by Alison Ryan
A very abrupt looking woman with a slicked back bun and a maid’s uniform led her from the front door through at least six rooms to the back dining area. Patricia sat at a glass table sipping wine. On the table were sandwiches, fruit, and salad. The room was a sunroom and the beautiful day seeped into everything. Patricia looked absolutely radiant, her raven hair was blown out and she had on a pink polo dress, as if after this lunch she was off to play tennis with a friend. Scarlet could hardly believe this woman was old enough to be Barrett’s mother. She looked like she could have been in her late 30s at most.
“Hello, Scarlet,” Patricia Evers smiled. “Please, do sit. Are you hungry?”
“Actually yes,” Scarlet said sheepishly. “Starving. I didn’t eat much for breakfast.”
“Well, do dig in,” Patricia responded. “Half are cream cheese and cucumber and the other half are pimento cheese.”
“Thank you,” Scarlet said grabbing one of each, along with some strawberries and cut up melon. “I was so happy to get your email last night. I’ve been dying to meet you and I’m embarrassed about our first run in. That wasn’t how I wanted it to go at all.”
Patricia gave a thin smile, “Oh, I’m sure not. It was a bit awkward, yes?”
Scarlet nodded as she bit into her sandwich.
“Well, thank you for appearing at such short notice,” Patricia said. “And I won’t keep you very long, but we really do need to talk. Does Barrett know you’re here?”
Scarlet shook her head, “No, I wanted to respect your wishes, Mrs. Evers.”
“Please, call me Patricia,” she smiled. “And I appreciate that, Scarlet. I know it probably made you a little uncomfortable to keep something from him. You’re very close, yes?”
Scarlet placed her sandwich on her plate, “Yes. Barrett is everything to me.”
“Oh?” Patricia asked. She leaned forward a bit, “It’s very serious then? You see, Barrett hasn’t said anything about you to me or his father or even Durham. So I didn’t really think it was all that serious. Until last week when one of my staff told me he had chartered his father’s plane to take his girlfriend to Easter Island.”
Scarlet felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. The way Patricia had explained that Barrett hadn’t told her anything, as if it meant Scarlet must not mean very much to him. Scarlet knew Barrett told his mother almost nothing about his life. He held a lot of resentment towards her for being absent, yet intrusive at the same time. She knew him not telling Patricia about her didn’t mean anything. She wouldn’t have expected him to.
“Yes, we went to Easter Island,” Scarlet slowly said. “We just got back yesterday.”
“I’m well aware,” Patricia said, ominously. “Trust me, nothing gets past me. I always know what my son is up to. And I’ve been told he asked you to marry him.”
Scarlet gulped. How could she know? They hadn’t told anyone yet. Her own parents didn’t even know. They’d planned on having a small surprise engagement party in a couple weeks before she started school again to break the good news.
“You’re surprised I know,” Patricia laughed, but it wasn’t a kind laugh. “Scarlet, I have eyes everywhere. But, sadly, I can’t control who my son mistakenly falls in love with.”
“Mistakenly?” Scarlet finally said. “Excuse me?”
“That’s right. You’re a mistake. Something that needs to be corrected. Men are sometimes blinded by short skirts and tight tops and make mistakes. When something goes off course, it needs to be turned back onto the right path. You are the dark woods Barrett never should have wandered into. I need to get him back on the paved road.” Patricia took a sip of her wine. “So to speak.”
Scarlet was furious, “Barrett and I chose one another because we bring out the best side of each other. That could never be a mistake. We are deeply in love, getting married, and as of this morning we’re also having a child together. So, Patricia, I’m sorry to have messed up your plans and the path you paved for him without his consent, but he’s found a new road now. And you can either be on it with us or not on any of his roads at all. Paved or not.”
Patricia’s eyes widened.
“Oh, you’re surprised?” Scarlet mocked. “I thought you knew everything? Yes, I’m pregnant. I just found out this morning. And it wasn’t planned, but I’m very happy about it. And I know Barrett will be too when I tell him later today.”
