C5 Damage Fee

Kate couldn't be happier. The company's most recent media stunt was already making waves in the social space as most of all the major news outlet was reporting about their recent success.

The company's publicity had skyrocketed ever since they made an official announcement as regards the cell tower becoming the company's newest property. They hadn't exactly given details as to how the cell tower the Miller had purchased in the bid had suddenly became theirs. They had only revealed that the company had come to some sort of partnership with the Miller and that had been all the information the media had needed.

It had been barely 48 hours since they released the official statement about the cell tower and the company's partnership with the Miller, yet the company's fame had grown significantly. That was what any form of partnership with the Miller could bring about.

The office was totally chaotic with a lot of movement going on. Calls from potential investors were unending. It was almost too surreal…

"Are you going to stop daydreaming and walk into the office already? Guess you have become famous lately," Alessa's voice jerked Kate out of her thoughts. She had been standing in the hallway after stepping out of the elevator and was yet to go into her office.

Alessa continued speaking. "Elizabeth Kate Luke, the youngest female serial entreprenuer in the big apple city."

Alessa spoke with so much jest that Kate couldn't stop herself from giving Alessa a slight nudge before walking past her, into her office, with a clear smile on her face.

Alessa went on to speak again, immediately Kate was sitting in her CEO chair, her hands straightening her ruffled black curls and tucking some strands behind her ears.

"So, when are you going to tell me that you invited prince charming into the office today?"

"What?" Kate passed Alessa a clueless expression on hearing her words but Alessa went on speaking, not noticing Kate's cluelessness as she seemed lost in a world of her own.

"I have to admit he looks much better in person. He is so handsome and has such a nice build and his soulful blue eyes, Oh my God! That man is just the complete package."

Alessa's face wore a dreamy expression as she went on but she finally noticed her friend's expression so she added in a less dreamy tone. "He is at the conference hall with a bunch of people he came with. You weren't aware of his presence?"

It took Kate a couple of second before she was able to fully process Alessa words. Lucas was in the company? In the conference hall? She sprung up to her feet.

"What the f**k is he doing here?" Kate was furious as she raced past the confused Alessa and made her way out of her office.

There was just no way she was going to allow Lucas meddle in her personal work space not after he and her father had worked hand in hand to trick her into signing those goddam marriage certificates! Her rage grew, she felt stupid just thinking about it…

Her father had come to her the previous night with a bunch of company documents that needed her signature. She had only read through the first three and just hurriedly signed the rest as she was exhausted, not knowing that a marriage certificate had been hidden in the bunch.

It wasn't until that morning during breakfast that her father had casually said, "Congratulations my dear daughter. You are now legally married to Lucas Miller!" And then he had passed the documents to her beaming with smiles.

"I already sent back the original documents to the Miller after you signed. Here is your own copy. You can now take your time to read through the terms and conditions…"

Kate's fury had been evident in her face after her father's words had registered in her head. "Dad! You tricked me! How could you?"

Her father had simply cocked his head to one side. "This is for your own good sweetie, you will come to realise that in due time."

Returning to the present, Kate wasted no time in racing towards the conference hall, taking the shortest possible route with Alessa obviously at her heels having realised her intention.

It only took a couple of minute before Kate arrived at the conference hall. She paused at the door to fix her expression by forcing a smile on her face in a bid to hide the visible anger raging within her, and then she proceeded to open the door.

"Sorry everyone for the interruption, I just want to borrow Lucas for a quick moment. Something urgent has come up that requires his attention."

Kate felt Lucas gaze on her as she spoke. She turned to stare daggers at him when she ended her words and a rather intense staring contest ensued between the two of them with his lips curving to form a smirk.

It wasn't until a couple seconds later that Lucas turned to the people present at the meeting to apologise politely, and then excuse himself before following Kate out the door.

She led him through the hallway, opening a door when they got to the end of it so that they could step out a patio.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, turning to look at him.

Lucas took some time before replying her question. The smirk still playing on his face seemed to suggest that he was very pleased with this situation, especially her reaction and it further fueled her fury. Impatience danced in Kate's eyes as she waited. Finally he spoke, tilting his head to one side cockily.

