Ace flexed the fingers on his right hand. “He had this pewter ring he always wore. It was old and had jagged corners. It would leave marks on my skin. It would scar me.” He ran a finger over the faded scar over his right eyebrow. “I still carry its marks.”
Scarlett lowered herself, slowly, on to the chair beside his.
“His belt would leave welts on my skin for days, a constant reminder. He liked using the side with the buckle. That, too had sharp edges. I never got used to the smell of my own blood, or the sight of it, spilling out of random cuts and bruises.”
He sighed.
“I still can’t decide if it was his ring or his belt that was worse. Then again, maybe it’s my father’s voice constantly in my head telling me that I’m not good enough and that I’ll never amount to anything.”
Scarlett reached over and took his strong hand in hers and squeezed it.
“Look where you are now.”
The pair shared a sad smile, reminiscing their forgotten, but ever-present past.
“I’m sorry, Ambrose,” Ace said, “I shouldn’t have taken my anger at my past out on you.”
Scarlett nodded. They were silent for a while as they held hands. Ace’s thumb subconsciously brushed against Scarlett’s hand.
“Why do you hate,” he hesitated, “C12H22O11?”
Scarlett frowned and then snorted out in laughter. “Did you seriously just use the formula for sugar?”
Ace gave her a small smile and she shrugged. “Someone I don’t like used to call me that.”
Ace eyed her. “Someone you’re afraid of used to call you that.”
Scarlett stared at him and then, nodded very slowly.
Ace leaned back, seeing the expression on her face. “I won’t ask, Ambrose. You can tell me, in time. If you like.”
Scarlett nodded and gave her boss a small, sad smile.
“I found the best grill kit, I swear. I watched three YouTube videos on really butch looking guys review it and they absolutely love it. If your brother-in-law loves grilling as much as you say he does, he’s going to love this.” Scarlett tapped the screen on her laptop earnestly.
Ace’s tall leather chair was turned around so that he could see outside his large glass paned windows. He didn’t make a sound.
Scarlett cocked her head to a side. “Do you not want a gift for your sister’s husband?”
Ace’s chair began making jerk-like movements, as it was turned to face Scarlett.
When it did face her however, she wasn’t greeted by Ace’s chiseled jawline, dark hair, perfect scruff or green eyes. Instead, she was greeted by the face of a little girl, topped with golden blonde hair and her blue eyes sparkled. She looked like she was having a ball.
“Hi!” she said, enthusiastically, trying her best to pull herself towards the table, her tongue sticking out. She was trying to gain momentum to make the chair spin. “Who are you?”
“Hi,” Scarlett replied, sweetly, shutting her laptop. She looked around. “I’m Scarlett. Who are you, sweetheart?”
“I’m Cassie,” the girl said, happily, gripping the edge of the table and pushing herself sideways so that the chair spun.
“Well, Cassie, how did you end up here?” Scarlett asked.
“Ooh, there’s this really pretty elevator,” Cassie told her, “It has mirrors all over it.”
Scarlett raised her eyebrows, completely amused by this girl and her completely inability to be anything other than confident. In Cassie’s mind there was no reason to question why she would be sitting in the seat of one of the most affluential CEOs in the city, who barely let anyone into his office while he was absent.
She watched Cassie spin herself with the utmost determination. “God, I hope you’re my new boss,” she said, softly.
“Hate to burst your bubble, Ambrose, but that would still be me.”
Scarlett spun around to see Ace, who raised an eyebrow at her with his crooked grin. She made a disappointed face. “How sad. Cassie and I were just doing so well.”
“Uncle Ace, I love your chair!” Cassie exclaimed, now spinning herself by kicking her feet against Ace’s desk.
Scarlett stifled a laugh seeing the girl manhandle Ace’s beloved desk.
Ace’s expression was soft as he looked at his niece. “Cassie, why don’t you come over here and say hello to Scarlett?”
Cassie stopped the chair and hopped off of it. She was completely unfazed by the fact that she had been spinning and skipped over to Scarlett. “Hi, I’m Cassandra,” she said, brightly, smiling up at Scarlett, showing the loss of two teeth on her bottom jaw.
Scarlett knelt near the girl. “I’m Scarlett. It’s very nice to meet you, Cassandra.” She shook the little girl’s hand.
Cassie cocked her head to a side and analyzed Scarlett’s face. “You’re pretty,” she said, resolutely, like no one could challenge her, “I like you. You can call me Cassie.”
A radiant smile came over Scarlett’s face as Ace watched. “Thank you. I think you’re very pretty, too. And you can call me Sky.”
“Sky?” Cassie asked and pointed out the window, “Like the sky?”
Scarlett nodded.
Cassie smiled again. “I love the sky!”
Her excitement was infectious and Scarlett giggled. “Me, too!”
“How’d you know my uncle Ace?”
Scarlett’s eyes flickered up to her boss and then she looked back at the girl. “I work with your Uncle Ace.”
Cassie turned and looked up at Ace, who was towering over her. “Lucky! I want to work with Sky!”
Ace looked amusedly confused. “You just met her.”
Cassie looked back at Scarlett and considered this. “But I like her.”
Scarlett smiled as Gretchen walked in and handed some papers and coloured pencils to Ace. He took it. “Hey, Cassie, do you want to sit over there and draw something for me?”
