The Arrangement (11 page)

‘Oh,
right.’ Lucas didn’t have to think about where it was. He
knew exactly where the file was. It was sitting on the desk by his
computer at home. ‘I left it at my place,’ he admitted.
‘I will give Scarlett a ring and ask if she can bring it in for
you.’

‘Brilliant.
Well, got to go.’ And with that Craig disappeared.

Emma
got to her feet and picked up her half-eaten lunch.

‘How
about we continue this at my place sometime?’ she said.

Lucas
was still in too much of a state of shock to reply. A single question
filled the void of his mind. How far would they have gone if Craig
had not interrupted them? He was going to squeeze her breast and she
was touching his…

‘I
will let you think about it.’

Emma
smiled her heart warming smile and left.

***

Scarlett
couldn’t contain the giggles. From an outside observer she
might have seemed several rolls short of a bread basket, but she
still couldn’t get over what she had just done, or the things
she had brought. The young lady in the shop had been so calm and
collected about everything, but Scarlett was on some sort of
adrenaline high. Doing things in the privacy of her home with Lucas
was one thing, but to talk so openly about matters of a sexual nature
with a complete stranger was wrong on more levels than she could
count.

She
covered her hand to hide her smile.

It
was stretched across her face like some kind of insane clown.

The
things she had brought were sure to come in handy with Lucas. The
only way he would be able to turn down her advances now was if he was
gay. An older woman with a walking stick gave her a rather annoyed
look, as another giggle slipped out. Coming into the book store was
perhaps not the greatest idea in the world because it was so darn
quiet, which meant each and every giggle she failed to contain raised
heads from every corner of the store.

‘Sorry,’
she whispered to the woman.

The
woman grunted in reply.

Scarlett
decided to move double time into the paranormal section of the store.
Thankfully, the aisle was devoid of all human activity. She found the
section beginning with A on the shelf and started the search for her
desired item. She felt a bit silly doing this, but she couldn’t
help it. Scarlett loved locating her own book within the book store
It always made her feel good knowing that her masterpiece was
available for everyone to buy.

She
reached the M section and looked for Scarlett Mills.

There
was only one copy of her book left.

That
was always a good sign. There had been six copies when she came into
town about a week ago. A warm satisfied feeling glowed like rising
sun within her tummy.

‘Hi,
Scarlett, right?’ said a male voice from beside her.

She
hadn’t noticed anyone approach her down the aisle.

Scarlett
turned to face the man. At first glance he wasn’t someone she
knew, but there was something about him that she recognised. The man
was a good head and a half taller than her. He had long brown hair
that was tied back into a ponytail behind his head. He was clean
shaven and had a smile that could charm the panties off a nun. His
brown eyes were so deep that if she fell into them she wasn’t
sure she would ever be able to get out. Unlike most of the men she
had seen today, he was casually dressed in a dark blue t-shirt and
black jogging pants. Even though she wasn’t sure who this man
was, Scarlett was very much sure that he was drop dead gorgeous.

‘Yes?’
she accepted his out stretched hand.

‘I
thought it was you. I’m Brandon Grey.’ The name sounded
familiar. Where had she heard it before? ‘We met at the
publishing office.’

It
hit her.

‘Brandon
Grey!’ She blurted out his name excitedly. ‘I loved your
book,’ she said in a way that sounded far too much like “I’m
your number one fan!” The problem was that Scarlett really was
a big fan of his. The two of them had been introduced the day she
headed into her father’s office to sign the contract for the
book deal. Brandon had been there for that very same reason and the
two of them had shared a brief chat in the waiting area.

‘I’m
glad you liked it,’ he brushed aside the compliment. ‘I
really enjoyed your novel, but you haven’t released another one
in nearly a year. Are you planning on doing a sequel?’

‘I
am.’ Her face contorted into a grimace. ‘I pretty much
have the second novel complete, but I am having some problems with
the main characters and the connection.’

