Chapter 6 - Cabin Fever
"Smith will pick you up tomorrow at seven AM sharp, Miss Valentina," Jasper told me as the day was drawing to a close.
Well, everyone else's day was already over, mine, however, seemed to be never ending.
"Of course, Mr Queen." I replied as I stacked some folders away in the filing cabinet.
"Make a dinner reservation for eleven, I'm taking Miranda so make it a table for two." He said staring me right in the eyes whilst I tried to keep my irritation at bay.
"I'll get right on it," I replied casually, walking out to my office.
Angrily, I made the reservation, making my way back into his office as I realised I had forgotten to get a memory stick from him.
I had seen him throw it into the drawer of his desk carelessly as I opened the drawer up. It was full of cöndom wrappers and empty bottles of expensive French wine.
Classy.
I was not rummaging through this desk, I thought as I closed it.
I looked up and saw a smirking Jasper leaning with his arms folded against the door frame, the rippling muscles beneath his tailored shirt making me weak at the knees.
"Never has one girl complained," he chuckled as I resisted the urge to smack his gorgeous face.
"Right." I said in response to that utterly idiotic statement before walking towards the door to leave.
"Actually, I have something I'd like to talk to you about," he slipped his arm around my waist and guided me towards the chair in front of his desk.
"Is this about the expansion documents? Or the finance? Because I have stored them-"
"No, Scarlett, it isn't."
"Then what is it?"
"Your lover - Haynes," he spat bitterly.
God, not this again.
"Oh?" I asked challengingly folding my arms. "What about my lover?"
"He isn't right for you. I don't know how many times I'm going to have to tell you," he stated gruffly.
"Would you like to tell me why you, my employer and only my employer has any right to dictate who is right or wrong for me, for the fifth time this week?"
Okay, maybe I timed that one wrong, I thought as his eyes darkened in anger and he clenched his fists before bolting from his seat.
He stood up raising his hand to run through his hair but me being me, I assumed the worst as I flinched considerably in my seat, thinking he was going to strike me.
"Why did you do that?" He asked angrily whilst he held a confused expression on his face. "Why did you move away like that?"
"I should be leaving. Legally, I shouldn't be working for this many hours," I said trying to distract him and leave.
"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Valentina," he snapped, his lips pressed into a thin line.
I walked out of the building faster than I'd ever walked in my entire life.
How dare he? How dare a man who is merely my boss tell me somebody is wrong for me?
But, the worst thing was that I actually cared about what he said.
I hailed a taxi to take me home so I could relax before tomorrow, besides, I still had a few other things to pack before left.
As soon as I came home however, I crashed straight on to the couch as an image of spending an evening with his flawless date consumed my every thought. I was beginning to tire of my jealousy, I couldn't help it but I just didn't know why. I knew a man like Jasper would never see me as anything but his secretary - the woman waiting on him hand and foot.
***
The next morning, I got out of bed, feeling rather nervous about being away from home with Jasper. I showered quickly and changed into a blue silk blouse and a fitted knee-length skirt before applying some light makeup and putting my hair into a bun.
I double checked I had everything and grabbed my suitcases just in time as Smith knocked on my door.
"Good morning, Scarlett," he smiled warmly as I opened the door.
"Good morning Smith, how are you?"
"I'm very well thank you. Allow me to take your bags."
"Thank you. Is Mr Queen in the car?"
"Yeah, he is, he's in a very foul mood, I'd tread carefully around him today." he muttered as I locked the door behind me.
"Just my luck," I mumbled sarcastically as Smith laughed.
"Good luck on the plane, Scarlett!"
"Very funny," I rolled my eyes as he opened the door for me. Jasper was sat there, a scowl planted firmly on his face and his eyes fixated on his laptop screen.
"Good morning, Mr Queen," I said politely.
"Miss Valentina." he muttered not even sparing me a glance. Such an obnoxious man.
A sexy, obnoxious man though.
Awkwardly, I sat myself next to him suddenly feeling a little self-conscious, my blouse now feeling very low cut and my skirt ten inches too short.
Thankfully, it didn't take too long until we arrived at the bay where we made the quick transition from the car to the jet.
