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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Scarlett
As I pulled up across the street from Eric's monster of a house in Toorak, my hands began to tremble on the steering wheel.
After a few deep breaths I managed to get my emotions in check and made my way to the front door. I lifted my fist to knock and froze for a moment before remembering the plan I had come up with on the long and tedious drive here. Once I finally managed to knock it seemed an age before anyone even came to the door and I was caught off guard when it was Eric himself.
"Scarlett? What on earth are you doing here? We weren't scheduled to meet again for another week or so." His expression was a mix of confusion and intrigue.
"We need to talk, but I needed it to be on my terms this time. Even though you always barging into my house, you always have the upper hand, so I thought I'd return the favour." Despite my nerves, I sounded strong and confident, much to my relief.
"Alright then. Come through to my office and we can have a discussion like mature adults. I suppose a silver lining in you showing up unannounced is that no one else is here to offer interruption. I'm almost surprised you didn't bring your young fellow along." I could feel the smirk on Eric's face, even with his back to me as we walked through the never-ending hallways.
"Not that I owe you any explanation, but we're no longer seeing each other, thanks to you." I spat, "After you bullied him into trying to help you, I figured the less people in my life for you to try to manipulate, the better."
The smirk wasn't there when he turned behind his desk and looked at me. I had settled a look of quiet irritation on my face, a look I hoped to maintain for the duration. Eric looked almost upset, and it seemed almost genuine.
"I'm sorry to hear that, sincerely I am. After what you and Quinn have gone through, you don't deserve more hurt." He said as he sat at his desk.
I stopped mid-sit, shocked to hear sympathy from the man I was so sure didn't have a heart. "Well it's done now. And we have other matters to discuss. Quinn being one of them." I sat across from him, legs and arms crossed, "I need to ask you some questions and I don't want your usual round-about bullshit; I want straight answers for once. As you said yourself, I've been through enough, I think I deserve some honesty for a change."
Eric leaned forward his hands clasped together on his desk. "Alright Scarlett, that seems fair. Please proceed." He gestured with a wave of his hand for me to begin my interrogation.
"Ok, what the hell are you doing with a leech like Michelle?" I hadn't intended this to be my number one question, but it just blurted out.
Eric laughed nonchalantly at my obvious ridiculousness. "Well, that's definitely lifted some of the tension in the room. I suppose it's fair I explain my personal situation since I seem to have destroyed yours." A flash of hurt appeared on his face but was gone as quickly as it appeared, "We met a few months back at a bar near my office in the city, most likely she was there on a man-fishing expedition anyway, but I enjoyed the conversation and it didn't hurt she is quite nice to look at. We began seeing each other occasionally and one thing led to another I suppose." He leaned back in his chair comfortably and continued, "I discovered she lived near you and thought that may become advantageous to me, but I didn't push.
