Chapter 4: The Meeting

*Lucas*

The beast inside me tried to break through the surface, lightning ran under my skin, popping every cell in my body, it was almost too painful to control. Kennedy's smooth as silk hair ran across her face in the small breeze that wafted between us, the golden strands glinting off the sun. I had never wanted to reach out more and stroke the soft looking locks. The attraction was immediate, but what she was doing to the animal that lived inside me was new to me. I didn't know how to react, my instincts were to protect her, but she was in no danger, except from myself, and my head told me to run, run and let the beast out. I stood locked jaw and frozen in place, I was afraid if I moved this meeting would end short.

So, I just peered down at her, I was sure I came off as a creep, but I couldn't look away. Her face was smooth and delicate, with tiny features that made her look even more youthful than she was. Her hazel eyes devoured me, making my body twitch uncontrollably. I had a good foot on her, maybe more, she was short but not necessarily petite. Her chest was large, even though it was hidden under a conservative loose black blouse, tucked into an unfashionable pencil skirt, that showed off her tiny waist and rounded hips. She clearly wasn't stylish but for some odd reason it worked for her.

"I'm Kennedy," she spoke slowly, unsure of her words. Her voice was soft and soothing. I said nothing and did nothing, just stood there like an idiot.

"Kennedy James. Your new employee?" She stuck out her hand for me to shake. My fingers tensed and balled into fists at my side, there was no way I was going to touch her and not lose control. Her hand hung awkwardly in the air until she retreated it back to her side. Again, I did absolutely nothing and it was starting to get embarrassing. I tried to force myself to speak but nothing came out. I could hear my dad's footsteps from down the hall, coming towards the entrance. I stepped aside to let him through, not knowing what else to do.

"Tony Massi," he said, friendly and approaching. He took a step forward and embraced Kennedy in a hug. What on earth was he doing? The look on Kennedy's face was almost funny, and I would have laughed if I wasn't so confused myself. Kennedy's arms dangled at her side, the moment took me out of my own uncertainty. I touched my dad on the back, letting him know that he needed to stop.

Tony pulled away with a slight pink color to his cheeks, "Sorry about that," clearing his throat, "no better way to bring you into our family then to go in for a hug. I am Tony."

"Family…" She said slowly again, and I repeated her words.

"Yes, work family. Massi Tech is a close group and we wanted you to feel welcome, especially since you will be working out of our house," he explained.

What was he even talking about? The Massi Tech corporation had employed over three hundred people, and we only knew about a third of them. Why was he lying? Maybe I should revisit the memory loss theory, there was clearly something wrong with him.

"Come on, let me show you around and tell you exactly what we need you to do." He gestured for her to cross the threshold of the door and come inside. As she moved forward, so did I. Her hand collided with my arm and the wild animal inside of me roared to life. Needles pricked my whole body and for a second I thought my insides were going to burst open.

"I have meetings!" I nearly shouted, trying to hear my own voice as the pulsing of blood pounded in my ears.

My father gave me a look, it was half knowing and half concern. "Alright son, but let's all get together for lunch so we can go over a few things."

Kennedy nodded at me, "It was nice to meet you, Lucas. I mean even though you didn't really say that you were Lucas, I am assuming you are Lucas. I don't think Mr. Massi has any more sons, so you must be Lucas."

Her nervous rambling was cute, but Christ she needed to stop saying my name in that sweet voice. My father ushered her inside, closing the door behind them. I needed to run, I needed to run to the point of not thinking. I didn't even bother changing clothes, I just moved my legs until I was at the back of the property and at full sprint.

*Kennedy*

I tried to ignore the constant vibration of attraction I had for Lucas coursing through my chest and the strange introduction from Tony as he gave me a tour.

The house was all one floor, with ceilings that were as high as the house was wide. The foyer, living room, and kitchen were all one massive room. The room felt very cozy with dark wood beams running across the ceiling, and thick, rich brown wood floor. The furniture in the living room was oversized and looked insanely comfortable, and the dining table could probably seat about twenty people.

"This is pretty much the main area and where we do all the entertaining. There is a gym and indoor pool on that side of the house." Tony pointed, "you are more than welcome to use it, you will see people in and out of there most of the time."

"Oh, who else works here?" I asked, curious about how big their home staff was.

