars after consuming about six bottles of alcohol.

In the end, there was no winner as they both passed out at the same time. Ever since then, there had been an enmity between the two.

It wasn't a serious enmity but a petty one as neither man attacked the other's business or family as they were infamous for but rather in a childish way and got on Liam's nerves.

“What did he do this time?” Liam asked in a bored tone.

“It’s none of your business,” Lucas fired at Liam.

“Then why are you making me come with you?” Liam fired back at Lucas. “God, one of these days I’ll lose my mind because of you.”

Lucas didn’t say anything in response, and the entire ride was silent until they got to their destination.

“A park? What the fuck are we doing at a park?!” Liam asked irritably as he got out of the car. He was supposed to be at the company working but here he was at a children's park.

“Well, our men traced him here,” Lucas answered as he started to look around for Justin.

“You know how much I don’t like children, and yet you brought me here?” Liam scoffed in disbelief.

“I hate them as much as you do, which is why I dragged you here,” Lucas finally disclosed and with Liam’s reaction, he could tell the latter was very close to lunging at him.

“There he is,” Lucas said when he sighted the culprit he had been looking for.

“Deal with him as fast as you can, so we can get out of here!” Liam growled in anger. He would have left if it was up to him but he couldn't as the car key was with Lucas.

They both made their way over to where Justin Gerano was standing and watching his son, Jayden Gerano.

Liam decided to sit on a bench nearby and watch the whole drama unfold, and also, so he wouldn’t come in contact with any child.

“You bastard! How dare you send those things to my stepmother?” Lucas asked when he got to where Justin was.

What Lucas was referring to was a picture of himself with a lady at the bar. The angle the picture was taken from made it look like he and the lady were making out but such never happened. The witch he had for a stepmother didn't seem to understand that fact.

Not that he cared what the old hag thought, but he wasn't ready for whatever schemes she was planning after seeing those photos.

“We’re in a park full of children who are innocent. Stop using such language,” Justin scolded Lucas.

His eyes then fell on his son who was peeling the paint off the swing. “Jayden, you better stop acting up, or we are going to be here for a long time,” Justin warned his son, who stomped his feet in response to what his father had said.

Justin then turned his attention to Lucas. “That will teach you not to try to cause a rift between my wife and me,” he answered

“Besides, I think your stepmother is right. You should settle down with your fiancée and stop sleeping around,” Justin added.

Lucas’ lips lit up into a devilish smile as he stared at the man who had always been his enemy since their high school days.

“You know very well I don’t sleep around, but you still went ahead and framed me. Good luck stopping the package I just sent your mother, framing you,” Lucas responded, and the smile got wiped off of Justin’s face.

“I’ll kill you if you get me in trouble!” Justin growled as he brought out his phone to call his mother.

While the two men were busy squabbling, they didn’t notice when a little girl passed by them.

Jayden however noticed the girl and he scowled as he didn't want to share the swing with anyone else. “Can’t you see that no one else is here? Get out!” He said to the girl who wanted to play on the swing he was on.

Zendaya looked at the park and then back at the boy. This was the only swing where there was no one else and this was what she wanted to play on, so why was the boy chasing her away?

“Are you deaf? I said, "Get out!” The five-year-old Jayden said to her.

“I want to play on the swing,” Zendaya, for the first time in her four years of life, spoke to someone who was not her mother or Samantha’s family.

“This swing is mine and only mine. Now go away!” Jayden ordered, and he pushed Zendaya. He didn’t use his strength, but due to the fact that Zendaya was naturally weak, she fell.

Her scream finally caught the attention of the two men. “Jayden, what did you do?!” Justin asked in anger as he made his way over to his son.

“She wasn’t listening when I told her not to touch my swing,” Jayden defended his action as he wasn't sorry.

Lucas stared at the little girl without bothering to help her. Kids were not his thing, and what better way would the girl learn to get back up on her feet after being knocked down by life?

That was his stance until the girl lifted her head and looked at him. Her eyes were just like his, and he felt attracted to the girl.

She blinked her eyes and her face wrinkled into an expression Lucas knew all too well. She was about to cry.

Shit! He hated hearing children cry.

He didn’t realize when his legs took him to the girl. “Don’t cry,” he said as he picked her up and dusted her clothes.

“You’ve been acting up lately, young man, and it’s time you get punished for it. This isn’t your swing, and you shouldn’t have pushed the little girl away. Apologize to her now!” Justin ordered his son.

Jayden saw the angry look on his father’s face and he realized that it wasn’t good to go against his father. “I’m sorry for pushing you,” he apologized to the girl.

Zendaya, however, turned and buried her face in the man’s leg as she was afraid he would hurt her. That was when she noticed her mother.

“Mommy,” she called out in her small voice. Lucas, whose attention was on the small girl hugging his legs, heard her call out to her mother and he turned to look at the woman.

Kiandra quickly gathered her composure, despite her insides being in turmoil. Not liking the way Lucas’ hands were on her daughter, she walked over to him and picked up Zendaya.

His face seemed to show no sign of recognition, much to her relief. Of course, she was nothing but a one-night stand he had. That wasn't supposed to hurt but somehow it did.

“I’m sorry for whatever has happened,” Kiandra quickly apologized, and she turned to leave.

Zendaya, whose head was on Kiandra’s shoulder, raised her head to look at Lucas and he was hit with a sense of attraction when he stared into her blue eyes.

What the hell was wrong with him?

“I’ll deal with you later. First, I have to deal with this little brat,” Justin declared, and he took his son out of there.

Liam, on seeing that the whole show was over, stood up from his seated position and he turned to leave as well.

“So, I didn’t know you loved children,” he commented nonchalantly when Lucas caught up to him.

“I don’t,” Lucas answered coldly.

“Then what was that display of affection I saw earlier?” Liam probed.

“It was nothing. She was about to cry, and I didn’t want to deal with that. Now drop the matter!” Lucas snapped.

Whatever feeling he felt was irrelevant, as he would never get to see that little girl again.

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