TWO YEARS LATER...
Scarlett snoozed the alarm for the second time that morning, her sheets felt warm, all she wanted was to snuggle in her blankets and sail off to dreamland. The piercing cry of a baby, caused her to open her eyes with a start.Almost immediately, her mother rushed in, “Scar, you are letting the poor baby cry unattended to.”“Mom, he just woke up, like literally...” she sat up on her bed.Clarissa ignored her, she walked past her to the crib and lifted the baby and began soothing him. “I told you, if you cannot sleep with him in the same room at night. I will be more than happy to help…”She rubbed her face, “Mom, I was up with him all night.”“Do not mind your mother, my little prince. Grandma is here to help.” She rubbed his back soothingly. Then she turned around, “Scarlett, I can only mother one child at a time. Get out of bed and shower, remember you have that interview with that big finance firm.”Her eyes widened in recollection; she had almost forgotten about it. She rushed out of bed, planted sloppy kisses on the baby’s head.“Go on, I have got this” Clarissa urged her on.She reluctantly rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, and exhaled deeply. Today was a big day for her, she was taking the first steps of bettering her life. She had spent the past year out of a job in a new city and nursing her son, completely dependent on her mother.She almost had no memory of what life was like without her son. Her day started and ended with him, but she knew she had to take charge of her life, she could not be dependent on her for life. She had been beyond supportive.She let the warm water cascade down her back. Admittedly, she was terrified. The interview was at a multinational corporation, Grayson and Grayson companies. Although, she was applying for a small role, she still felt underserving. She took a deep breath, choosing not to dwell on these things, at least not now. She was late and she had to try, if not for anyone, at least for her son. She finished up in the bathroom and rushed out.She put on the black dress, she had laid out on the bed, her gaze lingered on her stomach in the mirror but she pulled her gaze away. She already didn’t feel confident, there was no need to add low self-esteem into the mix. She tied her hair into a sleek ponytail, applied light make-up on her face, slipped on her low stilettos, grabbed her bag containing everything she had and rushed out.Soon, she was out on the streets and flagging down a cab, but not before planting several kisses on her mother and son. It was a fifteen-minute drive, she got out of the car, in front of the huge Grayson tower.There was a growing pit in her stomach as she stared at the gigantic building, she checked her watch and realised she only had roughly three minutes to be seated in the waiting area. She began to walk fast, she breezed past other employees, narrowly bumping into a few. She greeted the man at the entrance, and almost stumbled as she rushed in, attracting a few curious stares from people.Everyone was smartly dressed, with their employee IDs clipped on their chest, carrying a sleek briefcase or a luxurious designer bag or mug in their hand, casually strolling by.She cleared her throat and slowed down, with her head held high, she sauntered to the red-haired lady seated at the receptionist table at the entrance and flashed her a wide smile. “Hi, I am here for the interview at Grayson’s office.”“What is your name miss?”She typed her name into the computer, then she looked up at her with a polite smile. “Go over to the security men.” She gestured at them with her hands. “They will search you and give you directions.”After so much manoeuvring, she found herself at the reception area. There were like twenty other ladies seated already, she quietly moved to a seat behind and sat down.She gawked at all the other ladies, her body grew tense to the point of shaking. Her thoughts were raging in her head, she was rusty from being out of work for over a year, what was she going to say to the interviewer? How was she going to respond? she thought to her herself. Her thoughts were spiralling in a dizzy whirlwind. The other ladies were elegant and poised. She took in deep breath, biting at the inner corner of her lip.In that moment, the doors opened. They all sat upright and a dark tall man strutted in. his hair was weaved into braids, he had on a loose-fitting silk black shirt, with the few of the top buttons undone with wide-legged black pants and matching shoes.He was followed closely by a young man; the man handed him a paper. When he got to the middle of the room, he squinted his eyes as he scanned them. He dramatically cleared his throat. “My name is Lucious LaRue…” his sharp eyes trained on everyone in the room. “Yes, exactly what you are thinking.”When he was satisfied, he began to call out names. He struggled with pronouncing a name and groaned in frustration. “Twenty-five ladies, I asked HR that these names be narrowed to the least amount of people, yet here we are. I must interview twenty-five women.” He murmured to their hearing.The ladies exchanged curious looks amongst themselves.“There was a total of 1516 women, si…I mean Lucious.” The guy beside him explained.Lucious gave a dramatic twirl. “Over a thousand women applied for a position in the Grayson’s office?” he asked with a look of incredulity in his eyes, his mouth gaped. “I told him, Mr. Grayson, we do not need a new secretary, I can handle the job. What would we need a secretary for? I do it all already, I am capable, aren’t I, intern?”The young man nodded, “Yes of course, Lucious.”