Amy

"Luke?! Oh my god, Luke!" I squealed when I recover from my shock.

He was as shocked to see me there as I was. He was still watching me open mouth as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Of course, he couldn't. It had been ages since we had met. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I was him. I couldn't control myself anymore and I ran to hug him. Oh my god, this is the best day ever!

"Oh my god! Amy, it really is you." He hugged me back as he finally got over his shock.

"Of course, it is me. Your one and only Amy." I hugged him tighter.

"I almost thought I was hallucinating. It has been so long, girl." He hugged me tighter almost making me breathless.

"Yes, it has. Where have you been all this time?" I asked finally letting him go.

"I went to university and then-"

"I think you both are forgetting where you are", Aaron cut him off bringing us back to reality and suddenly we realized we were still in the CEO's office. Oh no. Luke and I looked at each other like to say "Uh-oh".

"Sorry, Aar-Mr. Kingston", I said guiltily.

"Sorry, sir", Luke said almost scared he will be fired.

"I didn't think you both are so unprofessional to act like this in front of your boss", Aaron said with his eyebrows raised in question.

"Sorry, Mr. Kingston, it is just we are meeting after so many years." I said.

"Seven and half to be precise." Luke said.

"Aww, Luke. That's so sweet of you to count and remember." I said with delight.

"Of course, I do. I can never forget my little Amy."

"When will you stop calling me little? I am not little." I complained with a pout.

"You are. Look at you. You are so little compared to me." He even dared to draw an invisible line from his shoulder to min.

"You meet me after almost eight years and the first thing you do is make fun of my height? That's mean", I got fake angry.

"Stop your drama, little girl", Luke laughed.

Aaron faked coughed, bringing us back. We did it again, didn't we? We zoned out on him twice in last ten minutes. Well, that is normal when you meet old friends. We just gave him a guilty expression as he looked at us with narrowed eyes.

"Uh..I..I am here..here with the document from HR for the new hire." Luke said finally breaking the silence.

"Go ahead, Amelia. Sign it so we can all get back to work." Aaron said looking between both of us.

"Oh my gosh, you are the new hire? You are gonna work here with me?" Luke asked me.

"Yeah, didn't you check the name on the document?" I asked confused.

"Oh, I was just delivering it. I didn't print it and I am not nosy like some people", he smirked.

"It is not being nosy. It is being curious." I glared at him as I took the file from his hand and walked to Aaron's desk.

"May I borrow a pen?" I asked Aaron.

He nodded and gave me a pen from his pen-stand.

I looked at the pen and back to him. Did he remember that this was the pen I had gifted to him on the first thanksgiving after we became friends? The look on his face said that he probably didn't. He was just looking at me expressionlessly.

Of course, part of the plan. I thought as the hate I had for him inside me suddenly grew a notch.

"So, you did achieve your dream after all, huh?" Luke broke our eye contact.

"Yes, I did became an architect. A good one at that", I gave him a smug look as I signed the document.

Luke just smiled at me happily and took the file from me.

"Thank you, sir", Luke said to Aaron and left.

I continued looking at his back as he left, smile not leaving my face. I am so glad I finally met him after so long.

"I think you need to go back to work too, Amelia, unless you want to get fired", Aaron said sternly bringing me back.

"Sorry, Mr. Kingston for everything that just happened. It is just we have met after so long. We couldn't contain our excitement", I explained with a smile.

"Seven and half years as I heard." Aaron said.

"Yeah, we were together in high school before he-"

"Do you think I take interest in the personal life of all my employees? Get back to work", he cut me off rudely and turned to look at his computer screen.

What is wrong with him? Why is he always so angry? He is even glaring at his screen right now. Here I thought, he was a sweet boss. Idiot.

I went back to my new workstation. It is just like the one at Wellington's. It was on the seventh floor near the window the view outside was amazing. There were a lot of other people around me. All were probably architects too. Tony assigned me a new project. I soon called for a meeting with the interns and instructed them on what had to be completed.