Patricia said nothing for a moment. Her narrow gaze went through Scarlet like a hot laser. She was focused, as if she was willing it all to not be true.
“You’re so wrong,” Patricia said. “It’s very sad. This complicates things… for you. But not for me. For you.”
Scarlet was confused, “I’m not catching what you mean.”
“You are not,” Patricia’s voice was raised now, “having any baby. And let me tell you why. Because if you decide to go through with this pregnancy, I will do everything in my power to put you and your unborn child in harm’s way. You will be stalked. You will be harassed. You will be kicked out of Emory, for one thing. I’m very good friends with the president. You will then be blackballed from any position you could possibly hope to get in Atlanta. And that’s just for starters. If you choose not to get rid of this child, I will make sure it meets its demise. Which means you will surely meet yours. And it would be a shame if your aunt and mother also lost their careers and livelihoods. And even Barrett himself. If hurting your own family doesn’t make a difference, I am not above making sure Barrett never finds a single ounce of contentment. Because as terrible as you may think it is, a future with you is worse than no future at all. Barrett has a destiny. His part in it is bigger than himself and it’s been in the works for a very long time. Many powerful people behind the scenes have been working to build the narrative of Barrett Evers and to make sure he fulfills his fate. That’s something you could never understand because your glass ceiling stops somewhere around the first level, while Barrett’s potential and this family’s potential can reach the sun and beyond.”
Scarlet sat in complete shock, shaking from both anger and fear.
“There is no way,” Patricia continued, “that I’m going to let some nothing girl who couldn’t keep her legs closed tear this empire apart. Do you understand? So you need to be smart, for once. Think about what everyone would lose if you decide to go on with this pregnancy. Much more than you’d be able to take. You should not underestimate how far I will go to make what I want to happen, happen.”
Scarlet didn’t know whether to cry or scream. She’d never been so shocked by the actions and words of anyone in her entire life. And looking at Patricia’s cold eyes she didn’t doubt everything she said was true.
“But this baby would be your grand-“
Patricia interrupted, her tone calm and measured. “You have a week to get rid of it. I can make you an appointment with one of my doctors, it can be very discreet. I’m assuming it’s early enough that you can take a pill or something. But either way, it needs to be done. And don’t look so sad. I’m sure you can sucker some other man into falling for you and putting a mediocre child into your mediocre uterus. But you cannot have our genes. Our pool can’t be sullied by water that isn’t from a certain kind of source, if you catch my drift.”
“Even if I did this,” Scarlet quietly said. “What about Barrett? He’s going to ask me why this is happening. What am I supposed to tell him?”
Patricia shrugged, “I don’t care. My best advice would be to do it cold and fast so he can’t ask questions. Questions would be very bad for you, Scarlet. But it’s not all bad news. I’ve got something coming to you for your troubles.”
“You disgust me,” Scarlet spat out. “I want nothing from you.”
“I think you’ll change your mind once you hear what I have in store,” Patricia grinned. Scarlet had once thought she was beautiful but now she could only see her ugly soul. “I’m willing to offer you two million dollars to leave my son, take care of this fetus, and stay away from any and all o
f my family members. Forever.”
Scarlet shook her head, “You can’t buy me off. I would never do it. And this is all insane. You’re like a villain out of a Disney movie. Or worse.”
Patricia laughed again, “Ridiculous. The definition of a villain depends all on the angle you’re looking at the story from. History is written by the victors. And in no reality are you the victor here. From my angle, you are very much the villain, Scarlet Bloom. You’re toxic and you need to be cut off from my family. We have greater plans than you could ever be able to understand. Besides, it would be a shame if I had to do something drastic to prove my point.” She looked at Scarlet, her eyes cold again. “I could have one of my men in and out of your parents’ house easily. Replace their medications with things that are lethal and untraceable. That’s the kind of thing you’re dealing with here, Scarlet. This is way above your pay grade, my dear.”
