Scarlett Crawford, a widowed mother with a young daughter depending on her, struggling to keep her life and emotions in check, but with the help of her best friend and her big brother she does what she can. But will a chance encounter with an attrac...
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Noah
I'd had a great time at Scarlett's the night before. After she told me about her father in law coming to see her on Saturday, and after she perked back up, we settled in on the couch to watch a movie. I'd sat in the corner of the couch with Scarlett snuggled into me from the side, almost falling asleep. Not that I didn't like Nikki, but thankfully she hadn't emerged again after she ran off to the bathroom laughing, giving me some alone time with Scarlett.
Before Scarlett had almost completely fallen asleep on my shoulder, I'd gently wriggled my way off the couch, bent to scoop her up and carried her to her bed. She mumbled something in her sleep I couldn't decipher but smiled when I kissed her forehead and said goodnight.
I'd also fallen asleep with a smile on my face once I'd gotten home. Whatever this was with Scarlett, I was happy.
~ ~ ~
Fridays at the restaurant were always crazy busy, lunch included. So when there was finally a lull between lunch and the after-work drinks crowd, my staff jumped straight into stocking up and getting things ready for the evening. While they were all out on the floor, I was in my office studying up on my new least favourite person.
Eric Crawford appeared to be a ruthless businessman and according to the bio on his website, 'a dedicated family man'. Bullshit. I hoped Scarlett hadn't seen this because I knew it would make her blood boil. I turned at the knock on my open office door.
"Mr Hayes, I've come to submit my resignation." Michelle stood in the doorway with her arms folded tightly across her chest. After her attempt at hitting on me the other week, she'd been calling in sick for her shifts or making excuses not come in. Her quitting was actually going to save me a lot of hassle. If I'd fired her, i'm sure she could have tried to throw it back at me that I'd been inappropriate or whatever, so this saved me the headache.
"I'm sorry to hear that Michelle. Have you been feeling any better?" as I asked the question, I looked up to see that she was very smartly dressed in head-to-toe black, tight jeans, a long shirt and cropped blazer.
"Not really, no. But I will be. Anyway, thanks for the job and the opportunity, blah blah blah, but I don't need this place anymore. I've covered my shifts for this weekend but not for the two weeks of rosters that are out, that's your problem now. Seeya." And with that, she turned on her very pointed heels and walked away briskly. I saw on the cameras that Toby, who was supposedly her boyfriend, tried to wave her down but she sidestepped him and barrelled out the door.
I stood and walked out onto the restaurant floor, "Hey Toby, can I have a word?" he nodded and made his way over to me. We retreated to my office, Toby closing the door behind him. "Did you know Michelle was going to quit? Is she ok?" I gestured for him to sit but he seemed to need to move around. He paced the small space, wringing his hands.
"I dunno man, I mean, I knew she'd been looking but I didn't think she'd actually quit. She ended things with me after that night and she's been ducking my calls. She said she'd found someone that could take care of 'us'." He was making me sea sick he was shifting from foot to foot so fast, "I think she might be pregnant." He finally stopped and slumped down into the spare vacant seat looking absolutely defeated.
