CHAPTER 14
Tobias
4 months later
I looked up from my computer after hearing a knock at my office door. One of my employees, Libby, poked her head through the door.
“You got a minute?” she asked.
“Sure,” I said, watching her enter.
She came in, delivering a set of reports to my desk. “Already?” I said, stunned. She hadn’t had much time to pull this all together, yet, there she was.
“Been busting my butt to get that to you early,” she said. “But I know you’ve been busting yours too lately, especially with Anderson and Joanna not being around as much. So I thought you’d appreciate having the reports early.” She winked.
“Goodness, Libby, I could kiss you for this,” I said, flipping through the pages.
“You sure could, but who says I’ll let you?” She laughed, trying to appear nonplussed, although a faint flush had formed over her cheeks.
“Touché,” I said, still glancing over her work. As far as I could tell, everything looked to be in perfect order. “You did a really great job with this, Libby. It may seem like overkill, but I really can’t thank you enough for how much you’ve stepped up to help me out over these past few months.”
“Don’t mention it,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.
About a year ago, when my sister had moved into town to flee her abusive ex, I’d hired her to work at my firm, and Libby had become really good friends with her. When my sister got pregnant and had her baby with my best friend, Libby had started helping me out as much as possible, completing any additional tasks she could to ease the burden I felt in trying to take over both Anderson’s and Joanna’s roles in the office. While I was capable of doing their jobs, I couldn’t deny it was rough. I would have been spreading myself far too thin if I didn’t have Libby’s help.
Plus, I had been needing Libby’s help more than usual over the past four months because time and distance hadn’t aided in removing Scarlet Kale from my mind. I was almost ashamed to even admit to myself that I hadn’t stopped thinking about her from the moment we went our separate ways.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t had a few meaningless flings in my day. Yet, there was something about Scarlet that I just couldn’t shake. I had even deleted her number from my phone in an attempt to get her off my mind, not to mention eliminate the temptation I’d constantly felt to contact her again. But it had all been useless.
Not even the severely busy days at the office kept her off my mind for long. It was always just a matter of time before I found myself reliving the nights we’d spent together, thinking about the feel of her silky hair and soft lips…
And trying to figure out why she had such a God damn hold on me.
I had reminded myself repeatedly that she hadn’t even really been all that into me; the only reason she had spent time with me was because she had mistaken me for her ex. In her mind, it was him that she had willingly spent those nights with, not me. The thought made me feel simultaneously grateful and envious toward Preston Walker, wherever he may be.
And then there was the uncomfortable reverberances of Headmaster Greene’s voice that occasionally popped into my head as well, telling me that Scarlet Kale was bad somehow. Although he had claimed that she was bad in a legitimately bad way, my experience with her told me the exact opposite. The Scarlet I’d been with was bad, but in a very good way…
I had almost wanted to ask her about Headmaster Greene, but I had lost my nerve. Now, I was forced to live wondering what he meant and possibly never finding out, which simply made me obsess over her even more.
“Tobias? Tobias? Hey!”
I blinked, realizing that I had zoned out right in front of Libby while looking over the reports she had given me. “Sorry,” I said, and cleared my throat.
“I don’t want to tell you how to do your job,” Libby cautioned, “but sometimes, it looks like you are in dire need of a vacation. You ever consider hiring some more people so that you don’t have to constantly work so hard? It may be worth your while, at least until Anderson is able to come back full time.”
“Yeah,” I said absentmindedly. “Maybe so.”
“How’s he doing these days anyway? And Joanna, and Addison?”
I nodded and smiled. “They’re good. All of them. Addison is an absolute doll, of course.”
Libby smiled fondly. “I bet she is. Joanna sent me some pictures of her the other day. Cutest baby I’ve ever seen.”
“I agree,” I said. “She’s already got both of them wrapped around her little finger.”
Libby smirked. “I’m sure she has Uncle Tobias wrapped around her finger too!”
I laughed. “You know, you may very well be right about that.”
“Too adorable.”
“You should pay them all a visit sometime. I’m sure they’d love it.”
Libby nodded. “Yeah, I plan to soon, whenever I can get a day off.” She winked again and headed to the door right as someone else knocked on it. She opened it for me. My secretary, Courtney, stood on the other side of it.
“Hi Libby,” Courtney said.
“Hey, Court. How’s it going?”
“Fine. And yourself?”
“I’m good. Thanks,” Libby said. “Gotta get back to work though. See ya.” And with that, she exited the door.
I glanced up from the reports. “What’s going on, Courtney?”
“Were you expecting any visitors today?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
I looked up at her and blinked, searching my brain for any appointments I’d made and forgotten about. “I hope not,” I muttered, searching for my scheduling book. “Why?”
