Scarlet Resurrection

The will

The familiar tune of her ringtone woke Scarlet up. Grumbling into her pillow, she reached out blindly towards the bedside table, trying to find her phone.

Realising that it was not there, she reluctantly rolled over, scowling up at the ceiling. She had murder on her mind for the person who had interrupted her naughty dream.

Her phone stopped ringing and she sighed happily, prepared to go right back to sleep.

“A ella le gusta la gasolina!” her phone started ringing again, and Scarlet laughed in spite of herself. The song always brightened up her mood, which was why she had selected it for her ringtone.

Scooting to the edge of the bed, Scarlet scanned the room for her phone, and saw it on the floor beside the bedside table. She slid down from the edge, and sat down on the floor with her phone, and stared at the screen. It was an unknown number.

Only a handful of people had her number, and it was unusual for her to get calls from any unknown numbers. Declining the call, she stood up, stretching her hands above her head.

As she stretched, the events of last night flooded her mind. She froze, as she realised that it had actually happened, and had not been a dream. Scarlet screamed.

The sound of hurried footsteps grew louder, and a frantic looking Michael burst into the room, his eyes scanning the room immediately.

“What happened? Are you okay? Why did you scream? Are you hurt?” he questioned, holding Scarlet by the shoulders. He looked at her blank face, searching for an answer.

Scarlet’s cheeks turned red, and she turned her face towards the window. She was too embarrassed to look him in the eye. “Nothing. Thought I saw an insect.”

Michael’s grip on her shoulder relaxed. He placed a hand under her chin and turned her face towards him. “Look at me.” Reluctantly, Scarlet did.

The sunlight streaming through the window made his dark brown hair look golden. His brown eyes were like pools of honey, exuding warmth. Scarlet felt herself relax. “Really, I'm okay.”

As if on cue, her stomach growled loudly. “I don't think your stomach agrees with you. Why don't you get dressed? I'll make you breakfast. Even though it's almost 3pm now,” he said, amused with himself.

Nodding silently, she turned away from him. Michael watched her disappear into the bathroom and went downstairs to make breakfast.

As he transferred the eggs onto the plate, he heard the sound of the stool being dragged out. Michael turned around with the plate of eggs, and was greeted by the sight of Scarlet sitting at the counter, almost engulfed in a fluffy blue robe.

The robe had dark patches where water had dripped down from the wet, tangled bun at the nape of her neck. “Well, don't you look like a pretty princess,” he laughed.

She scowled back in response, sticking out her lower lip petulantly.

Michael walked off towards the living room, to check the latest news. He sat in silence, watching the news, until Scarlet joined him on the couch.

“I need to talk to you.” her timid voice interrupted his thoughts.

He nodded, still staring at the television. With a click, the screen turned black. Michael looked sideways, to find Scarlet holding the remote control. Sighing defeatedly, he turned himself towards her and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

“What happened last night?”

“Do you want it to happen again?” he implored.

“No! I mean yes! I don't know!” Scarlet started rambling.

Michael suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap, where she sat straddling him. Her eyes widened with anticipation and stared deeply into his.

He held her gaze, as he untied the robe and pushed it off her shoulders, making it pile up around her waist. Scarlet was wearing a light pink bralette, which she had thrown on in a hurry. With one hand, he grabbed her right breast and started massaging it, rubbing his thumb over her n****e through the fabric.

Scarlet did not break eye contact, even as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Michael snaked the fingers of his free hand through the messy bun at the nape of her neck, and pulled it down, forcing her to move her head up and expose her neck.

He moved his lips from her jaw to her ear, barely touching her skin. His lips were slightly parted, allowing the slightest whispers of air through, which raised goosebumps on Scarlet’s skin on contact.

“What happened last night was just the beginning, ma’am.” he breathed into her ear.

“This is wrong..” Scarlet moaned, squirming as Michael ran his tongue over her earlobe.

“So wrong..” her voice trailed off, as Michael moved his hands to her lower back and pulled her close. His mouth began a new onslaught on her neck, and Scarlet could not stop herself from grinding on him.

