Page 30 of Saving the CEO

Scarlett marveled at how natural it felt to hold Devin’s hand. It was so natural that she forgot the reason why they were at the golf course in the first place—until she spotted Devin’s date, Cora, standing at the entrance. She tried to pull away before the other woman saw them together, but it was too late.

“What is going on here, Ms. Hayes?” Cora demanded as she marched over. “Why in the world are you holding my date’s hand?”

“I-it’s not what you think,” Scarlett began, her voice strained. Panic coursed through her as she realized there was no easy explanation. “I mean, it kind of is, but I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Devin stepped forward. “I can explain—”

“Save your breath,” Cora huffed. “The Better Business Bureau’s going to be getting an earful from me about your so-called matchmaking services.”

Without another word, she stormed off, leaving Scarlett to wonder how she’d ever come back from such a horrible mistake.

CHAPTER15

Devin

Devin hadn’t seen or heard from Scarlett in two days. After their run-in with Cora at the miniature golf course, she’d told him she needed to do damage control. He had offered to help, but she’d said it was a mess that she’d gotten herself into and had to get herself out of.

A mess.

That’s what Scarlett called the start of their relationship. For him, it was anything but messy. Owning up to his feelings for her and confessing them out loud made perfect sense to him. Now that he had Scarlett in his life, he couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. And three days away from the woman he loved was three days too many.

Immediately, after he left the office on Tuesday night, he got into his car and dialed his sister’s number.

“Bekah, I need Scarlett’s address,” he requested as soon as she answered. “Do you have it?”

“I do, but why don’t you ask her for it? And why are you going over to see her? Is she okay? I texted her yesterday, but all she said was that she needed prayer. What’s going on?”

Loosening his tie, Devin held back his impatience. He didn’t have time to play 20 questions, but he also didn’t want to take his frustrations out on Bekah. “I’ll tell you everything later. For now, my priority is to see Scarlett. Will you please give me her address?”

“Okay, I’ll text it to you, but can you tell her to give me a call? I’m worried about her.”

“You and me both,” he murmured under his breath. “Thanks, sis. I’ll tell her to call you.”

Thirty minutes and ten miles of traffic later, he reached her apartment building in South San Jose. The sun was upon the horizon when he jogged upstairs to the second floor. After knocking loudly on the door, he leaned against the frame and waited. It felt like an eternity before it opened.

“Oh, it’s you!” The redhead from Scarlett’s office greeted him with a disapproving frown. “It’s about time you showed up! What took you so long?”

“Sorry, what? Were you expecting me?” He ran a hand through his hair, confused. If his memory served him correctly, this woman was Emerald, one of Scarlett’s sisters. “Is Scarlett here?”

“She’s here. She’s been holed up in her room since the news broke. Come on in.” Sighing, Emerald gestured for him to follow. As she led him through a small living room with yellow painted walls and a dark gray couch, she talked to Devin over her shoulder. “I told her to call you, but she didn’t want to bother you. But I said you, as her boyfriend, would want to know how she’s doing and what you can do to help. Am I right?”

“Right,” Devin agreed, too surprised to say more. Those words,her boyfriend, had a nice ring to them. He’d been called many titles in his life—son, brother, grandson, and CEO—but never a boyfriend. This was one role he looked forward to filling.

When they stopped at the end of the hall, Emerald turned to him with a stern expression. “I know you’re a big shot CEO and you’re not used to taking orders from other people, but this is my baby sister we’re talking about, Mr. Kendall. If you hurt Scarlett in any way, you’re going to have meandour two older sisters on your case. Do I make myself clear?”

He understood and respected the threats of an older sibling. Without any hesitation, he stated, “Crystal. I would never do anything to hurt Scarlett. You have my word.”

“Good!” She knocked on Scarlett’s door and called out, “Hey, Red, are you decent? Your honey’s here to see you.”

“Yes, come in.”

Emerald stepped aside to allow Devin to enter. “You two have fun, but not too much fun, you hear? I’m going out for a bit. Be back later.”

Devin’s eyes adjusted to the dim lighting before he spotted Scarlett sprawled out on a full-size bed in the middle of the room. With her floral comforter pulled up to her nose, only her large green eyes were on display behind a pair of glasses. One of her hands appeared and waved him over.

He took a seat on the edge of her bed. “Why haven’t you been answering my calls or texts?” he demanded. Seeing her wince, he quickly softened his tone. “I’ve been worried about you. Bekah has been, too.”

“I know. I’m sorry for making you guys worry. I just haven’t been in the mood to talk to anyone.” She stared up at the ceiling and sighed. “Everything’s been so crazy since that article came out in the paper yesterday.”

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