Scarlett smiled coldly, and that alone caused Emily to shiver. She had no idea why she was feeling this way but there was something about this woman, something that reminded her of her stupid dead stepsister, Diana and this was bad. Emily had always been an intuitive woman, whenever she had a feeling about something, she was almost always right about it, and now something in her guts was telling her that Scarlett Johnson was someone they should definitely stay away from.
“Emily?” Gabe made another attempt to pull his partner out of her thoughts. “This is Scarlett Johnson, there's no way you could have possibly met her,” He smiled back at Scarlett.
“Could I have a word with you, alone, Gabe?” Emily shifted a brief glance at Gabe whose gaze was stuck on Scarlett.
“Not now, Emily. Guess what? Miss Scarlett is also part of the board at Ford Empire and she is the one in charge of overseeing our project,”
Scarlett chuckled. “That's the wrong way of putting it. I'm the one that has been rejecting the project. Ford Empire Group has high standards and unfortunately, your project lacks some creativity and originality,”
Emily almost scoffed. “We've been working on that project for years. And every time it is submitted, we always make adjustments to it, the Bardin project has a lot of potential—”
“Who is she again?” Scarlett cut her off, her eyes on Gabe.
“She's my company vice president and—”
“I'm Emily Saunders Tate, daughter of the late Mr Tate and yes, also Co partner to the project on question,”
Scarlett's eyes narrowed on the woman. “That's interesting because I was told the real Miss Tate died not too long ago and—”
“That woman was a criminal—” Emily started, cutting Scarlett off.
“First rule, Saunder, you don't cut me off. When I'm concerned, you only speak when spoken to,” Scarlett said.
Gabe almost shivered from the iciness in her voice as he could feel the literal power radiating off her. This woman definitely has the icy reputation he was told about, and in some twisted way, it turned him on.
Before either of them could speak, Scarlett did. “You wanted me to give another chance to Tate Group, fine, I will. I am leaving for a business trip tomorrow morning by ten, meet me at Royale by 9:30. You'll have just ten minutes to convince me this project is worth giving it a shot,” Scarlett glanced at Emily. “I don't want to see her, just you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other guests to attend to,” She turned and left.
“Gabe, are you stupid or what? We worked on that project together, why didn't you say anything? I should be there,” Emily said.
“For what Emily? Can't you see you pissed her off?” Gabe was angry. “Remember, we need that project between our company and the Ford Empire Group and Scarlett Johnson is the only one who can make that happen,”
“Just because she's Mr Blackford's fiancee and part of the board, doesn't make the bitch god,”
“Precisely because she's Mr. Blackford's fiancee and literally has control over the company, that alone among many others make her a fucking god. I'm going alone,”
“I don't trust her, Gabe. There's something about her that gives me the creeps. Tell me, those blue eyes of hers, don't they feel familiar?”
“What the hell are you mumbling about?”
Emily sighed, shifting her gaze to where Scarlett was now in the midst of Killian and some wealthy politician who had attended. “She reminds me of her. That stupid woman, Diana Tate,”
“What the fuck is wrong with you? We promised we wouldn't speak about that bitch again. She's fucking dead, Emily. And it's insulting to compare that useless thing to Scarlett Johnson. You seem drunk, I think you should head back home, and rest. I'll stay behind to expand our network,” He walked away without letting her respond.
Even still Emily couldn't take her eyes off the woman in the red dress, and Scarlett felt the heat of her stepsister's gaze follow her throughout the party.
A smile touched Scarlett's lips as she remembered her encounter with Emily. She had always imagined how their first meeting would be and this was by far her best imagination. Emily already hated her and Gabe surprisingly was more smitten by her than the last time they'd met. This was good. Very good.
The party soon ended, and Scarlett and Killian were walking through the underground parking lot to Mercedes while the security team followed behind.
“A penny for the beautiful woman's thoughts,” Killian whispered against her ear, his lips slightly grazing the skin of her ears, sending an electrifying sensation down her spine.
She shivered.
“Cold?” He asked, taking off his jacket and draping it on her, and soon his scent which was always enchanting consumed her.
“Also excited,” She tilted her head sideways, but he was standing so close to her that there was now not a single space between them. They were only a breath apart.
This wasn't the first time they'd been this close standing next to each other. Over the past year, they'd had to appear most times like this in public and had even shared a few brief kisses that were nothing more than pecks on the lips just to keep up the romantic facade. But having him standing so close to her like this tonight where no cameras or eyes were watching felt so different. And somewhere deep inside her cold, uncaring heart with which she vowed she'd never fall in love with, it felt good. Maybe because he was too handsome for his own good.
Scarlett wasn't blind, and she definitely was still a woman who appreciated fine gifts of nature, and she knew probably more than half of the women population in the world would have been heartbroken tonight considering Killian had exposed to the world that he was engaged to her. He was more popular than even celebrities with the largest fan base and more handsome too.
“Scar?” He brushed back loose strands of her hair behind her ear, leaving a trail of goosebumps. “What are you thinking about?”
You.
She almost wanted to say, but she stopped herself, shaking her head to clear off the Killian spell his scent had cast on her. “Gabe,” She saw a strange flicker of emotion in his eyes before but it faded quickly. “And Emily,”
Killian's hands pulled up to cup my cheeks. “Don't. Because in my books, tonight was a success. And with the way Gabe Patterson couldn't take his eyes off you tonight, I know it's only a matter of time before they turn on each other, and we'll be here. Watching,”
