50

Ace considered this. “I’m sure you’ll prove useful during the weekend. There’s some work I need to do, so you can help me do it by doing all the chores that would just take up my precious time. And you could consider it the trial period.”
“Well, you certainly think a lot of yourself.”
“I don’t pay you to look pretty, Ambrose.”
Scarlett nodded, with a smirk. “That’s true, because if you did, you’d have to pay me a lot more.”
Ace chuckled at that comment, impressed by her wit. “What’s someone like you doing working for someone like Dan Andrews? Or me, for that matter, as a PA?”
Scarlett shrugged. “Maybe that’s all I’m good for.”
Ace shook his head, gazing at her, his mind reeling. “There’s something you’re not telling me, Ambrose. And I’m going to find out what it is.”
When Ace came downstairs that morning, Scarlett was already sitting at the breakfast counter, eating an apple and drinking apple juice.
“That’s got to be redundant in some way,” he said, nodding to her food and beverage choices.
“That’s where you’re wrong. This,” she shook the apple at him, “Is a green apple and this,” she picked the glass up and shook that at him, “Was made with fresh red apples.”
“And how do you know that?” he asked, leaning against the counter.
Ace’s hair stuck up gloriously in odd places; something Scarlett hadn’t seen before. The sunlight streaming in through the window behind Scarlett highlighted the tips of his hair.
“It was on the juice carton,” she said, tracing the outline of his messy hair with her eyes.
“You read the juice carton?” Ace raised an eyebrow.
“Well, there wasn’t much else reading material,” Scarlett shrugged, taking a bite of her apple.
“The books are in my study,” Ace said. He never mentioned to her that she was welcome to pick one for herself. He just looked around the counter, “You didn’t put on a pot of coffee?”
“I don’t drink coffee,” she said, “And that thing is way too fancy for me to want to mess with it and with your precious coffee.”
Ace rolled his eyes and pulled out a coffee filter. “Why are you up so early?”
“Why are you?” Scarlett shot back.
Ace pumped his eyebrows. “You think I made a billion dollars by sleeping in?”
“That’s such bullshit. I’m certain there are enough successful people who are night-owls.”
“Why is it so difficult for you to answer a simple question, Ambrose?”
Scarlett shrugged, swirling her drink around in its glass. “I guess I like seeing that little vein in your forehead whenever I don’t.”
Ace smoothed his temple, making Scarlett laugh. “I guess I’m an early-riser.”
“What are your plans for the day?” Ace asked, pouring coffee granules into the machine.
“If you’ll allow me, my lord, I was going to go home, meet my friend and then bring some more clothes back here,” she replied.
“Which friend? Grace or Danielle?”
Scarlett grinned, mischievously. “You remember the names of my friends that I mentioned once? Aren’t you just completely obsessed with me?”
Ace put his elbows down on the counter and leaned in. “Trust me, Ambrose, if I were obsessed with you, you’d know.”
“Does Belinda come on weekends?” Scarlett asked, hopefully.
“Only when I ask her to. I didn’t ask her to come today.”
Scarlett visibly deflated. She downed the rest of her drink and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I’m going to go see Grace and get some stuff. I’ll be back in a few hours. You call me if you need anything.”
She waggled her fingers at Ace in a farewell and walked out.
Scarlett slid into the backseat of the car that Ace had faithfully given her, and told her driver where to take her. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out what she thought was her phone.
It was Ace’s personal phone.
Like her mind went into autopilot mode, she unlocked it and began randomly scroll through it, completely forgetting that she wanted her own phone instead.
Leaning back in her seat, idly, she went through it the way she normally did when she had a moment to herself.
Generally, people’s phones were goldmines of information about who they were, but not Ace Hardwood. His phone was as generic as they came. The bookshelf was empty, the browser had no search history, there were no apps other than the ones that already came with the phone, there was no email address set up and the only pictures in the gallery were ones you could find on Google.
Without much thought, she tapped the “Contacts” app, not expecting to find anything special. There were only three contacts saved on the phone, and only one of which caught Scarlett’s eyes.
Nestled beneath “Emerson” and “Emerson Home” was one name that Scarlett knew would pose some unique questions:
Eve
Ace, as private as he was, obviously never mentioned an Eve.
