Clarissa opened the door. “Do not tell me you are spending another weekend, holed up in your bedroom all by yourself…”
Scarlett turned to her. “I have so much to do ma.”“You had a whole week, it is Friday night. I will watch Levi for you, you should be out there in the biggest city, having the time of your life!” she said excitedly.“I told you, I went in late to work today and because of that the drama king gave me truck-load of work to do and not to forget, I was supposed to be formally introduced to my boss today and I stood him up.” She explained.Clarissa shut the door and sat on the bed, “That is not your fault. Your boss has been absent for weeks, if he needed to see you, he should have informed you.”Scarlett looked at her with a smile on her face. “You are my mom, of course you are always going to have my back.”“But seriously, you need to get out there, there is a lot to do and I don’t want you wasting your youthfulness in your untidy bedroom...”Scarlett chortled.“Doing work…” she continued. “Call up your friends, there is a lot of places to be at.”“I do not have friends, remember? I am in a new city.” she replied.“What about work friends? Surely you have made new acquaintances…”She thought about the girls from the legal department, they seemed like fun people but she only just met them and all they spoke about was the handsome Cameron Grayson, she tried to paint a picture of what he looked like but she shook her head. She could not entertain such thoughts at all. She was unbothered by these sort of things.“I am just saying, I am a widowed fifty-four years old woman and I get more action than you do...”Scarlett groaned and covered her ears with her hand, “Mommmm!”Clarissa burst into loud laughter, “But seriously…” she began when she quieted down, “You can not let your experiences in the past, prevent you from having something beautiful. You have let a lot of time go by, you are far gone on your healing path, you are much better than you were and even more radiant. I need you to be truly happy and as much as you have found happiness in yourself, you need to find happiness in other people…”She was opening her mouth to speak but Clarissa shut her down, “And that is excluding Levi and I, Scarr.”Scarlett chuckled.“I am serious Scarr…”She exhaled. “I have heard you mom.”“Okay, so get up and pack up…”“Right now?” her brows shot up in surprise.“Yes! Right now!”“But I have nowhere to go.” She protested.“Go stand on the street or something…”“Mom…”“Or maybe go and get some Chinese down the street, that is nearby…” she thought about it. “No, go to that restaurant I told you about, the one near the house I work that sells the tasty burgers…”***Scarlett had woken up that morning in high spirits, she had put in effort into her look that morning. Her long hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She wore a white lace blouse and grey pencil skirt that accentuated her curves, with a black stiletto. When she walked past Lucious that morning, his stare had lingered. She turned in all her work to his table, complete and early.His response was a nod, but she was willing to take it, it was the nearest thing to a commendation she would get from him and she could not complain.When she sat at her table, she took a couple of selfies and posted to her I*******m, every one else deserved to see how pretty she looked that morning.She finished more work in less time and when lunch came, she walked up to the table and engaged the legal girls in a hearty conversation.It was the poster perfect day, that she could have wished for until…“Blondie, I need you”Scarlett was slightly taken aback by the urgency in his voice, she stood to her feet. “What do you need?”“Mr Grayson is having a meeting…”“The boss is around?” her eye widened in alarm.Lucious was irritated. “Yes, he is and is in a really crucial meeting rigghhtt noww…” he drew out the last words, emphasizing on them. “I need you and Audrey to quietly walk into the meeting and hand out papers timely…”“I do not understand…”Lucious had his hand on her back and was lightly pushing her forward. “They have all the information they need on the projector and has been sent to their mails but just in case, we have printed papers for those who do not care for the screens and would like to read from the paper…” he finished and let out a huge breath.They stopped at the door of the large conference room.Audrey was waiting for them at the entrance.“Audrey, please help me out” Lucious said with a sigh.Audrey nodded. She turned to Scarlett, “On my cue?”Scarlett had not finished nodding when Audrey opened the doors and strutted in. It took her a minute to walk in after her.Lucious let out a heavy sigh, massaging his temples.Scarlett looked ahead of her, making sure to avoid direct eye contact with anyone in the conference room. Audrey handed her a small stack of papers.Then in that moment, she felt a piercing stare on her back. She turned around and that was when she saw it. Those mesmerising grey eyes, she could not forget them even if she tried. She would recognize them anywhere, light, soulless, staring into them was like staring into a portal to another world, she could see all the emotions swirling in them.Her heart was beating aloud in her chest, it was deafening. It was like time had stopped and it was only them in that room for a moment. It all came rushing down, memories she told herself were locked away forever. Sitting at the head of the large table was the stranger, the stranger from that wild night in Paris. She lost her hold on the papers and the stack came tumbling down…Cameron Grayson hated this part of his job, he hated the long boring meetings and preferred the more active part. However, as the face of the Grayson companies, he had to be present at important meetings and this was an important meeting. He glanced at the silver Rolex on his right wrist, it was 11:23 am, he turned his attention to the man in front of the large projector screen who was explaining something.“…the numbers are expected to hit…”He turned his attention to the foreign investors who were listening with rapt attention. They were sold, his job here was done. He drowned out the man’s voice and began drumming his fingers against the table. It was in that moment that the doors opened. He glanced at the two ladies that walked in but then something, or rather someone caught his attention. He stared in disbelief, his mind was definitely playing tricks on him, he blinked and rubbed his eyes, yet the image remained unchanged. It could not be, or could it? she was there, the lady
