Je t'adore

Chapter 11: Cheesecake ;)

Anabel nervously clutched the box of cheesecake she held closely to her. Looking down she wondered whether she was overdressed but shooed the thought away. It's either overdressed or bumming it. I have no in-between, she laughed, looking down at her white, two piece body con dress and nude stilettos. Ding! The elevator doors opened allowing her to exit. Ana made her way down the halls to a pair of huge mahogany double doors. She inhaled deeply before knocking. "Come in," a young voice spoke.

Ana opened the doors to Scarlet's office and gave her a warm smile. "Hey, hun, I thought I'd come visit you." She gestured towards the box in her hand, "I brought that cheesecake Nate said you liked."

Scarlet blinked a few times to register the odd visitor standing at her door. "Anabel, what are you doing here?"

Ana's warm smile faded as she stepped into the room and took a seat opposite Scarlet. "I'm here because I have a favor to ask of you."

* * *

Nathan's ears were pierced by the shrill noise of his telephone. He opened his eyes which seemed to be glued together only to be welcomed by blinding light. He quickly shut them again, and groaned. He knew he was hung over. Reaching blindly Nathan managed to find the receiver of his phone and answered it.

"Hello?" His voice was strained.

"Sir, it's 10:30, time to rise and shine."

"What time?" Nathan shot up from his sleeping position and threw his blanket off.

"10:30, sir."

"Who told you to wake me up at 10:30?"

"Ms. Debroux did, sir"

Nathan's memories from the night before began to come back to him. He remembered Anabel coming over and him drinking his worries away. He made a terrible mistake and now he was facing the consequences.

"Tim, can you call me a cab? I'm late for work and in no condition to drive. Also, could you tell room service that I want my usual with extra orange juice?"

"Of course, sir. I'll send room service up. When your cab is outside I'll give you a call."

"Great." Nathan hung up and threw himself back on the couch. He began to rub his temples in a hopeless attempt soothe the jackhammer in his head. When that didn't seem to work he got up and slowly made his way up the stairs. Maybe a shower will help, Nate thought.

After he showered, brushed his teeth, and shaved his face, Nathan made his way out of the bathroom and into his walk-in closet. He selected his dark burgundy dress pants, a white button up, and a slim black tie. He was just about to comb his hair when a knock at the door interrupted him. Perfect, he smiled at the thought of freshly squeezed orange juice.

"I'm coming," he called out.

Nathan unlocked his door and opened it.

"Good morning, sir," said Martha as she wheeled in his breakfast. Nathan moved out of her way, "Good morning Martha."

He felt his pockets for his wallet, pulled it out and gave her a tip. She smiled gratefully and took it. Martha turned to leave but stopped half way, "Oh, Mr. Thane, there's a young woman in the lobby who would like to see you. Tim wants to know if he should let her up."

"A young woman?" Nathan thought of Scarlet but dismissed the thought. He knew she would never speak to him after the way he acted yesterday, much less come to his home.

"Yes, sir, a Ms. Stevens."

Nathan froze. He couldn't believe she was here to see him.

"Why is she here?"

Martha laughed, "To speak with you, sir." Martha had never seen Nathan flustered. He was always cool and composed, but then again he rarely had female visitors, except for Ms. Debroux. "Should we send her up?"

Nathan paced the floor of the hallway. He contemplated whether he was ready to see her. He knew what he did was wrong but he didn't even know how to tell her. What if she's here to quit? Nathan ran his hand through his hair. I can't let her quit. She's an amazing employee. She's dedicated and hardworking and she . . . . ughhh Scarlet, why are you here?

Nathan abruptly stopped pacing and turned to Martha. "Send her up."

Martha nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

* * *

"A favor?" Scarlet asked in a confused tone.

"Yes," Ana shifted in her seat. "Scarlet, I know I just met you but you're the only one who came to mind."

"What's wrong?" Scarlet placed the pen she was holding on the desk.

"Last night I went to visit Nate. I cooked him dinner because I haven't spent time with him in forever, we got drunk together, well to be fair he got super drunk and I was tipsy. But then I went home and got into a huge fight with my boyfriend," Ana paused, "He was upset at me for cooking Nathan dinner and thought that more happened than what I was telling him."

Ana waited for Scarlet to register everything she was saying.

"Anabel, I honestly don't get why he's mad at you. That makes no sense. Doesn't he trust you? I mean, I know nothing about your relationship but I do know that in relationships there should be trust. Is he the jealous type?"

Ana laughed, "No, not even. I think it's the fact that he knows I used to have feelings for Nathan. He's mad because he feels that I still like Nathan and he doesn't want to be led on."

Scarlet froze. Had Anabel just said what she thought she said? The casual tone in which she said it threw Scarlet for a spin.

"You used to like Nathan?"

Ana smiled warmly, "I used to but we're better as friends and that's all we are. Nathan never liked me and I never told him because I knew he saw me as nothing more." Her warm smile now faded, "Nate, is a good guy. I'd never risk losing him because I had feelings for him."

Scarlet was shocked by Ana's honest confession.

"Scarlet, I want my relationship to work. I need it to work because Adrien is an amazing man and I'm ready to move on with my life. To be honest, I'd be mad at him if I was in his place. I'd be beyond jealous. If he came home late at night from some girl's house that he used to harbor feelings for in a drunk, and disheveled state I would be pissed too."

Scarlet sat still trying to absorb everything Anabel was telling her.

"This is why I need your help. In my drunken state I left my wallet at Nate's and I can't exactly go see him right now because my relationship is in a rocky place. You see, Adrien kind of owns the hotel Nate lives in and I really don't want him to find out that I went to visit him again. Would you be willing to go visit Nathan and get my wallet back?"

"You need me to go to Nathan's?"

"Yes."

"Anabel, I"

Ana cut Scarlet off, "Scarlet, please?" She reached over the desk and grabbed Scarlet's hands. "I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important to me. I need your help and I don't have anyone else I can turn to. I don't have many female friends. Females can be a bit catty and I'm not one to hold my tongue. Those two qualities don't exactly mix well." Anabel gave Scarlet a pleading look.

Scarlet caved, "Okay, I'll do it."