Page 32 of Saving the CEO

Scarlett

When Scarlett walked into the office on Friday morning with Emerald by her side, she hung her head in shame. After staying home the past couple of days, she’d finally gotten the courage to come in. Showing up was the easy part; getting back into Amber’s and Capri’s good graces was an entirely different matter.

She straightened her back to stand tall in her heels. She’d worn her favorite hot pink power suit in the hopes of appearing as put together as possible. If she looked professional, maybe her sisters would conveniently forget that she’d done the most unprofessional thing.

If not, she would most certainly need divine intervention.

“Pray for me, Em,” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

“Will do! You’ve got this, Red!” Emerald murmured before slipping away down the hall to her office.

Unfortunately, the moment Scarlett saw her older sisters’ stern faces, she wanted to crawl back to bed and hide beneath the covers. She’d only gotten on their bad side a handful of times, and those instances had all been during their childhood when she hadn’t known better. This time, she had no excuse. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed out the brightest, most apologetic smile. At least she’d been smart enough to bring a peace offering.

“Good morning, sweet sisters of mine!” She handed each one of them a cup. “One Caramel Macchiato for you, Amber, and a Flat White for you, Capri.”

Amber furrowed her brows. “If you’re trying to appease us, caffeine is a good way to start.”

“A very good way,” Capri chimed in. Her expression softened as she took a sip, then sighed happily. “All right, I forgive you.”

“Already, Capri?” chided Amber in a hushed voice. “We’re supposed to drag this out at least an hour longer, remember?”

“I know, but it’s hard to stay mad at Red when she’s giving you those puppy dog eyes. Just look at her. That’s how she always got her way when we were kids.”

Scarlett exaggerated her pout and brought her palms together in a begging pose. “I’m really, really sorry for creating such a mess, guys. I never meant to fall for my client. I don’t even know how it happened. I couldn’t stand Devin a week ago, and now I can’t imagine my life without him. None of it makes sense, but in a strange way, it all makes sense. Am I even making sense right now?”

“Oh goodness, Emerald was right,” Amber lamented, “you do have it bad.”

Capri nodded. “So bad. How well do you know this guy, Red? Is Devin as amazing as you think he is, or have you been blinded by his good looks?”

“I’m not that shallow! I love his mind and his heart, too.” Scarlett leaned against the reception desk as she recalled how sweet he’d been when he’d visited her a few days ago. He’d been so concerned for her well-being and had tried his best to comfort her. The memory of their kiss replayed in her mind, bringing a smile to her face. “Okay, I do have it bad, but in a good way. Devin is everything I want in a man, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Amber winced as she placed a hand on her hip. “I hate to burst your rose-colored bubble, but that’s what you said about Conrad when you first got together, and it took you four years to see his true colors. I don’t want to see you waste another four years of your life on a guy who’s not who he says he is. You should get to know him better before deciding to become Mrs.—what’s his last name?”

“Kendall,” Capri filled in for her. “Scarlett Kendall. Or maybe Scarlett Hayes Kendall? I’d go with the second one.”

“I’m not marrying him anytime soon, guys! We just started dating.” Scarlett pursed her lips as she regarded her oldest sister. Amber didn’t mince words, especially when it came to her opinions about mistakes Scarlett had made in the past. Of course, Amber meant well, but it still stung to not have her approval, especially about a matter as important as this one. “I understand your concern, Amber, but Devin is nothing like Conrad. And I’m a lot smarter than I was when I was in college.”

“I sure hope so. But I’d still like to meet him. When’s the soonest you can bring him around?”

“You already met him when he came in last week.”

Capri chuckled. “What Amber’s saying is that she wants to do some barbequing, as in grill him.”

“Yes, I want to meet and grill this guy who’s cost our family so much business this past week,” Amber stated with a tone devoid of any humor.

“It wasn’t all Devin’s doing,” Scarlett insisted, “I had a part in it, too. I was the one who kissed him first at Golfland.”

“Spare me the details, Scarlett. The two of you must have already started to have feelings before that day. I don’t understand why he’d still agree to go on the date you had arranged for him or why you’d still agree to matchmake for him. This mess could have been prevented if you had just talked things out.”

“I think that’s kinda what happened when you guys kissed, right?” Capri asked Scarlett, her tone rhetorical. “Show her some grace, Amber. Red didn’t mean to fall for Devin.”

“That would be a lot easier to do if we didn’t have bills to pay.”

Scarlett’s shoulders sagged with regret. Their matchmaking business had already suffered a setback a few years ago when online dating apps started to get popular. Since then, Amber had worked hard to re-strategize their marketing to bring in more clients. All Scarlett had done was sabotage things.What do I do, Lord?If she ever needed wisdom, it was now.

“I’ll find a way to fix this, guys, I promise.” An idea came to her. “What if we offer a special deal for the holidays? This is around the time when people start looking for a date to bring to their company parties and family gatherings. I’ll put an ad together offering new clients fifteen percent off and get it posted on social media today. I’m sure it’ll bring in tons of business!”

Amber and Capri exchanged wary looks that had Scarlett throwing her hands up in the air. Frustration tightened her shoulders as her patience ran out. “I know you guys usually have all the great ideas, but that doesn’t mean I can’t come up with one, too. You’re not even giving it a chance.”

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