Cassie took the papers and the pencils and nodded. “But I want to sit there.” She pointed to Ace’s desk.
“Sure, kiddo, you can have my desk.”
“Can Sky stay here?” she asked.
Ace looked down at his niece and PA. “She does have to work, you know.”
Cassie blinked her big blue eyes up at him and Ace rolled his eyes. “Sure, just go over there and colour, okay?”
Cassie smiled up at her uncle like he had given her the world and skipped off to climb back on to his seat and begin her artistry. Scarlett got to her feet and watched Cassie.
“Turn my niece against me, why don’t you?” Ace huffed, jokingly.
Scarlett looked over a raised shoulder at Ace. “I can’t help it if she likes me. I’m very likeable.”
“Any particular reason you’re in here, Ambrose?”
She tapped her closed laptop. “I found a gift for your brother-in-law.”
Ace nodded. “Email it to me.”
Scarlett motioned with her head towards Cassie. “She’s the one who called the other day. Why is she here?”
“My sister was running an errand and she had demanded to see her favourite uncle,” Ace said.
“You’re her only uncle, aren’t you?” Scarlett made a pitiful face.
Ace shook his head, disbelievingly. “She does enjoy my company, you know.”
“She’s just a child. She doesn’t know any better.”
Ace opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he heard a voice outside.
“Hey, Gretchen. Nice to see you. Hey, Ace. Hope Cassie didn’t give you much trouble.”
In walked a dark-haired woman, dressed in a pair of stylish wide-legged pants and a blouse. She had blue eyes that resembled Cassie’s, and an easy smile on her face. Her gaze was trained on Ace, but when she saw Scarlett, she smiled.
“Oh, hi,” she nodded to Scarlett, “Who’s this?”
Ace gestured to Scarlett. “This is my new PA, Scarlett Ambrose. This is my sister, Emerson.”
The two women shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Scarlett. I hope my brother hasn’t been giving you any trouble.”
Ace gave her a look of mock outrage. “Why does everyone think that I’m the one giving trouble?”
Emerson nudged him. “I grew up with you, little brother. I know how much trouble you can be.” Ace shook his head. “Hey, Cassie, are you ready to go?”
Cassie raised her head from her drawing. She pushed herself off the chair and ran over to the adults, waving a paper in her hand. Ace smiled and stepped back, ready to receive a brand-new drawing.
Instead of giving it to Ace, however, Cassie beamed up at Scarlett and held out the drawing to her. “Here, Sky, I drew this for you.”
Scarlett knelt down and took the paper into her hands with a smile. “Cassie, I love it!” she said, happily, looking at the drawing of a morning sky, “No one’s ever drawn anything for me before!”
Emerson stifled a laugh at Ace’s shocked expression at being hung out to dry.
Cassie looked at Scarlett, concerned. One of her favourite ways of showing affection was to draw things for the people she loved. In her brain, it was impossible that someone as seemingly wonderful as Scarlett had never received a drawing. “Never?” she asked.
Scarlett shook her head. “Never. So, I’m going to keep this. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
Cassie smiled. “Mom, can I spend a day with uncle Ace and Sky?”
Emerson opened her mouth, but seemed unable to formulate a response. She smiled. “Cassie, do you think you’d like to ask Scarlett to show you her office?”
Scarlett took the hint. “Yeah,” she told Cassie, “I have a chair that spins.”
Cassie’s eyes shone. “I love chairs that spin!”
“Me, too! Come on, I’ll show you mine,” Scarlett took Cassie’s hand and led her down the hallway into her room.
Emerson shut the door to Ace’s office and turned to him with her eyebrows raised. “New PA, Ace?”
Ace nodded, completely unfazed. “She’s pretty good.”
“Pretty good or just pretty?”
Ace gave his sister a look. “I didn’t hire her for her looks. I don’t take decisions based on women.”
Emerson shook her head. “Really? Are you forgetting Eve?”
Her brother waved his hand. “That was years ago. I’m smarter now and I’m not interested in Ambrose.”
She rolled her eyes. “You won’t even say her name. I hope you know what you’re doing, Ace.”
“Don’t I always?”
Emerson eyed her brother. “So, you think I can trust my child with her? She seems nice, but can I trust my child with her.”
Ace nodded. “Yeah, she’s fine. And Cassie obviously likes her. They barely spent an hour together and she’s already getting drawings. You know what they say, kids can tell people, like dogs.”
“Don’t call my daughter a dog. And that’s babies.”
Ace held up his hands. “I’d love to spend the day with Cassie. You can let me know and drop her off on a weekend and Ambrose and I will spend the day with her.”
Emerson stared at her brother. “Does she live with you?”
“She helps me get a lot of work done at home.”
Emerson scoffed, but looked amused. “Answer me this: how many women have you slept with since she moved in?”
Ace’s eyes widened. “Whoa! Whoa! You’re my sister.”
“Oh, stop acting like a prude,” she laughed, “You haven’t slept with anyone, have you?”
Ace glared. “Look, it’s not easy to bring someone over when there actually is someone else in the house.”
Emerson’s smile was suggestive.
“Look, I’m not trying to sleep with my employee,” Ace said, firmly.
“Oh,” Emerson laughed, “I’m not saying you want to just sleep with her.”