The way he stared at her was unnerving, however, even she couldn't break herself from his gaze. At the back of her mind, in a small corner, something kept reminding her of where she was -- telling her not to get carried away. But at that moment, she didn't have a care in the world.
The man was breathtaking. How was it that she hadn't noticed earlier on? Must have been the vastness of the room or how concentrated she needed to be at all times. Scarlet didn't have time to admire men, at least not now. But this one had come close.
The next thing she knew, she felt something on her face. He'd touched her.
"A little smear on your cheek, Ms. Scarlet," his voice came, making her blink several times.
Scarlet was sure that she was looking like a bright red apple right now. Her hand went to where he'd cleaned and she took a few steps backward.
"Do you know her from somewhere?" the deputy that had an almost disgusted look on his face asked. He didn't know what was going on here but if they'd asked him, he wanted to be out of that place.
Scarlet's eyes widened a little but no one had noticed that. She was sure that no one at his level would know her as she was careful. The next thought she had was that of the waiter at her club. He was beginning to pose a problem to her and Scarlet wondered what she would do about that loose end.
She scoffed.
"There is no way he could know me," she said as she squatted with such poise while placing her hand on the arm of her patient.
"Are you feeling better now, sir?" Scarlet asked, with her eyes widening in concern.
The exhausted man nodded weakly. He motioned for her to come closer and whispered something into her ear.
Scarlet stood up. "I understand," she said as she turned around to face the handsome man in front of her. Her blood stirred within her and she unconsciously squeezed her thighs together.
"If that is all," she began, "we would be on our way now.
Scarlet felt the deputy's gaze, followed by a sneer land on her. He was angry and jealous of his boss's dependency on her, and Scarlet understood that. She had Jean Garry in the palm of her hands and his deputy, the seething Andrew hated it -- as should be in her opinion.
However, she was a little bit rattled when the man just kept staring at her. There was a little smile on his face. It was almost as if he was secretly happy about something -- something that only he was aware of. He stared deep into her.
'Didn't he care about the other people in the room?' she wondered. Before another thought could [cross her mind, she heard that voice again.
"Lexi…" Carson called. "Are we done?" he asked even as he didn't take his eyes off Scarlet. His voice was calm, collected, and in charge -- totally in charge. It matched his carriage and charisma and Scarlet found herself wondering how his lips would taste in her mouth.
At that thought, she blinked, turned around, and briskly walked to the back of Jean's chair. It was time to wheel themselves out of that place. And she began to do that without speaking another word while shaking her head slightly as if that would help clear her head.
"Y-Yes, sir," Lexi replied, not knowing what was going on in the conference room. Many questions sprawled in her head but the atmosphere was so tense that she dared not utter one.
"Perfect," the deputy said, desperately trying to bring some changes into the conference room. He felt lost and again, wanted out of that place.
"We looking forward to doing business with you," he said and walked out of the room.
Lexi Hunt cleared her throat and began to gather the papers that were on the table. She rolled her shoulder, happy that the nurse had gone, and wished they never set eyes on her again. She had never seen her boss that interested in someone. She had tried many times and given heavy green lights, but he'd never looked at her that way.
"I wouldn't need the driver tonight," Carson said as he walked out of the conference room himself, a smirk plastered on his lips.
* * *
"What was that about?" Andrew asked her as he grabbed her forearm.
Scarlet jacked her hand away from his grip. "Don't touch me," she said through her teeth, her eyes shooting darts at him. If Jean wasn't there, Scarlet knew what she'd have said to him. But she needed to keep her cool -- she didn't want her plans thwarted in any way.
"This is no place for your squabble, Andrew," Jean Garry said, placing his legs properly as Scarlet arranged his chair in the elevator.
"You didn't see- you didn't see what was happening, did you, sir?" Andrew asked, the muscles in his jaw rippling.
Jean dismissively waved his hand without even looking in his deputy's direction while Scarlet remained straight-faced, looking straight ahead. It was as if no conversation was happening around her, talk more of being the subject of the gist. She blinked slowly, gently pushing the chair of the man that had raped and killed her mother and gotten away with it.
Andrew gave up. He rapidly tapped his feet on the floor of the elevator until it landed and the door opened up for them.
"One more second, I'd have suffocated, " he said under his breath.
Scarlet couldn't care less about Andrew. There was nothing that he could do. She had won Jean Garry's trust and she dared say, his heart. If the man was still at his full capacity, Scarlet had an idea about what she'd have suffered in his hands. Scarlet Clark knew that she just had to be careful and things would continue to go her way until she was done. Things were occupying her mind and Andrew did not even make the list.