A Gentleman's Affair (16 page)

“Was?” I immediately feel the weight of that
word hit hard in the pit of my stomach.

“Yeah. I lost her a few years ago.”

I can see that she’s doing her best to keep
it together, but the smile on her face is forced as she continues
to fight back the tears.

“I’m sorry, Scarlett.”

Alright. How insane is this? Who could have
ever imagined that we would have this in common? I find myself at a
loss for words. And the song? That isn’t a very common song. This
is too weird.

“It’s okay.” She manages a slight smile.
“And I’m sorry I got all emotional.” She begins to laugh and wipe
away a lingering tear from her eye. “I didn’t mean to put a damper
on the night.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You haven’t spoiled
anything. Do you want to leave?”

“No way. You’re not getting rid of me that
easily,” she says, laughing as she shakes her head. She then picks
up her beer and takes a swig.

“Alright then, good.” Smirking at her
adorable remark, I pick up my bottle and join her. Our eyes never
leaving one another’s, it is as though we are secretly toasting our
mothers as we drink.

The band returns to the small stage of the
dark jazz club and begins to play. I am grateful right now for the
loud music, as it came at just the right time. I think we both
needed a mood changer. Another round, or four, of beers down, I can
see Scarlett beginning to relax and get into the music.

“I think I’m starting to like this jazzy
stuff now. It’s catchy, right?” she blurts out rather loudly,
snapping her fingers, speech slurred, giggling.

“Yes it is,” I laugh, watching her enjoy
herself.

“It’s like…ba da bum, ch-ch-cha,” she is now
using the table as a drum, her fingers the drumsticks, and she is
getting louder by the second as she follows along with song with
her jazz noises.

“Yes, it sounds just like that,” I laugh.
“Maybe we should get some fresh air,” I suggest as I stand and
offer her my hand.

“Do they have that same jazzy music outside
too?” She leans into me—correction, stumbles into
me—whispering.

“No, they don’t,” I laugh as I hold her
upright. “But they do have fresh air.”

I catch the waitress on the way out and
settle the bill. I lead Scarlett and her adorable “ba da bums”
outside. She jazzed her way through the club, even stopping at one
point to cheer on the band. I am liking this non-business side of
her more and more by the second. She knows how to have fun, just on
the brink of embarrassing herself, but in a cute subtle way.

Rebekah who?

I pour Scarlett into my hummer and drive to
La Fuga. Clearly she is in no position to drive herself home, and I
have no idea where she lives. When we arrive at my hotel, I drop
her off on the black leather couch in the lobby and head straight
to the desk to have Sarabeth check for a vacant suite for Scarlett.
She checks the computer then hands over a key card, and I hurry
back to the lobby to gather up the cute drunk girl and lead her
quickly towards the elevator.

“This doesn’t look like my apartment,
Donnie,” she says, as she holds the wall up with her body.

“That is because we are at my hotel,
Scarlett,” I chuckle. Wow, she is pretty hammered. “You are in no
condition to drive yourself home.”

“I am not,” she blurts out, crossing her
arms in front of her.

“Exactly,” I laugh.

The doors finally open and we get in. She
walks right up to one of the mirrored walls inside of the elevator
and stares at herself, a confused look on her face.

“I look like shit. Do you have any makeup I
can use to fix my face?” She shoots me the most serious of looks,
and I can’t help but laugh and tease her just a bit.

“Oh yes, I have an entire collection at my
place.” I smirk.

The doors to her floor open, and I lead her
out and down the corridor. We reach her suite and I slide the
keycard in and open the door.

“Why don’t you get settled, and I will be
right back with a few things for you, alright?”

“Are you getting the makeup for me?” she
slurs out with her drunken verbology.

“Yes,” I laugh. “Stay here. I will be right
back.”

I take the private elevator up to my
penthouse, go to my bedroom and grab a pair of sweats and a t-shirt
out of my dresser. I stop at my refrigerator for a bottle of water,
take a box of crackers out of the cupboard and head back down to
her suite.

I stand at her door and knock, hoping that
she hasn’t passed out already. She opens the door and lets me in, a
huge smile on her face.

“Yay! You came back!” She giggles.

