One Wild Night

Alone in his office, Tom listened patiently to the recording which Barry had just sent him. It was the conversation between Anita and Lisa which confirmed to Tom that Anita now knew about her mother's affair with her brother-in-law and that Bernice had confessed to Tiffany.

That at least explained the change in Anita's attitude and why she was trying to go against their mother. Maybe she wasn't so terrible after all.

What Tom did not understand now was what he was supposed to do. Because from the looks of things, Rebekah Miller was the only one who was likely going to attend Eric's Live Show since she had fallen out with her daughters.

Tom paused when something suddenly occurred to him. Eric Howell was the name of the show host. Wasn't that also the name of his new assistant? Were they related? Tom mused and called for his assistant.

"Are you in any way related to the television show host, Eric Howells?" He asked the moment his assistant walked in.

"No, I'm not. I'm Eric Howell, and he is Eric Howells. I'm a huge fan though, but that's as far as our relationship goes," Eric said, and Tom nodded.

"Alright. You may leave," Tom said dismissively and as his assistant left, Bryan stepped into the office.

He had left a moment ago to have a word with Jeff and Mia who had called to let him know they were done with their business for the day and were leaving.

"Is there something you need me to do at home in preparation for the dinner with grandfather?" Bryan asked as he took his seat, but Tom shook his head.

"No. I'm sure mom would sort that out. You know how she is with him," Tom said, and Bryan chuckled.

Of course, they all knew. If one didn't know better one would think Lawrence Hank was Evelyn's father and not Desmond's since she got along with him better than Desmond did with his father.

"Alright then. I should give Sonia and Jade a call to see if they're ready to leave," Bryan said as he dialed Sonia's line.

"Sonia said Jade isn't with them. Can you help me find out if Harry is back in his office?" Bryan asked Tom after his phone call with Sonia and Tom called Harry's secretary to find out if Harry was back to his office.

"Harry is in his office and so is Jade," Tom informed Bryan and he shook his head as he rose.

"I thought as much. See you later then," Bryan said as he dialed Jade's line and walked out of Tom's office.

Inside Harry's office, Jade sighed in contentment as she stood looking outside the window with Harry standing behind her, his arms around her and his chin resting on the top of her head.

Although they were both silent, it was comfortable and soothing. No words were needed at that moment. They both knew how they felt about each other and wanted to just enjoy their presence.

Jade groaned and Harry's gaze shifted to Jade's handbag when her phone started ringing, but Jade made no move to go get it. She didn't want this moment to end yet.

"Aren't you going to get that?" Harry asked, and Jade shook her head.

"I don't want to," Jade said, but before Harry could respond a knock sounded on the door and she glared at the door.

"Too bad," Harry said as he brushed his lips against hers before asking whoever it was to come in.

"Why did you ignore my call?" Bryan asked Jade with a scowl as he walked in.

"I didn't know it was you. I wouldn't have received it if I had known it was you either way. How did you know I was here anyway?" Jade asked with a scowl of her own.

"Where else would you be within the building?" Bryan asked as his gaze shifted from Jade to Harry whose gaze was fixed on Jade, staring at her like he couldn't get his fill of her.

"What do you want?" Jade asked impatiently, wanting him to leave so she could return her attention to Harry who was yet to say a word since Bryan walked in.

"We are leaving now. Are you coming with us?" Bryan asked and Jade turned to Harry, reluctant to leave him.

"Don't worry, you can leave. I still have to get back to work," Harry said as he pat her hair.

Jade sighed, "Alright. Call me when you are free to talk, okay?"

"Sure. Take care of yourself. Text me if you need to talk and I will call you if I'm not very busy," Harry promised as he kissed her while Bryan watched them.

Harry seemed like a different person right now. He couldn't believe the confident man in front of him was the same Harry who had looked like he was going to pass out the last time they visited the company and Jade clung to him.

Once Jade stepped away from Harry and headed for the door, Harry looked at Bryan, "Did my secretary show you the office space?" Harry asked and Bryan gave him a nod.

"Yeah. Thank you," Bryan said before following Jade who had walked past him.

"Things seem to be progressing quite fast between you two," Bryan said when he caught up with her by the elevator.

"Was that why you decided to interrupt?" Jade asked with an annoyed hiss.

"If I had known you were both making out I would have left you to find your way home yourself," Bryan assured her and she scowled at him.

"Whatever," she muttered as they got into the elevator.

Jade turned to Bryan when she remembered that Tom had seemed to be in a bad mood earlier, "By the way, what's up with Tom?"

"Are you done sulking?" Bryan asked dryly and shook his head when Jade glared at him.

"He is having a bad day," Bryan said, and upon further inquiry, he explained the situation with Anita and her family to Jade which Tom had told him earlier.

"All that happened just between yesterday and today?" Jade asked incredulously as they headed for Lucy's office after getting out of the elevator.

She didn't believe that the Anita she had encountered the previous day was capable of such change within twenty-four hours. Unless of course something serious must have happened to change her heart, but Jade couldn't think of any such thing that could lead to such a change.

"Yeah."

"I don't think that is enough to put Tom in such a foul mood. I mean, I understand how this upsets his plans, but I think it's more than that. Perhaps the meeting didn't go well?" She asked as they walked into Lucy's outer office.

"Did your boyfriend seem upset about the meeting?" Bryan asked as he waved at Lucy's teammates as they walked past them.

Jade shook her head, "He's not my boyfriend yet, and no, he seemed fine," Jade said, and Bryan cocked a brow.

"Not your boyfriend yet and you're both like that?" Bryan asked in disbelief and Jade shrugged.

"It's hard to believe, right?" Jade said with a grin as they walked into Lucy's office.

