Chapter 40 - More Lies
"I'm still waiting," Lucy reminded him after some time.
Tom turned to spare her a glance before clearing his throat, "Okay. About two weeks ago someone referred me to her for a plumbing job. That was how I met her for the first time. I helped her fix her kitchen sink which was clogged. I don't think she is married," Tom said confidently.
"Oh! But shouldn't you know her name if you visited her home and worked for her?" Lucy asked thoughtfully.
"I suppose I was too smitten by her beauty to remember to ask for her name... Or maybe she mentioned it, but I wasn't listening. I know where she works though," Tom added, making Lucy's ears perk up.
"You do?" She asked with interest, and then cocked her head to one side as she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, "Don't tell me you have been stalking her."
"Not exactly. Although, she was the reason I applied for a job at the company. She works there, but I don't know what department she works in so..." Tom let the rest of his words trail off and shrugged.
"Really?" Lucy asked, clearly surprised.
So he had taken a job at the company because of a woman after all, but not because of her. It made sense. Why would he want to work as her driver if he was interested in her? And there was no way he could have applied for the job of a driver overnight in such a firm. Sonia was right. She had been too full of herself to the point of paranoia. His being her neighbor and driver was all coincidence, and he was just being good to her, while she on the other hand was being a stuck-up bitch. She not only needed to be more open-minded, but she also needed to relax around him and accept his friendship.
"I feel so embarrassed telling you this right now. You can't tell anyone else about it though. This has to remain between the both of us," Tom said, turning to flash her what looked like an embarrassed smile.
"It's not like I have anyone to tell anyway," she muttered as she glanced outside the window.
If he liked his mystery lady enough to seek employment in her place of work, how come he had had sex with a random stranger? Why couldn't she seem to figure him out, anyway? Was he a good guy or a bad guy? Lucy wondered as she turned to look at him. She remembered the way he had been flirting with those girls earlier that morning, and then with the ladies at work that evening. He was definitely a bad boy! Maybe he just wanted a fling with the lady?
"You don't have any more questions for me? Why are you so quiet?" Tom asked when she said nothing after some time and turned to spare her a glance.
There was no way she could tell him what she was thinking anyway. Neither of them was to mention what had happened between them, so she couldn't even ask him why he had slept with her when he had someone else he was interested in.
"What does she look like? What do you like about her? Have you run into her at the company since you started working there?" Lucy asked, not wanting to think about the things in her head. It was none of her business what he chose to do or who he chose to sleep with.
"She looks very pretty. I don't know what I like about her yet, but that is what I intend to find out after I get the chance to be close to her. I've seen her twice at the company."
"Really? And you still don't know her name or her department? Tell me what she looks like and maybe I can help you find out," Lucy offered.
"No! I don't want you to know her," Tom said apologetically.
"What? Why?"
"That would be too awkward. Just help me get her, and maybe after that, I will introduce her to you," Tom suggested instead as he drove into the parking lot of a cafe bar.
Tom reasoned that as long as he doesn't show her any lady, in particular, he could always tell Lucy the lady got married, quit her job, and moved to a different city or country, and that would be the end of his interest in this mystery lady.
"But if you say you have seen her at the company twice, didn't she see you? Wouldn't it be natural to engage her in a conversation?" Lucy asked thoughtfully.
"Well, I'm not sure she recognized me when I walked past her," Tom said with a shrug as he turned off the car's ignition.
"Come on, how would anyone not recognize someone that looks like you?" Lucy asked incredulously.
"Someone that looks like me?" Tom asked with a boyish grin which caught her off guard.
Lucy blinked at him rapidly, "I mean, you look... That is... What I mean is that your face is distinct," Lucy rushed to explain, looking all flustered, and quickly got out of the car before Tom could say anything. Tom stifled the urge to chuckle as he got out of the car. He decided that there was no need to tease her further since she already looked so flustered.
"Do you think maybe she ignored me because she thinks I'm beneath her? I mean, we are not friends, and someone who works in a company like that has no reason to say hello to a mere plumber, right?" Tom asked as they both headed for the cafe bar.
"Maybe if you had greeted her first, she would have responded, and then you could have gotten the chance to ask her out for a drink or something,"
"Tell me something, would you have talked to your plumber if you ran into him at your place of work?" Tom asked as he held the door open for her to get into the bar ahead of him.
"I don't see why not," Lucy said with a shrug as she looked around the bar.
"Assuming you were interested in men, do you think you could date your plumber?" Tom asked, making her turn to look at him.
"No," she said, before turning away from him.