“There’s someone here to see you. I just thought I’d check first because I don’t remember any meetings being in your agenda for the day either. And I wasn’t sure how you’d react to an unannounced visitor.”
I sighed and rubbed my temples. “No, unannounced visitors are not desirable at the moment, to say the least.”
“I had a feeling that was the case.”
“Did this unannounced visitor at least state their reason for wanting to see me without an appointment?”
“Nope.”
“Well, tell them I’m not taking any visitors right now and that if they need to see me, please schedule an appointment for a later date.”
“Okay,” Courtney said, nodding and leaving my office again.
I turned back toward my computer, exasperated by the audacity of some people. I would never show up to a place of business, demanding to be seen without an appointment. It was hard to believe some people could be so bold.
Just when I had managed to refocus on my work, there was another knock on my door. “What?” I yelled.
Courtney reappeared, wincing. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gentry, but she’s just not taking no for an answer. I told her she needed to schedule an appointment and come back another time, but she refuses.”
“Are you kidding me?” I said, blinking, utterly dumbfounded. “Who the hell is she?”
Courtney grimaced. “She won’t even tell me her name. She’s insisting that I just let her in to see you. She claims you should know who she is when you see her.”
I swore, irritated and curious at the same time. “And I presume she won’t even bother to tell you why she’s so desperate to see me right now?”
Courtney shook her head. “No, of course not. Look, should I call security?”
I shook my head. “No. Send her back.”
Courtney’s eyebrows shot upward. “Really?”
“Does she seem dangerous?”
“Well, no…”
“Then send her crazy ass back here so I can see what the hell she wants and send her on her way.”
Courtney sighed. “All right.”
I pushed the reports to the side of my desk and leaned back in my seat, wondering who this hard-headed woman could be and what she possibly wanted with me.
A minute later, my door was pushed open yet again and Courtney appeared for the third time. “Mr. Gentry, your guest,” she announced, and extended her arm like she was a butler.
Right that instant, my whole world came to a screeching halt.
The woman walked in. Her long dark blond hair hung over her shoulders in waves, and her bright eyes honed in directly on mine. We held each other’s gazes for the longest time, neither of us uttering a word.
I couldn’t believe it. As I stared at her, I wondered if there was a chance that I was dreaming. I needed someone to pinch me, because certainly Scarlet Kale hadn’t just randomly showed up to my workplace out of the blue, demanding to see me. I’d gone four months convinced that I would never see her again.
And now, there she was, standing in my office.
“Mr. Gentry?”
I heard Courtney’s uncertain voice as if from under water. “Leave us, Courtney,” I said.
“Of course sir,” she replied, immediately leaving the room and quietly closing the door behind her.
Scarlet and I continued staring at each other. At some point, I rose from my seat without realizing it. I slowly walked towards her, my eyes never leaving hers, afraid that if I looked away, she would disappear forever.
She was the first to speak, interrupting the long silent seconds that had drifted between us. Her lips first curled into a wobbly smile, and I could see the uncertainty in her expression. Even though she had been so demanding and forceful with Courtney, she now appeared hesitant, as if she had done something wrong in insisting to see me.
“I guess I’m the last person you expected to see,” she said.
She was one-hundred percent right, but I couldn’t bring myself to let her know it. My voice didn’t seem to want to work in the first place as I continued taking slow and cautious steps toward her.
“I’m sorry to come by so unannounced like this. And I’m sorry if you didn’t want to see me again. I tried calling you before, but you didn’t answer your phone, and I was too nervous to leave you a message. So I looked up your name and found out which law firm was yours. Decided to just take a chance and see if I’d find you here today.”
I came to a momentary halt, suddenly recalling the times my phone had rung to a number that I hadn’t recognized. I received calls from wrong numbers all the time though, and therefore hadn’t thought much of it. Obviously, I’d had no way of knowing it was her because I had deleted her number from my phone.
My gaze only left hers for a moment when I headed to lock the door behind her, not wanting anyone else to come in.
Scarlet began to blink rapidly, like she was trying to blink away tears. Through her jacket, I could see her ample chest rise and fall with a deep breath. She closed her eyes for an instant and then spoke again. “Tobias, I have something to tell you.”
Whatever she needed to tell me was going to have to wait though. Because the very second I was within reach of her, I couldn’t stop myself from gathering her into my embrace, missing the way her body fit into my arms. My lips crashed down onto hers, hungrily and unable to believe she was really there.
Why had I missed this woman, this virtual stranger, so damned much?
She kissed me back just as eagerly, her body seeming to melt in my arms.