A Gentleman's Affair (21 page)

“And you thought trying to destroy my life
would make me want you back?” I quirk my brow, almost laughing at
how insane she sounds right now.

“I wasn’t trying to destroy your life,
Donovan. Just your relationship,” she admits, and finally the
truth—all of it—is out.

“We were over a long time ago and, Scarlett
or no Scarlett, I would never, ever take you back. Do you
understand that?”

“Yes,” she whispers, unable to look at
me.

“Good. And as I said before, never come near
me, her, my friends, or my hotels, again. If you ever fuck with me
or my life again, so help me…I will fucking kill you.”

She looks up, meeting my penetrating stare
with her pathetic, tear-filled eyes, knowing that I won’t actually
kill her, but getting the point.

She nods her head, using her shirt as a
make-shift Kleenex, and I leave her room, still fuming, yet feeling
exonerated at last. 

Thursday morning and still nothing from
Scarlett. I don’t blame her. At this point I can only imagine that
she is still very angry, not to mention, confused. Just as I
am.

Yesterday was probably the second worst day
of my entire life, running a close second to the day that I lost my
mom.

Not being able to talk to Scarlett is
literally killing me. I spent last night tossing and turning, the
events of the past two days playing out over and over in my head
like a bad movie. I think that I slept for maybe an hour, if
that.

I can only hope that having the bitch leave
Scarlett that voicemail will work. She needed to hear the truth
just as much as I did.

Now I just need to get through this lunch
for the crew today and get home.

I leave Scarlett a short voicemail with yet
another plea for a return call. Surely after hearing Danielle’s
confession, she isn’t upset with me anymore. Her silence tells me
that she is, though. Fuck. Not a lot I can do from here.

I head out for a head-clearing run before
the barbeque. Today is much too important to rush through and I
will not give Danielle the satisfaction of ruining this for me as
well. I have worked too hard for too long, and I plan on soaking up
every single moment as the crew and I celebrate.

Always thankful every time the wheels touch
down at LAX. I hate flying.

The cab drops me off at La Fuga and, after
giving the driver a hearty tip, I take my bag and go inside,
straight to my office where Patrice greets me with a warm smile. A
friendly face. It’s good to be home.

After filling her in on everything, and I do
mean everything, I walk into my office, going straight to my
computer. Hoping that, since Scarlett won’t return my calls, maybe
she decided to send an email.

Nothing. This is getting ridiculous.

Frustrated, I walk back out to the reception
area, asking Patrice if we have a home address for her. She shakes
her head and suggests that I try her office and hands me her
business card with the address. Duh. Why didn’t I think of
that?

I decide to take out the McLaren and give my
Hummer a rest. I am in a particularly showy mood today. Taking my
bad-ass sports car and my new found confidence with me, I drive to
Scarlett’s office in Fullerton.

Enough of this shit. Time to win back my
girl.

I walk right into the office and am greeted
by a receptionist. Great. I have to get past her.

“Donovan Hart for Miss Montgomery.” I nod,
flashing my flirtiest grin in an attempt to win her over and get my
foot inside of Scarlett’s office that much easier.

“Is she expecting you?” she asks, smiling
and flushed, as she checks the appointment book.

“No, but I am her biggest client. I have a
feeling that she may want to see me.” I wink.

“Of course, Mr. Hart.” She stands and makes
her way to Scarlett’s door, not realizing that I am following close
behind.

She knocks before entering and as she pushes
the door open, I swiftly move past her and into the office.

“I will take it from here,” I add with a
wink, closing the door.

Scarlett quickly jumps up in protest from
behind the large white desk, ordering me to leave. I take a quick
moment to notice the sexy, curve-hugging white dress that she’s
wearing today, before pleading my case.

She always looks like a goddess. But I
digress.

“Just hear me out at least,” I say, sitting
down in the chair in front of her desk. “Please.” I nod at her
chair, urging her to sit back down.

“Fine. You have five minutes, which is more
than you deserve,” she snaps.

“Why? Explain to me why you have ignored all
of my attempts to talk to you. I know that you heard Danielle’s
message. You know the truth, so why won’t you at least talk to
me?”

