Chapter 5

“Where is everyone ?” Samantha asked as she walked in the front door to Drake’s house.

Only two of the girls were in the living room, and the house was extremely quiet. It was unusual to find so much calmness in the house. On all of her other visits to the house, Samantha had been greeted by several girls and lots of noise. Perhaps the women were not as eager to come out of their rooms and socialize with each other now that the week had really started.

Samantha could only imagine the level of jealousy and hatred that the women were feeling toward each other. Especially the women who hadn’t had their dates yet. But that was why Samantha wanted to get everyone together each night. She thought it was important for Drake to get to meet and talk to the women throughout the week and not just on his night with them.

“I’m not sure where everyone is. There are a couple girls out at the pool,” Scarlett said.

“Alright, I’ll get things ready, can you run upstairs and grab anyone who’s in their rooms?”

“Sure,” Scarlett said as she walked up the winding staircase.

Scarlett had enjoyed her time at the house so far. It was like a vacation for her. She ran a busy advertising firm, and it wasn’t often that she totally unplugged from her work. But before coming on this trip, she had done everything she could to step away from the office and leave things in the hands of her capable vice president.

The purpose of coming to stay at Drake’s house was very clear to Scarlett, and she was serious about her search for her match. Scarlet was about to turn thirty years old soon, and she had big plans for her life that included a partner. For most of her early twenties, Scarlett had been too busy with work to even look for such a thing. She dated and had fun; she even had a few long-term boyfriends, but none of them were her equal.

Now she was serious about her search and was excited when she had been invited to come out and interview for the unique experience with Drake. Even if nothing came out of it all, at least, Scarlett knew that there were men like him out there, and she wasn’t going to settle until she found her match.

She made her rounds on the upper floor, gathered up all of the girls and headed back downstairs. Scarlett didn’t knock on Sophia’s door, though, because she knew that Drake and Sophia had been in her room all afternoon and she wanted to give them their privacy.

“Well, I gathered most everyone. I left Sophia’s room alone, though,” Scarlett said with a smile.

“Oh, do you think I should go knock and see if they want to come down?” Samantha asked.

“I think they will hear all the excitement and come down if they want to. Let’s just go have some fun with all the girls.”

Samantha really liked Scarlett and her laid-back personality. She was not like many of the other girls and didn’t force time with Drake. From what Samantha could tell, Scarlett was just fine waiting for her turn, and she wasn’t going to interrupt anyone else’s time with Drake just to get more face to face time with him.

“Do you need help with any of this?” Scarlett asked.

“You know, I kind of do. There are tons of platters that Lou prepared in the fridge, and I’m not sure where he is. Would you mind grabbing one and bringing it out to the big table on the patio?”

“Sure thing.”

Scarlett expertly grabbed three trays and balanced them on her hands as she started to walk out the back door toward the pool. Samantha couldn’t help thinking that Scarlett had probably been a very good waitress at some point in her life.

“Oh, my goodness, let me help you,” Lauren said as she giggled and watched Scarlett walk toward the pool.

“Thanks.”

Lauren and Scarlett had bonded since the very first day of interviews. They really didn’t have much in common at all, but Scarlett liked how happy Lauren was all the time. Lauren didn’t seem to let anything bother her, and she was always very nice to the other girls in the house.

Cynthia, Allison, and Sophia were not as nice to each other or to Lauren and Scarlett. It was like a sorority house, though, and Scarlett knew that she had to take the high road on all the arguments. She felt like the mother of the house, but that was simply because all the fights and arguments were about such stupid things.

Early in the day, Cynthia and Emily had fought over a pair of leggings that they both thought were theirs. It was extremely odd to Scarlett that there was even an argument going on among grown women, but especially over leggings.

“OK, ladies, it’s nice to see you all again. Tonight, we are going to just relax and have some pool time. Maybe play some games, drink, and just have fun,” Samantha said as she stood up on one of the pool chairs.

“Where’s Drake?” Cynthia blurted out.

“I’m not sure, but we are going to continue without him.”

“Is he coming at all?”

“Cynthia, I don’t know. Let’s just try to have a good time.”

Cynthia looked majorly annoyed that Drake wasn’t around, and so did Emily and Allison. The women were in the house to get to know Drake and not to hang out with each other. Samantha understood that. But she also knew that having a good meal and relaxing would help all of the women loosen up a little bit. She had heard that things had gotten heated in the house on more than a couple of occasions, and it was important for them all to learn to live with each other for at least a few more days.

“Hello, ladies, would you like to hear about what’s for dinner?” Lou said as he came out with a sizzling plate full of steak.

The smell was insanely delicious, and all of the women clapped as Lou and his two assistants carried the last bit of food out to the main table.

“We have some filet minions here and sautéed vegetables, plus a pan full of glazed sweet potatoes. Then on the table, you will find some sushi, salads, desserts, and vegetables. Please enjoy and let me know if there is anything special you would like to see for tomorrow night’s dinner.”

