As Chuck and last night’s Latina kissed goodbye right outside the door of their room, Scarlett emerged from the corner.
"Where did you sleep last night?"
“I slept with your uncle!”
Chuck suspiciously looked at her, “Wait. What the fuck? Is Francis in Hong Kong? I didn’t know you two know each other… when did you even meet?”
Scarlett pointed to her dress. “By the way, he bought me this. Does it look good on me?”
Chuck’s face turned pale. “Did you really hook up with my uncle?”
“No fucking way!” Scarlett snorted. “I met him in the lobby last night. There was no room left, so I just crashed int
Scarlett did not want to be in the limelight again, so she pulled her cap down hard, trying to hide her face.“A woman?”Someone pointed at Scarlett and laughed. With her hands in the pockets of her coat, Scarlett leaned against the car. Her legs looked straight and slender in her tight black trousers. She played with a lighter in her hand and did not say a word.Old Jim did not bother to talk to him either. “Cut the bullshit and heat the fucking engine! No one gonna be able to escape if the fucking cops come.”Scarlett opened the door and sat inside the car. Compared to Chuck’s sports car, she was more familiar with this car. The bulky man next to her car waved to her and gestured to her to roll the window down. Scarlett sneered and turned
Scarlett fell asleep against the wall after an hour of hopeless waiting before a police officer came in and informed her that she could leave. She walked out with her sleepy eyes to find that the man shaking hands with the head office was none other than Francis Sandler.Why did she have to let this man witness every single embarrassing moment in her life? Scarlett thought desperately.“Sorry to cause you trouble, Sir. Forgive the naughty girl.” Francis said to the officer politely.“The fault is mine, Mr. Sandler. We had no idea that Miss Morris is your niece…”Francis’s eyes had settled on Scarlett as soon as she walked out from the detention room. Scarlett shivered at the sight of Francis. She was wondering if sleeping at the polic
This year’s conference was a bit different from the previous ones. Usually, the scholarships were awarded only to postgraduate and doctoral students. But this year, four undergraduates, including Scarlet, had the honor of receiving scholarships too. As they were introduced to the audience by the master of ceremonies, the promotional video featuring all four of them played on a large screen behind.At the end of the video, the provost stood up and walked up to the stage. A silver-haired old man, he rarely made speeches in front of the whole school. After adjusting the microphone, he started his speech.“University of Irving is a highly inclusive, international university. We respect freedom of speech, and on our campus, we encourage healthy dialogue amongst parties who hold differing views on important matters facing our world today. We don’t,
“I was thinking… if they still have vacancies for waitresses at this restaurant, I want to apply for the job... The salary here seems like it would be quite high!”“What are you going to write on your résumé about your special skills and areas of expertise? Car racing? Smoking? Skipping school?”“I also got the Sandler Scholarship and the recommendation letter. Isn’t that good enough? Anyway, car racing is a cool skill.”“So you’re proud of it?” Francis put down his fork and was beginning to get angry. Scarlett immediately lowered her head to drink soup.“No racing from now on!” All of a sudden, Francis commanded her.Scarlett swallow
She had been surprised when John had presented her with the heels, but now it all made sense. After all, it was a wise choice. The low-key nude color and the suitable-length heel made it perfect for the office.“I really like these shoes, and they’re perfectly suitable for work too. Thanks so much!”Scarlett held the shoes in her arms. She was actually so moved by John’s gesture that she almost wanted to cry.“Good luck, Scarlett,” John said and then left for class.As a genuine straight-A student, Scarlett had already completed all the requirements for the Russian major. Not only that, but she had also completed all the required courses. She only needed to take a few more electives, and she would be ready to graduate. With that in min
Scarlett didn’t notice that it was already lunchtime and most of the staff had already left. Leah came over and tapped her table,“Let’s go for lunch! I’m hungry.”Scarlett was still immersed in the magazine; she was now gazing at a new Givenchy bag.“Where?”Leah pulled her up and said,“The office canteen. Come on, hurry up!”When they arrived at the canteen, Scarlett was surprised to see how grand it was. There was also a vast array of different kinds of foods worldwide: Chinese noodles and dumplings, Japanese sushi and ramen, Vietnamese pho, Mexican tacos, Spanish baked seafood with rice, German pork sausages… and th
“Make a good impression on them. It will surely be helpful for your job in the future!” She continued.Scarlett held her head high and flipped her hair. “Oh, don’t worry about me. I'm very good at that!”They soon arrived at the 68th floor, the center of power. High heels stepped on the soft carpet, and people coming and going looked both serious and proud. Scarlett was quite comfortable with life at the very bottom of society and suddenly felt a sense of inferiority here. After all, she was like a fish: she was flexible and could rapidly adapt to all kinds of water conditions.A tall woman in a gray suit stood in front of them, flipped through the folders, and said,“Send these to the reference center, please.”
Francis put down the pen and leaned back in his chair,“Yes, you’re right. I wish I could be so blessed to have a niece like you.”Scarlett nodded with a smile and was about to continue to brag. Francis stopped her in time and asked,“How are you doing this month?”“Great! The colleagues are amiable, and the canteen is terrific. But most importantly, the boss is the best!”“Scarlett!” Francis didn’t buy her adulation.“Honestly, there is nothing to complain about. Well, it would be better if I could go into the kitchen and see how the chef makes that sweet and sour fish!”