"It's me, Lucas, our assistant Grace hops between here and Massi headquarters. We also have a chef, and two-house cleaners. A lawn service comes once a week, and now you. Even though there aren't a lot of us, the house always seems busy." He said fondly, like he wouldn't want it any other way.

The thought of why I was hired while they clearly didn't have any Massi Tech staff work out of the house flashed through my mind again. I figured getting all the information out in the open right off the bat was the best approach. "I don't mean to sound rude and ungrateful, in fact I shouldn't be asking this at all because I really need this job, but can I ask why you hired me?"

Tony looked at me incredulously, "I am made aware of all interviews, and we discuss each of them at great lengths. You impressed everyone in the room by the way. You're young, fresh out of college and don't have any of the bad habits someone can pick up from years of work, which is usually laziness and wanting to get paid the most amount of money for doing the minimal amount of work. I think you can bring a new eye and fresh perspective. To be upfront, I did an extensive background check, and I called your school and all your teachers said that you were brilliant. Not smart or a good student, but brilliant. So, you piqued my interest, people like you don't come around often, and I selfishly wanted to be the one to give you a chance in exchange for loyalty."

Loyalty was something that I had in spades, but it also had to be earned. I wasn't so naive to think that people had my best interest, a lifetime of disappointment had taught me that. "I appreciate that, and it makes sense, but why did you hire me for your home and not the office?"

"Technically you are working for both. I wanted you here for two reasons. The first, is obviously to find any vulnerabilities we have at the house. We have minimal security here, and I know that seems odd since we are a tech company, you'd think we'd have internet security and protocols everywhere, which is why you are here now. Second, I want you to have the ability to check out Massi Tech from an outside vantage point. Like I said people get lazy, and if they knew you were snooping around, they would attempt to straighten up. I want to catch all our holes while people aren't trying to show off. It's a new strategy, and I thought you'd be the perfect person for it."

Everything was starting to click into place now, "Is Lucas on board with this, he seemed like he didn't even know I was supposed to be working."

Tony quirked up one side of his mouth. The similarities to the father, son duo was obvious. They both had the same height and build. Tony aged handsomely, at fifty-three, he only had a few gray hairs streaking the remainder of the chestnut ones, "Lucas has trust issues, he is worried that you might expose our family to the tabloids, but he will see the value in you soon, I have now doubt."

"You aren't worried that I might expose you?" I wasn't worried about it, but I wanted to gauge his reaction.

"It's always a risk with anyone we hire, but I have a good feeling about you. Now let me show you where the offices are." Tony headed to a hallway on the other side of the living room. "The house is basically divided into four sections. The living room and kitchen area. The gym and pool down there," he pointed again to the hallway off the kitchen. There are four bedrooms in the hall by the front door, and three offices down here."

Tony's office was the first door on the right, Lucas's was next, and mine was at the end of the hall. All were close enough to each other that I could yell down the hall and one of them could hear me. Each was similar in size and decor, and had a separate full bathroom and closet, clearly, they were bedrooms and at some point, converted to offices.

"Make yourself at home here. There are no creepy locked doors that you are forbidden to enter, you can roam freely. Except I would steer clear of the garage. Lucas is really particular about that space. Dress is casual, you can wear t-shirts and jeans, or whatever you feel comfortable wearing. If we do have any business meetings, I would like for you to dress in business attire. I'd suggest leaving a few business outfits here, meetings and clients can pop up randomly. We have a cook that's here Monday through Friday, from morning to night, he is on hand for your use. If you have any dietary restrictions let me know now, otherwise he expects you to eat whatever he makes. I am going to leave you to get settled before our lunch meeting. All your equipment is set up and there is an encrypted file of everything you need to know in your email. I'll be in my office if you need anything.

He left me after that. I looked around the large space, there was a small wet bar area with a sink and mini fridge, the fridge was pre-stocked with flat and sparkling water, and some fresh pressed juices. Next to the sink was a very fancy coffee maker, the kind that had the pods you placed in it. I had always wanted one of those but could never afford one. I took out my personal laptop, one that I had splurged on with student loans, and convinced myself that I needed it for my career and shoved my bag in a wardrobe across from my desk. Settling in the large, high back-office chair, I hit the power button on a brand-new laptop that had Massi Tech engraved on the lid. Two large external monitors popped up the welcome screen. I checked the email and ran through all the details while getting down to work, but Lucas constantly appeared in my thoughts.