Page 36 of Irresistible

Scarlet couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She came to Charlie to pour her guts out and to have a shoulder to cry on, and here he was sounding like he was about to take Richard’s side. She had half a mind to get up and leave right there, but he had done enough to earn the benefit of the doubt in her mind.

“Are you…taking his side? Come on, Charlie. Let’s be honest here. I just slept with a guy who got naked pictures from someone else the next morning. There’s really not much more to it than that. You know I’m right about this. You said it yourself. You’ve seen a bunch of scumbag guys. You know how bad they can be. This is just another case of that, and I need to pick up and carry on. I was just hoping you could be here for me, but maybe that was too much to expect.”

“Hey, now. Easy,” Charlie cautioned, holding up a hand.

“What do you mean, easy? You’re second-guessing me during one of the most trying moments of my life. How do you think I’m supposed to feel?”

“I’m not second-guessing you, Scarlet. I never want you to think that. But you don’t tell me things just so that I can tell you you’re right and let you get on with your life. You could talk to some stranger and get that. You always told me to be honest with you, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did. But sometimes I just need you to nod and listen.”

“And I can do that for you if you want. However, you may want to hear what I have to say first.”

“Fine, go ahead,” Scarlet scoffed.

“I’m not sure that he’s actually dating this woman, and it’s not because I believe him over you. When men are caught in a lie or caught doing something wrong, we usually jump and try to make things right. We deny, we try to shower people with gifts, we try to fix things. If he had run down the hallway after you shouting about how he didn’t do it or screaming that he was sorry, I would know for sure that he did it. But the fact that he not only just sat there and calmly explained things but also didn’t chase after you tells me that he might be telling the truth.”

“There’s no way it’s that simple. He’s a businessman. They’re trained in the fine arts of lying and manipulation.”

“Maybe. But he was content to let you believe what you want and let you go. You pose a substantial liability to him at this point. If you were to go public with what happened, it could ruin him. He would only feel comfortable letting you go, believing whatever you want, if he knew that he didn’t do anything wrong. Richard Grant may be a master negotiator, but he’s not an idiot.”

Scarlet stopped for a moment. Charlie did have a point, but there was no way it was that simple. There had to be more lingering under the surface.

“You really think that he has no feelings left for this woman?”

“I didn’t say that. The only thing I think I know is that he’s no longer in a relationship with her. I can’t get a good read on whether he still likes her.”

“In any event, you might be right. I guess I should give him the benefit of the doubt, as much as my gut is telling me not to. It did seem like a really weird reaction to the situation.”

“Scarlet, you know I’m always on your side. I would just hate to see you write off a good thing like this when there could be another side to it.”

“I know. I’m sorry I doubted you. You always have my back. But I still don’t think I can ever see this guy again, at least not in a romantic context. Obviously, I’ll have to see him at work for the next couple of weeks. That’ll be its own unique form of torture.”

“So you don’t want to see him again even if he’s not actually with this model or…actress, or whoever?”

“She’s an actress. Carly Pomodoro of all people, if you can believe it.”

“Wow,” Charlie sighed.

“Yeah.”

“But you still don’t want to be with him, even if he is one hundred percent telling the truth?”

“Look, he clearly has other women interested in him. He’s one of the most powerful men in a very big industry. He’s rich, he’s handsome, and he’s everything a woman could want. I can’t put myself out there to get hurt again. There are just too many red flags. I have to take time to focus on myself.”

“Scarlet, of course you have to do whatever is best for you. But I don’t want you to turn your back on potential happiness just because it’s hard. Can I tell you a story?”

Charlie, as always, was ready with a story. This was the one time that Scarlet didn’t really want to hear it. She felt emotionally exhausted and drained. To her, there was no moral here. It was just an issue of fear, and she was far too scared to let this proceed any further. On the other hand, turning down a Charlie story would be like turning down a nugget of gold.

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“Well, when Rebecca and I first got together, she was fresh off a pretty bad breakup. I think she had less than a month between her breakup and meeting me. Her boyfriend cheated on her with two of her best friends. I think he was actually with both of them at the same time one night. He was a real piece of work. It was the worst she had ever been hurt. So, here I come. On our wedding night, she told me that she initially wanted nothing to do with me when she first met me. She had sworn off dating and told herself that she was going to focus on her career. But eventually, she realized that if she didn’t pursue what was right in front of her, then the past would have control over her future. She knew that wouldn’t be fair to anyone. Decades later, here we are.”

Scarlet knew that he had a good point, but she was still unsure of what to think. Rebecca and Charlie were the sort of couple that was always meant to be together. She wasn’t as sure that she and Richard fell into that category. Couples with that kind of destiny don’t find nudes from other people on each other’s phones. Scarlet hugged Charlie and Rebecca, thanked them for their time, and left to go home. In less than an hour, she went from overflowing with anger, fear, and exasperation to feeling as though she had nothing left to offer anyone. She was utterly drained.

Sauntering out of the restaurant, she realized that she needed to sleep. It was the early afternoon, but she felt that she had been through one of the longest days of her life. All she wanted to do was flop down in her bed and sleep until it was time to go to work on Monday. Her mind was blank, and her mental energy was completely sapped. She drove home with a thousand-yard stare, staying in her car for a few minutes after pulling into her driveway. As she went to take her phone from the driver’s seat, there was a single notification on the front screen.

It was a one-line text from Richard. It read. “Please believe in me like I believe in us.”