"Okay, here's the deal. This is a massive task to look at once. The first step would be to break it down in smaller sections. So we need someone to look into the color scheme for the interiors and the logo and then the architectural designers. Now, color schemes are basically like a rough idea of what theme to use and not exact final shades and colors because that depends on the design. So, we can place two of you on it. The rest eight will be on the designing team. Let's break that into the interior designs and external designers. So far, understood everyone?"

"Yes, ma'am", everyone said.

"Amelia, guys. Call me Amelia."

"Isn't Mr. Kingston's wife's name Amelia too?" one of them spoke and I froze. Oh no. I do not want anyone to know yet. They will judge me for no reason and think I am here only because of that.

"It is. But, no one has seen her. The wedding was really small and they say no one even knew he was seeing someone", Kyle said.

"Who wouldn't want to make the world know that she is Aaron Kingston's wife! I would have had it published in newspapers. Maybe she is just ugly", Stacy said. She is in front of you, women.

"Or maybe that is why she is not you", Kyle said and everyone snickered.

"Can we focus, guys?" I said to bring them back to the task at hand.

"Yes, of course. But, aren't you curious? I mean she has the same name as you."

Stacy, she doesn't have the same name as me. She is me.

"Amelia is not an uncommon name", I reasoned.

"True, otherwise we would have assumed it is you." Kyle joked.

I can not say you are wrong there, but I can't tell you that.

"I have made a bet with my friend. I have my dibs on it being an arrange marriage. How else wouldn't anyone not know that he was dating?" Mason said.

"They dated for a year and half. I read so in Times. It is a love marriage for sure." Kyle answered.

"Focus on work, everyone." I almost yelled.

"Sorry. So, I can take up the color scheme task. Who else is with me on it?" Mason said and we finally continued without any further discussion about Amelia Kingston.

I had asked Aaron to invite only close family and friends to our wedding and not post our pictures anywhere. Being Amelia Lawson and Amelia Kingston puts a lot of responsibilities on my shoulder. A pressure I am not ready to handle. I have always loved the freedom that being just Amelia provided. I know that people judge you for a lot of things. Your surname being one of the top ones on the list. I had always avoided a lot of public gatherings like business parties and galas. The only ones I used to attend were the ones that I totally had to. The ones that were hosted by Lawson Enterprise. One wrong step or slip of tongue and a lot of things could go bad. It is this reason that not many know who I really am.

Wanting to keep things simple, I never involved anyone while I was dating Aaron. I didn't want too many people to know and make a huge drama about it. I hadn't even told Marcus until Aaron proposed. He was surprised but didn't say anything. Literally nothing. Coming to think of it, he never gave me a thumps up or a thumps down. But, again, at that point I didn't care about anyone but Aaron and I. I had found a family in Aaron's family and that was all I wanted. I had always been open about my reservations. Aaron too never really pushed me for anything and we managed to hide it pretty well.

But, now I really hope it stays this way. Being Amelia Lawson was one thing. But, being Aaron Kingston's wife is another. Girls stalk him and guys want to be him. Everyone looks up to him. He does very well deserve it. But, with so many people curious about him, I am not sure how long will I be able to keep the curtain drawn upon me.

"That's decided then. Let's meet up tomorrow at the same time and discuss everyone's progress." I told everyone as I wrapped up the meeting.

It was almost lunch time when the meeting was over. I decided to leave me belongings at my desk and then head out. There were not a lot of people on the floor right now. All had probably already left to eat. After I settled everything at my desk, I took my wallet and turned to leave. I reached the elevator and when the elevator door opened, Aaron looked up from his cellphone and our eyes met. He took a step back to let me enter. It was just the two of us in the elevator and I saw that Aaron had already pressed the button to the first floor. He was probably going to eat too.

I thought he'd taunt me again or say something to make me angry again so I waited for him to say something for the whole ride down but he just continued typing on his phone without a word and soon we reached the first floor. We got out of the elevator and started walking to the main door. This was so awkward.

