Chapter 1

It was ridiculous, but Drake knew he needed to have his date with Scarlett. Something deep down inside of him said that everything would change after his date with her, and he had to make sure it happened. But since she had disappeared, it was unlikely he would get his chance.

Scarlett struck Drake as the kind of woman who made up her mind and then did exactly what she wanted to do. If she had decided to leave the house before their date, then he didn’t think there was going to be much chance of him changing her mind.

“Sam, I need to know where Scarlett is. If you know, please call me,” Drake left on Samantha’s voicemail.

His assistant and Scarlett had become very close over the past week; if anyone would know where Scarlett was, it was going to be Samantha. Their relationship had been a safe haven for Scarlett throughout the week, and Drake knew it. The two women were very much alike, and he knew that they would likely remain friends long after the week of dating was over and no matter what the outcome was.

There were some people in the world that were meant to know each other. Scarlett and Samantha were two of those people. They had laughed together the first time he saw them talking and every time they had been in the same room together since then.

“Robert, any idea where Scarlett is?” Drake asked when Robert picked up his phone on the first ring.

“I’m sorry, I have no idea. I’m balls deep in running the company right now. Do you need me to come help you look? Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon. How are things going at Leblanc?”

There was a long pause while Robert drew in a deep breath. The week had obviously weighed heavily on Robert. As the vice president at Leblanc Enterprises, Robert worked extremely hard on any day of the week, but the last week had been particularly taxing on him. Drake had noticed his sunken eyes from lack of sleep and agitated tone of voice by Wednesday. He was sure that Robert couldn’t wait for things to return to normal the following week.

Overall, it had been a good experience for both the men, though. Drake had struggled to give up control and let others take action at the company, and Robert had been petrified that he wouldn’t be able to handle all the stresses that came if Drake ever was gone for an extended period. At the very least, the week had given them both confidence in their ability to move forward if adversity ever came up and Drake couldn’t lead.

“Everything is good, but I’ll be very happy to have you back at the steering wheel when you’re done with this nonsense.”

“Nonsense, you encouraged it,” Drake argued.

“That was before I knew how much work it was going to be for me.”

“It will be over as soon as I can find Scarlett and get this damn date over with,” Drake said. “Only a couple more days, Robert, and we will get everything back to normal.”

Drake finished his conversation, and they said their goodbyes before Drake took off in his car. He wasn’t sure he knew where he was going, but he thought the airport might be a good place to start. If Scarlett really had left, she would have to go there to make it home. But as he was driving, Drake remembered that the girls said Scarlett’s things were still in her room. She wouldn’t have run off leaving all her things behind, and Drake was convinced she would have left him at least a note if she had decided to leave.

Something deep down in his gut told Drake he should go to the hospital and check on poor Sophia before he continued his search. Sophia had been through an operation and would hopefully be recovering well, and the trip would give him time to try and get hold of Samantha again and see what she knew.

It was sad that Sophia had gotten appendicitis and needed surgery, but there was a small part of Drake that was extremely relieved. Sophia was a vibrant girl and a lot of fun to be around, but Drake was trying to build his own dynasty and needed a different sort of woman if he was going to do that. He needed a woman to be his equal and challenge him to be better every single day and not a woman who would just let him lead their life. Drake wanted a strong woman.

Drake wasn’t sure the right woman was at his home that week, but he was positive that Sophia wasn’t the one for him. When he walked into the hospital to check on her, it was as a friend and nothing more. He wanted the best for Sophia and would wish her well in her life after she had finished recovering from her surgery, but he wasn’t going to ask her to come back to the house.

At the door to Sophia’s room, Drake paused to listen to the voices coming from inside. He didn’t want to interrupt Sophia’s visit with her family. But there was something very familiar about the other voice in the room with Sophia, very familiar, yet Drake didn’t know who it was. It didn’t sound like Sophia’s mother, though; he had met her earlier in the day.

“I thought you hated me?” Sophia asked the woman.

“I don’t hate anyone,” the woman replied. “Now are you going to let me wash your hair for you or not.”

Drake moved closer to the room, trying to get a look at who was in there with Sophia. The door was almost completely shut, but there was a small crack that he peeked through. There he found Scarlett sitting at the top of Sophia’s bed with a bucket of water in her lap and pulling Sophia’s head down toward it.

“Thank you for coming,” Sophia said to Scarlett. “My mother was a mess, and I had to send her to the hotel to get some sleep. She would have stayed up all night talking my ear off and worrying about me.”

“She loves you. You’re lucky to have her. Now let me wash your hair so we can be done with this and you can get some sleep. If Drake comes to visit you, we will have you looking fabulous.”

