Page 17 of A Little Red
“Oh,” she said, going pale. He saw the pulse in her neck pick up and he could smell the sweat that was quickly overtaking the scent of his soap on her skin.
“I should have fucking known. I knew you were too smart for this fucking job, and I believed you, damn it. I believed you when you worried about how our being together would affect your job. I fucking believed you.”
“I don’t love the job. I need the money,” said Scarlet. “I can’t afford to be unemployed.”
“Who are the SWOT reports for?” he yelled.
“No one! They aren’t for anyone!”
“So, you just woke up one morning and decided to do detailed competitor analyses? I’m supposed to believe that?”
“No! I…”
“Just tell me if it’s internal or external?”
“What?”
“Are you head-hunting for lay-offs or are you working for a competitor? Which is it? Just tell me. Who are the reports for?”
“They’re for me.”
“Don’t fucking lie to me!”
She stood up and for the first time he saw that she had bruises on both her knees. “They weren’t for anyone. It was just for me.”
His phone rang and he impatiently yanked it out of his pocket, intending to dismiss the call.
“I can explain this,” she said pleadingly.
“Hey Grant,” he said picking up the call, putting on his fake calm voice. Scarlet stood impatiently in front of him. “Yeah, I stepped out for a minute. I’ll be back as soon as I grab something to eat.”
“Arrested?” he repeated Grant’s words dumbly, feeling a sense of numb shock. “For SEC violations…”
Still listening to Grant, he grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV. CNN had a live on-scene reporting of Applecourt being escorted into a police station. Scarlet gasped as she read the scroll at the bottom of the screen.
Security & Exchange Commission charges money laundering and working as unregistered foreign agent.
Liam nodded along to the rest of Grant’s clipped, staccato speech and knew he wasn’t going to be able to listen to Scarlet’s explanation.
“I’ll be back in twenty minutes. Yeah, see you in a few.”
He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket.
“What the hell happened?” demanded Scarlet, pointing at the screen.
He turned the TV off, angry that she would pretend to care about work.
“I have to go,” he said, trying to keep the growl out of his voice.
“But…” Scarlet reached out as he turned to go and a discoloration around her wrist caught his eye.
He grabbed her arm and scanned her from head to toe.
“Who were you with?” he hissed.
“What?”
“I know you don’t mind it a bit kinky, but it’s pretty careless of him to leave handcuff bruises.”