"Jasper! How nice it is to see you again!" A tall, bulky man who I assumed was the pilot came towards us once we were seated. "And who is this?"
"Carlos, this is Scarlett my secretary. Scarlett this is Carlos my pilot."
"Pleasure to meet you, Scarlett," he smiled extending a hand.
"Likewise," I smiled, shaking his hand.
"Well, enjoy the flight you two," he patted Jasper on the back and left the cabin.
I felt very sick and nervous about being on a plane, we made frequent trips to other states whenever my father was on the run during the early years of my life and suffice it to say, they were not particularly pleasant ones.
My nervousness must have been evident as I looked up to see Jasper looking at me with an amused glint in his eyes.
"Are you scared, Scarlett?"
"No, Mr Queen, I am not scared," I replied boldly folding my arms.
"Have you travelled on a plane before?"
"Yes, I have. I just don't particularly like the concept of being in a tube thousands of miles off the ground knowing we could all plummet to our deaths in a matter of minutes."
"Scarlett," he laughed. "You needn't worry, Carlos is very well experienced and I would never put you through any sort of danger."
My heart warmed at his words but I quickly came to my senses, given he would be the one under police scrutiny if I did happen to die in his jet and that would only keep him away from his precious office and his precious billions.
I turned my attention back to him and he unclipped his belt and sat himself beside me.
"If it makes you feel any better," he grinned, placing his hands behind his head.
"Of course, it does," I said sarcastically, thankful he couldn't hear my heart beating erratically.
"I'm only joking Scarlett, relax."
"There's never any telling with you, Mr Queen," I muttered pulling my skirt down slightly.
"I take it that was a dig at my recent display of..."
"Bïtchiness?" I blurted before I threw my hands to my mouth.
Did I really just say that?
Jasper raised an eyebrow, but his expression was more amused than angry.
"I was going to say unacceptable behaviour but clearly that didn't cut it," he smirked as my face reddened considerably.
"I apologize, that was wrong of me to say such a thing," I said monotonously as he laughed before he stopped slowly.
"Actually, Scarlett, I wanted to apologise to you. It was incredibly selfish and rude of me to treat a lady like yourself the way I have done over the past few days. It was most ungentlemanly." He said sincerely as he fished out a Tiffany's box from inside his blazer pocket. "I hope you like it."
"Mr Queen, I -"
"Scarlett, just take it, please. It'll help me sleep at night knowing I'm forgiven," he joked holding out the box as I begrudgingly took it from him.
I gently pulled the delicate ribbon back and found a diamond necklace sat neatly in the satin cushioning.
"Mr Queen," I gasped quietly. "It is beautiful, thank you so much."
"I'm glad you like it, Scarlett," he smiled as I stifled a yawn. "You should rest for a while. You'll feel more comfortable while we're in the air."
"Thank you," I gave him one last smile before turning my back to him and closing my eyes, finally feeling content.
***
Jasper's POV
"Mr Queen," she gasped as she opened up the Tiffany's box. "It is beautiful, thank you so much."
I felt my shoulders slump in relief, I was so worried she wasn't going to like it.
"I'm glad you like it, Scarlett. You should rest for a while, you'll feel more comfortable while we're in the air." I told her as she looked exhausted.
"Thank you," she smiled before she turned around and fell asleep.
She was snoring pretty quickly too.
I was beginning to find it extremely difficult to control my feelings for Scarlett, so much so, I thought treating her the way I did would allow me to overcome my feelings which it clearly didn't.
What angered me most was the fool she was dating - Vincent Haynes. He was malicious and conniving, always using a sob story to his advantage, particularly when it came to women. I despised him after the way he treated my sister and it irked me even more when I saw Scarlett in his arms.
Speaking of Scarlett, she stirred in her sleep as she shuffled further away, her silk blouse riding upwards leaving her sun kissed skin exposed. As I was admiring the view, I noticed something strange: a large pink mark marred her skin at the side of her stomach, I cautiously moved her blouse further up as I saw the mark continued diagonally across her body. I gently pulled the material down as I remained confused.
What the hell was that?