LOGINScarlett's POV"What are you talking about?"I took a step back.Alaric took a step forward."Come on," he said, his voice dropping into something that was clearly supposed to be charming and landed nowhere close. "You came here. You knew I'd be here. Don't play innocent now.""I didn't know you'd be here," I said. "Cole invited me. This has nothing to do with you.""Sure it doesn't." He smiled in a way that made my skin crawl. "You showed up at my box at the race. Now you're here. At some point you have to own it.""I showed up at the wrong box," I said. "I've explained this. Back up."He didn't back up. He moved closer, one hand reaching out toward my arm, and I stepped sideways fast enough that he caught air."You're reading this completely wrong," I said. My voice was steady. I was making a point of keeping it steady. "I'm not interested. I was never interested. Whatever you think happened at that race, you're mistaken.""You're cute when you're pretending," he said."I'm serious
Scarlett's POVShe finally made up her mind and followed me inside.Lyra didn't move toward the chair right away. She stood in the middle of my office with her arms crossed and watched me walk around to my side of the desk like she was waiting for me to slip up."Sit down," I said. "Please."She sat. Barely."You said you have proof," she said. "So show me."I pulled up my email and turned the monitor toward her. "This is the venue's internal booking system. Robert, my operations manager, requested access about ten minutes ago."I pointed to the screen. "That box was registered under the name Voss. Your husband's reservation. It was not registered under my name or anyone from my company."She leaned forward and looked at the screen. Her jaw was tight."That just means you weren't the one who booked it," she said."Right," I said. "Because I didn't book it. I was brought there by someone else who told me it was her box."I printed the page and slid it across the desk. "Keep that."I op
Scarlett's POVSarah was already moving toward me from the other direction, her face tight with the expression she got when something had gone sideways and she had been trying to contain it."I'm so sorry," she said, keeping her voice low. "She got past the front desk before anyone could stop her. Security is on the way.""It's fine," I said. "Who is she?""She didn’t say.She just keeps saying you know what you did."I looked past Sarah toward the commotion near the reception area.The woman was visibly furious, the kind of furious that had been building for a while and had finally found somewhere to land.I had never seen her before in my life.I walked toward her. The office stayed quiet around me, everyone pretending to look at their screens."Hi," I said. "Can I help you?"She turned on me so fast I almost took a step back."Don't you hi me," she said. "You know exactly why I'm here.""I really don't," I said. "But I'd like to. My office?"She didn't move. "I'm not going anywhere
Scarlett's POVThe race ended and people started filtering out of the boxes. I said a few polite words to Alaric and followed the general flow of the crowd back through the corridor.My phone rang while I was waiting for my car.Emma.I picked up. "Hey.""Hey." Her voice had that particular energy she got when she'd been sitting on something for a while. "So I've been thinking about that question you asked me. The one about Preston."I did not immediately remember which question, and then I did. "The one about whether there was ever anyone serious.""Right. And I told you about all the women before his accident, the model, the actress, all of that. But I kept thinking there was something I was forgetting, so I went and actually looked into it."I got into the car when it pulled up and closed the door. "And?""Okay, so there's this woman. Her name is Sienna. Sienna Caldwell. She's from old money, like real old money, the kind that doesn't need to show off. Her family and the Beaumonts
Isla's POVMy smile hadn't even faded yet when the door swung open.Scarlett was standing in the doorway, still wearing the suit.The suit looked good on her. Of course it did. Everything looked good on Scarlett Huntington, which was one of the more irritating things about her.She glanced down at herself and then at me."Happy?" she said."You look great," I said. "Come on, we should head over. Everyone's already waiting."She didn't move right away. She had that look she got sometimes, the one that meant she was running something through her head. Measuring. Deciding."Sure," she said finally.I smiled and looped my arm through hers before she could think too hard about it."Time to go," I said, keeping my voice light. "You know how it is, everyone's already there, we don't want to miss the start."She was a little stiff under my arm but she came with me. That was what mattered.I steered her through the corridor and down toward the suite level.I found the one I was looking for and
Scarlett's POVPreston's mother looked at me for a moment and then said, simply, "Let the girls go enjoy themselves. Young people like that kind of thing."I did not particularly want to spend an afternoon with Isla. That was the honest answer.But Preston's mother had set aside tickets specifically, and whatever her reasons were, turning them down in her own house felt like the wrong move. I was already here. I had already survived the entrance hall."Sure," I said. "Sounds good."Isla smiled.That night I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling and thought about it.Isla was not someone who made four-second pivots without a reason.I did not sleep especially well.--She was at my door at seven thirty in the morning with a garment bag over one arm and a coffee in each hand, which was either genuine thoughtfulness or the most effective disarming tactic I had ever encountered."I found you som
Madison’s POVI stood in the hallway and watched Pierce's eyes follow the direction Scarlett .That look on his face made my stomach turn."You still have feelings for her, don't you?" I asked, keeping my voice steady even though my chest was tight.He didn't answer.That silence was worse than any
Scarlett’s POVThe silence stretched out, thick and suffocating. Pierce stood there frozen, his declined credit card still in Salesperson's hand, his face cycling through shades of red I didn't know were humanly possible.Salesperson cleared her throat delicately. "Perhaps there's another card you'
Scarlett’sPOVI looked at my mother's text and smiled. Tea tomorrow afternoon sounded perfect. I typed back that I'd be there and set my phone down on the bathroom counter.Whatever was happening out rig
Scarlett’sPOV"Then why don't we go ask in person who actually led this project," I said with a cold laugh, turning and heading straight for the door.