“But no, he wouldn’t listen to me, no one listens to me…” he rolled his eyes and looked up from the paper he was holding, and turned his attention to them and sighed, “okay, let’s have it” he walked into their midst, scrutinizing them.Scarlett froze when his eyes bored into hers, “You there!”She pointed at herself in disbelief.“Yes, you.” He answered in a curt tone.She stood to her feet and walked over to him and he gave her a once over as she approached him.“What is your name?” he inquired.“Scarlett Knowles.” She answered.He ticked it on his paper, and turned his attention back to her. “Mr. Grayson does not like blondes, so I think you will do.” He turned to the intern and whispered, “Handle this” he turned back to them. “It was my pleasure, ladies…” he bowed and strutted off.Scarlett’s feet were rooted to the ground, her jaw dropped as she stared at the retreating back of the man. She rushed after him just before the doors shut. “Am I supposed to follow you?”He stopped in his tracks suddenly, she almost bumped into him.“Does that mean I get the job?” she asked with a look of incredulity in her eyes.“Was not I clear enough?” he asked.She shook her head, “Actually, no…” she noticed his frown deepened, “Thank you, thank you. Are there any interviews, any forms that I must fill...”Lucious gave her an irritating stare, “No…” he peeked at the paper in his hand, “no, Scarlett. This is not an offer for the CEO of the company. Your job is to be a secretary, very easy...” he began to leave but stopped and turned around, “And to stay out of Mr. Grayson’s hair, which of course should be very easy, seeing as you are blonde.” He reiterated, his eyes lingering on her hair.She opened her mouth to speak but he had already sauntered off. She stared at him in amusement, he was a really amusing man. She broke into a short laughter, she was beyond elated. She had spent weeks obsessing over her chances of getting a job and how the interview would go.Now she had gotten the job on the grounds that she was blonde, she was thankful for the twenty-dollar box dye, she purchased a week ago, it was a worthy investment. She jumped and cheered.“Miss, I can see you are overjoyed.”She spun around quickly to see the timid intern behind her. She straightened up and nodded with a smile on her face.“Follow me, we will prepare your documents and every other necessary information and discuss the terms of your salary.”She nodded in understanding.“Shall we...” he gestured with his hand to her.“Of course…”“Benjamin” he answered. “You can call me Ben.”They walked into a large office down the hallway and discussed the terms of their contract. Scarlett was too stunned to speak, the offer she had gotten was more than she bargained for. She was not even confident she would get the job in the first place.As she was filling out her personal details, she got a point where they asked if she had any children, her heart went out to Levi, her bubbly little baby. She would never have hesitated but everything was riding on her getting this job. If she wanted to give him a better life, she would have to work twice as hard, she needed more opportunities. She knew how ruthless these corporations were to a woman, let alone a mother. She took in a deep breath as she clicked none.When she was done filling in her information, she looked up at the man sitting across from her, “Who do I work for?”Scarlett feigned sadness as she walked into the living room.Clarissa’s brows knitted in worry as she walked up to her with Levi on her hip, “How did it go Scarr?”She exhaled and plopped down on the sofa.Clarissa came up beside her and smoothed her hair, “It doesn’t matter how this interview went, this was just one out of the many you can...” “I got the job mum!” she cut in a cheery voice.“Holy shit!” Clarissa blurted out before she could stop herself.Scarlett’s eyes widened in alarm, “Mom!” she leaned forward and took Levi from her, showering him with kisses.Her hands went over her mouth. “You had me genuinely worried when you walked in with that long face…” she playfully swatted her arm.Scarlett leaned away from her, her eyes turned into slits as she burst into laughter. Clarissa pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. “I am so proud of you Scarr…”Her eyes crinkled at the corners as her lips curled into a smile. “Thank you, mom,”Later that evening, when Levi was fas
The next day Scarlett was in high spirits. She woke up just before the alarm rang, spent a few minutes with Levi. She danced and sang along to her favourite songs in the shower. She spent a few minutes styling her hair, when she put her dress and stared at her reflection in the mirror, she didn’t feel self-conscious. She felt beautiful and confident. Her overall appearance mirrored how she felt on the inside. She prepared breakfast and shared it with her mother. Even when she walked into Grayson’s, she had a radiant smile on her face. The Grayson’s floor was at the top floor of the magnificent building. It was a huge space with only a few offices, it was probably exclusively reserved for the CEO, she thought to herself.The walls of the hall were pristine white, white fine wood panelling. There were a few decorations, but they looked like it had been randomly picked out, with no specific theme in mind. There were plastic green plants in tall white vases and the
