Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“Scarlett.”
My eyes freeze on a line of text. The familiar voice doesn’t belong here, in this office.
My heart plummets when I look up to see Jasper standing at Hudson’s door wearing sweats and a look of fierce determination. My eyes widen in panic. Oh god. What is he doing here?! How did he even get through security?
Surely he’s not about to take matters into his own hands regarding my not-so-nice coworkers. It’s just like him to draw up to my office like a valiant knight in defense of my honor. Never mind that I’ve made it perfectly clear I’m not in need of any knights! My honor is just fine!
Jasper’s worried eyes scan the room, stalling a beat too long on Hudson before he looks at me with relief. He looks suddenly unsure. The tops of his cheeks redden.
“I was worried about you,” Jasper tells me. “You weren’t answering your cell. I tried your work phone too and nothing. Your doorman said you hadn’t come home yet tonight…”
So…he came to my office?
On some level, it’s considerate, but it almost makes me feel like a child. Especially as all the senior associates in the room and the ones out in the sitting area listen in on this conversation.
I feel everyone’s attention, the weight of Hudson’s gaze heavier than all the rest. Oddly enough, he’s the one who speaks first, before I can even muster the right words or gather the courage to figure out what to say in this awkward situation.
“Go home, Scarlett. Work will be here tomorrow.”
Either because Hudson is right or because I don’t want to argue with him, I quickly collect my things, slip on my heels, and hurry to join Jasper at the door. My cheeks are hotter than hot. The flush is spreading all the way down my neck. With my gaze locked on Jasper’s, I shake my head just once to make it perfectly clear I don’t want to discuss any more of this while we’re still in earshot of my coworkers.
Bethany and Sophie wave bye to me, and I throw them quick nods before walking toward the bank of elevators.
“Did we have plans tonight that I forgot about?” I ask once the doors slide shut behind us and we’re alone.
“No.”
“Okay…” Already my slight annoyance is starting to dissolve. Jasper isn’t a bad guy. This isn’t his fault, not really. “Listen, I apologize for not texting you to let you know I’d be at the office late, but that’s just going to happen sometimes, Jasper. Probably a lot. You know how bad I am with texting.”
“Right.” He turns to me. “Texting issue aside…I don’t get why you were up here working late. You just started this week, Scarlett. That’s ridiculous if they’re already expecting this much of you.”
“They aren’t!” I say with a forced laugh, trying to defuse the situation. “No one made me stay—I did it voluntarily.”
And though I’m still bitter about getting pulled away from Hudson’s desk, I don’t want to take it out on Jasper. I wanted to stay as long as Hudson did, burning the midnight oil with him. It was incredibly satisfying to be a part of that team tonight, and I worry Jasper might have just imploded any future opportunities for me.
He reaches out for my hand and squeezes it. “I understand it was a slight overreaction on my part, but I know you walk home from work and I just worry about you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me.”
I say it though I know it’s completely futile. Jasper is Jasper—he’s not going to change. It’s funny considering I’m exasperated by a part of him other women would probably love. He took the time to come down to my office and hunt me down, to confirm that I was all right and not in harm’s way. I get it. I don’t need to be mad anymore.
Still…
“How’d you even get up there?”
“Barrett helped. I called him from the security desk.”
I cringe and decide maybe I don’t want to know any more details. He contacted my doorman, called my brother, snuck his way up to the 70th floor—is that sweet? Or slightly overbearing?
“Let me walk you home and then I’ll leave you in peace, okay?”
I suppress a sigh, tuck away the last of my anger, and nod. “Sure. That’d be great.”
Chapter Nine
Scarlett
It’s 7:30 p.m. on Friday night when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I wouldn’t normally check it at the dining table, but the Beringers have been telling a meandering story about their experience at a cheese shop and how “you just can’t find good help anymore,” and I can only listen with a pseudo-sympathetic ear for so long before my face starts to melt. I couldn’t care less about their make-believe customer service problems.
“He couldn’t even tell me what region of Scotland the brie came from.”