“Yes, I heard the voicemail. So?” she
snarls.

“So? So…that proves that I did nothing
wrong,” I add.

“Really? Did you pay her to say that?”

Fuck. Is she serious? “No. Everything that
she said was true.” I nod slowly. “She set me up…set us up, rather.
You really don’t believe it?”

Suddenly she stands up in a huff and walks
towards the door. “Your five minutes are up,” she snaps again,
ignoring everything that I said as she reaches for the doorknob. I
stand and walk toward her, shaking my head and smirking.

“I have three minutes left,” I say, reaching
for her hand, but she snaps it behind her back, glaring at me.
“Come back and sit down and listen to me,” I say calmly as I place
my hand on the small of her back, urging her back towards the
desk.

“Listen to what? I’ve heard and seen more
than enough.” She moves away from me, standing with her hands on
her hips, giving me a death glare.

“What you saw that night was not in any way,
shape or form, what went on. As you are now well aware, my insane
ex-girlfriend, slipped something into my drink and sent you that
text message in order to get you back to the room and see us in bed
together.” I take in a deep breath before continuing, “Do you
really believe that I would do something like that?” Exhales…

“No. But how well do I really know you,
Donovan? Explain what she was even doing in the suite,” she says,
her brow now raised, death glare still in full effect.

“Now, that’s where I fucked up.” I shake my
head, then continue, “She came to my suite claiming that her mother
was ill and needed to talk. I tried to make her leave, but she just
wasn’t going to go away until I talked to her. So, like an ass, I
let her in. She obviously slipped the shit into my drink while I
was in the bathroom changing my shirt.”

Fuck. I wouldn’t believe this shit if I
hadn’t lived it myself.

“Like an ass.” She nods in full agreement.
“You said it, not me.” She smirks.

I’ll take that smirk and raise you a sexy
grin.

“I fucked up big. But in my defense…how was
I supposed to know what she was planning?” Flashing her my baby
green-blues, I step forward and slide my arms around her waist.

“Not so fast, mister. So…nothing happened?”
I can see that she is now fighting the urge to touch me. She almost
did. Almost…

“Nothing.” I shake my head. “Other than me
being manipulated, drugged, and almost losing you.” I lift my hand
to her face, sweeping a lock of stray hair that had fallen out of
her ponytail behind her ear.

She looks down as she slides her hands up my
arms, then to my shoulders. She inches closer, resting her head
against my chest, finally wrapping her arms around my neck.

“I’m so sorry, Donovan,” she whispers as she
pulls me closer.

“For?” I reply, confused.

“For not giving you the chance to explain
sooner.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I would
have reacted the same, had I been in your position.” I pull back,
gazing into her forgiving eyes, cupping her chin between my thumb
and forefinger. “I am the one who should be apologizing here,” I
add, before moving in for a kiss.

“True,” she giggles before meeting my lips
for that kiss, turning it into more of a make-out session.

“And, just so you know…she won’t be
bothering us ever again. I made sure of that,” I flash her a
reassuring grin.

“Why? Did you kill her or something?” She
smirks.

“Um, close. But no.” I return the smirk.
“Let’s just say that I gave her a pretty strong warning and leave
it at that.” I wink, then kiss her again, grinning from ear to
ear.

“Let’s hope.” She manages a smile, but I can
see that she’s obviously still a little wary.

“No need to worry, baby girl, I’ve got
this.”

Ch
apter
Twenty
-on
e

~Ain’t love grand?~

“Donovan…I need to tell you something.” Her
face falls, and her smile turns to a frown.

“What is it?” I ask, concerned. Fuck, no
more drama, please…

“I’m starving,” she giggles. Pulling away,
she walks to her desk, grabbing her purse. “Take me to lunch?”

“Fuck,” I laugh, shaking my head. “I think I
can handle that.” I hold out my hand, and we leave her office.

“I don’t think I’ve eaten since Vegas,” she
admits as we walk outside to my car.

“I know the feeling,” I lead her to the
McLaren, watching as her jaw drops at the sight of it.

“This is yours?” She drools as she gets in
the front seat.

