Page 32 of Scarlett and the Big Bad Billionaire
Scarlett sneered. “And I bet you’d justloveto get your hands on some of it, wouldn’t you?”
This was getting ridiculous. Here I was, overwhelmed to see her, and she was treating me like a criminal.
Whathad happened to her to make her so hostile and suspicious?
Holding up two hands in a referees’time outgesture, I said, “Can I get a twenty here? Why are you treating me like a stranger?”
“Youarea stranger.”
I raised a sardonic brow. “If memory serves, we got to know each otherquitewell.”
She flushed deeply. “That’s not what I mean, and you know it. We didn’t even know each other’s names. We spent five days and six nights together three years ago and haven’t spoken since.”
“And whose fault is that?” I asked.
“Yours. You left while I was sleeping and didn’t even bother to say goodbye.”
“I had to. I…” My response drifted into silence. I couldn’t tell her why I’d had to leave so suddenly that day.
My platoon leader had gotten a call about a hijacked yacht off the coast of Greece. Because we were so close, we were called into action and had to begin pre-deployment prep immediately. I’d basically gone right from her bed into a life-and-death operation.
Immediately after that we’d been deployed to Iraq, and that was where my life had changed forever.
“… I had to work.”
“Big dildo emergency?” she asked, clearly disbelieving my excuse.
How could I blame her? That stupid story of Badger’s was coming back to bite me in the ass once again.
I supposed at this point, now that I was no longer in active service, I could admit to her that I’d been a SEAL without giving her any details of the actual operation.
But I also remembered she was basically allergic to the idea of getting involved with a military man.
Hell, it didn’t even matter. Scarlett was here for a few days and then she’d be out of my life again.
The thought bothered me more than it should have.
We had to put the conversation on pause because the bedroom door opened. Victoria stood there smiling.
“I’m so sorry, Vivi,” Scarlett said. “Did we wake you?”
“No dear, my mind did. I remembered something very important—it’s the reason I wanted you both here today at the same time.”
“What’s that?” I asked. “Do you need help with something?”
Victoria smiled at me. “I certainly do. Let’s go to my sitting room.”
We followed the elderly woman down the hall to the room where she spent most of her time. She’d told me the family in the past had used at least half of the rooms in the enormous mansion, but now that it was just her and the housekeeper living here, she used very little of the space.
The informal parlor—or sitting room—was sunny during the day and cozy at night with the big fireplace at one end lit. She read there, watched TV, exercised, and listened to music in the room.
When we reached it, she went to a table in the corner that held a computer and printer as well as a basket where she kept her correspondence.
Rifling through the basket, she extracted two legal-sized envelopes and offered one each to me and Scarlett.
“What is this?” Scarlett asked.
“Open it and see,” Mrs. Hood said.
