Meant To Be

LUCY

”Fast! Fast!! Over take that car Alex!! YAY!!” Vicky screamed when Lexus overtook the car he pointed at.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

Jeez. Boys.

We are going to Mr and Mrs. De Luca’s house today for lunch. I totally forgot about that until Lexus came to our home to pick us up.

Vicky sat in the front while Jay and I were in the back. Lexus said that it would take more than an hour to reach De Luca’s house, so I had my mask on. Jay is silently playing with my phone. He is mad at me because I didn’t inform him before.

Hell, I don’t even remember as I was excited about my date. And I honestly thought they were just being polite.

My jaw dropped when we reached De Luca’s mansion. There were four armed guards at the front gate. One of them signaled to open the gate as if they were expecting us.

It took more than a minute to reach the mansion from the front gate. There are more armed guards along the way. When I was about to open the car door , it was opened by the guard startling me. He gave me a stiff nod when I stepped out of the car. I noticed that the other guards had also opened the remaining car doors.

What’s with the royal treatment?

Vicky, Jay and I exchanged looks. None of us dared to open our mouths as we reached the front door. This is too much for us.

”Aren’t there too many guards?” I whispered to Lexus as we entered.

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist. ”No. This is less compared to the guards in the Ganovese mansion. And half of the guards are hired by my Nonno. We have enemies out there and he doesn’t want anything to happen to his dearest friend.”

Ohhh. Rich people.

”Lucy! Alex!” Mrs. De Luca greeted us, walking fast towards us, along with Mr. De Luca and two other people.

”Diana, for god’s sake slow down” Lexus said, pulling Mrs. De Luca into a hug.

”Oh, I’m just excited to meet you guys!” She said and stepped towards me, cupping my cheeks.

”How are you dear?” She asked me, smiling widely.

I bent down a little, to not strain her as she is a few inches shorter than me and smiled. ”I’m fine Diana, how are you?”

”Fine dear, I’m fine” she said and looked towards Vicky and Jay. ”Awe. Who do we have here? What are your names again, little ones?”

”We are not little!” They said at once, making us all laugh.

”Oh, we apologize!” Said Mr. De Luca, standing in front of us.”Now what are your names, young men?”

”William! But you can call me Vicky” Vicky introduced himself, while Jay…

”Jason” he said and shoved his hand towards them for a shake hand.

I snickered when Diana hugged them both, ignoring Jay’s coldness.

”Aren’t they the cutest?” She said to Mr. De Luca while pinching their cheeks with an adorable look in her eyes.

He chuckled ”Yes, they are. Oh, this is Marco, head of the security, and Bernardo, our head chef”

After all the Introductions, we went inside. There are so many sculptures and paintings. Hell! There is even a fountain. This mansion has an ancient Roman look and it’s absolutely breathtaking.

I almost choked when I saw the dining room. Is this how rich people live?

The dining table is filled with different types of food. Mr. Lorenzo De Luca sat at the head of the table. Diana sat to his right, followed by Lexus, and Vicky sat to his left, followed by me and Jay.

Soon, maids came and served our food. I looked at the plates, they looked thick and heavy, obviously made of some rich glass. Spoons, forks, knives, pretty much everything other than food containers are made of silver.

Now I clearly understand what the expression Born with a silver spoon means.

My breath hitched when Vicky placed the glass down with a thud after drinking water.

I bent down to his ear and whispered pleadingly ”Careful there buddy, looks like I can’t afford this table if you break it”. He smiled cheekily, nodding his head.

”How are you adjusting here, child?” Mr. De Luca asked after everyone’s plates were filled.

”Good Mr- uh Lorenzo, we are adjusting pretty well. By the way, your house looks amazing” I said before I could even process what I was saying.

”All thanks to my wife!! She designed every corner of this house after we got married” He chuckled and looked at Diana, who was now shaking her head with a broad smile.

I looked at her wide-eyed ”Woahh.. you are awesome Diana”

”Stop glorifying me and tell me how your date went yesterday Lucy” She said with a mischievous grin, making me choke.

”H-How-?” I asked, surprised, after drinking some water.

Lexus sighed ”They know my every move. My Nonno keeps an eye on everyone within the family”

Ohh. I nodded my head.

”Uh- It was amazing” I said with a smile.