Scarlett put the phone down and brought out her own phone and typed “Ace Hardwood Eve” into her Google search bar, but instead of giving her results about a ravishing model-like young woman, she was met with dead-end results of Ace attending various New Year’s Eve functions, Christmas Eve functions and other galas.
She stared at the number, wondering if Eve was the reason Ace refused to part with this phone and this number.
There wasn’t anyone she could ask without arousing suspicion, so she decided to tuck the knowledge of Eve away for a later time.
As the driver pulled up outside her building, she told him to give her a few hours before coming back for her.
She walked into the building that had been her home for the past eight years, ever since Grace had found it and helped her with the money to rent it.
Scarlett entered her apartment with an odd melancholic feeling that it would be the last time she’d be in there for a while, at least until she finished Terrence’s job. Pulling out a large suitcase, she packed in some work clothes, home clothes and some odd pieces of clothing that she might need for different occasions.
She cleared the counters and made sure that the least amount of dust would get on her things while she was away.
Leaving her packed bag, she walked across the hall and knocked on Danielle’s door.
Loud rock music greeted Scarlett’s ears as Danielle opened the door. She dressed to the nines and wrestling with her curly hair, trying to put in one of the biggest hoop earrings that Scarlett had ever seen. Even in her state of distress, Danielle was beautiful.
“Sky!” she exclaimed, like she usually did, “Come on in! But I don’t have much time, baby, I’m going for a working lunch and then I’m supervising a photoshoot.”
“You look gorgeous, Elle,” Scarlett told her, closing the door behind her.
Danielle stopped moving and smiled, giving Scarlett a twirl. “You like it?” She gestured to the brightly patterned dress she was wearing. “These patterns are all the rage. I know, I know, you prefer simple things and solid colours and minimalistic clothes, but this just screams happy, doesn’t it?”
Scarlett laughed. “On you, anything screams happy.”
“What’s up, Sky? I haven’t seen you around much.”
Scarlett flopped down on to her couch, watching Danielle strut around her house, matching various accessories to her dress. “I have this new job, Elle. Which is actually why I’m here. They want me to be closer to work, so they’re giving me housing. I won’t be here for a while. I was wondering if you could keep an eye on the house for me.”
Danielle came over to Scarlett, holding three handbags. “Sky, you won’t be here? Who am I going to sit on the roof with, sipping wine on Fridays?”
Scarlett laughed. “I’ll be back soon, Elle, and anyway, I know you’ve been entirely busy with the magazine work, so you’ll barely miss me.”
Danielle dumped the bags on to the coffee table and sat down next to Scarlett, pushing her curls out of her face. “I have been busy with work, haven’t I?” she sighed, “It’s just been so exciting.”
“That’s great, Elle, you deserve it,” she smiled, taking Elle’s hand. Danielle’s skin always gleamed and glowed, like she had just been dipped in sunshine. Her skin may have been dark, but it was the brightest, most glorious thing Scarlett had ever seen. She sighed, deeply. “I’m going to miss you and the smell of your vanilla shea butter.”
Danielle gave her a look. “Sometimes, I think you’re just friends with me for the smell.” She squeezed Scarlett’s hand and got up.
“That and the pies your Mom sends,” Scarlett said.
Danielle walked into her room and came back out holding a small, white tub. “This is my on-the-go one,” she said, handing it to Scarlett, “To remember me by.”
Scarlett opened it and inhaled the glorious vanilla scent. “I love it. Thanks, Elle.”
Danielle sucked her teeth. “Now, tell me how to accessorize!”
“Wear that yellow bandana,” she said, “It’ll go well with your outfit.”
Danielle gasped. “And then, I’ll carry my yellow messenger bag and wear those yellow wedges I’ve been dying to wear.”
Scarlett watched Danielle run around her house and stood. “Elle, I’m going to go spend some time with Grace. I’ll see you soon okay?”
Danielle ran over to give her a hug. “Call anytime you need me. Even if it’s at three in the morning.”
Scarlett squeezed her. “And you, too.”
She left, feeling significantly happy.
Outside, the wind whipped around her rather coldly for a bright day, making her stand on the steps of her building and reach into her bag to pull out her hair clip.
She raised her head to look across the road and saw a car drive away. Brushing it off as a coincidence, she jaywalked across the quiet street and pattered up the steps to Grace’s house.
“Gracie! Shall we lunch?” Scarlett called out before she had even seen the lady.
Grace’s housekeeper shook her head with a smile as she departed, knowing the antics of her mistress and her favourite girl.
