Page 31 of Scarlett and the Big Bad Billionaire
“I think that’s agreatidea,” Scarlett practically growled. “Vivi?”
She offered her arm for support, calling Victoria the nickname my friend had so often invited me to use. Not wanting to overstep the bounds of our relationship, I’d declined.
Scarlett apparently had no qualms about using the endearment, even after basically abandoning the woman to fend for herself in her old age.
After making sure Victoria made it to her bedroom for her afternoon nap, the two of us stepped into the hall.
The instant the door shut behind us, Scarlett whirled to face me. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“I’m here because Victoria invited me over. Why are you here?”
“Same.” She glared at me, chewing on her lower lip. “Did you know it was me when you sent the letter?”
“No. I had no idea you were her granddaughter. I didn’t know your real name—remember? She asked me to find her granddaughter, so I did.”
“Do youreallywork for that security company?”
“I do.” Pulling out my wallet, I extracted a Viridian business card and handed it to her. “That’s how I was able to locate you. Actually,Ididn’t do the locating—there’s someone in my office who specializes in that sort of thing. He did it for me. I just wrote the letter.”
“She said you’ve been ‘helping’ her. Why?” Scarlett’s face was a portrait of distrust.
“Because she needed help.” I waited a significant beat. “Because shehasno one else to do it.”
“She has me.”
“Oh really? And where have you been for the past twenty years, miss suddenly devoted granddaughter? Do you have any idea how defenseless and alone your grandmother is? She’s easy pickings for predators.”
Scarlett harumphed. “Tell me about it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She leaned closer, stretching up in a futile attempt to go chest-to-chest with me. “You tell me,Wolf. You’re the one who preys on vulnerable women in resort bars.”
I felt like I’d been slapped. “Prey?You think that’s what I did? I wasn’t even there trying to meet women that night. All I wanted was some R and R with my buddies. But I couldn’t leave you alone. You were so drunk you might as well have been wearing a sign that saidRob and Rape Me—Please. I was walking you back to your room to keep you safe. Youbeggedme to swim with you. You begged me to stay overnight.”
“And then you decided to spend the rest of the week eating and drinking on my tab before vanishing.”
I fell back a step and looked around, needing a bit of distance in case I blew my top like a faulty pressure cooker.
“Iknowyou’re not accusing me of being a freeloader right now.”
Meeting her eyes again, I willed Scarlett to own up to the truth of that week. “We ran up that tab together—on purpose—to stick it to your stupid runaway groom, remember? I didn’tneedyour money, Scarlett. I stayed the week because you gave me your whole ‘this is supposed to be my honeymoon’ sob story.”
Scarlett’s face matched her name—she was furious. “Are you saying you stayed out ofpity?”
Of course that wasn’t the whole reason I’d stayed, but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to shower her with compliments at the moment.
When I’d imagined running into Red again someday—and I had imagined it more often than I cared to admit—this wasdefinitelynot how things had gone. I’d pictured something more along the lines of falling into the nearest bed and devouring each other for days on end than a shouting match.
“What else was I supposed to do?” I asked. “Leave you to get drunk alone at the bar every night? Those resorts are crawling with hustlers and con artists.”
“Yeah—andyou’reone of them.” She held up my business card and ripped it in half. “This is probably fake.”
I was so mad I could hardly see straight. “Oh, I’m not just a mooch—now I’m a con artist?”
“You must be. Or maybe you’re just hanging around with an eighty-nine-year-old woman—who happens to be filthy rich—for fun.” Her tone was pure sarcastic disdain.
“As a matter of fact, we do have fun together—something you apparently have forgotten how to do in the past three years. Your grandmother and I arefriends. She’s a bright, charming, talented woman with excellent taste in art.”