Scarlet was crying now, “Please don’t hurt my parents. They have nothing to do with this. My mother has spent her entire life serving your family, doesn’t that mean anything to you? Oh my God.”
Patricia rolled her eyes, “We pay her for her efforts. And I don’t want to hurt your parents. But it’s really up to you. Do what you’ve been told to do. Break it off with Barrett. Take care of the pregnancy. And make yourself scarce. You’ll have plenty of money to do whatever you like. Move away for all I care.”
Scarlet was trembling and her nausea sprung up. She stood up and walked away, not knowing what was left to be said.
As soon as she hit the air outside the front door, she threw up in the manicured bushes that lined the front of the house. Tears streamed down her face and her sobs were so unrelenting that she couldn’t catch her breath.
This had to be a terrible nightmare. Women this malicious couldn’t really exist, could they? Scarlet had never in her life heard such vileness from a human being. And it didn’t appear that Patricia had any feeling about the fact this baby was her grandchild. All that mattered was it was half-Bloom. As if that was the worst thing that could happen to someone.
Scarlet didn’t know what to do. Everything that had been so beautiful about her life had now been twisted into a malevolent, ugly story.
She’d forgotten that sometimes fairy tales didn’t have happy endings.
Chapter Forty-Three
Barrett had finally fallen asleep around six-thirty in the morning, but woke two hours later, still slightly drunk. He’d texted Scarlet figuring he could be okay by mid-morning, but he was starting to wish he’d asked her to meet for a late lunch instead of a late breakfast.
In his drunken stupid last night he’d spilled the Balvenie 50 all over the carpet. Over $36,000 worth of liquor was now soaking into his floors. He knew he should be ashamed of himself for wasting it, but he had three more bottles of it back in Las Vegas, so he shrugged it off. Shit happens, he thought.
His body felt heavy and achy. He missed having her near him, and when he took a shower in his master bathroom to get the drunk stench off himself, he could still smell her scent as the steam clouded up around him.
Her half-empty shampoo and conditioner bottles were tipped over on their sides on the shower bench. Nothing so simple had ever made him so sad. The smell of her permeated around in him in such a way that his cock twitched and then stiffened, as if it could sense her body was near. He had an involuntary reaction when it came to Scarlet Bloom.
He might as well take care of it, he thought. He started to stroke himself, remembering one of the best times he’d ever had with Scarlet. And it happened under a canopy of stars.
44
Five Years Ago
“So this is a business trip?” Scarlet teased him as they picked up their rental car at McCarran airport in Las Vegas. “What are we really doing here?”
Barrett smiled, “Elixir and Evers Holdings are thinking about building some condominiums here. Which would also act as our Las Vegas office headquarters. So I’m just here with our brightest and sexiest intern to scope it all out. You know, typical business stuff.”
“I see,” Scarlet said as they unlocked the luxury SUV that would be theirs for the next three days. “And here I thought you’d just used it as an excuse to fuck me in some high roller penthouse suite.”
“Well, I mean that, too,” he said, winking at her. As soon as they were both in their seats they leaned over and started kissing one another, hard and fast, their desire filling up the rental and immediately steaming up the windows. They’d only been dating a month but they were already completely dependent on each other. They had sex constantly, multiple times a day, such was their unquenchable desire for the other.
“I want you so bad,” she whispered. “Get me to a hotel room. Now.”
He’d sped out of the parking garage and down Las Vegas Boulevard making record time as he pulled into the valet at the Bellagio.
They’d practically sprinted through the massive square footage of slots and table games, taken their private elevator to a top floor suite that overlooked the strip and the Bellagio fountains. Barrett was naked and inside of her within ten minutes of pulling into valet and her climax was so loud they were afraid the front desk was going to call up and complain.
He’d fucked her slowly against the glass window, looking out onto the world below them.