Grace floated into the living room, dressed in a pair of loose linen pants and a soft, cotton blouse. Her whitened hair was, as usual, perfectly styled and she had an east smile on her face.
“Sky, my darling, I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages,” she said, coming over and hugging Scarlett.
“Shall we go for lunch?” the younger woman asked, “My treat.”
Grace smirked at her. “Well, how can I refuse? Let me just get my handbag and I’ll put on some shoes and we can be on our way. Where are we going?”
“I thought we’d take a walk down to the Waterfront Lounge and then get some ice cream after,” Scarlett said, trailing behind Grace, like a lost puppy.
Grace stopped and turned. “Where we met? My, my, I feel an announcement coming.” She raised an eyebrow.
Scarlett shook her head. “Not really. Nothing life-changing, anyway.”
Grace made a sound of reluctant acceptance and then stepped out of her house, hand in hand with the girl she considered her own.
The Waterfront Lounge was a sleek restaurant, which greeted you with the sounds of muted, happy conversations and clinking glasses. It was straight out of a book, the way the riviera sprawled into infinity beyond its deck.
Grace and Scarlett took their seats outside, on the deck, feeling the cool breeze against their skin.
“What is changing in your life, lieve?” Grace asked, getting straight to the point.
Scarlett sighed deeply and rested her chin on her hands. “Nothing major, Gracie. Just a small geographic one.”
Grace raised an eyebrow as the waiter placed two menus in front of them.
“My boss asked me to move in with him because it’s inconvenient for him that I live so far away and there was this small incident that happened and he wants to keep an eye on me,” Scarlett rambled, flipping the pages on the menu, not really reading the words.
“This is the man who is your target?”
Scarlett nodded.
“Is he attracted to you?”
Scarlett shrugged. “He doesn’t seem like it at all. He’s a flirt sometimes, but he doesn’t show the least bit of favour to me. I don’t think it’s so easy to get to him.”
“Men show affection in strange ways, Sky,” Grace said, putting on her glasses to read the menu.
“I’m sure this is just business.”
“My darling, it’s time you found a boyfriend.”
Scarlett was confused. “Why?”
Grace raised her eyebrows. “For the past decade, the only men you’ve had relationships with were ones that you were paid to associate. This one, flirting with you and asking you to live with him, but not showing any affection, he’s trouble, lieve. The most unassuming ones are the worst. Best thing for you to do is to find a boyfriend. Forget what Jack did to you.”
“I can’t,” Scarlett said, miserably, “And I don’t want to talk about it,” she added, seeing Grace open her mouth.
“Tell me about this man who hasn’t fallen for your charm yet.”
“He doesn’t trust me fully. I don’t think he trusts anyone, but he definitely thinks something is off about me,” Scarlett told her.
“Good. He does not underestimate a woman. He must have been raised well.”
“How is that good? My whole job depends on him underestimating me and letting his guard down,” Scarlett huffed.
Grace leaned in. “You’re not one to back down from a challenge, Sky. That’s not what I taught you and that’s not who you are. You lob challenges right back at the face of life.”
Scarlett sighed, resting her cheek against her hand. “Ace is strange. I can’t figure out how to break him.”
“Are you enjoying your time with him?” Grace scrutinized Scarlett’s expression. “Don’t fall for his charm.”
Scarlett scoffed. “I’ve met too many men like him to fall for it.”
Grace eyed Scarlett silently for a few moments. “Now, let’s not spend our afternoon talking about boys, shall we?”
After a happily long drawn out lunch, Scarlett walked Grace back home and left with the promise that she would visit as often as she could.
The hours that had Scarlett spent at home was probably the longest span of time Ace had gone without contacting her since they met.
The sun was beginning its descent into the horizon when Scarlett arrived at Ace’s, lugging a heavy suitcase with her.
She rang the doorbell and waited for Ace to answer it.
It was an irate face that greeted her. Ace’s face was shadowed with indignance and annoyance as he held the door open for her, impatiently. Scarlett traipsed in, without a word, wondering why he was so annoyed.
The answer lay in the person who stood in the foyer, with a smarmy smirk plastered on to his face, looking like the cat who swallowed the canary.
“Well, well, well,” Brad Windom drawled, taking a lazy step forward, flicking his index finger between Ace and Scarlett, “What have we here?”