Scarlett murmured her thanks to the server and left the line. She had managed to evade Mr. Grayson all day, which was no easy feat. She spent the better part of her day holed up in the restroom until lunchtime. After much internal deliberation, she decided to come out for lunch. If there was one place she wouldn't find Mr. Grayson, it would be at the cafeteria. She saw the girls from the legal department sitting at their usual spot but decided against joining them at the last minute. She could not deal with them, not right now, not in this mood. She spotted Benjamin at the end of the hall, sitting by himself. She walked up to his table and sat across from him. He furrowed his brows and leaned forward, and asked her, "Are you okay?" She replied, "Yes, are you?" and dug into her food, glancing behind her between bites. They ate in silence for a while before he broke it, asking, "Have you met Mr. Grayson? What do you think of him?" She almost spat out her food and immediately cover
Scarlett gave herself the biggest pep talk of her life and managed to show up at work the next week. Thankfully, Mr. Cameron Grayson was not at the office, and she was more than relieved when she found out. In the following days, she made the extra effort to avoid him. It was taxing, but it was all worth it in the end. Her relationship with Lucious had improved because she took up all his errands, which took her out of the office for hours. Lucious was more than happy to oblige her. At the end of the day, she felt exhausted, but it was all for the best. Of course, she was not stupid to think she was going to be able to carry it on for long. She worked in the Grayson’s office, and it would be impossible to avoid Mr. Grayson completely. However, she was going to drag it on for as long as she could, until she was mentally ready. She shuddered at the thought of it. Could she ever be mentally ready?Benjamin had been helpful too. He still was confused as to why and always had a worried ex
He chuckled and turned his attention back to the file and peered at it. “It says here, your name is Scarlett Knowles...” he looked up at her, with a squint of his eyes. “You sure do look like a Scarlett.” His eyes darted back to the file in his hand. “You’re twenty-six, from Springfield, and you’re single...” he looked up at her, that damned smirk on his lips. The smile on his face widened. He went back to the paper in his hand. “You have no children...” Her heart tugged as she thought of Levi. She absolutely loved him but she had to keep him a secret, more so now. She bit down on the inner corner of her mouth, not wanting to betray her true emotions. It was best no one found out about Levi, especially... “Are you stalking me, Scarlett?” he asked suddenly. “Did you track me down to my office after all these years and get a job in a bid to get to me?” Her eyes narrowed, she pressed her lips together in anger, her face flushed with rage as she stomped tow
Lucious was dressed in white wide-legged pants and a matching jacket, the neckline of the jacket was deep, showing his bare chest. His hair was braided into big cornrows, and he was carrying a purse in one hand with his tablet, while the other hand was in the pocket of his trousers. As he walked past some employees, they cleared a path for him. No one wanted the attention of Lucious, especially not in the morning. He looked away from the tablet in his hands, his eyes taking in the environment. A pleased smile crept up on his lips as he heard the small whispers among the employees, everyone clearly avoiding his path. His smile widened; he loved his job. When he got to the elevators and it opened, two men were inside. As soon as they saw him, they scurried off, leaving him all alone. He shook his head in amusement as he walked into the elevator.He was fixated on his tablet, and when he walked into Grayson’s office, he almost bumped into Cameron. “Mr. Grayson…” He called out in a fluster
As soon as he walked out of the doors, a small group of people followed closely behind him. “Mr Grayson!” “Please excuse me, Mr. Grayson...” “Sir, can we get your opinion on our new company policies for the financial year?” He turned in the direction of the voice. “Shannon, you know you can just file those to my office, right?” She smiled sheepishly and tucked her hair behind her ear.“Mr. Grayson, you have to make a social appearance, it has been a long time coming, and the people are thirsty...” someone asked in a high-pitched voice. Cameron stared at the lady who had asked the question. She had a stick sweet in her mouth, she made popping sounds occasionally. He would have been so uncomfortable if they were alone and she was looking at him just like she was now. “I have a P.A, that handles matters like this...” He peeked behind him, “Where is Lucious when I need him?” “Lucious is kind of hard to reach...” she drawled out. He sighed, “Get it to him, please.” He continued walk
Lucious held an umbrella over Cameron’s head, as he struggled to keep up with his long strides, “Remind me, why are we doing this again, Mr. Grayson.”Cameron was flanked on each side by hefty bodyguards, dressed in black suit and dark shades. “It is a kind gesture for an employee...”He gritted his teeth as he looked up at the large boutique. It was fancy, quite alright but Cameron never did his shopping, let alone shop for a lady, “Couldn’t we have had someone else do the tedious work for us, Mr. Grayson. I mean...” He held the door open for him, “I can surely think up a thousand other ways you should be spending your time.”Cameron squeezed his shoulders. “I do enjoy spontaneous acts like this.” He replied before walking in.Lucious touched the shoulder where Cameron’s hands had been, he bit down on his lower lips and sucked in a breath before rushing to meet up with him.As soon as they walked in, a couple of shop attendants rushed towards them, with a wide grin that almost reache
Scarlett exhaled and smoothed her dress before knocking on the door. She took a moment to steady her breathing before walking in. He looked up at her as soon as she did. “You were standing outside for a while.” She frowned. He turned his laptop screen around, showing a still image of her outside his office, capturing her table and chair too. Her frown deepened. She couldn’t tell for certain if it was okay to have cameras in her office, but nothing was okay or normal about what Cameron was doing. She was mandated to stop by his office every morning when she came in. “Good morning, Mr. Grayson,” she greeted before turning around to leave. “Scarlett...” She spun around. "We have an external meeting to attend together in 45 minutes from now. I need you to change into that dress,” he pointed at a dress that was hung in the corner. She hadn’t seen it until he pointed at it. “And join us at the parking lot.” Her mouth ga