"Are you ready to leave?" Bryan asked and Sonia gave him a nod as she rose while Bryan picked up her laptop.

"By the way, what is wrong with Tom? Why is he upset? Is it just because of the stuff with Anita and her family or did something else upset him at the meeting? Perhaps our grandfather said something?" Jade asked Lucy who tried not to look confused by the sudden question.

"What stuff with Anita and her family?" Sonia asked before Lucy could ask any questions.

"You didn't tell her?" Jade asked, assuming that Lucy was aware of it, but from the expression on Lucy's face, Sonia could tell that Lucy had no idea what Jade was talking about.

"Anita's oldest sister attempted suicide and Anita visited the foundation," Jade said and recounted all Bryan had told her he heard from Tom about Anita's conversation with Priscilla.

Lucy listened to Jade without saying a word or revealing any emotion, and Sonia's gaze stayed on Lucy the whole time.

"So, do you know what's up with Tom?" Jade asked Lucy again.

"They had a lover's tiff so that's probably contributing to Tom's foul mood," Sonia informed Jade and Bryan since she could tell that Lucy had no intention of saying anything, and saying nothing was only going to make them want to probe deeper.

"I hope it's nothing too serious," Jade said with concern.

"I hope you both resolve your differences soon," Bryan said, and Lucy forced a smile.

She hoped so too. She had decided to take Sonia'a advice and go for therapy if that was what Tom wanted. She still thought it was stupid to just sit in a room with a total stranger and share her life story with them, but if that was what Tom wanted, she could manage that for his sake.

Sonia went around the desk and embraced Lucy. "Don't forget all we discussed. Talk things out with Tom. When you get back from work let's talk some more about this," Sonia whispered to Lucy before leaving with Bryan and Jade.

As Sonia walked out of the company with them, she tried to pay attention to Bryan's and Jade's conversation about Bryan's office space but she couldn't keep up. She had concerns of her own that were troubling her.

She had been able to distract herself by talking with Lucy about her problem, and now she had to face hers. Her menstrual cycle of twenty-seven days had been consistent for years, so what could be wrong?

She had always looked forward to having kids of her own, but right now she desperately hoped she wasn't pregnant. Bryan had clearly said he wasn't ready for them to have kids yet (chapter 422) and after their conflict, she had come to agree with him too.

They weren't ready for that step yet. No matter how much they loved each other, they were still getting to know each other, and having kids right now was only going to complicate their relationship.

She needed to get a pregnancy test strip as soon as possible and discreetly too. Discreetly because she knew that if she walked into any random store or pharmacy to get it and they recognized her as Sonia Smith, Bryan Hank's girlfriend, that could lead to another scandal and she couldn't afford for that to happen. She was tired of being on the blogs.

There was only one person apart from Lucy that she could trust to do such a thing for her and that was Mia. She couldn't ask Lucy because just like her, Lucy would be easily recognized and that would also cause trouble for her and Tom.

"Are you okay?" Bryan asked when he noticed that Sonia was not saying anything and she had a slight frown on her face.

Sonia forced a smile, "Yeah. Sure. I'm just trying to figure out a plot in my story," Sonia lied since that was easier than claiming she was worried about Lucy. She knew where that line had landed them the last time.

"Do you have any idea what Lucy and Tom fought over?" Jade asked curiously.

"It's sort of a personal issue between them. I'm sorry, I can't tell," Sonia said apologetically and Jade exchanged a look with Bryan both wondering how serious the issue was.

"Did Mia and Jeff leave already?" Sonia asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah. They left a short while ago," Bryan said, wondering what was wrong with Sonia as they got into the car.

Once they were seated in the car Sonia texted Mia, [Please, could you help me purchase a pregnancy test kit ASAP? I would do it myself if I could. You can't tell anyone about it. Not even Bryan.]

"Stop!" Mia ordered the cab driver who was carrying her and Jeff, immediately she saw Sonia's text.

"Is there a problem?" Jeff asked in alarm.

"Take us to the closest pharmacy. I need to get something," Mia told the cab driver and Jeff raised a brow.

"Are you ill?" He asked with concern since she looked like her normal insane self.

"It's just a slight headache," Mia lied, and Jeff's brows pulled together.

"When did it start? Is it only a headache?" He asked, and Mia gave him a nod and shut her eyes pretending to rest her head so that he wouldn't ask her any more questions.

Once the cab stopped in front of a pharmacy Mia quickly grabbed her handbag and opened the door before Jeff could get out, "I will get it myself. You don't have to come with me. Thanks," she assured Jeff as she hurried out to go get the test strips.

Jeff looked at her wondering what she was up to but decided not to follow her and just let her do her thing.

A while later Mia returned, and Jeff looked at her as she got into the car, "Did you get the medicine?" He asked since there was nothing in her hand, and she patted her handbag.

"Yeah. We can leave now. Thanks."

As the cab driver parked the car in front of their shared apartment and they got out, Alicia waved Mia over.

"Why is she always looking around the place like a spy?" Jeff asked Mia irritably but with a smile on his face so that Alicia wouldn't know he was speaking ill of her.

"You can ask her that when she comes over," Mia said with a sweet smile as she started to head in Alicia's direction.

"The key," Jeff reminded her.

"I have no idea how long this will take. She tends to chatter a lot so get the key from my bag and help me take my bag in," Mia pleaded as she handed her handbag to Jeff, forgetting about the pregnancy test kit.

Jeff rummaged through her handbag for the key as he walked to the door, and he paused when he noticed the pregnancy test kit in the bag alongside a bottle of acetaminophen.

A pregnancy test kit? Was Mia pregnant? He mused as he turned to look at her with a slight frown.

There was no way he could ask her about it unless she told him about it herself, so he was going to have to pretend like he hadn't seen anything.