Should I ask him if he wants to join me for lunch? I shouldn't actually because why should I care. But, we have been eating together everyday since our wedding so maybe for courtesy sake. But, it would make my mood sour and also, he is just my boss here. So, it shouldn't matter what I do. If he wants he can ask me himself.

"Amy, I was waiting for you. Thank god, you are finally here. Let's go grab something to eat. We have so much to catch up on." Luke was already dragging me with him without realizing that we had an audience. But, when I looked behind, there was no one.

Where did he disappear to? Weird.

"Luke, slow down", I told him as we grabbed our orders and Luke almost ran to a table.

"We need the most time we can get. We have so much to talk about." He said as we stood in the queue to make our orders.

"Yes, of course. Where have you been all these years?" I asked with curiosity.

"I went to university to study management. Then, I found a job in Tennessee. I recently got a promotion and got transferred back to New York. I must tell you, I didn't miss this city though. It is so crowded and insanely expensive. But, I am glad I came here because I met you finally after all these years. Have you not been out of the city at all or what?" Luke ranted.

"I have been out for studies, of course. I went to Berkley, remember? But, then I just came back to New York. I wanted to continue living here so I applied to jobs here and got one in Wellington's." I shrugged.

"Did you want to stay here because of -"

"Yes." I cut him off before he could say anything further. We both knew what he was talking about.

"Have you found out anything yet?" Luke asked slowly.

I shook my head in no.

"Eight years is a long time, Amy. Maybe-"

"No. Don't say it, Luke. Don't you dare say it. That day will come, I am positive. It has to."

Luke held my hand comfortingly and gave me a small smile, "I hope so too, Amy. Anyways, what's been up with you? Except your work life. Fiancé or Husband?" He nodded at the ring on my finger.

"What do you think?" I gave him a smug look.

"Oh my god! You are married indeed. Who's the unlucky man?" He asked with shock evident on his face.

"You will not like it and he is quite lucky to have me as his wife, you idiot.", I grimaced. Well, if anything, I am the unlucky one here.

"Unless, he is a criminal or a drug addict, I trust your choices, girl. Who is it?" He asked leaning closer.

"Aaron", I bit my lip.

"There are so many Aaron's in the world, Amy. Aaron who?" He asked confused.

"Aaron Kingston." I rolled my eyes at him.

"I only know of one Aaron Kingston, Amy. Are we on the same page?" he eyed me carefully and I gave him a pointed look.

"Oh my goodness!" Luke yelled and a few people turned their heads to look at us. We gave a sorry look to everyone and I gave him a warning look. Then, there was no stopping Luke.

"Aaron Kingston? Our boss? Wait, I mean my boss? Because he is your husband of course. How? When? Oh wait, I know when. Heck, everyone knows when. That Amelia is you? Amelia Kingston is you? Oh my god! How? I thought you didn't want a life full of limelight. Why did you-"

"Luke!" I cut off his whisper shouting and held his hand tighter as a warning.

"I will tell you everything. Just not here, okay?" I said and he nodded in yes.

After that we just caught up on stories from his and my university days. He told me a lot of things about all the crazy stuff he did making me gasp and laugh so much. It was almost end of lunch time when we got back to the office.

"Amy, give me your number. Also, we will have to catch up later about you know what and I want to know everything, understood?" Luke asked as we reached my floor. He works on the fourteenth floor, the same one as Aaron.

"Yes, sir." I mock saluted and gave him my number.

I went back to my desk and saw my manager already waiting for me.

"Hey, Tony", I greeted.

"Hello, Amelia. I have something for you. Mr. Kingston called up a while ago and asked me to hand this project to you as well", he said with a weird look.

"But, I already have one with the interns. It is massive and will need lot of work", I frowned.

"Yes, but that needs to be completed by end of three months. You can leave that one to the interns and just act like a guiding hand for them. This one is a priority and needs urgent care actually."

"Okay, what is it?" I asked curiously.

