Then she realized that she'd began feeling hot. Her body was heating up and she wanted to get cool, desperately. Her eyes blurred and she began trying to get her dress off. This was bad, the still rational part of her brain kept reminding her. What was she to do? Bit by bit, her rationality was being erased and she was unable to help herself. She desperately needed a cold shower. She knew she'd been drugged. The question was how. Was it in the wine? Quite possibly yes. The only question was why. She then tried the door again hoping against all hope that she was mistaken.
As she was struggling with the door, her heart beating frantically, the bathroom door swung open, and the occupant stepped out. Her heart rate increased, and she thought it would jump right out of her chest. Why didn't she own a gun, or at least carry mace?
By now, her gaze was getting blurry, and she kept pulling at her dress, trying to get it off. She needed something cool on her skin. She thought that she was hallucinating because standing in front of her was the man she'd been dreaming of in nothing, but a towel wrapped around his waist. How could this be anything other than a hallucination? And she desperately threw herself into his arms, rubbing herself against his body wantonly in a bid to cool herself down, pulling at his towel in the process, and it did have some effect. He caught her in his arms and steadied himself before they found themselves on the hotel floor. She felt like she had an illness, and he was the cure. Throwing caution to the wind, she found his lips and kissed him like she'd longed to for the longest time. And his towel which had been precariously hanging by a thread till now finally gave up and fell down, leaving his lower half exposed. By now, her dress's straps had given in in the face of all her pulling. Clearly, there was no going back.
Alexander, who'd just stepped out of the bathroom was shocked to find a woman in his room. He'd been at the banquet when he'd suddenly began feeling hot, as though his blood was boiling. He knew then that he had been drugged but he'd always been very careful. He didn't know how they'd succeeded. He was aware that he had many enemies and so he never let his guard down. He got a room and thanked God for his strong self-control and the power and money in his hands. Power, because anybody else in his situation would have found it hard to get a room as the hotel had been reserved for this event. He called his men and ordered an investigation into the waiters hired for today's shindig. Then he'd gone into the bathroom as he desperately needed a cold shower. The cold water had helped. He then heard the door open and thinking it was his assistant, he wrapped himself in a towel and stepped out which led to the current scene.
Before he could take a clear look at the face of the woman in front of him, she'd thrown her lithe body into his arms, wantonly rubbing herself all over his body like a cat. The heat that had slightly dissipated in his body as a result of the cold shower returned with a raging force and his towel which was unprepared for an assault, fell and pretty soon his soldier was standing at attention, ready for war. The woman's skin was hot and flushed. Her body fit in his arms like she was made for him. She was, familar. He should push her away but why didn't he? She searched for his lips and when their lips met, the heat exploded, and they couldn't think of anything else. His hands spanned her slim waist, and he lifted her and took her to the king-sized bed. Everything after that was a blur to both of them, until the next morning.
Scarlett shook herself out of her daze and went back to her work lamenting to herself that she only remembered the shallow part. Why couldn't she remember any of the good parts? The event had completely ruined any chance of them getting together, yet the best parts couldn't even be recalled. What a waste!
The next day, Scarlett went back to her place. She couldn't stay at Iris's forever. Adrian, her acting CEO at Icy Jadeite Jewelry had dropped some design drafts at her apartment for her final perusal before they are produced.
Two weeks later, she was invited to Alex's and Iris's home for his mother's birthday. Her parents were off travelling and so they'd sent her a set of beautiful emerald jewelry to gift to his mother, Emily, on their behalf, as a birthday present.
Alexander arrived a bit later than her as he'd just gotten back from a business trip. What surprised her wasn't anything else but his attitude towards her. Holding some chocolates in his hand, he approached her. He looked uncertain as to how to start a conversation. On noticing this, she broke the ice.
"Alexander,"
"Scarlett..." He then cleared his throat. "Uh Hi...I picked these up in Paris, I heard from Iris that you're a big fan of chocolates, so I thought you'd like them."
"Oh...Uh...Thank you Alex," She replied, not quite understanding his change in behavior. If they had any big enmity, she might have thought he was trying to poison her, but they didn't. This change was far too sudden, and she knew that people around her knew that she couldn't resist chocolates.
On that day he wasn't as indifferent to her as he usually was. He behaved as though he genuinely wanted to get closer to her. They talked and laughed and little by little, the hope that had died with his awful words that fateful morning sprouted once again in her heart. That evening as they said goodbye, he offered to drop her off at her apartment. She wanted to reject because it was simply too sudden. However, his mother insisted that it was late, and they would worry if she went home alone. And so, she gave in. When they arrived at her apartment, he'd joined her in the elevator and waited until she'd gotten her door open before he left. She'd invited him in, but he'd said he had an early day the next day. After wishing her a lovely night, he left. She was left in a stunned and weird mood. She went to bed still thinking about his behavior that day and hoping that it wasn't just a fluke.