Page 6 of Saving the CEO

“Um, Dev,” Bekah suddenly interrupted him, “you’ve got something—”

He held up a finger to stop her. “One sec, sis. What you’re saying,” he directed his question to Scarlett again, “is that successful dating requires me to lower my standards when it comes to women?”

“Not your standards, your expectations.”

His grip tightened around his fork as her bright green eyes blinked at him all too innocently. “What’s the difference?”

“How should I put it?” She cocked her head to the side, her brows furrowed. “Well, for example, you may have a certain standard for how well-groomed and clean you want to appear, but you also need to have realistic expectations that sometimes things don’t go as planned. For instance … when you’re eating, and you end up with sauce on your face.”

Bekah broke out into uncontrollable laughter. “Oh, that’s a good one, Scarlett!”

She shrugged sheepishly. “I couldn’t help myself. It’s kind of the perfect analogy.”

Devin froze in place as his eyes darted back and forth from one side of the table to the other. It took him a good three seconds to process the knowing looks on the two women’s faces before he caught on to their inside joke. “I don’t appreciate being the butt of someone’s joke.”

“I tried to tell you, Dev, but you didn’t let me finish.” Bekah winced. “And for the record, I wasn’t laughingatyou.”

“You were laughing with me then? News flash, I wasn’t laughing.” He grabbed his cloth napkin from off his lap and wiped the corners of his mouth. He had half a mind to get up and leave. He didn’t need to be here, and he certainly didn’t need to be humiliated. He pushed back his chair and stood up.

“Mr. Kendall, please stay,” Scarlett pled, placing her hand on his arm. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. My Nanna always used to say I needed more tact. I should’ve thought it through before I opened my mouth. I apologize. I’m on your side, I promise.”

He released a heavy breath and unclenched his fists. There was something about her words that reined in his emotions. She sounded genuinely sorry. If she could be willing to extend an olive branch, he would accept it. He gave her a curt nod and sat back down.

Scarlett suddenly leaned forward, her nose mere inches from his. Her eyes narrowed in on his mouth, catching him off guard. Before he knew what was happening, she reached over and swiped her thumb across his chin. “You had some sauce on your beard, but you’re good now.”

She then returned to talking to Bekah, leaving him too dazed to speak. That’s when Devin realized his sister was right. Scarlett Hayeswasincredible, in the most surprising and confusing way. She was unlike any woman he’d ever met, and he didn’t know what to make of that.

CHAPTER4

Scarlett

Thank You, Lord, for good sense.

This was Scarlett’s prayer Tuesday morning when she arrived at the office ready to tackle the day. In between her morning devotions and her drive over, she’d had plenty of time to reflect on yesterday’s lunch. Especially on all the red flags that she’d spotted when it came to Bekah’s brother.

Red flag number one: his big, fragile ego.

Red flag number two: his stick-in-the-mud personality.

Red flag number three: his jaded outlook on life.

She pitied the woman who’d end up with Mr. Kendall. He was about as pleasant as a root canal. It would take someone strong, sweet, and Christlike to love him.

Thankfully, that wouldn’t be her.

She might have been attracted to his charisma and good looks when he walked into the restaurant, but as soon as he’d opened his mouth, she’d gotten a taste of reality. One that was bitter and painful to swallow. No amount of sugar in the world would be able to sweeten that man up. He was like a big, black storm cloud filled with enough rain to douse anyone’s good mood. Even if she could date Devin, she’d lost all interest in him. Her only desire now was to get him matched, and matched quickly. The less time she had to spend with him, the better.

“Red!” a bubbly voice called out to her from the office doorway. “Mom said you signed on a client! How’d you find one so fast?”

Scarlett glanced up from her computer monitor to see her third-oldest sister, Emerald, bound into the room. With her long, red locks, creamy complexion, and hourglass figure, she was often called the prettiest Hayes sister. She made heads turn, not only with her beauty but also with her sociable personality. Though they were four years apart, Scarlett felt the closest to her. “It wasn’t me. He just kind of fell into my lap. I’m friends with his sister and she introduced us. She did me a huge favor, but I’ve got my work cut out for me. This guy is not going to be easy to match.”

Emerald sat down in the chair on the other side of the small desk. Her brows wiggled up and down as she leaned forward. “This has drama written all over it. Do tell. I want all the juicy details.”

“He’s a CEO, mid-thirties, type A personality, and a workaholic. Very uptight and critical. And he had the gall to question my credentials!” An involuntary shudder ran through her body as she recalled his haughty tone. “I nearly lost my cool with him. The only way I managed to keep it together was to remind myself that I could be the bigger person. But I totally had to repent afterwards for all the mean names I called him in my head.”

“Wow. He sounds like a piece of work.” Her lips curved into a small smile. “But you know what Nanna used to say: Hard times bring us closer to the Lord. I have a feeling you’re going to be praying a lot more, thanks to this client.”

Scarlett groaned. That was not what she wanted to hear. “Why can’t we grow closer to God without going through hard times? Isn’t there another way?”

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