Page 30 of A Little Red
“No problem. I’ll drop them by your desk later.”
“Thanks!” chirped Emma, handing over a sheaf of papers.
Scarlet flipped through the reports as she walked into Liam’s office.
“Liam, do you have time to—” she began and then looked up and realized that Liam wasn’t in the office. Paxton was on his phone by the window and lounging in a chair and against the desk were two rangy looking young men. They stood up as soon as she came in and Scarlet found herself freezing to the spot, an unreasonable prickle of fear running down her spine.
“Hi,” said the first one, stepping too far into her personal space. His breath smelled of whiskey and Scarlet began to curl the pages in her hand into a thick roll.
“You’re pretty,” said the second one, flanking her like a wolf driving prey.
“Back up,” said Scarlet firmly, looking the one in front of her in the eye.
“No, we like you. You’ll like us.” He reached out and fondled the curl of hair hanging over her shoulder.
“Yes,” said the second, his hand sliding around her waist. “Be a nice girl.”
Scarlet lashed out, bringing the roll of paper down on his nose and then jabbing out into the throat of the other one. Scarlet raised her hand prepared to go further, but Paxton seized both men by the back of their collars and threw them on the floor.
The office door slammed and Scarlet turned to see Liam. She took a step back, intimidated by the fury on his face.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Our cousins started drinking at ten this morning and forgot where they were,” said Paxton, his voice harsh. The two younger men cowered at his feet.
“Get up,” snarled Liam. “Get up and apologize.”
They stumbled to their feet and stood in front of Scarlet, their heads hanging low, avoiding eye contact.
“We’re sorry,” muttered the first one, rubbing the red mark on his nose.
“Sorry,” whispered the second, and then coughed and rubbed his throat where she’d jabbed him.
Scarlet stared at them. The entire scene was bizarre and now that the threat was past, she felt like maybe she’d overreacted. Except neither Liam nor Paxton looked like they thought her reaction had been inappropriate. Then she felt angry that these two idiots would try something like this at her workplace. She tried to think of something that would make them remember the feeling of shame they were clearly experiencing.
“You are an embarrassment to your family,” she said, and they both flinched. “Expense reports,” she said, turning to Liam and holding out the roll of papers to him.
He took the papers and she walked out.
When they came out, Paxton took the cousins directly to the elevator, avoiding Scarlet’s desk.
“I apologize for my family,” said Liam, his jaw clenching. “Are you all right?”
Scarlet glanced at Paxton, who was watching them from the entrance to the cubicles by elevator bay, and then at Liam, who was standing a full arms-length away from her. She realized that he hadn’t told his family they were dating. That knowledge sat like a rock in her stomach. It was one thing not to tell anyone at work. That was just common sense. And it was one thing not to tell his family’s secrets to her. Scarlet could understand that. But if he wouldn’t tell them about her then it could only be because he was ashamed of her.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said, smiling politely.
He set the expense reports down on her desk. “I will be back late Monday.”
She nodded. He was waiting for her to say more. She couldn’t imagine what he thought she was going to say. She wanted to slap him. Or cry. Or kiss him. She honestly wasn’t sure which. He wasn’t going to tell anyone about them, exactly like she wasn’t going to tell anyone about him. Their life together existed in an in-between space that they were never going to talk about. The knowledge of that hit her like a bolt from a crossbow, shattering her heart and her illusions, because he wasn’t a big city fling. She was in love with Liam Grayson and even if he wanted to keep her on the very edge of his life, she was going to take it because it was better than being without him.
“Your family is waiting,” she said. He looked frustrated, but didn’t make a move toward her. She looked down at the floor, suddenly unwilling to have him see her face.
“I will call you when I get back,” he said, trying to catch her eye.
“See you then,” she said, smiling at him, although she could tell he knew it was a fake smile.
“Monday.” His voice made it a promise.