“Of course I did.” Ahh, there is that giggle
again. Laughing as I enter the room, I walk over to the bed setting
everything down. “I brought you something to sleep in and some
crackers to absorb the alcohol.”

“Aww Donnie, you’re so sweet,” she smiles as
she picks up the t-shirt. “Venezia?” She looks at me confused.

“I got that during a trip to Venice with my
parents. I hope it’s alright.” I smile.

She holds the shirt close to her and smiles,
nodding her head. “I think so. It’s cozy,” she laughs.

“Alright. I will let you get some sleep
now.” Shaking my head and laughing, I start to walk toward the
door, but she rushes past me and spreads her arms wide across the
door, blocking me.

“No, don’t go. Stay with me just until I
fall asleep? Please?” She puffs out her bottom lip as she whines in
the cutest voice.

“I don’t know if that is such a good idea,
Scarlett.” Especially after four pitchers of beer. Especially since
I am insanely attracted to you. But she looks so adorable when she
begs, and I am only human. Knowing me, I will probably give in.

“Come on, I’ll be good,” she giggles, now
puffing out the lip in a more dramatic fashion. Christ…

“Fine. But just until you fall asleep.” So I
gave in, easily too, I might add. Look at her! How could I refuse?
She takes my hand and drags me back into the room, smiling widely,
clearly proud of her small victory.

“I’m going to change. You stay here.” She
gathers up the clothes and walks into the bathroom, closing the
door behind her. “Don’t leave!” She yells from behind the door.

“I’m right here,” I yell back.

Drunk Scarlett is irresistible as hell.
Laughing, I sit down in the chair across from the bed, wondering
what I have gotten myself into.

She emerges from the bathroom, my clothes
hanging off of her small, sexy frame, yet looking as beautiful as
ever. I do my best not to stare, but fail miserably. She is
hammered…it’s not like she is going to remember any of this anyway.
Stare on, Donovan. Stare on.

“How do I look?” she asks as she twirls once
across the floor.

“No comment,” I tease.

“Not nice, Donnie,” she laughs as she tosses
her clothes on the floor and climbs on the bed. “Do you want to
watch TV?”

“Sure, we could do that.” I get up from the
chair and turn on the TV, picking up the remote control and tossing
it to her before going to sit back down in the chair.

“You know, you could sit on the bed with
me,” she begins to laugh as she changes the channels. “I said I’d
be good.”

“I am a big boy, you know.” I shake my head
and laugh for about the hundredth time tonight. “I can resist you,
Scarlett.”

“Even dressed like this?” She pulls at the
over-sized shirt, laughing.

“Especially dressed like that,” I laugh
right along with her.

“Okay, stay in the chair, see if I care,”
she replies playfully, her eyes getting heavy.

“Go to sleep, Scarlett.”

“I’m not tired, Donovan.”

“Yes, you are. I can tell.”

“Don’t boss me, Dad,” she says in her
sassiest voice yet.

“Watch it little girl,” I tease back.

“Little girl?” She laughs,
and I can see that she is fighting the urge to close her eyes and
surrender
.

I get up and turn off the light. She will be
out in about two seconds from what I can see. She mumbles some
incoherent shit that I am unable to interpret and finally drifts
off. I walk over to the bed and sit down next to her, removing the
remote from her death grip.

Pushing a strand of hair off of her face, I
take the throw blanket that is at the foot of the bed and cover her
with it. She snuggles up under it, smiling as she whispers, “Thank
you, Donnie,” before completely passing out. I sit and watch her
sleep for a moment, before getting up to leave.

I open the door as quietly as possible, but
all of the sudden sleeping beauty comes back to life and blurts
out, “You promised to stay,” followed by some adorable snoring.

I suppose that I did sort of promise to
stay, so I walk back into the room and over to the bed, taking a
pillow from the bed and setting it on the floor, suddenly realizing
just how tired I actually am.

The things that a real gentleman will
do…including sleep on the floor when he has a luxurious penthouse
apartment just floors away.

The things that a real gentleman will do…to
impress the right girl.

Chapter Sixteen

~How do you like your eggs?~

When I wake up, still on the floor, Scarlett
is showered already, apparent by the towel on her head and fresh
clothes. My head is throbbing and my body aches from sleeping on
the floor, but I don’t mind one bit. Last night was worth it. It
seems that Scarlett and I have moved into a friendship as well as a
working relationship. No complaints here.