Scarlett was firm and pulled Sophia’s head into the bucket as she started to wash her hair. Drake couldn’t take his eyes off of the two women as one bathed the other. It was like a delightful scene out of a porn movie, and Drake couldn’t help thinking they should both be naked while the whole bathing thing was going on. But he quickly snapped out of his fantasy and took a few steps back, waiting for them to finish. At least he had found Scarlett and didn’t have to worry about her anymore; that was a huge relief for Drake.

Scarlett was so kind with all the women in the house, Drake suspected she was kind to pretty much anyone and everyone she came around. Throughout the week, he had watched Scarlett from afar, and sometimes from pretty close up; he couldn’t wait much longer to spend his date with her. It was late in the evening, but his date with Lauren was over, and Drake was happy to wait for Scarlett and start their date right then and there.

Even when the women of the house had been very annoying or rude, Scarlett had handled them like a kind-hearted woman. Drake didn’t know many women who could deal with each other the way Scarlett dealt with the girls in the house. Most of the other women could often be heard bickering or fighting at random times throughout the day, but Scarlett never participated in any of that.

Waiting had never been something Drake was good at, though. He found himself pacing outside Sophia’s room, and on several occasions, he was going to just burst through the door. Finally, he pulled up a chair outside the room and leaned back against the wall as he drifted off to sleep. How long could it possibly take to wash someone’s hair? Scarlett would have to be finished soon enough, and they could get started on their date early.

It was close to midnight when Scarlett finally came out of the hospital room and found Drake sound asleep in the hallway. He looked adorable as he slept, and she hated to wake him up but knew he must have been waiting for her.

She hadn’t been able to just sit at the house and wonder how Sophia was doing. Scarlett wanted to go see her for herself. It had been very scary how sick Sophia had been when the appendicitis hit, and Scarlett knew she would feel better after seeing her housemate.

Scarlett hadn’t planned on washing Sophia’s hair, though. Only after watching Sophia fumble with trying to get out of bed and having the nurse tell her she couldn’t, only then did Scarlett make the offer. Sophia was a woman, and Scarlett understood that she wanted to feel like she looked pretty if Drake came to visit her. Scarlett decided to help her wash her hair so Sophia could feel like she was beautiful.

“Drake … Drake,” she whispered in his ear as she shook him awake.

His muscular shoulders were broad and heavy as she shook them. He looked extremely peaceful sleeping, and she felt a little guilty waking him up. But it wouldn’t have been very nice to just leave him there, so Scarlett continued to shake him until he finally roused.

“I think I need a kiss to wake me up,” he said, trying to hold back a smile.

“No.”

Her answer was so firm that he instantly opened his eyes and looked up to see Scarlett standing over him with her arms crossed. She didn’t look angry or annoyed, but she did look into Sophia’s room after her answer, and Drake could tell she didn’t think it was a good idea at the moment.

“I’ll take an I-Owe-You,” Drake said with a big smile.

“Fine, you have one. Now let’s go eat or something. I’m starving.”

“Your wish is my command,” Drake said as Scarlett rolled her eyes.

Their date seemed to be getting off to an awkward start, and Drake couldn’t quite put his finger on what the issue was. They had gotten along just great all week long. He still felt the incredible sexual attraction between the two of them, but something was off as well. Or maybe it was him who was a little off his game? Drake had been on a week-long dating marathon, surely, he could have been a little burned out by the whole thing. But Scarlett was the woman he had been waiting for all week long. She was the one he knew he would get along with and they would have a wonderful time together.

As she walked in front of him, Drake felt his body react to the way her hips swayed back and forth. It took everything he had not to just grab her and pull her into an empty hospital room and have his way with her. His body stood erect at the thought of having her under him. The day had finally come, and he was going to make it the best date possible.

Drake couldn’t wait to get Scarlett naked and in his bed, or her bed, or any bed; he needed to feel her naked body next to his, and at some point in the next 24 hours, it was surely going to happen.

“How is Sophia doing? Should I have said hello to her while I was here?” Drake asked long after they had left the unit.

He suddenly realized it was pretty rude of him not to have at least gone in and checked on Sophia. But honestly, he was happy she was doing well and didn’t feel like he needed to spend much more time with her. Of course, he would see her before she left the hospital, but hopefully, it would be after he had made his decision on who he wanted to date.

“A little late for that now,” Scarlett said sarcastically.

“I’ll stop by tomorrow or Sunday and check in on her.”

“Did you come to the hospital to see her or to find me?”

It seemed like a trick question to Drake. If he said he had come to see Sophia, Scarlett was certainly not going to like that. But if he said he had come to find Scarlett, he would look like an ass for not saying he had come to see Sophia. He chose his words wisely when he responded.

“I was out looking for you and realized I was in the neighborhood so thought I would stop by.”

“Were you waiting long?”

“Not too long. How is she doing?”

