2. Oh, No, Not Him!

Lucy’s POV

THREE DAYS LATER, 

"Romano Motors’ Company." I whispered to myself as I looked up at the tall building. I bit my lower lip as I walked inside. Then I walked directly to the front desk. The woman raised an eyebrow and asked, "Yes, what can I do for you, Miss?" 

I cleared my throat and smiled at her, “Hi, I’m looking for Mr. Arman Romano.” 

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked as she scrutinized me.

I let out a sad sigh and said, "No, but—" 

"You should probably ask for an appointment first if you don't have one," she advised. 

Still, I wasn't going to give up and said, "Yes, I don't have an appointment but I need to see him. It's really really important. I know he knows my father. Please, can you call him and tell him Lawrence Hansley's daughter is here?” 

She took a deep breath and smiled awkwardly as she said, "I can't do that. At this very moment, Mr. Romano is engrossed in an important meeting. You can wait in the lobby if you'd like; he will finish his work at exactly 12 p.m."

“Really? Do I have to wait that long?” 

“Of course, so next time, learn to get an appointment.” she smiled meanly at me.

I scratched my head because I had no idea what this man looked like. Just as I was about to talk to her, she turned her attention to another customer. So I went to the lobby and waited for the clock to strike twelve.

As I glanced at my wristwatch, I felt a small sigh of relief; in thirty minutes, it would be twelve.

I got to my feet, clutching the folder full of documents; then, out of nowhere, a man sprinted up to me and slammed his shoulder into my side, sending me tumbling to the floor. My eyes widened in shock; I felt my balance crumble under his weight. 

He was completely on top of me, but I shoved him away while looking at him angrily. No matter how good-looking he is, he's really making my blood boil. He then stood up and offered his hand, but I ignored his hand.

I get up by myself, grab all the papers, and put them back in the folder.

When our eyes met, I felt like my world just fell apart. He was the man at the hotel! 

“No, no way!” I muttered to myself. 

He smirked at me, “Oh, we met again, woman. Are you stalking me?”

“N–NO!” 

“Then why are you here?” 

I took a deep breath and tried to say something, but I just couldn't. 

"Do you have something to say?" he asked as he looked at his wristwatch. It looked like he was in a hurry.

“U–Uh, d–do you work here?” 

“Yes.” he answered impatiently.

Then I looked at the time and saw that it was already 11:40. I needed to find Mr. Arman Romano.

I said, "Don't worry about it. It's not important to me whether you work here or not. I just wanted to find someone, and it was not you."

He laughed at me, “I don’t understand why I’m talking to a woman like you. You’re just a waste of time.” Then he walked away from me.

Then I looked around for someone wearing a fancy suit or having bodyguards with them. Rich people usually have a lot of bodyguards with them, which is why I'm looking for that person who walked in front of me. 

But the man came back with a frown on his face and asked calmly, “Are you looking for someone?” 

“No! I don’t need your help. Can you just go away?” I said grumpily and rolled my eyes at him.

"You were looking for Mr. Romano, right?" the front desk clerk asked politely.

"Yes?" I said in confusion. 

She pointed at the person behind me. When I turned around and met the man's eyes, I gasped in surprise. His arms crossed over his chest as he looked at me from head to toe. "Are you looking for me?" 

Oh, no, not him! Gosh, it's not even twelve yet.

I cleared my throat in awkwardness and blinked my eyes, “Yes—” 

"You are the most disrespectful person I have ever encountered, woman," he remarked. 

Hearing those words come out of his mouth made me step back and angrily flush. I scoffed and said, “I have a name, sir. I’m Lucy—”

“I don’t care about your name. What do you want from me?” 

I tried to calm myself down because yes, it was my fault! I was being rude to him in the first place, "W–Well, Mr. Romano, I came here to see you. As you can see, I have this folder full of paperwork to settle my father's debt."

He turned his back on me and said, “Follow me." 

I trailed behind him into his office, speechless. He slammed the door shut and ordered, "Sit." 

After I sat down, he asked, "So you're Hansley's daughter?” 

"Yes," I nodded, then set the papers on his desk and declared, "All his properties and wealth will be yours as a full payment of his debt to you. But I need something, I want the house for me, or else, I will be homeless.” 

He sat down across from me and asked, "So what happened to your father?"

“He’s dead.” I answered without looking at him.

Then there was a sudden silence between us.

So I continued with a cracked voice, “That’s why I’m here…. I want to make an agreement with you.” 

A wicked grin spread across his face as he studied the paperwork closely. He asked me, "Do you think this is enough to pay me? huh?”

"Well, I don't know," I said as I got up. 

“You don’t know?” he mockingly laughed at me. 

"This has absolutely nothing to do with me. All I'm here to do is bring these papers to you." 

“Well, I’ll take this payment as partial—” 

“Partial? Are you serious?!”

He stepped forward without taking his evil eyes off me and said, "Yes, because you're going to be the full payment." 

“H—HUH?”

He smiled at me. “You want to make an agreement with me, right?”