"I hope I don't need to remind you that we are partners and at least you have to be respectful to me. In fact, I am more or less your boss. I have 70% stake of the company, remember?"

As much as she hated to admit it, his words was right. Still, he hadn't just shown up here but he was here with a bunch of people who she didn't even know.

"So why are you here with a bunch of people?"

He scoffed at her question, before saying. "My office was a bit far away from the city center. I had to reschedule to this place at the last minute." Lucas spoke in his usual cold tone, pausing to smirk as if a thought had just occurred to him, and then he went on to say.

"You should have your employees behave properly, I can't have them staring at me every time they pass by the conference hall or come across me here. Or are they all an incompetent bunch that do not know what professionalism entails?"

"Do not cross the line, Mr Miller!" Kate warned angrily. Lucas smiled, a rather provocative smile, and then he shrugged his shoulders before turning to make his way away from her, leaving the patio.

Kate blanked out for a moment while trying to process what had just happened. The more she interacted with this cocky man, the more she hated his guts. And she was freaking married to him now!

"Earth to Kate, Hello!" The snap of a finger over her face, compelled Kate to jolt out of her thoughts. Alessa had come out the patio. She hadn't even noticed her step in here.

Without saying anything to her friend, Kate made her way past her to leave the patio. Alessa trailed behind her as she walked down the hallway, and then into the elevator, stepping out when the elevator stopped at the floor of her office.

As she opened the door of her office and stepped in, Alessa spoke. "You might want to check your inbox, I just sent you a picture of you and Lucas that I took a while back at the patio during that intense session of a conversation you two were having, I have to say you guys really look like the secret couple."

Kate really didn't understand Alessa words until she was showed the picture on Alessa's phone, making her almost choke on her saliva.

Sometimes Alessa's personality made her doubt if she was truly on her side.

Wanting to have her fair share of revenge and not allowing Alessa go freely this time Kate spoke. "The financial department need extra hands and it looks like you have all the time in the world to help them out. I'm sure you love being around complex numbers. Off you go now!"

"That not funny a bit…" Alessa's face turned sour. She hated numbers.

"Well, I am not joking around so you better get to it."

Kate made her way to her seat and sat down and the dejected looking Alessa could only leave obediently. Kate couldn't help but cackle a laughter as she watched her friend leave.

"Well, that should teach you!" she muttered when her laughter ended, and then she opened her laptop to continue working on a task.

***

It was only late noon but Kate was already exhausted. After sitting through a total of seven core meetings with potential partners looking to sponsor some of their recent projects, and being able to convince half of that number to sign a contract on the spot resulting to several million dollars in profit, her exhaustion was completely justifiable. It would have simply been the highlight of her day, the profits she had managed to get for the company, except for the fact that the Miller family was taking a huge chunk of the profit while she did all the work. Not fair!

She still had some extra work back home that included sending Justin, her fiancee, a telegraph message in the north pole asking when he would be back from his science research trip. As she massaged her temples in her exhaustion, Alessa suddenly walked into her office.

"I was about to suggest we go somewhere fancy tonight to celebrate today's success but looks like you would need all the sleep you can get."

Kate replied with a tired yawn, and then proceeded to close her laptop as she leaned further against the backrest of her chair.

Alessa came to sit on one of the two reclining chairs across her, resting her hands on the table between them. "I have a little bit of a news. Mr handsome offered your name as a volunteer to a reality show called 'Star and Farm'. Trust me you don't want to see what happened to the last people that went on the show, they was basically covered in horse dung."

"He did what? Can he even do that?" Kate was frustrated.

"Well, he can obviously."

Kate couldn't help but bang the table hard expressing her anger. She wasn't sure whether it was his style of getting back at here for earlier but she could so far see Lucas turning out to be a headache for her.

There was literally no way she was going to farm in the middle of nowhere packing horse dung simply for the entertainment of others and there was no absolute way she was going to call Lucas and ask him to spare her and cancel the volunteer offer because of her ego, not to mention she didn't even have his number.

Kate literally spent the next five minutes thinking for a possible solution before she suddenly brightened up with a sudden thought.

"Can I call in sick? The show would still go on without me, right?"

Alessa sighed before saying. "I guess it would but you would still have to pay two million dollars damage fee!"

Kate's face fell. "What!" she exclaimed.