Immediately, his hands moved down to throw off the robe, and grabbed her ass. He squeezed hard, and guided her hips to move faster.

“I know you want me.” he growled against her neck, as her moans grew louder.

Using one hand, he unhooked her bra, exposing her breasts. His mouth clamped down on her n****e, as his hand moved back to her ass. Scarlet grabbed the back of his head, and continued to build her climax. Just as she neared the brink, the sound of the doorbell rang through the house.

“s**t s**t s**t!” Scarlet swore as she scrambled off Michael’s lap.

She grabbed the robe off the floor and ran towards the staircase, and hurried to her room. Walking to the closet, she grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and threw them on in a hurry.

She hurried downstairs, untangling her hair and letting it fall down her back. As she walked into the living room, she saw that Michael had let the visitor inside. It was Adrian’s lawyer, Derrick, who stood up when he saw her.

“Scarlet! How are you holding up?” he asked.

“I’m pushing through.” Scarlet mumbled, her cheeks becoming warm as Derrick stared at her worriedly.

“You okay? You look flushed, are you running a temperature?” he questioned, as Scarlet sat down at one end of the sofa.

“No. I’m fine, really.”

Derrick sat down at the other end of the sofa, his brows furrowed.

“Okay. I’ll believe you, if you say so.” he sighed.

“So what brings you here?” Scarlet asked.

Derrick cleared his throat, and looked towards Michael, who was standing stoically in a corner of the living room. Michael, who had been looking at Derrick, nodded and walked out of the living room and out of the front door, mumbling something about doing a parameter check.

“I wanted to talk to you about Adrian’s will. He didn't make any changes to the original will, and has left everything in your name. You know what that means, right?”

Scarlet closed her eyes and focused on her breathing.

“I know you have always avoided the business, the partners and everything related to Adrian’s work life. And Adrian respected your decision. But that’s going to change starting from today. As the new CEO of the company, you will need to attend meetings and the parties we throw for investors, amongst other things.”

Scarlet could feel the panic building up, as her breath hitched.

“Look at me.”

Reluctantly, Scarlet did.

“None of us expected this. None of us expected Adrian to drink and drive. I’ve never seen him drink more than he could handle. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the news. But we can't change what happened. He is gone, and you will have to fill his shoes. You were the only person he trusted completely.”

Scarlet sobbed silently as she listened to Derrick. Her thoughts went back to the conversation she had with Adrian on the day the will had been drafted, 02 years ago.

They had been getting ready to go to bed when he had told her about the will. She had immediately started begging Adrian to choose someone else to be in charge of everything.

“I don’t see what the problem is. You do a perfectly good job of bossing me around,” Adrian had teased. Scarlet had hurled a pillow at him in response, which he had caught with ease.

“Don’t worry, baby. I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.” he had whispered, pulling her into his arms and caressing her hair. Scarlet had smiled contentedly and had fallen asleep in his arms.

“Scarlet?” Derrick’s voice interrupted her flashback.

“Mmm, yeah? Sorry, my head was a million miles away.”

“It’s alright. As I was saying, there is a party tonight that Brandon is throwing for a new investor.” Derrick said, smiling gently.

An involuntary shudder ran through her body as soon as she heard Brandon’s name.

“I know you’re not particularly fond of him, but it’s important for you to be there. And I’m sure your security team will take care of you. It’s a highly secretive party because of the lockdown. The investor came here a few days back before this whole fiasco, and will be leaving tomorrow.”

“Actually, I’d prefer taking just one bodyguard with me. Too many people around me will make me claustrophobic.” Scarlet said, ignoring everything Derrick had said except the part about her security.

“That’s okay. You can go with the one who’s guarding the house. I’ll ask Martin to drive you.” Derrick said, standing up to leave.

He patted Scarlet on the shoulder on his way out, and found Michael standing outside the main door. “Be careful at the party tonight. Scarlet will be everyone’s target.” he warned Michael.

Michael nodded in acknowledgment, his furrowed brows betraying the slightest hint of worry.