“This is just the beginning,” he whispered in her ear as he ran his hands up her body. “I have so much more in store for the intern.”
Barrett really did have a tiny amount of business to attend to, so while he went to his meetings, Scarlet visited the spa. She enjoyed a very long Swedish massage, along with a facial, and manicure and pedicure. She soaked in a hot tub for almost an hour and when she went back to their suite, she was all pink and soft. And eager for Barrett to touch her again.
Barrett couldn’t focus on anything during his meeting other than the fact that Scarlet was waiting for him back at their suite. Under the conference table he throbbed at just the thought of her ass from behind and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat as some doughy guy in a suit droned on and on about permits and codes.
As soon as he was back, he found her sprawled out naked on their bed, her blonde hair wild, and her eyes full of lust.
They didn’t leave their room for sixteen hours.
“Where’s Tonopah?” Scarlet asked. It was the last day of their trip and they both decided they needed to go on an adventure. As fantastic as fucking in a fancy hotel suite certainly was, they also both longed for a unique experience. So Barrett had come up with the idea that they should seek out a ghost town in the desert.
“It’s about three hours away,” Barrett said. “That’s what GPS says, anyway.”
“So we probably won’t make it back until after dark,” Scarlet said. “I wished we’d left earlier this morning.”
Barrett smiled, “Well. Someone wouldn’t stop riding me long enough for us to get out the door. I can’t help it that you’re so damn attracted to me.”
She rolled her eyes, “You’re the one who was begging for it.”
“Can you blame me?” he took her hand in his, the other hand on the steering wheel. “Your body is my heroin. I can’t resist.”
Scarlet smiled as she looked out the window. They were surrounded by endless, arid desert, and mountains. Every now and again they’d pass a tiny shack or trailer in the middle of nothing and Scarlet would try to imagine who would actually live there. Especially this time of year. It was July and the temperature was already well over 100 degrees.
“You know,” Barrett said. “This all used to be the bottom of the ocean. Kind of cool to think, right?”
Scarlet looked around, “I can easily imagine it.”
Barrett nodded, “Yep. And now here we are. Driving in a vehicle run by fossil fuels. Heading to look at history. It’s a weird life.”
“It’s a great life,” Scarlet said. “I love you, Barrett Evers.”
Their first stop was Rhyolite, a little known ghost town about an hour a
nd half from Las Vegas. Very few people seemed to be in the mood to climb through its rocky remnants being that it was well past noon time and the heat was almost unbearable. Barrett poured a bottle of water on his head. This was maybe not one of his better ideas.
Scarlet for her part, didn’t seem to be bothered even the slightest. She stared at a house made of glass bottles, the only complete building left standing in Rhyolite.
“It’s so beautiful,” Scarlet said. “Look at how the light hits it. How long did this take to build, you think?”
“Well, being that this town was founded by a bunch of miners who loved to drink, probably not as long as you think,” Barrett said, putting an arm around her bare shoulders. “Let’s go look around.”
Most of the buildings were crumbles of nothing. There was an old general store that was halfway torn down, though the entrance of it remained, old signs on the doors and windows. There was part of the old train station left and Scarlet stared out at the vista views from the old Rhyolite bank. The silence around them was eerie.
“I can feel the old life that was here,” Scarlet said. “You said it didn’t last long? This town?”
Barrett shook his head, “Boom and bust town. Once they’d exhausted the mines people moved on. Happened a lot back then. It was gone almost as seen as it was built.”
‘Wow,” Scarlet wrapped her arms around Barrett’s waist. “If it wasn’t so damn hot, I’d make out with you near the old train station.”
Barrett laughed, “You’ve always got one thing on your mind. I feel so objectified.” He kissed her head and they stood for a few minutes in silence, staring out at the vastness around them, both thinking about how they wouldn’t have chosen to be in that moment with anyone else.
Tonopah had been a tiny town where they’d spent a couple of hours exploring an old cemetery and browsing in a used bookstore, the owner’s cat following them around.