When Scarlett woke up, it was eight o’clock in the morning. She rolled around in bed for a few moments before sitting up. Her head felt heavy.“You’re awake!” Francis said as he walked into the bedroom from the balcony. He smiled at her. “I thought you’d be out for hours. Aren’t you jetlagged? How long was the flight from Lisbon to Irving anyway? And didn’t you have a stopover in Dallas?”Scarlett rested her head on Francis’s shoulder and said, “Well, I wanted to go to bed early last night. No thanks to you, we ended up staying up so late! I barely got enough sleep. You’re exhausting me, Francis!”“Oh? Am I? I’m so sorry, Scarlett.” Francis teased. He kissed her neck and tousled her hair.
“Don’t you miss me?” Scarlett laughed on the other side. Her hair was wet, and she was wearing a champagne-colored nightgown. She looked as pretty as ever.“Of course I miss you, but I can’t do anything about it, right? I can’t cry on daddy’s shoulder as Brittany did.” Francis said. He came to the balcony and lit up a cigarette and felt a little relaxed.“Brittany cried?” Scarlett asked in surprise.“Yep, she cried for over an hour,” he said as he breathed out a plume of thick smoke.Upon hearing that, Scarlett felt kind of guilty. Was she selfish? Was she a bad mother, a bad wife?“Francis, do you resent me?” Scarlett asked as she Skyped with
As Carlos grew up, he learned the fact that his father was very powerful. But he couldn’t tell his mother what to do.“I gotta fly to Portugal for business... I’ll be gone for a month,” Scarlett said one evening.“Why do you have to be gone for such a long time? Can’t you just get one of your associates to go instead? What’s going to happen to us while you’re gone? At least try to see if you can come back sooner….” Francis moaned unhappily. He hated being away from his wife.“Carlos will take care of his sisters, and besides, Brittany and Shannon are very good kids.” Scarlett comforted gently. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”“I’m not talking about them. I&rsqu
Francis suddenly grabbed Scarlett in the crowd, who walked next to Eve and then tightened his grip around her waist. He pinned her against the pillar and gazed at her without looking away.“What are you doing?” she blushed as she noticed that he was staring at her.Francis moved his hand from her hip to her waist. He was turned on by her sexy figure– as always.After that, he kissed her fiercely– just like he was kissing her for the very first time in his life.Scarlett was taken by surprise and kissed him back passionately as the fireworks blazed on.They parted breathlessly and stared at each other with lust in their eyes.“I hope you’re glad
Scarlett looked up at Skyler. He smiled at her and said, “I’m very relieved that you’re gonna get married to Francis. So now you don’t need to worry about anything in the world.”“You’d better be quick. I will open the door now!” Eve said with her hand on the handrail.Scarlett and Skyler smiled at each other and felt that there was indeed nothing to be scared of anymore. They had, after all, suffered deeply for two decades. Now that was all over. They couldn’t dwell on the past; it was time to step into the future and embrace happiness.“Go ahead, I’m ready!” she smiled, readying herself for the walk down the aisle.As the door opened, Scarlett walked out with Skyler gripping her arm. He was smiling
There was a minute of silence over the phone– Francis and Scarlett said nothing to one another. Scarlett pouted and asked, “Wait a minute… are you laughing at me? You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”“No, I’m the same as you. I feel nervous,” he said in a low voice.“What?” Scarlett asked curiously.Francis was standing in front of the window of his study room with his hands in his pocket, looking out at the vast, blue sea outside.He took a deep breath and smiled, “I said, I’m much more nervous than you are. I’m sure of it. You have no idea how nervous I’m feeling right now.”Scarlett laughed gleefully. Hearing that Francis was
Scarlett was about to drink up from her can of beer, but on the command of Eve, she was made to down an entire bottle of whiskey instead.“For our lovely and beautiful bride!” Eve said.With that, they blasted some tunes and began dancing wildly. Eve approached Scarlett and said something in her ear.“Say it again! I can’t hear you!” Scarlett shouted loudly.“I’m saying, don’t be a housewife! Live for yourself now and forever.” Eve shouted loudly.Scarlett just laughed and had a drink with her.“Cheers!” she said.The party didn’t come to a close until 4 am the fol
At this moment, Carlos took Shannon by the hand and walked in slowly, and said, “Brittany, mommy is tired. Please go play by yourself.”But Brittany just ignored him and took Scarlett to jump on the balcony. She was excited about the big blue swimming pool in front of them and said, “Mommy, I want to swim. Mommy, please go swimming with me.”The setting sun shone on the swimming pool; it was very quiet.“My sweetheart, could you ask daddy to go swimming with you a while later?” Scarlett said as she touched her head.Though Brittany was unhappy about this, she was not a stubborn kid; after that, she turned around to go look for Francis. Carlos was a little worried about her, so he instantly followed her.
Eve was pissed off and almost fainted from how angry and frustrated she was feeling right then.Damon immediately held her around her waist and said smilingly, “It’s our wedding day, Eve! I know you’re stressed out and panicking about this whole pregnancy thing, but this is actually good. You’re not pregnant! We’re in the clear! So let’s just try to enjoy this day now, why don’t we? What do you think?”As the guests left, Eve and Damon checked into the presidential suite at the hotel. When they got in the room, Damon suddenly realized that Eve was on the first night of her period. She may not be interested in having sex with him.“You know I don’t mind that you’re bleeding down there at all, right? A real man braves the red tide.”