I blushed hard as I remembered everything. My lips were swollen due to all our kissing, so I applied some lipstick. I even wore a turtleneck top, which I borrowed from Nat, because my neck is covered with hickeys.

I looked at Lexus, he smirked at me as if he knew what was in my mind.

I only ate what was on my plate, too afraid to serve myself. What if I accidentally drop something? And I was too awkward to ask maids. Totally not my thing.

After lunch, Diana took me with her to show me around the mansion, while the others were in the gaming room.

I was in awe. Literally.

There are 4 kitchens, 12 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, 3 gaming rooms, 2 indoor pools, one large pool in the backyard- uff, I lost count. Heck, they even have a golf course.

”Here, try these. I made them myself” Diana said, giving me a plate full of cupcakes, cookies and pastries.

We are in her personal kitchen now. I sat down on the kitchen island, my feet were aching from all the walk.

I took a big bite from the cupcake and moaned loudly. ”These are amazing”

She smiled at me lovingly. ”Taste everything, I noticed you didn’t eat your lunch properly”

I blushed and nodded my head, too embarrassed and not knowing what to say.

By the time we headed back towards the gaming room, everyone was so serious and all focused on their game.

Chess.

Of course, intelligent people.

Lorenzo and Jay are one team, while Lexus and Vicky are teamed together.

Diana and I sat near them on one of the sofas. It’s mostly Lorenzo, Jay and Lexus who are playing, while Vicky is just screwing up the game for Lexus.

”Oh no, no, no.. not that one!” Lexus almost screamed when Vicky made a wrong move.

”NOO!! I want this -” Vicky said, holding one of the chess pieces ” to be here” and placed it somewhere.

Lexus groaned ”But it’s against the rules”

”Then I’ll make new rules” he said with a hump, making everyone laugh.

It was almost 5:30 pm when we decided to go.

”Why in so much a hurry? You can go after dinner, right honey?” Diana asked Lorenzo with a sad frown, hoping he would say something to convince us.

Oh no, one more minute in this house and I’ll lose my brain cells.

”It’s okay Diana, we will definitely visit again” I said before Lorenzo could say anything.

She smiled, nodding. ”You know, you can call us Nonna and Nonno.” she said, making everyone still for a moment.

Lorenzo wrapped his arm around her shoulder ”Sorry dear, she is just so happy after so many years. She probably remembered the loved ones we lost. You don’t have to call us like that if you don’t want to.”

I felt bad when I saw tears in Diana’s eyes. ”I-It’s okay, Diana- I mean Nonna, From now on, I’ll call you guys Nonna and Nonno” I said with a smile.

It feels weird calling them Nonna and Nonno, as I never had anyone to call like that before.

Diana smiled happily through her tears and pulled me into a hug. ”Please don’t forget to visit us” she whispered and pulled back.

I nodded and looked at Lorenzo. He smiled and gave me an appreciative nod.

”That was- unexpected” Lexus said as soon as we entered the car.

”Yeah” I whispered.

The drive back was fast as I fell asleep throughout the ride. Jay woke me up when we reached the apartment parking lot.

Vicky said bye to Lexus while he and Jay went into the elevator, while I decided to stay back for a few more minutes.

”Why don’t you come upstairs?” I asked, pursing my lips, not wanting to leave him. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to him back at De Luca’s mansion.

He leaned back on one of the pillars and pulled me towards him, wrapping his hands around my waist.

”I wish I could, but I have work to finish. Of all people, you should know that, since you are my assistant” he said, cupping my cheek and caressed it with his thumb.

I frowned. ”Speaking of assistant, I want my old job back” I said, placing my hands on his chest.

”No” he said, narrowing his eyes.

”Pretty please?” I gave my best puppy eyes and pouted.

He sighed and pecked my pouted lips. ”Why? You don’t like working with me? Am I putting too much pressure on you?” His voice laced with concern.

I shook my head ”It’s not that, it’s too weird and cliché, that I’m an assistant to my boyfriend.”

He raised his eyebrows and smirked.

”Boyfriend?” He whispered.

I smiled and kissed him. This time I bit his lower lip and pulled it, making him groan.

”Yes” I whispered back, panting.

He grinned. ”My girlfriend is a fast learner”

I laughed ”Oh, that she really is. So, about my job?”

”Fine. But you better make it up to me, cause I’ll miss my girlfriend” He said, placing his forehead against mine.

”I will”, I promised with a smile.