“I’m about to head over to the hotel you’re staying at,” Nancy said. “Where exactly are we meeting? The Bar? Outside? Inside? I wouldn’t want us to remain there though because I have special plans for us tonight.”

  I listened to her continuously speak and truly didn’t know how to respond.

  Eventually though, and probably worried that I had a stroke or something she called my name.

  “Scarlett?”

  I was pulled out of my reverie then. I immediately wanted to cancel since I was enjoying the hell out of myself and was almost certain that sooner or later, and at some time during the night, Lucien would come calling again. When that happened I wanted to be available and waiting in my room rather than outside in a club or a bar with screaming Uni boys.

  I hesitated because Nancy had been a close friend of mine and it had been so long since I had seen her as well as forever since I had come to London.

  I had no clue when or if I’d be able to come back to London so I nodded and agreed to honor our plans.

  “I’ll be ready,” I told her and got out of the tub.

  She had gone through the trouble of finding a babysitter because she needed the night out as well and I wasn’t going to disappoint her for any reason.

  “Do you have a specific place in mind?” I asked. “If you do can you send me the address? I should be able to arrive there in about thirty minutes to an hour. That way you don’t have to come over here first.”

  “An hour!” she exclaimed, I narrowed my eyes knowing her and knowing fully well that she was usually late for everything.

  “Have you even left your home yet Nancy?” I asked and at the blatant accusation, she went silent. “You’ve forgotten that I know very well exactly what your I’m heading over means?”

  She laughed at this. “You ask so many dumb questions,” she said. “I see you’re still a know-it-all all after all these years.”

  I ignored her attempt at intimidating me and shook my head. “I knew it,” I said.

  “Yes you did miss me and I’ll send you an address.”

  “At least let me know what to wear,” I said. “So I’ll know how to dress appropriately.”

  “It’ll be a restaurant and a lounge. High end. Don’t worry it won’t be some dingy and low-end bar. We’re on a mission tonight.”

  “What kind of mission exactly?” I asked, knowing how she could sometimes get with her escapades.

  “I’ll tell you when you get here,” she replied. “And don’t worry it’ll be fun.”

  “Got it,” I replied, and the call came to an end. I was quick with drying off and in very little time I was slipping on a very dark red tube dress that hugged every inch of my curves and flattered my figure. I put on matching blood-red lipstick, blow-dried my hair, and was ready in no time.

  My makeup was quick since it would be nighttime so barely half an hour later I was already heading down. I couldn’t help but look at Lucien’s door as I exited my room and started down the hallway. It was with eyes of longing, but I consoled myself as I waited for the elevators that there would be so many things to do with Nancy tonight. There was a lot besides Lucien Montgomery to look forward to. With the change in mindset, I was sure my time with Nancy tonight would be incredibly wonderful.

  Once again as I strolled through the lobby feeling so gorgeous and confident, my eyes went to the seat Lucien had sat in earlier out of the way. I truly wished he could see me now. I wanted I realized to see the appreciation in his eyes and couldn’t help but wonder just how good it would feel.

  Chapter 21

  Lucien

  Our night hadn’t yet come to an end. And so, even as I took a quick shower and headed straight to bed, I knew that at some point during the night, I was going to be knocking on her door once again. It was still quite early, barely eleven pm, yet in the past few days, it was as though I had lived several lifetimes, so I wasn't surprised at how easily I had fallen asleep on her.

  The exertion had drained whatever strength was left in me, leaving me feeling as light as a feather. However, a little while later, I was rudely awakened by a phone call. When I grabbed the phone and checked the time, I realized that it was less than an hour since I had gone to bed and so it was extremely unpleasing to be awoken so suddenly.

  When I realized that I didn't recognize the phone number, I had no choice but to answer because it could be an emergency of some sort somewhere.

  "Hello Mr. Monthgomery," came the greeting and it was a deep voice probably belonging to a middle-aged man.

  "Yes," I replied as I turned on the lamp by my nightstand. It bathed the entire room in a warm glow and for the first time, I looked toward the empty side of my bed and suddenly wished that I had someone to experience this with. I wasn’t necessarily lonely but given the woman I'd been with earlier that evening, it was all my mind could conjure.

  “Mr. Montgomery, this is Gregory Walters,” the caller introduced himself; however, the name didn't ring any bell whatsoever.

  “I work for Mr. Charles Nioly, and he instructed me to follow up with you on the collaboration with his brand. He looks forward to expanding the business to North America, and I will be the liaison between you both.”

  It was in times like this that I truly hated client business because what was so important about anything he just said that he couldn’t just fucking wait to inform me the next day.

  He soon informed me.

  “I know it's pretty late, but I hear you might be returning to New York first thing tomorrow, and I myself will be flying out to Barcelona briefly. So if you have the time this evening, I hope that we can meet?”

  I listened to his words more than ready to reject everything he had just proposed. However, when I cleared the fog in my mind and thought more logically, I realized it was a great idea because whatever the outcome of our discussion we could hit the ground running the moment we returned to New York.

