Stellar Mistakes

The Scoundrel Boss

At three o'clock, it was time for their weekly meeting. When Lucy arrived, Freed and Gray were already there, and Natsu rushed in just seconds later. Natsu was immediately by Lucy's side before she had a chance to feel awkward, and Loke was in a stern discussion with Freed, so she was unable to even fully see him with his face pointed toward the window. She helped herself to some tea to calm down and took a seat on the couch, with Natsu plopping down right beside her.

Finally, whatever was going on with Freed ended. Loke walked over to the low table with a tea setting surrounded by chairs and couches. He called the meeting to order, and with an official tone he said Lucy was to go first. She passed around the printouts of her new proposal, and Gray, Natsu, Freed, and Loke looked over them.

"Great job, Lucy," Natsu said cheerfully. "It looks a lot better."

"I concur," said Freed. "Shall we go with this?"

"No," Loke said, his face pinched in concern. "It's lacking in impact."

Gray hummed in agreement as he also looked at the proposal with a critical expression. "We're competing, so there should be more edge to it."

Natsu pouted that they were dismissing the idea. "Well, I like that it's about the coaches and people who help train the athletes."

"It's a different angle," Gray said, nodding as he smiled slightly. "Much more personal. This finally interests me on an emotional level."

"Agreed," said Loke. "Choosing Lucy for this was the right decision."

Her cheeks burned at the high praise. "Thank you."

She could hardly help but see that Loke played the part of her boss well. His expression and words never gave away their secret. Meanwhile, Lucy was so nervous that the others might find out, she felt like her heart might explode. It was actually impressive that Loke could be so normal after last night. Lucy was both a little jealous and a little spiteful that he could pull it off so effortlessly. Did he have experience in hiding relationships?

Loke looked up at her and struck the proposal with his palm. "All right, consider this the springboard. Work off of this, but take the idea a little further. More impact, more heart."

"You got it," she said with energy.

The meeting continued into talks about finances and filming equipment. Lucy was relieved that she had the basis of a proposal now. When the meeting ended, Natsu gave a big stretch and smiled.

"I can't wait for us to make it through this presentation and celebrate. Eat good food and drink good booze."

Gray chuckled and slapped him on the back. "Now that sounds like a plan."

"A drink, huh?" said Loke. "You know, we haven't gone out as a team yet."

Natsu turned to Loke, like he was just waiting for someone to say that. "I can find a good place for us."

"Sounds great," Loke declared. "Is everyone okay with drinks tonight?"

"It's fine," Freed said a bit stiffly.

"S-Sure," Lucy piped in.

Going out with the team! While Gray, Natsu, and Freed discussed places to eat, Lucy let her gaze slip over to Loke, only to find him glancing at her. It used to be she could simply say "he inspires me" to explain this feeling she had around him, but now she did not know what to call it.

Her heart knew, but her brain refused to acknowledge it.

Although he said absolutely nothing about their relationship, she got the sense that he enjoyed watching her reactions every time he addressed her in front of the team. Was he teasing her? She had no idea if it was that, or if she was just over-thinking everything.