Page 19 of Irresistible

Scarlet flinched. What Richard was talking about almost seemed like love. She immediately felt herself pull back, just as she had when he originally asked her out to drinks. But she resolved to rein herself in this time. As long as she didn’t act on her feelings, she would still be keeping her promise to Jim. She had faith in herself to toe that line.

“I guess they do,” Scarlet replied, beaming.

The two talked for another hour about everything that was on their mind. They learned an incredible amount about each other. Richard basically had to put himself through college due to his family’s financial circumstances. He detailed some of the odd jobs he had to work just to have money for food. At one point, he had to clean cages at the zoo near his university. This was all while he had to study days, nights, and weekends in order to keep his grades high enough to maintain his athletic scholarship. He was an amateur rower, and was fortunate enough to earn a place on a team at a prestigious university.

Richard Grant never had any ambitions to become a professional rower. Those dreams were left to people whose parents could afford to float them financially while they pursued their dream. No, Richard pursued rowing because his high school needed another person, and he demonstrated the necessary physical aptitude. His school was able to take care of all the competition and equipment costs so that his mother never had to pay for any of it. Attending a prestigious school for as little money as possible was always his end goal. He felt incredibly fortunate that he was able to use that to get a jump start on his career.

Scarlet, on the other hand, was obsessed with finding meaning in life. She shared stories about how she had attended ceremonies of every religion she could think of just so she could gather information on as many perspectives on the meaning of life as possible. Art and philosophy were her passions. But the constant thought and analysis stood in the way of certain pragmatic needs. Her family always pestered her about getting a “real job”, but internal fulfillment was far more important to her. She didn’t need a fancy car or house in order to feel content. At the same time, there was only so much art and philosophy to be appreciated.

Relationships came to be her worldly manifestation of a desire for a full life. She ardently believed that you could find the perfect reflection of yourself in the eyes of another. This emotional wanderlust caused her to drift from one relationship to another. But her earlier beaus just didn’t share her desire to plumb life for its true spiritual fruits. She wondered if she was the problem all along. At the same time, there was nothing she was willing to give up in order to remedy whatever that issue was.

In just sixty short minutes, Richard and Scarlet had shared more of the most vulnerable aspects of their lives and personalities than most people do in a lifetime of therapy. Scarlet got choked up more than once during their talk, and they both knew that this was something they had to hold on to. With every word, she cursed the promise she had made to Jim. She thought about all the men who had come before Richard Grant, and everything he had that they didn’t. He listened, he contributed, and he never made her feel anything less than fully appreciated and understood. They stood fully still, absorbed in each other while the world spun around them.

“I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having. Honestly, I think I’ve told you more than anyone else in my life. It seems irrational given that we’ve only known each other for such a short amount of time, but I really feel like I could tell you anything,” Richard said with a deep sigh of fulfillment.

“Really? I feel the exact same way,” Scarlet said, looking deeply into Richard’s dark brown eyes.

“I hate to do this, because I feel as though we were just getting started. But I really should get back to work. There are a few things I need to finalize before tomorrow,” Richard said, sounding genuinely disappointed.

“What’s happening tomorrow? Is there something big I was supposed to know about?” Scarlet asked, snapping back into professional mode.

“I actually have a presentation to give at another branch tomorrow. I’ll be going to Janesville first thing in the morning. It’s something similar to what I did when I first got here,” he explained.

“Do you need me to come with you to get things set up?” Scarlet inquired hopefully.

“I wasn’t going to ask you, considering that we were still not on the best of terms. But it would be awesome to have you with me. Not to mention, I could really use the help.”

“I’d love to come with you,” Scarlet replied without hesitation.

So it was arranged. The two would travel to Janesville in the morning. The small town was about an hour outside Mainsport, but it was very similar in vibe and culture. Scarlet agreed to drive Richard there so they would not have to secure alternate transportation. They decided to meet at Richard’s hotel at eight o’clock the next morning and head over.

“Shall we head out?” Richard said, finishing the last drips of coffee in his mug.

“Yeah, we probably should. Pick up where we left off later?”

“Absolutely,” Richard said, taking both of their empty mugs to the bin near the wastebasket.

They waved goodbye to Roberto and headed for Scarlet’s car. The two were nearly speechless on their way back to the branch. It was clear that each of them was reminiscing about what had just happened and what it meant for them going forward. Both were in shock that they had met someone so perfect in such a short amount of time. Scarlet couldn’t help but smile when thinking of the conversation they just shared. She had never been able to be so intimate with any of her friends or her past lovers. Richard felt the same way. Getting to the top in the business world had always meant having a certain part of you closed off from the outside world. Yes, he believed in honesty, but some things just weren’t meant to be discussed. He had no such hesitation with Scarlet.

The two entered through the lobby to stares and whispers from the tellers and other staff. The gossip had continued to percolate in their absence, and Scarlet had the sense that this was just the beginning. She didn’t care. All that mattered was that things had gone well and that they would have the chance to talk even more the next day. While potential relationships between the boss and one of his subordinates were always fodder for water cooler conversations, she was determined not to let this throw anything off. As she waved to Richard, who headed back to his office, Scarlet saw Jim leaning against the doorway to his own office.

“Scarlet, can I see you please?” Jim asked seriously.

“Of course.”

The two made their way back into his office. This time, Scarlet felt as though she was being called into the principal’s office. But she hadn’t done anything wrong. Jim could grill her all she wanted. She still remained a good friend.

“So, how’d it go?” Jim said with a stern look on his face.

“It went well. We talked for a while. He’s a really good guy. We worked out our weird stuff from the other day,” Scarlet explained.

“You broke your promise, didn’t you? You made a move on him,” Jim said, unflinching.

“No. Why do you think so little of me?” Scarlet replied, making a fake pouty face.

“But you want me to relieve you of that promise, don’t you?” Jim asked, maintaining his stoic frown.

“Honestly, Jim, more than anything in the world. We just have so much in common. He’s easier to talk to than almost anyone I know, present company excluded.”