“It is.” I smirk, firing up the engine,
pulling away from the curb. “Impressed?” I tease, knowing that she
really could care less what I drive.

“Oh yeah…Mr. Moneybags,” she teases right
back, placing her hand on my thigh as we get on the freeway.

“Hilarious,” I chuckle, placing my hand on
top of hers. “What do you feel like eating?”

“Um…well…you really wanna know?” she says
suggestively, giving my thigh a strong yet playful squeeze that I
feel shoot straight to my now twitching dick.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, trying not
to wreck the pride and joy that is my McLaren, before answering…
“What? Did you say something?” I say with a smirk.

“I was talking about dessert…but for now,
maybe a burger?” She winks.

“Sounds good…the dessert I mean.” I shoot
her a sly smile as I pull off the highway, heading towards In and
Out Burger.

“You know, I’m sorry I missed the barbeque
yesterday. How was it?” she asks, smiling.

“It went really well and no more apologies,
agreed?” I bring her hand to my lips, placing a soft kiss on it
before continuing. “I wish that you would’ve had the chance to see
it.”

“Oh, I saw it.”

“You did? When?” I ask, brow raised.

“I had the cab driver take me by on my way
to the airport the other night…uh, morning rather.”

“And? What did you think?”

“Well, at that particular moment, all I
could think of was jumping out of the cab and burning it to
the ground,” she laughs. “But seriously, it looks pretty
amazing, Donovan. I’m really proud of you for going after your
dream.”

Proud of me? Words that I have waited to
hear my dad say to me for so long now, but know that I never will.
But coming from her, it means almost as much.

“Well, thank you for that, and thank you for
not burning it to the ground.” I smirk.

“Well, next time you won’t be so lucky.” She
winks playfully.

“I told you…there won’t be a next time,
baby.”

After lunch, we head straight to La Fuga.
The painters start today, and Scarlett was supposed to meet them
there over an hour ago.

When we get inside, we see Patrice standing
in the lobby monitoring the situation. What would I do without her?
Always on top of things.

“It’s about time you showed up, sire. Just
look at your castle now,” she shifts her eyes in the direction of
the freshly painted wall before rolling them at me. “Hello
Scarlett. It’s good to see you again.”

Scarlett says “Hello” back, and they
exchange smiles…not to mention knowing nods.

“What was that?” my eyes moving between the
two of them, wondering what the fuck that was about.

“Oh, nothing,” they answer simultaneously,
followed with a laugh.

“Fuck you both.” I smirk. “I see that you
two have suddenly become best friends?”

“Anyways…do you like the color of the paint,
Donovan?” Scarlett quickly redirects the conversation.

“I do, very much,” I reply, still suspicious
of the newfound friendship between them.

“Did you still want me to take a look at
that thing in the penthouse?” Scarlett asks, with a wink. And I am
quickly reminded of her not-so-subtle remark regarding
“dessert”.

“Oh, yes…the thing, in my penthouse.” I
grin. “Are you alright here, Patrice?”

“Uh, yeah. You two go ahead. Take care of
that ‘thing’…” she laughs, shaking her head at us, watching until
we disappear down the corridor in the direction of my private
elevator.

Both of us now laughing and smirking at
Patrice’s remark, the elevator doors open, and we walk in. But the
smirks quickly turn to a heated gaze.

Scarlett moves in close, pushing me back
against the wall of the elevator as she slides her hands up my
chest, eyes begging to be kissed. Placing my arms around her waist,
I do just that.

But the kiss is quickly interrupted by the
doors abruptly opening at my floor. I pull away, taking her hand as
we exit, walking into the foyer.

“Time for dessert, baby girl,” I wink at her
as she giggles. Oh, that giggle…and I lead her straight to the
bedroom.

“Ooohhh…” Her eyes are bright and wide at
the prospect. “With whipped cream and a cherry on top?” She
playfully bats her eyelashes…

“Yes, baby. I’m the whipped cream, and you
are the cherry.” I smirk. “Now, all I want to hear from that mouth
is you moaning.”

“No screaming?” She giggles. And I pick her
up and carry her the rest of the way to the bedroom, lying her down
on the bed.