Her heels clacked noisily against the marble floors as she rushed into the Grayson building, she jumped into the elevators just before the door closed shut attracting stares from the people in the packed elevator. She had broken her punctuality streak and she had a good enough reason why. One, she stayed up all night attending to a sick Levi and slept through her morning alarm. Secondly, she had convinced herself it was alright seeing as there was hardly work for her to do at the office. Mr. Grayson was out on some sabbatical leave or whatever fancy name they called it. Lucious showed up occasionally at the office and that was it. In the first week, she didn’t mind but as the days rolled by it got awfully boring to sit alone in the large office. She clutched tightly to her bag, retreating until her back was against the wall. The elevators stopped and a few people got out, she exhaled thankful for the space. She had begun to spend time with the other em
Clarissa opened the door. “Do not tell me you are spending another weekend, holed up in your bedroom all by yourself…”Scarlett turned to her. “I have so much to do ma.”“You had a whole week, it is Friday night. I will watch Levi for you, you should be out there in the biggest city, having the time of your life!” she said excitedly.“I told you, I went in late to work today and because of that the drama king gave me truck-load of work to do and not to forget, I was supposed to be formally introduced to my boss today and I stood him up.” She explained.Clarissa shut the door and sat on the bed, “That is not your fault. Your boss has been absent for weeks, if he needed to see you, he should have informed you.”Scarlett looked at her with a smile on her face. “You are my mom, of course you are always going to have my back.”“But seriously, you need to get out there, there is a lot to do and I don’t want you wasting your youth
Cameron Grayson hated this part of his job, he hated the long boring meetings and preferred the more active part. However, as the face of the Grayson companies, he had to be present at important meetings and this was an important meeting. He glanced at the silver Rolex on his right wrist, it was 11:23 am, he turned his attention to the man in front of the large projector screen who was explaining something.“…the numbers are expected to hit…”He turned his attention to the foreign investors who were listening with rapt attention. They were sold, his job here was done. He drowned out the man’s voice and began drumming his fingers against the table. It was in that moment that the doors opened. He glanced at the two ladies that walked in but then something, or rather someone caught his attention. He stared in disbelief, his mind was definitely playing tricks on him, he blinked and rubbed his eyes, yet the image remained unchanged. It could not be, or could it? she was there, the lady
Scarlett murmured her thanks to the server and left the line. She had managed to evade Mr. Grayson all day, which was no easy feat. She spent the better part of her day holed up in the restroom until lunchtime. After much internal deliberation, she decided to come out for lunch. If there was one place she wouldn't find Mr. Grayson, it would be at the cafeteria. She saw the girls from the legal department sitting at their usual spot but decided against joining them at the last minute. She could not deal with them, not right now, not in this mood. She spotted Benjamin at the end of the hall, sitting by himself. She walked up to his table and sat across from him. He furrowed his brows and leaned forward, and asked her, "Are you okay?" She replied, "Yes, are you?" and dug into her food, glancing behind her between bites. They ate in silence for a while before he broke it, asking, "Have you met Mr. Grayson? What do you think of him?" She almost spat out her food and immediately cover
Scarlett gave herself the biggest pep talk of her life and managed to show up at work the next week. Thankfully, Mr. Cameron Grayson was not at the office, and she was more than relieved when she found out. In the following days, she made the extra effort to avoid him. It was taxing, but it was all worth it in the end. Her relationship with Lucious had improved because she took up all his errands, which took her out of the office for hours. Lucious was more than happy to oblige her. At the end of the day, she felt exhausted, but it was all for the best. Of course, she was not stupid to think she was going to be able to carry it on for long. She worked in the Grayson’s office, and it would be impossible to avoid Mr. Grayson completely. However, she was going to drag it on for as long as she could, until she was mentally ready. She shuddered at the thought of it. Could she ever be mentally ready?Benjamin had been helpful too. He still was confused as to why and always had a worried ex
He chuckled and turned his attention back to the file and peered at it. “It says here, your name is Scarlett Knowles...” he looked up at her, with a squint of his eyes. “You sure do look like a Scarlett.” His eyes darted back to the file in his hand. “You’re twenty-six, from Springfield, and you’re single...” he looked up at her, that damned smirk on his lips. The smile on his face widened. He went back to the paper in his hand. “You have no children...” Her heart tugged as she thought of Levi. She absolutely loved him but she had to keep him a secret, more so now. She bit down on the inner corner of her mouth, not wanting to betray her true emotions. It was best no one found out about Levi, especially... “Are you stalking me, Scarlett?” he asked suddenly. “Did you track me down to my office after all these years and get a job in a bid to get to me?” Her eyes narrowed, she pressed her lips together in anger, her face flushed with rage as she stomped tow