揑f you don抰 believe me, ask Camden Crane what he was saying right before I punched him,?I suggest. 揑f you want to discuss anything related to work, email me. I抣l answer once I抳e thawed out.?Then I hang up.
I can抰 look away from her. Candles dance between us, casting a soft glow over Scarlett. Across her sharp cheekbones and long lashes. Her red lips and blue dress.
She was quiet when I returned from the caf? Agreeable when I suggested going out to dinner. We抮e at my favorite restaurant. The railing to my left is built into the cliff itself. A glance to the side, and all you can see is the churning sea. We抮e suspended on solid ground.
揝o everything is all set? With rouge??I ask.
揧es. The website will go live tomorrow as soon as it抯 announced.?
揂re you excited??
I抦 expecting a glib retort. Not, 揟errified.?
For a second, I think she抯 messing with me. But the tiny shrug before she takes a bite of bucatini is genuine in its vulnerability.
I lean forward. 揇on抰 take this the wrong way棓
She interrupts. 揟errible way to start a sentence.?
I smile. 揥hy are you doing it? I know Haute has been lucrative, but you don抰 need the money. You were already handling the jobs of three people, and then you went and added more work for yourself. At first, I thought it was me梪s. You were avoiding being at home. But at dinner with Jacques厃ou抳e been planning this for years. Why, Scarlett? I get proving yourself, I do. But pushing yourself like this seems匢 don抰 know. Excessive??
Scarlett looks out at the water. The sunset is smeared across the sky behind her. Splashes of tangerine and peach mingled with golden light. Her profile is just as stunning as the rest of her.
Sighing, I lean back. 揘ever mind. I棓
揑 feel like I need to earn it.?She turns back toward me, her hazel eyes appearing more green than brown tonight. 揗y whole life, I抳e had everything handed to me. Yeah, I worked for things, but I would have gotten them, regardless. Harvard wasn抰 going to reject an Ellsworth. Applying was practically a formality. I saw Haute was for sale, and I?I don抰 know. I knew I could turn it around. Even now that it抯 doing well, I haven抰 fully let myself trust it. The harder I work, the more I feel like I deserve the success. But I took it over. The pieces were all in place; I just used money and connections to make them shiny again. With rouge卛t抯 mine. All me. I want the clothes I design to make women feel powerful. I want them to be made in cities where people need work, in a building where people are excited and proud to be working there. I want to feel like I did something that mattered, and that I did it myself. When I donate to charities, that抯 all I can do. Sign the check. I抦 not healing the kids or flying the plane with emergency supplies. But I know clothes. I can design the outfit that someone wears when they get their dream job. Or on the first date with the person they抮e going to marry. Or棓 She stops talking and looks away, cheeks flushing. 揑t抯 silly, I know.?
揑t抯 not.?That抯 all I say until she meets my gaze. 揑t抯 not silly, Red.?I lift my glass and tip it toward her. 揟o rouge.?
揟o rouge,?she echoes, tapping hers against mine.
We maintain eye contact as we both drink, and it feels more intimate than I can recall sex ever being.
揜oyce Raymond wants me to take over his production company.?A subtle rise of her eyebrows is the only indication she heard me. 揌e made the offer at our wedding. Said I should carve out my own legacy. I don抰 think I抣l take it. But卛t抯 an option.?
Scarlett drains her glass and refills it. 揂n option in LA??
揑 wouldn抰 consider it if it was in LA.?
揥hy not? It抯 warm. Sunny. You could surf.?
I smirk. 揑 don抰 know how to surf.?
揧ou could learn.?
Somehow, Scarlett always manages to say what I least expect. 揇o you want to move to LA??
She scoffs. 揙f course not. New York is home. I抎 never move to California.?
揕ike I said, I wouldn抰 consider it if I had to move to LA.?
That confession sits between us for a minute. 揧ou don抰 know anything about the film industry.?
揌ow do you know??I counter.
揧ou read or you watch baseball when you have free time.?
She抯 right; I can抰 even come up with the name for the last movie I watched. I抦 surprised she noticed. 揑 said the same thing,?I admit. 揌e said he has people who do. He wants me for my business sense.?I leave off the bit about my moral compass.
Scarlett nods, as if that answer makes sense. 揘o crack about how I don抰 have any??I tease.
揑抳e seen the department reports. I know you do.?
揥hy were you looking at the reports??How? Those aren抰 public record.
揑 was curious. And I抦 a Kensington.?