‘I
can relate to that.’ He nodded a reply. ‘I am working on
the third part, of my four part series, and I have pretty much
written the two main characters to death. I have told their stories
in a way, but the bigger story, that is the world in which they live
in, goes on. So, I am trying to write them out and bring in some new
hero’s, but not sure if my readership will like that.’

Scarlett’s
jaw dropped open in shock.

‘You’re
writing them out? But I love them.’

‘Ha,’
laughed Brandon. ‘I think I have my answer.’ He paused
for a brief moment before asking. ‘Would you like to grab a cup
of coffee? I would love to pick your brains and talk books with you.’

Scarlett
didn’t even have to think. ‘That would be great.’

***

‘What
have I done?’ Lucas groaned out the words. The memory of Emma’s
hand upon his groin wouldn’t leave his mind. Nearly forty
minutes had gone by and he hadn’t been able to move or get on
with any of his work. He simply couldn’t get what had happened
out of his head. ‘Did I just cheat?’ he knew in his heart
of hearts what that answer was.

He
had.

Had
had looked Emma straight in the eye, as her hand teased the demon of
lust into life. If Craig hadn’t entered the room at that exact
moment he would have caressed her breast and there is no knowing what
could have happened then, or how far they would have gone. Things
were getting out of hand. He wasn’t the type of man that did
this. He loved Scarlett. It was this damn deal causing this build up
of sexual frustration.

It
had to come to an end.

***

A
young waitress placed their drinks down at the table. She was about
to ask if there was anything else they wanted, but the two of them
were so busy chatting away that she doubted they even knew that she
was there.

‘I
have always been really interested in anything paranormal, or out of
this world,’ admitted Brandon. ‘I was the type of kid
that would sneak into those so-called haunted houses just to have a
first-hand glance at any ghosts.’

‘Did
you always know that paranormal crime writing would be your genre?’
Scarlett was hanging on his every word. Since the two of them met in
the book store there hadn’t been a single moment of silence. It
was a battle of questions being fired back and forth across the
battlefield of the café table.

‘Well,
to be honest.’ Brandon leaned a little closer forward and
whispered very quietly. ‘I am not a big fan of crime dramas,
but don’t tell anyone that.’

Scarlett
giggled. ‘That is surprising because you write such amazing
stories.’

‘Thank
you.’ She was starting to notice that every compliment caused
him to look away in a really shy cute manner. ‘I never intended
my novels to be about psychics working with the police. I mean you
look on television and there have already been so many shows with
this same sort of theme. I wanted to do a story about a medium that
makes the reader think about the big questions about life, death, the
universe.’

‘I
try to do the same thing.’

‘That
is why I love your book,’ replied Brandon. ‘You have such
believable characters and the chemistry between them is so realistic.
I liked the fact that when I finished your story I walk away thinking
about the same questions that you put to your characters. It is sheer
genius.’

‘I
think you give me too much credit.’ Scarlett tried to contain
the blush.

‘I
don’t think I have given you enough.’ He smiled a
gorgeous smile.

She
couldn’t help it.

The
blush appeared.

She
picked up her hot coffee and took a small sip. It was the only thing
she could think of doing. Being complimented by such a handsome and
gifted writer made her feel all shy and girly.

‘What
inspired you to write paranormal investigation books?’ he
asked.

‘I
have just always been into that sort of thing,’ shrugged
Scarlett. ‘My grandmother was a professional psychic medium and
I was fascinated by the things she could do. I loved the way she knew
things I was going to say, or do, before I actually did them, or how
she could just know so much about a place we have never been too
before, or how she could know so much about a person she had never
met before. It was something that has stuck with me for many years.’

‘Your
grandmother sounds like an amazing woman.’

Scarlett
smiled softly. ‘She really was.’

