Chapter 62
CHAPTER 62
CHARLIE
B efore the meeting on Monday morning, I headed over to the main barn to set up for us, Liv, George, and his daughter. I wiped down the table, realizing I didn’t even know his daughter’s name, but I shook it off. I supposed I would find out soon enough and it didn’t really matter anyway. She was George’s rep and she would be working on this with us, regardless of her name or even who she was.
Going about the methodical process of cleaning the space where we would be sitting, I washed down the chairs and dried them, then covered the table with a cloth Mom kept on hand especially for these occasions. Checkered red and white, she’d said it fit right in with the atmosphere in the barn and she’d even left some flowers in a vase. I thought those were pretty pointless, but I wasn’t about to argue with my mama about aesthetics.
Setting the vase down in the center of the table, I also grabbed some bottled water from the fridge we had in here, dumped some cookies in a bowl, and placed a small notepad and pen in front of every seat. Those were a relic of the past, I knew, but despite the laptops that were always present, I liked the branded notepads and people always wound up using them.
As I moved the chairs back to the tables, I heard cars pulling up outside, closely followed by the sound of two women’s voices getting closer to the barn door. I recognized both voices and the weirdest feeling came over me as they drew closer.
One definitely belonged to my Olivia. I’d know that voice anywhere and I’d have been able to pick it out of a crowd of thousands. That other voice, however, sent a chill racing down my spine. I hadn’t heard it for years, but it sounded like the devil herself.
No way. No fucking way. My muscles went rigid, locking up as my eyes snapped to the barn door just in time to see them walking in.
Scarlett was next to Olivia, talking to her like they’d been friends forever and I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. What the fuck is she doing here?
Dressed in a white pencil skirt with a pale orange shirt and a white jacket with three-quarter sleeves, she clearly hadn’t taken into consideration at all that she was coming to a ranch. What else is new?
That white definitely wasn’t going to be as blinding once she left, but I didn’t give a shit about her clothes. The last time I’d seen this woman was right after I’d found out that all she’d ever cared about was money.
That had been the day that my heart and all the plans I’d had for my future had shattered like ice being smashed by a hammer. It had taken me years to get over it, but the jaded skepticism had remained, becoming very much a part of me and ultimately even almost ruining what I had with Liv.
George walked in behind the girls, chatting to my father as they made their way to the table. I stared at the four of them, immediately realizing that this was why he had looked so familiar. Scarlett was George’s daughter, the woman who’d be working on the fair with us.
Revulsion slid through me right along with the most dizzying sense of confusion. Why the hell is Liv laughing with her like they’ve known each other for years?
Olivia must’ve noticed that I was completely confounded about what was going on because she grinned at me as they approached the table and offered a quick explanation. “Charlie, this is my new friend, Scarlett. We met at the conference and it turns out she’s George’s marketing rep on this project. We’re going to get to work together. How fun is that?”
I was speechless. Olivia had no clue that this was my gold-digging ex who had ruined my heart and my life for years before I’d met her. An ominous sense of foreboding crept through me as Scarlett’s red-painted lips curved up into a smile, her gaze latching onto mine.
“Oh, Charles and I know each other.” Of course, she didn’t leave it at that, tacking on a coy, “Quite well, actually.”
Fuck .
My heart started pounding so hard that it made me sick. Olivia’s head jerked like she’d been caught completely off guard. No one but her had ever called me Charles and I preferred it that way, but between that and the rest of what she’d said, it was clear that Liv was pretty confused now herself.
I have to talk to her. Immediately.
Obviously trying to hide her confusion behind professionalism, she waved Scarlett into a chair and flashed George a tight but welcoming smile. “Please have a seat. Mr. Anderson has designated an area for the fair that has been cleared and we’ve got some exciting ideas to share with you this morning.”
“Coffee?” Dad offered, doing a double-take when he noticed Scarlett but mercifully not saying anything about it. “I put a pot on before you arrived. It should be ready by now.”
“That would be lovely,” George agreed absently, a little more obvious today about taking a look around the barn from where he was sitting.
Meanwhile, I strode around the table until I was next to Olivia and looked into her eyes. “Can I talk to you outside for a moment before we get started?”
She dipped her chin in a curt nod, those gorgeous greens cloudy with confusion and a slight furrow between her eyebrows. “Sure.” With a quick glance over her shoulder, she seemed decidedly less friendly to Scarlett now. “We’ll be right back.”
I spun on my heels without another look at my ex. Honestly, seeing her again hurt a lot less than I had thought. I was pissed about what she’d done for sure, and I definitely had some rage slithering through me like black tar spreading through my veins, but I did my best to remain calm.
“That’s her,” I hissed quietly as soon as Liv and I were outside. I turned to face her, jutting a finger back in the direction of the barn. “Scarlett is my ex from all those stories I told you.”
“What?” Olivia’s voice was incredulous. “She’s… the gold-digger?”
“The one and only,” I said dryly. “She’s the woman I thought I was starting a life with who was only ever interested in my money.”
“But…” Liv trailed off, exhaling a harsh breath through her nostrils and squeezing her eyes shut. Her head dropped forward, her chest rising on a deep inhale as her fingers clenched around her hips. “Okay. Okay. Alright. Um. Did you know we’d be working with her?”
“Of course, not.” I stared back at her. “Did she tell you at the conference that we knew each other?”
“Of course not,” she snapped, finally reopening her eyes, lifting her head, and focusing on me. “It stands to reason that she knew that I’m with you. She had to have seen us together at the conference. I met her just after I was talking to you, and whenever my dad wasn’t around, we weren’t exactly discreet.”
“No, we weren’t,” I agreed. “I need to go back in there and tell my dad that the deal is off.”
“No,” she said, firmly and immediately, determination fueling her as she lifted her chin a little higher and shook her head. “This fair is going to be so good for the ranch, the community, and all the local farmers. We can’t let your history with her stand in the way of the impact this event could have on the livelihoods of so many people.”
“I don’t want it to stand in the way of that, Liv,” I argued. “You don’t know her the way I do, though. She’d will do anything to get between us. That woman is not who you seemed to think she was before you found out about this. She’s not your friend and she’s ruthless.”
“So am I.” Liv pulled her shoulders back and stood up completely straight, her features falling into that same mask of cool professionalism I’d seen after she’d overheard me talking to Dallas. “We’ll do the job and be done with her. We’ll keep it professional. Don’t worry. I’m not going to let her come between us.”
With her face going completely straight, she fixed her navy blazer and headed back inside. I sighed but schooled my own features and followed her.
There was a coldness about her when she sat down across from Scarlett, and I found it low-key hot. She was a feisty one, but she was going to need every bit of fight she had to face off against my ex. Scarlett was no pushover either and I couldn’t help feeling like this wasn’t going to end well.