Lyra couldn't tell what had prompted her to suggest something so absurd but it was the first thing that came to her mind. At the moment, it was the right step. Besides, lunch really isn't a big deal.
"let's have lunch." Lyra felt like a log had been lifted off her shoulders after saying that. Lunch was her stage two and Lyra believe it was a good step to getting close to him. But the problem was, the cold man might not agree. His cold eyes did no justice to her already shaking legs. For a few minutes, he just stared at her. And then he finally spoke.
"No." Lyra wasn't surprised by his answer. After all, he was very good at saying no regardless of a person's feelings. "Why? It's lunch time. Won't you at least eat something. It wouldn't kill you." Lyra was stubborn herself. She couldn't let such an opportunity slide. Step two had to be successful. "Get out." Julian stated and took his eyes back to his files. This was enough to wash Lyra's stubbornness down the drain but she had made up her mind. She must eat lunch with him no matter what. She wouldn't care less if the food chocked her.
"You really are clueless, aren't you? Did you forget I'm supposed to be your wife. Isn't this marriage for the sake of stopping the rumors going on about you being gay?" After saying this, Julian took his attention back to her. Lyra noticed she had caught his attention and continued "I mean, you simply announced that you got married and published our marriage certificate for everyone to see but that's it. You didn't kill the rumor, you just silenced it briefly." Lyra knew what she had to do to persuade him.
She needed to make him see reasons to eat with her and the so called gay rumor was going to do the trick. " People believe what they see and all they saw was a certificate which could have been forged or faked. Do you think people are stupid? They haven't seen your so called wife, how can they believe you're married? The worst part is, you appear in work right after the certificate is published. Shouldn't you be with your newly married wife? In order to end the rumors once and for all, you have to make it seem real. People have to see us together most of the time and trust me. Lunch is the best option. " Lyra concluded. She really hoped it worked. She had nothing else in mind.
Julian didn't care what people thought of him, but he thought she wasn't wrong no matter how much he wanted to deny it. The rumors didn't die, and the press believed the certificate was forged. He knew this because he got a call from England earlier that morning. He had gotten an earful for not making his wife's identity public. It wasn't just the press, even the company board of directors were curious about the woman he had married.
Julian had no plans of making Lyra known to the world for reasons best known to him alone. But he thought about it. Since the world was so eager to see his wife, he'll show her to them but he'll do it partially.
Lyra heard him scoff. "You seem pretty eager to go out with me to lunch. " He calmly said. " Huh? No. I'm just trying to help. I mean, I'm being paid for this so why not put in my best. " Lyra quickly tried to defend herself. As she spoke, he dropped the file he was reading and got up. Lyra gulped as she watched him walk towards her. He smirked at her. "So, you think going out for lunch together will shut people's mouth on matters concerning the validity of our marriage? " Lyra nodded firmly at his question.
Julian couldn't tell what the woman was up to. But he was sure her wanting to have lunch with wasn't just to help him clear his name. It couldn't be that simple. There was surely more to it. Most of his life, he had lived having little or no trust in anyone. He most definitely didn't trust this woman, even though she was the first woman he could touch after a long time. Lyra couldn't tell what he was thinking, he had been quiet for more than a minute.
"Besides, it's just lunch. All we have to do is go out to some restaurant and eat." She told him. "Just lunch." He repeated and Lyra looked on expectantly. "Let's see..." He raised his head to the ceiling and pretended to think. He then looked down at Lyra with freezing blue eyes and simply let out "No." Without another word, he turned around and walked back to his chair. Lyra couldn't believe her ears. He just said NO! What's wrong with this man? She looked at him with unbelievable eyes.
He had totally crushed her step two like it was nothing. Couldn't he at least give it a thought or say something other than no. She huffed in defeat. "Get out." He ordered and she turned to leave but stopped at his next words. "You're not to come to my office again, except I call for you. The next time you disobey my order and enter my office without permission, you'll regret it." Lyra sighed at his words and walked out of the office.
She headed back to hers and met Caleb in panic mode. She watched him walk back and forth the office with his hands in his hair. What's with him? She thought. As soon as he noticed her, he walked towards her. "What did you do? Why did you go to his office? He's really angry. He's going to have my head. " He ranted. Lyra had never seen a grown man this agitated. How cruel was Julian Donovan to make a man like Caleb tremble? She was about to say something when the office line rang and Caleb's eyes went wide. He quickly ran to the phone and picked the call. Lyra couldn't hear the voice at the other side of the phone but the look on Caleb's face was enough to scare her. "Y, Y... Yes boss. " Caleb stammered dropping the phone and slowly walked out of the office. Lyra suddenly felt sorry for him. Also guilty since this was her fault....