“Good morning,” I yawn, still tired and
slightly hung-over. “How did you sleep?”

“Pretty good, considering….” She won’t look
at me. I am assuming that she is somewhat embarrassed by last
night. I need to tell her not to be. We had a good time. No harm
done.

I stand up, stretching, hearing a crack.
Time for a massage, perhaps? More like time for food.

“Are you hungry? I need to eat something,
and I would love for you to join me, unless you have plans.”

“Not really.” She unwraps her towel, picking
up a comb. “I don’t think I could stomach food yet. Thank you,
though.”

“Alright then. I will leave you to your
day.” I try to catch her eye, but she still won’t look at me. I
walk toward the door, and she reaches out to touch my shoulder, but
her eyes are fixated on the floor.

“I just wanted to say, I’m sorry for last
night. I don’t really remember a lot, but I have the feeling that I
wasn’t being very professional.”

“Scarlett, we were out as friends, so
professional behavior wasn’t exactly necessary.” I smile, trying to
reassure her. “You were actually a lot of fun, so please don’t
worry about anything.”

“Okay, but…” she takes a long drawn out
pause, followed by a deep breath. I quickly interrupt.

“But nothing. Come and get some breakfast
with me, please? It will make you feel better.”

“Fine. You’re probably right.” Finally a
smile. The smile that seems to always light up the room. “I just
need to dry my hair.”

“Perfect. I will run upstairs and get
cleaned up myself. Meet me in the lobby in about twenty
minutes?”

“Sounds good.” She smiles, but the green
tint to her face reminds me that she is not doing so well. She
walks into the bathroom as I leave to go upstairs.

I take a ten-minute shower, quickly brush my
teeth, and get dressed in shorts and a dark gray t-shirt. After
smoothing my now longer, in-need-of-a-cut hair, I make my way
downstairs to the lobby and find Scarlett slumped down on one
of the leather couches. Shit, she looks like hell.

“Are you alright, Scarlett?” I ask, noticing
the queasy look on her face.

“No.” She manages a laugh as she struggles
to stand.

“Are you still alright to eat something, you
think?” I ask, concerned that she is seconds away from throwing
up.

“I’m okay. Food actually sounds good all of
the sudden.”

“That is a good sign.” I nod, leading her to
the hotel restaurant. “Just something light to soak up the keg of
beer that you drank last night?” I tease. It was only a pony
keg.

“Funny,” she laughs.

The hostess seats us and pours two cups of
coffee, which Scarlett quickly goes for. I obviously know the menu,
so I drink my coffee as Scarlett searches for something to soothe
the queasiness in her stomach.

“Everything looks so good, but nothing
sounds good,” she says as the green tint to her face begins to turn
to a pink flush color.

“You don’t look too good.” I catch
Cassidy’s, one of my waitresses, eye and call her over, asking her
to bring toast ASAP. She takes one look at Scarlett and nods before
going to put in the order.

“Thanks, Donovan. I’m so embarrassed right
now…” She hangs her head in shame. She is so adorable right now
that I can’t help but laugh.

“Yes, you should be, Scarlett. You might
just be the first person in the world to have a hangover.” I wink,
hoping that she eases up on herself.

“Funny.” She folds her arms in front of her
on the table and buries her face. I hear an actual laugh slip out
of her mouth before she looks back up. “Can I tell you something?”
Her smile fades into a frown.

“Of course… anything.” I smile, and
thankfully the toast has arrived. I give Cassidy my order, asking
Scarlett if she needs anything else first. She shakes her head as
she picks up the toast.

“This is good for now, thanks.” She takes a
bite, chewing slowly, still looking nauseous.

“So, you wanted to tell me something?” I
drink my coffee, glancing at her, brow raised.

“Umm…yeah. So, this is kind of personal, and
I wouldn’t have brought it up if it weren’t for last night…” She
pauses, clearly waiting for me to tell her that it is alright for
her to continue, which I do.

“A few years back, I sort of had a little
drinking problem, and last night was the first time I’ve had
anything to drink for awhile.” She looks away, tearing off small
pieces of toast, waiting for my reaction to her tiny
confession.