It was a free for all as most of the women swarmed the table and filled their plates with food. For a house full of women, it surprised Samantha how willing they were to eat. She was really glad that the women they had chosen for the house weren’t hypersensitive about what they ate. Drake didn’t like women who were always watching their figure. At some point, as a grown woman, you had to just accept the body you were given.

“You’re not hungry?” Samantha asked Scarlett.

“Oh, I’m starving, but I can let the girls go first. I won’t die if I wait five minutes.”

“How is the house working out for you?”

“It’s been great. I typically work on all my vacations, and for this trip, I decided I was going to be totally present here at Drake’s house. I’ve rather enjoyed the time away from my busy life.”

“Have you had much time with Drake yet?” Samantha asked as the two women slowly walked toward the food table.

“We have had a few conversations, plus, of course, we had poker last night.”

“Yes, who could forget about your poker skills?”

Both the women laughed as they remember Scarlett getting naked and having absolutely no shame about her body as she stood in front of the other women and Drake. It had been quite the evening for everyone there.

“I think I’ve just moved past the age where much scares me,” Scarlett said as she and Samantha filled their plates.

“That sounds wonderful. I think I’m getting closer to that point. Working with Drake certainly has opened my eyes to the world. I feel much more capable of handling myself and anything that comes my way.”

“As women, we need to feel confident that we can handle our own life. Even if we have a partner, it’s still essential that we feel in control of the life we have,” Scarlett said.

“Why don’t I ever hear about you getting involved in any of the fights between the women?” Samantha asked curiously about why Scarlett was so level headed.

“I don’t think there is much that I would be willing to argue about. I’m just beyond all the sorority house behavior.”

“I feel like we could have been college friends. Well, if I had actually gone to college.” Samantha laughed.

“Any woman who can keep Drake in line is certainly the type of woman I want to be friends with. It can’t be easy caring for him all the time.”

Scarlett and Samantha grabbed a spot at one of the tables as they continued their conversation and their meal. It wasn’t very often that Samantha found a woman she actually enjoyed talking with. Typically, women annoyed Samantha, and the very few that didn’t annoy here were her friends.

“It’s been a long journey. I think the smartest decision I ever made was turning him down when he tried to get me to sleep with him.”

“Oh, God, I bet that happened after the first day you were hired,” Scarlett joked.

“He made it a few weeks before he went full force. It was hard to say no; he’s pretty irresistible. But I wanted a career more than I wanted him.”

“But you did want him?” Scarlett said, raising one of her eyebrows.

“Oh yeah, he’s a good man. That’s why I’ve worked so hard with Robert to find all of you. I want him to find happiness. He really is a great guy and deserves his version of happily ever after.”

“That’s really sweet. You are a true friend to him,” Scarlett couldn’t help smiling at the thought of her and Drake possibly being a match for his happily ever after.

“Well, I guess I should get this party started. It was good talking to you.”

“You too, Samantha.”

Samantha made her way to the pool house, turned the music on loudly and dimmed the lights from the porch. It was time to let loose and party.

The girls loosened up with the help of the abundance of alcohol that was flowing throughout the evening. A couple women were dancing by the pool and a couple inside the pool. Samantha was happy that everyone seemed to be getting along really well. But as the evening continued, she started to worry about Drake a little bit. Surely he and Sophia had heard the music by then and would have come down to join everyone.

“Scarlett, would you mind knocking on Sophia’s door to see if Drake and she would like to come join us?” Samantha asked.

“Sure.”

Scarlett didn’t want to interrupt Drake and Sophia, but she was willing to give the door a light tap and just let them know that there were food and drinks downstairs if they wanted to join. As she got to Sophia’s door, it was still extremely quiet in the room. Scarlett knocked lightly and waited, then she knocked again.

There was no answer.

Out of curiosity, Scarlett turned the doorknob slowly and opened the door. She was careful to be quiet so she wouldn’t interrupt them if they were in the middle of something. But Scarlett didn’t even know if they were home or not. They could have left when no one was paying attention.

As she peered into the room, she saw Drake and Sophia curled up on the bed. There was a mess of food on a table near the door and some shower towels near the bed. Scarlett couldn’t help smiling. They looked like they had had quite the afternoon.

She made her way back down to the party and over to Samantha.

“They are passed out on the bed. Looks like they had themselves a little food sex and then collapsed from exhaustion. I didn’t wake them up.”

Samantha just laughed.

“I guess it’s just a girls’ party for tonight. Drake did say he was extremely tired earlier. I’m glad he’s getting some sleep.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think Sophia was going to let him sleep at all today,” Scarlett joked.

“Me neither.”

The two women grabbed a drink from one of the trays that Lou’s helpers were walking around with. For a brief moment, Scarlett forgot that she was in a house trying to get the attention of a billionaire away from six other beautiful women. For that brief moment, Scarlett felt like she was just there with a friend.

“Should we make a toast?” Scarlett asked.

“To new friendships.”

“To new friendships and exhausting nights of sex,” Scarlett teased.

The two women clanged their cups together and downed their drinks as they walked and laughed together. Neither Scarlett nor Samantha were the type of women who had a lot of female friends, but the ones they did have, they kept around for a very long time.