  “All right,” I replied, getting up. “Where should we meet?”

  “Do you know the Sabine in Soho?” He asked.

  It didn’t matter if I knew it because I had a personal driver who could get me there regardless, so I took down the address and got ready.

  Since it was a night out, I went with something a little bit more casual: just a white linen dress shirt and tailored slacks. I sprayed on some cologne, put on some shoes, and was out of the door.

  As I passed by her bedroom door, I couldn’t help but pause. I wondered what she was up to and if she had fallen asleep. I wanted to knock but I was reluctant. I didn't want to sound desperate.

  The car was waiting for me at the curb as I arrived, so I got in and we were on our way.

  The restaurant and bar was quite high-end on the 10th floor of the Mondrian London at Sea Containers. The lights were dim, the music low and tasteful, and the host was ready to receive me at the door. Gregory also came over and we exchanged a handshake.

  “Glad to finally meet you,” he said.

  “Likewise,” I replied as we took our seats in the lounge. “I’m Charles Financial Adviser and he sent over your proposal a few months ago. We’ve been assessing it and now that the approval has begun, we can get started.”

  “What about the terms?” I asked. “The revenue share? Is that confirmed as well?”

  “Well, we reached out multiple times for renegotiations, and you absolutely refused to change them. Unless now, you're being a bit more friendly?”

  I smiled as I beckoned to the waiter to come over.

  “Just confirming that we’re on the same page because it still won't be changing. Which Charles knows, the profits will be astounding enough to make any of this inconsequential.”

  “All right,” he replied. “Let’s talk briefly about your plans for expanding a few of the businesses. The first is the Casino in Atlantic City. He never actually set out to just build one. He has a whole plan of three he wants, but we haven’t been able to reach this stage as of yet. Do we have the facilities to triple the income by the end of the year?”

  I’d evaluated this intensely, so I had the exact answer he was looking for.

  We continued speaking, and soon our drinks of whiskey were brought over.

  I didn't want to eat anything amid such a meeting, so I kept my alcohol intake minimal and stayed alert.

  Chapter 22

  Scarlett

  “What about those two?” Nancy asked.

  It took me a while to turn around to see who she was talking about because I was not interested. We had been playing this game now for the better part of half an hour, and it was getting quite dull. Who knew that most men supposedly with money were not very attractive?

  “Look,” she slightly pinched my arm, and I smiled. Then I turned around to see who she was talking about.

  It didn't take long for me to notice him. At first, I was sure that my eyes were playing a trick on me; however, his features and physique were unmistakable even in the dimly lit restaurant and bar.

  “Holy shit,” I swore and quickly turned back around.

  “He’s hot, isn't he? That's the first one we’ve seen so far, but I really don’t think he’s wealthy.” she sighed and took a sip of her drink.

  “Honestly, I didn't believe you when you said that billionaires hung out here, but now I do.”

  “Wait, what?” she asked. “Why didn’t you believe me?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged, “but you were right and they definitely do because that man is a billionaire.”

  “I don’t know him," she stared even harder, she tried but failed to be discreet about it.

  “That’s because he’s from the U.S. and he’s my boss.”

  Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

  “He’s your boss? If he is, then why are we here? You could have just given me his phone number or something?”

  “And get fired? Absolutely not.”

  “You're right,” she replied. “I said I was going to take you out for a night of fun, instead I dragged you over here to go wealthy husband shopping.”

  “This is more fun,” I replied and couldn’t put into words just how much I meant that.

  It had been getting dull, but the moment I spotted him, every cell in my body came to life.

  I was in awe but managed to contain myself. He had been on my mind every second since I’d left the hotel, and then here he was.

  “So…” she asked, “Is there anything going on between you two? Can I shoot my shot?”

  I was instantly on guard with this statement, which didn't make any sense whatsoever since he wasn’t mine in any sense of the word, but perhaps he was for the night.

  “No, nothing is going on between us,” I replied.

  “So I can go over? Please come with me? For once I actually have a chance at success since you're there, so you can introduce me as your friend.”

  I stared at her, and for a moment, I was sure that she was crazy. I would have easily done it the previous day. Heck, even just a few hours earlier. But now, after he had eaten me out and fucked me several ways to Sunday was incredibly awkward.

  But still, I wanted to see him, wanted him to know I was here for whatever reason, and unbeknownst to Nancy, this would actually be me using her. However, I didn't say a word. And so I nodded.

  “Should we send a drink over?” she asked, and my brows lifted again. “It’s either that or we go over you introduce me.”

  They seemed really deep in conversation, so I couldn't help but imagine they would be annoyed by the intrusion. I tried to make out the face of the man seated next to him, but I couldn’t see him clearly or recognize him. Perhaps he was a friend? The best part was that he wasn’t out with some woman, and this made me happier than I could explain.

  “Send a drink over,” I told her. “You're right, and it's safer. When the waiter goes to tell them, they’ll look this way and decide if they're interested or if they're too busy to approach us.”

  She grabbed the menu then and instantly we got to work.

