SCARLET MEETS MILA

6

Scarlet

"So he's using it as a threat?" I ask Dina carefully, studying her eyes in hope of an answer. "Nothing more?"

Dina shrugs. "I don't know. I guess the clause you offered him caused a rift. But by the looks of it, he had this planned well before meeting with you."

"Fuck." I lean back in my chair and huff. "That little shit. He has been playing dirty this entire time?"

She offers me a weak smile. "You're a big target, Scarlet. If he can work his way into a better deal, he will."

"I have no other clause." I bark. "The most I could do is have his team on standby, but that makes me look weak. It makes me look vulnerable."

"So you want to go ahead and let him publish his findings?"

I shake my head. "I need to meet with him." I urge defiantly. "I can talk to him and-

"He isn't working alone." She laughs. "His father pulls the strings here. I'd say you're on pretty uneven grounds right now."

I look over at the window, a knot digging into the pit of my stomach. "So what." I hum. "What do I do? Let him plaster Mila's face all over the media and allow us to look bad?"

Dina hands over a document. "You could sign over his asking price?"

My eyes drop to the large sum of money, and instantly I fill with rage. "He's not having my money."

"Then he can have your wife's name." She looks up at me seriously. "Scarlet, this is a lose-lose situation. He has us in a chokehold with this outlet. I have nothing else to offer you."

I stand from my desk and grunt. "If I can meet with him and his father, maybe I can figure something out."

She sighs, but I refuse to bow down to a man only capable of corruption.

"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you." I turn to her and point at the desk. "Arrange a meeting and I will fix this. I do not deal with scare tactics. I run this show, not him."

She nods, packing away her things. "I'll get it done."

"Thank you."

She leaves the room quickly as I stand beside the window. The view doesn't ease my nerves even a little bit. I'm terrified, furious, caught between a payout and a penalty. I readjust my hair and take a deep breath. There is much to do, and despite the burning sensation in my stomach, I can't escape the reality of the up and coming launch.

Just as I reach to sit, my door flies open. Mila struts in and places her bag beside the unit before searching within a cabinet. Her body language screams a loud distance, and I hesitate to speak until she flies toward me, eyes down, energy on.

"I need you to sign on off on the designs I did earlier today." She announces sternly. "The documentation is out of date."

She shoves the documents into my chest and hands me a pen. "Everything ok?" I ask. "You seem a little stressed."

She shrugs, snatching back the paper from within my palm. "I've got a lot to do."

I flinch when she begins toward the door. Her short skirt and flowing hair a stark reminder of our close bond now seemingly cold. "Mila!" She turns reluctantly, her eyes rolling as they meet me. "What's wrong?"

Her eyes squint briefly, and she lets out a small but sarcastic laugh. "You tell me. Seems like you're the one that's stressed right now."

"Look. I'm sorry about last night." I voice. "I had a bad day and Hunter was trying to run rings around me-

"I knew you'd lie." She chuckles. Catching me by surprise.

"Lie?" I move from behind the desk and approach her in the middle of the room. "What are you talking about?"

She looks me up and down, folding her arms with a look I know all too well. "Harlow told me everything. Hunter has me in the front of his mind, and you." She points at my chest. "You have me placed right in the back."

I close my eyes with a deep breath. "Mila, hear me out-

"You have an issue with the idea of me being a stripper, baby?" Her tone strikes me. "What? Does it embarrass you that your wife may have danced on stage for a few bucks?"

I tense my jaw. "Mila."

"What, Scarlet!" She walks toward me. "What could you possibly have to say, when you were intending to keep this from me anyway?"

"I can't have this shoved into the media. It's bad for business and it will hurt your reputation, our reputation!" I snarl back. "This is important to me, Mila. I kept it quiet because it doesn't concern you. I will get rid of it and we can go about our day as we did before."

She shakes her head and flails her arms. "Because pretending like my past doesn't exist will make you happy, right?"

I furrow my brow. "Wait." I pause. "So it's true?"

"Yes, Scarlet. It's true." My stomach drops. "But go ahead, show the world how fucking ashamed you are of me. Be my guest."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it didn't matter!" She yells. "You should love me for me, not my job! I didn't think you'd be so uptight about it?"

"Uptight?"

She nods. "Yeah!" Her tone darkens. "You said to Harlow how much you hate stripping. Now here you are, trying your best to set fire to the headlines that say nothing more than the truth."

"I have to!" I retaliate. "Nobody will take us seriously if they find out. I love you more than anything, you know that?"

"But you have an issue." She looks at me coldly. "Don't you?"

I swallow hard, and words fail to escape my mouth as I straighten my spine.

She shakes her head, walking toward the door. "You know not everybody is capable of making billions of dollars before their thirtieth birthday." She begins. "I had to flaunt my body to feed my child. It's not my fault I didn't have a rich auntie to loan me money while I built an empire. We may come from the same hardship, but you best believe I had no choice."

"Mila-

"You pride yourself on being inclusive." She laughs sarcastically. "This bitch can't even accept her own wife. Imagine paying a million dollars to cover up her past like she's some bottom of the barrel convict."

The door slams, and quickly, I'm left with a gutting sensation in my stomach. "Fuck!"