‘Do
you have any of her gifts?’ Brandon took a sip of his drink.
Scarlett regarded him for a long drawn out moment with her light blue
ocean coloured eyes. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘Oh,
I am sorry.’ She tried to laugh it off. ‘I don’t
normally talk to people about these types of things. You mention
ghosts and psychic mediums and they think you are a complete
madwoman. My father and mother didn’t buy into the things my
grandmother could do and neither does my fiancée. My sister
does, but apart from that I haven’t really spoke about this
with that many people, so it is kind of embarrassing in a way.’

‘You
don’t have to feel like that.’ He disarmed her with a
smile. ‘My mother was psychic. She used to do tarot readings
and help people through her dreams, but it was weird with her because
she couldn’t talk to spirits directly. She was very gifted, but
in a roundabout kind of way.’

‘That
is really amazing. Do you have any of her gifts?’

Brandon
thought about this for a moment. ‘I think sometimes I do, but I
don’t know. I mean I get the odd dream now and again that comes
true, or I feel something like the face of an old friend I haven’t
thought about in years and then an hour later I bump into them. Silly
things like this. You never answered my question. Do you have any of
your grandmother’s gifts?’

‘I
like to think I do, but sometimes I am not sure. I think I want to
have her gifts so badly that sometimes I look for things that are not
there, or put normal everyday matters that can be easily explained
into the paranormal category, if that makes sense?’

‘It
does.’ He smiled that smile that had the power to break a
woman’s heart. ‘Would it be out of the question for me to
give you my phone number?’ Scarlett could feel her heart skip a
beat within her chest. He must have noticed the surprised look upon
her face because he quickly added. ‘It is really nice to talk
to a like minded person about these things. I would really like to
have coffee with you again and just bounce some ideas off of you
about my books. I think talking to you will actually really help my
writing.’

Scarlett
thought for a moment.

Was
it okay to go out for coffee with a gorgeous guy?

She
gave her head a quick shake. They are just friends.

‘I
would really like that.’

***

Scarlett
pulled into the next lane and slowly applied pressure to the
accelerator. The city started to disappear by her side windows in a
blur of motion. The radio was off, but she hummed a happy tune into
the silence of the car. She hadn’t stopped smiling since she
left the café. How long had it been since she had last sat
down and actually had such an open and free flowing conversation
about her favourite subjects?

It
felt like a lifetime.

She
glanced down at the phone number written on the piece of paper on the
passenger seat. An eye consuming smile spread across her face. She
felt like a teenager again. She felt giddy about the idea of
exchanging phone numbers with him. In truth she couldn’t wait
for his call. It would be so nice to get out of the house and meet
someone with all the same interests as her. It didn’t hurt that
Brandon was easy on the eye either.

She
giggled.

‘No,’
she said in a cheeky voice. ‘I have to be good.’

***

Lucas
slipped on his coat and headed out of the office. Emma was sitting
directly outside. The smile was now a permanent resident upon her
face. It was still fairly early in the day, which was why the
corridor was a mass with activity. Smartly dressed men and women were
rushing back and forth, disappearing and reappearing, from different
rooms all along the corridor.

‘Emma,
something has come up and I am heading home,’ he lied.

‘Is
everything okay?’ she replied.

‘Yes,
yes.’ He nodded his head in reply. ‘Just my fiancée
is feeling a little bit under the weather. Cancel the rest of my
appointments for today.’

‘Yes,
Lucas.’ He could see her smile fade slightly.

‘I
will see you tomorrow.’ And with that he stepped by her and
quickly rushed away down the corridor. He thought she probably knew
he was lying, but he had to disappear out early, or face another
tempting car journey with her back home. It was also the fact he
could no longer concentrate on work and sitting in that office
watching her for the next few hours was not going to lead anywhere
good.

Lucas
marched into Craig’s open door.

‘I
tried to phone Scarlett, but she is not at home,’ he announced.

‘Ah…’
Craig grimaced. ‘I really need that file.’

‘Well,
I have to head home now. I could bring it in tomorrow.’

‘I
sort of need it for my meeting with Mr Mills later today. Can I
follow you and pick it up now?’ he asked.