  I didn't need to search for long because one of the benefits of being his assistant was I got a cheat sheet of everything that he liked, so I knew exactly what to look for.

  “A bottle of Macallan Sherry Whiskey, twelve years please,” I ordered from the waiter, and Nancy was surprised.

  “An entire bottle?” she exclaimed. “That's quite pricey.”

  “You want to order something less expensive for them? This is already quite cheap even though it's almost 200 quid. But I can’t spend more than that and anything less and they’ll be severely unimpressed.”

  “You're right,” she said.

  I was quite nervous, but the arrow had already been shot and I couldn’t take it back without looking like a complete buffoon. I kept speaking calmly with Nancy, knowing that in just a few minutes, he would know that I was here, and I truly wondered how he would respond. Would he acknowledge us or would he completely ignore it?

  “I’ll reimburse you soon,” she said. “But can I say the drink is from me?” she asked, and I was amused by this.

  “For sure,” I replied. It wasn’t exactly beneficial to me in this game we were playing, but I knew that if the message delivered was that the bottle was from me it would take the pressure off whatever distasteful repercussions that might come from this.

  “It’ll be delivered now, ma’am,” the bartender informed me, and I nodded.

  However, I couldn’t look at him. I turned away while Nancy, on the other hand, crossed her legs, fluffed her curly hair, and got ready. I sighed then, and as I looked down at my arms, I truly couldn’t believe that they were now trembling.

  Chapter 23

  Lucien

  Iwasn't happy about the intrusion, and at first, I didn't care to listen to the waiter's explanation of the delivery. But when he mentioned that the two ladies at the bar had sent it over, I was incredibly curious.

  “Who?” Gregory asked, and my gaze followed the direction the waiter was indicating. One of the women waved coquettishly to us, but I didn't respond. I assessed her and was about to turn away, but there was something quite peculiar about the woman seated next to her.

  “Tell them no thanks,” Gregory replied, immensely amused. “We are more than capable of buying our own drinks.”

  I noticed as I watched the two women that the curly-haired one was trying to get the other to turn, but she didn't, and so I couldn't help but deliver another message to the waiter.

  “Please tell them to come over for a brief greeting,” I said.

  The waiter looked at Gregory due to the conflicting instructions while he turned to me in surprise. “I think it's more of a little prank or something,” I replied. “The woman in red looks quite familiar. Plus, we could use a break and some entertainment.”

  “Oh, I didn't expect you to be the kind,” Gregory commented excitedly. “And of course, sure. Definitely. Please invite the women to come over briefly,” he told the waiter. “With emphasis on briefly.”

  The waiter smiled and went on his way.

  I watched his every movement as he relayed the message to the woman, and excitedly the curly-haired one jumped up. Her friend, however, once again was extremely difficult to coax, but soon both women rose to their feet and began to head over to us.

  She was unmistakable then. My eyes roved up and down her gorgeous body, and I almost couldn’t believe that she was here. After all that we’d done, she really had the strength to get out of bed and come to a bar. They soon arrived, and this consideration was immediately wiped out of my mind, and I took her in. That red dress did something to her chest and hips that instantly made me rock hard.

  My breathing came just a little bit harder as all the memories came flooding back, and then I finally lifted my gaze and met her eyes. I, however, didn't know how to approach this. Had she done this intentionally, or was this all the doing of her friend?

  “Hello, Ladies,” Gregory greeted them with a huge smile, and the curly-haired woman returned it.

  “Hi, I’m Nancy,” she answered in a sweet, song-like voice that, in my opinion, was much too coquettish and over the top.

  My secretary, on the other hand, seemed to be a block of stone. It amused me slightly as I watched her because I truly couldn’t tell if this was how she generally was or if this entire situation was more awkward than she could bear.

  I looked at her friend, who was so enthusiastic about this, and wondered if she had been dragged into it against her will.

  “And you, miss?” Gregory greeted her, but his tone was a bit condescending, which I didn't miss.

  I turned to him, and when I returned to her, I almost laughed. Her brows were immediately furrowed into a frown, making her look just so adorable.

  “I’m S-Sophie Turner,” she greeted, and he held out his hand to offer her a handshake. She seemed reluctant to accept it, but eventually, she did, and so did her friend.

  “Thank you very much for the generous gift,” he said, and then he turned to me. “Still prefer to keep working or should we take a break with these lovely women?”

  I looked at her, wondering what she truly wanted, and considered playing into this game. Eventually, I had no interest in whatever this was, so I turned to Gregory and responded.

  “This is my assistant, Sophie,” I told him. “And this is, I guess, a friend of yours?”

  She seemed relieved at the introduction, and as her chest slightly rose and fell, my attention couldn't help but go to the fullness of the mounds.

  “Oh! Your assistant?” Gregory was surprised.

  “Yeah,” I replied.

  “So was this arranged by you two?”

  “No,” I replied as I reached forward to pick up my liquor for a sip. “I guess it’s a coincidence that we managed to meet here.”

  “It is,” she replied. “And yes, this is my friend Nancy Graham. I was surprised to see you both here.”

 

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