“She’s good. Seems really tired and not herself at all. But that was nice to see as well. I’m sure she will perk up when you go to see her.”

Drake knew exactly what Scarlett was talking about. Sophia appeared to be putting on an act all the time. Always trying to shock people or be seductive. It didn’t seem like that was her normal personality all the time, but Drake hadn’t seen too much of what he thought was her normal personality.

“That’s good.”

The silence filled the car as Drake drove them to a small diner down the street so they could eat and grab a coffee. The awkwardness would have to wear off sooner or later. They couldn’t go on like that all night long, Drake was sure of it. The two of them got along great, and the anticipation of their date weighed heavily on him. He just needed to help put her at ease and was sure everything would start feeling better between them. They were in an awkward place, but it could only get better.

Scarlett crossed her legs in the passenger seat, and Drake couldn’t take his eyes off her. The smooth complexion of her skin was mesmerizing as Drake stared for what must have been much too long, because they were interrupted by the honking of a car's horn. He quickly turned his attention back to the road, but out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Scarlett uncross her legs.

“The light is green,” Scarlett said with a huge grin as her eyes met Drake’s.

“Sorry,” he said with a laugh.

Drake felt every part of his body tingling at the idea of having Scarlett. He knew the second he had seen her at the beginning of the week that he would enjoy their time together. It had been torture to wait all week long before he had her alone and all to himself, but the wait had been a fun tease as well as torture.

As he drove to the diner, he couldn’t help smiling at the moments they had spent together over the last week. When they had kissed, when Scarlett had torn off all her clothes at the poker party; it was all so fresh in his memory.

“How was your date with Lauren?” Scarlett asked as they walked into the diner.

“You know, this is the weirdest week of my life.”

“You find it odd that you’re on a date with a woman who just gave your date a sponge bath and then asked about your date with another woman? Hmmm, I don’t think that’s weird at all,” Scarlett said through a giggle.

Scarlett and Drake both laughed. It was quite a unique situation; Drake was sure that he would never be in any similar situation in his entire life. He vacillated between regretting the week and being thankful for it.

The week dating seven women had been one of the most exhausting of his entire life. Of course, the physical exhaustion was there from meeting new women, interacting with them, having sex with them, and not sleeping nearly enough.

But the emotional exhaustion was what Drake felt weighed heavily on him. Each of the women was unique and beautiful. He spent many hours throughout the week getting to know them all and becoming friends with all the women. For Drake, he wanted to stay friends with everyone after they left the house; although he understood that the women he didn’t pick might not want to remain his friend when the week was over.

Out of all the women, Scarlett was the one he wanted to keep in touch with the most. Their conversations were witty and fun, and the way she looked at life made him see things differently as well. He knew that having Scarlett in his life would be a benefit to him, even if they were only friends.

After ordering some coffee and food, they sat quietly and watched the people around them. The quiet was a little less awkward than the car ride, but something still seemed off between them.

“So, did you plan anything exciting for our date?” Drake asked.

“You know, I’m not sure I like this idea that the girls have to plan everything. Normally, I wouldn’t go out with a guy at all if he told me I had to plan the date.”

“You ladies are twenty-first-century independent women ... I thought you would enjoy planning the date.”

“Yes, I’m sure some of the girls did.”

Drake decided to leave it and not push on to see if she had planned anything or not. Scarlett seemed to be in a terribly bad mood. Certainly, all their great communication over the week wasn’t his imagination. He knew that she had strong feelings for him, and he wasn’t at all sure if they had changed or not. But he was positive that something had to change, or their date was doomed to be one of his worst dates of the week.

“Have you had a chance to check in with your company while you’ve been here? Is everything going well?” Drake asked, trying to change the subject.

“One of the rules was that we weren’t supposed to do that. Although you obviously have still been dealing with your assistant and staying in touch. My business could be going under right now for all I know.”

Drake handed Scarlett his cell phone without hesitating at all. He knew what she was saying was the absolute truth. Although, their rules had been put in place so everyone could concentrate on the task at hand throughout the week. Drake had been breaking them almost since day one, there was really no reason Scarlett shouldn’t be able to touch base with her office. It was the least he could do.

“Call whoever you need to. Check in.”

Scarlett didn’t hesitate at all; she grabbed Drake’s phone and dialed a number. It didn’t matter how late it was back in Atlanta, she needed to get some updates from her assistant, and she knew her assistant would answer her phone. Scarlett stood up and walked away from the table as she started to talk. She walked to the other end of the restaurant and then right out the front door to the parking lot as Drake sipped his coffee and sent the waitress away while he watched Scarlett.

She was beautiful as she talked feverishly on the phone with whomever she had called. Her hands moved rapidly, and at one point she seemed angry or upset at the news she had heard. Later in the conversation Scarlett appeared happy, and things started to calm down a bit just before she terminated the call.