"This one is for a coffee shop upstate."

"Coffee shop?" That sounds simple.

"Yes, I know you think it is simple but it is not that straightforward. It has been in progress for three months now."

"Three months? That's super long for a coffee shop."

"Yes, but the client is a rich lady who wants to open her own coffee shop as a hobby idea. She wants us to do the interior and the problem is she is a hard nut to crack."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"She has rejected almost all the designs we have offered so far. We have changed the architect on this project ten times. No one seems to satisfy her and she just seems confused about what she wants. Every time she has a different requirement. She has given us a last chance. She said if we don't do it right by the end of this month, she will ask for a refund on the payment and go to some other company. We have invested so many resources on it that the profit is almost null. If we make a refund, we will incur a loss."

"End of the month? That is ten days from now!" I exclaimed worriedly.

"Yes, I said the same to boss. But, he insisted you do it. I don't know why he wants me to hand it over to you. You just joined. This is too soon for you to handle such a difficult client", Tony said with a sad smile.

Of course, he wants me to do it. It is his plan of harassing me and winning the challenge. If I fail this task, he will fire me. Aaron, you...you ass.

"Don't worry, Tony. I will handle it. Can you set up a meeting for me with this client? As early as possible. And also send me the details of the project, all the designs she rejected so far and why", I told him.

"Yes, I can set up the meeting for tomorrow, if she is okay with it and already sent you the details. All the best", he said and left.

The rest of the day just went by in looking at all the designs and deciding on how the design should be for this lady's coffee shop. Soon before I realized it, it was time to go home. I collected my purse and bag and walked to the parking lot. I was so tired after such a long day at work. I almost didn't want to drive back home. It is so far and the traffic will be so bad. But, what other choice do I have? It is not like Aaron's gonna ask me to accompany him in his chopper.

When I finally reached home after a forty minute long drive, I was already thinking about what to cook for dinner. I was so tired with all the work today. I decided to go for something easy. But, when I opened the door, Aaron was already waiting for me on the couch. He had changed into his night clothes and moved his gaze away from the television as I walked in.

"What's for dinner? I am starving." He doesn't have the courtesy to ask about my day also. He is so selfish.

"Cook for yourself then. I just came in. I need to rest too", I groaned.

"Why should I? I have you to do that for me", he shrugged.

Stupid prenup!

"I am just making pasta. I am too tired."

"So, how was first day? Wanna call it quits already?" he asked.

"You wish! I am not giving up this easily. My day was really nice. I was enjoying it in the start but, the highlight of the day was when my boss came and told me that the CEO has suddenly assigned a new task to me. You see, my CEO trusts me so much that he assigned the most impossible client to me because he knows only I can handle such a huge task. Why will I call quits on such a working environment? I looking forward to acing on this one", I smirked.

"Your voice is dripping with overconfidence, my lady."

"I call it my confidence in my abilities."

"This old lady is not easy to please. The deadline is near and you are bound to fail on this one. I will happily escort you out of the building myself when that happens."

"You need to make better plans in future, Mr. Kingston. I will not let you win this easy. I will make sure her payment is done before the deadline."

"Let's see, you are sure?"

"I am going to change. Dinner will be ready in thirty", I said as I walked to my room and shut the door. I am not continuing this argument any further.

I can't believe Aaron is trying so hard to stop me from working. He had always been so supportive of my work. I used to run to him for any work related problems and he would always encourage me. It feels like he is really a stranger after all. There is literally nothing that relates him to the man I fell in love with. Is he always been like this or was that the real Aaron? Is the real him the sweet, caring boss that he is to everyone or the rude boss that he is to me?

Uh.. this is frustrating. Why are you such a mystery, Aaron Kingston?

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First of all, I am sorry for a late update. I had a friend over for holidays and had zero time to write.

Secondly, thanks to everyone who voted, commented and shared. Keep doing it. It is very much appreciated.

Hope you are enjoying the story so far. Let me know your thoughts.