Scarlet

Chapter one (The Black Clove) ‘I see it! Do you?’ the woman asked her. Tessa gasped both confused and surprised, the woman’s eyes were purple. They were beautiful and very odd. She wondered who she was and why she was talking to her. Most surprisingly she was dressed oddly, like she was in the medieval era. ‘Mother, I see it' two little boys about seven years old ran towards them. There were dressed the same way, little white man’s shirts with black braces, baggy pants and boots. Where in the world was she and who were these people? Tessa turned to look around, they stood in the woods. ‘The one who finds it gets the biggest present ever' the woman told them. Tessa watched as the boys sped into the woods with abnormal speed. ‘What?... Did you see that?’ Tessa asked the woman, who turned to her with a huge smile. ‘Davion, you are at it again aren’t you?’ She asked. ‘What? Dav… Davion? My name…’ Tessa paused, her voice sounded different. She sounded like a man. She looked down at her palms to find large manly palms. She touched her face in shock to find a hairy face. She suddenly took to her heels with no idea of where she was heading. The woman ran after her calling out the name ‘Davion’. Tessa ran to a stop at a river bank. She knelt down to stare at her reflection. Before her was a blonde man in his early forties, green eyes and a beard. She was a man, she thought. How on earth did she end up a…. "Tessa!" "Tessa!" Gregory Basham yelled at Tessa woke up with a start. She quickly stared down at her palms and touched her face. She was her again, she let out a sigh of relief. "You f*****g fazed out again" Gregory yelled. Tessa found herself at the conference table at the weekly Friday audit. She turned to find the other reporters at the table gaping at her. ‘Guess it was just a dream' she thought to herself. ‘You f*****g fazed out again!’ Greg repeated. Tessa rubbed her temples as Greg kept rambling, she was back here again. With Gregory Basham, who was her boss at the Herald-Times where she worked. She was one of Atlanta's finest reporters and the Herald-Times was one of the most prestigious and leading news firms in Atlanta. Everyone called him Greg, known as the 70-year-old egoistic maniac who refused to retire. He had white hair and a trimmed beard with a sharp mouth always puffing a cigar. "Were you even listening to anything at all?" he yelled. Tessa sighed, apart from being rude, he was the loudest man alive. "You were talking about a headline for the latest murder flare-up?" she uttered in a bored tone. Nothing stressed her out than these meaningless Friday meetings. "Better give me a legendary caption...everyone else seems to be brain dead" he said puffing his cigar furiously. To top it all off, he never ended a sentence without the word ‘legendary’. He was like Barney Benson with white hair and a cigar. The fifteen reporters around the conference table exchanged glances. "Let's call it......" Tessa was intruded on by Ted Benson. ‘The Night Punisher," he said dramatically. Everyone paused waiting for Gregory’s reaction. "That's the lamest thing I've ever heard Ted... we are searching for a great caption, not a title for some stupid comic book" Greg spat. "Sorry boss" Ted mumbled. "We can call it, The Death Spree of Atlanta, who is behind?" Avril Welt, the red-haired reporter proposed. ‘I hate it, sounds like a dumb movie title__ somebody better give me something" Greg looked around the table. Everyone turned quiet with all eyes slowly turning towards Tessa. Who seemed distracted than ever. ‘You know what, meeting adjourned. Get lost before I lose my temper. I don’t even know why I hired you people, I have to do all the work all the time' Greg yelled. He turned to find them with pointed looks that said, ‘all you do is sit around, yelling and puffing your cigar' ‘What are you looking at? Meeting adjourned! And you better get me something legendary next time or else you are all fired' He added. As everyone else exited the room, Greg called Tessa and Lernie Holts to stay behind. ‘Why am I here, Greg?’ Lernie asked giving Tessa a hostile look. Tessa on the other hand ignored her, she had other problems than Lernie Holts. ‘Kid, what is wrong with you?’ Greg asked Tessa in an annoyed tone. ‘Greg… I am sorry I just…’ ‘I don’t need your apologies, kid. You've been off your game for a while now and frankly I hate it' Greg said abruptly. Tessa sat exhausted, all she wanted to do was have a long rest and never wake up. But how could she, when every time she closed her eyes was a nightmare. ‘You were supposed to find me something on the scene last Tuesday. The report was supposed to be on my desk this morning…’ ‘s**t! Greg I am so sorry, I meant to but…’ ‘Forget it, Lernie, you got what I asked for?’ Greg asked. ‘Of course, boss, the report from the crime scene last Tuesday, my source is authentic' She handed Greg a black file while giving Tessa a sly look. Greg schemed the content of the file and rose to his feet. ‘It’s decided then, Lernie you will be handling the reports for the murders and kid… you're fired' Greg said indifferently before heading for the door. ‘What? Wait… Greg, what…’ ‘Thank you, boss, ,I won’t let you down, unlike others' Lernie snickered. ‘What did you do?’ Tessa glared at Lernie. Finally acknowledging her presence. ‘What are you talking about?’ Lernie asked. ‘Oh don't you play dumb with me. You went behind my back to get this case. A case I’ve been working on for two months now' Tessa said furiously. ‘I don’t owe you an explanation, Tess. Besides, you wouldn’t be in this position if you did your job right. Have fun being unemployed' Lernie walked out with a taunting smile. Tessa stormed into Greg's office ready to fight for her job. ‘Stop right there, kid. I’ve gave you chances to redeem yourself but all you’ve done is let me down' Greg said. ‘Greg, please hear me out. I promise you, give me one more chance and I will bring this home. Please' Tessa pleaded. ‘My decision is final, kid, you are fired. There’s no two ways about that' Greg told her. ‘I don’t deserve this, Greg and you know that!’ Tessa yelled. ‘I won’t allow that tone, Theresa. Everyone knows you are the goddamn best in Atlanta, and everyone knows you haven’t been on your game these past few months. You've been sloppy and unpredictable. Not only have you given me so many problems but you’ve also managed to get sued by two separate firms. So don’t you dare talk to me about what you deserve and don’t’ Greg told her furiously. ‘Those claims are bullshit and you know that, Greg. I am good at what I do and I will not allow you or anyone else to take that from me' Tessa shouted. ‘I wish I could give you another chance, but I have to lead by example. I can’t give you more changes even though I know as sure as hell, you are going to let me down again. How does that look to my other employees?’ He asked. ‘But I am your best, Greg, please' Tessa begged. Gregory sighed with frustration, Theresa was indeed the best at what she did but she was troublesome and stubborn. She was also persistent when she wanted to be but for the past few months things had changed. This wasn’t the bright writer he employed five years ago. ‘Fine, you can look at it this way, Take six months off to get your head straight' Greg told her. ‘Bullshit Greg, we both know six months leave is worse….’ ‘I have nothing else to offer you, kid. Take it and come back after six months or don’t come back at all. Get out' Greg yelled. ‘Fine, I hated this place anyway' Tessa yelled as she stormed out of the office. ‘What? Fired?’ Charlie and Freya stood glancing at Tessa, who sat sulking over the fact that she was fired three hours ago. ‘What is wrong with that stupid ass motherfucker?’ Freya asked confused. ‘What did you do, Tessa? I mean you are the best writer in Atlanta how…’ ‘He said I’ve been sloppy, troublesome and off my game. He’s not wrong you know?’ Tessa said in realization. She realized she hadn’t been herself these past few months. Now her life was falling apart, she knew without a doubt, there was something wrong with her. But what it was, she didn’t know? ‘I am so sorry, honey' Freya pulled her into a hug. ‘It’s fine, guys. I'm fine or at least I will be' Tessa mumbled not so sure of herself. ‘What do you say we drink this off besides, tomorrow is a weekend and you are fired so you don’t have to worry about a jet lag' Charlie said. Freya gave Charlie a glare. ‘What the hell is wrong with you? Did you have to rub it in her face?’ Freya asked. ‘I didn’t mean to…’ ‘You didn’t mean to what? You clueless…’ That was Tessa's cue, she grabbed her bag and phone heading out of the kitchen. Once Charlie and Freya were at it there was nothing could stop them. She slowly headed up the stairs to her room where Freya and Charlie’s voices couldn’t be heard. Tessa stepped in her closing the door behind her. She stood at the door staring at the organized room. Her bed was well laid with white sheets, with four pillows next to it was a bedside table with the lampstand. A bookshelf with the best collection of Shakespeare and Dickens she'd collected over the years. Next to it was her desk, with her computer and a pile of unfinished works. Neat and organized, she thought. Wasn’t this how her life was supposed to be? Just last year, she was awarded best writer of the year. Several writing firms came to her with offers she ignored , because she was good with where she was. Theresa Vivian Scarlet, last was a notable name bit how did she end up here? She used to be hardworking and perfect at everything but now she was nothing. Now she had no job, no career and her life was falling apart. On top of that, she couldn’t sleep at night. Not from all the nightmares and ending whispers. Tessa slowly sat on the ground, suddenly bursting into tears. Why was this happening to her? All she wanted was become someone, like her mother and sister. Someone that would be proud of. She didn’t know how long she sat weeping until she heard a knock on the door. ‘Hey Tessa, sweetheart are you okay? Err… stupid question, Sweetheart you want some company?’ Charlie asked. ‘We could cry together and say bad things about Greg' Freya suggested. Tessa chuckled as she stood up to her feet. ‘Promise you will leave the squabble outside?’ Tessa asked with a smile, her golden eyes glistening with tears ready to fall. ‘I swear' Freya raised her hand. ‘I promise on my little lily' Charlie said. Tessa suddenly burst into tears again. Both Freya and Charlie embarrassed her. The three slowly sat on the ground in the door way. ‘How did I get to this?’ Tessa asked. ‘Its okay, V. Everything is going to be alright' Charlie cooed her. ‘Besides, you are still the best, it’s Greg's loss' Freya said. ‘Never liked that man, he is so loud and smells like cigar all the time' Charlie said. ‘Right, he's probably going to die yelling his favorite word…’ ‘LEGENDARY!’ the three burst out saying. ‘Oh look at you, that’s the look I want to see' Charlie said wiping Tessa's tears. ‘You know, f**k Greg, f**k everyone at the Herald. What do you say we forget about everything else and party tonight?’ Freya asked her. Tessa bit her lower lips, something she did when she was hesitant about something or lying. ‘I don’t know… I think I will just…’ ‘There’s a club opening downtown tonight. It’s called the Black Clove, we should go. Come on, V' Charlie insisted. ‘Guys I don’t…’ ‘Nothing is stopping you now, V. There is no plausible excuse you can give now' Freya said. ‘Besides, you can dance, drink and forget your problems…even if it’s just for tonight. You can meet cute guys, oh it’s going to be fun’ Charlie said excitedly. ‘Fine but I…’ ‘Yes, I’ll go get our dresses' Charlie stood to her feet. ‘And I will get the tickets' Freya said. ‘Wait, you planned this already didn’t you?’ Tessa asked. Both Freya and Charlie exchanged knowing looks. ‘Well, I was promoted as senior associate today at my firm. Donna gave me these tickets to celebrate' Freya said. ‘Oh my God, Freya, that is amazing. I am so happy for you' Tessa pulled her into a hug. ‘And you didn’t tell me because I was fired?’ She asked. ‘Well…’ ‘Come on Freya, you made senior partner. As long as I remember you’ve been working your ass off for this position, you deserve this' Tessa told her with a smile. ‘Thanks, V' Freya mumbled. ‘Okay, let’s get ready then' Charlie clapped excitedly. ‘One more thing guys…’ Both Charlie and Freya turned towards her. ‘I don’t have a dress' Tessa mumbled. Three hours later… Black Clove. ‘Ready?’ Freya asked Tessa who gaped at the building before them. ‘This is not a final exams, Freya. I will be fine' Tessa said with a chuckle biting her lower lip. ‘You know we could always turn back if…’ ‘Are you kidding, not a chance let’s do this' Tessa said excitedly. She prayed her friends wouldn’t see through this farce, especially Freya. Standing in the most uncomfortable high heels with a short black dress, that made her feel like a hooker, all she wanted to do was pick the closest cab and get back to her bed. But tonight was a big one for Freya and she wasn’t going to ruin it, no matter how messed up her life was. ‘Thank goodness, I for one wouldn’t want you to leave because you look hot, girl' Charlie told her. ‘Stop it, Charlie' Tessa rolling her eyes. ‘She's not wrong, I could eat you right here, mmm… yummy' Freya said seductively licking her lips. ‘Oh my god, you two are ridiculous. Let’s just go before I change my mind' Tessa said. Both Charlie and Freya burst into laughter. The three held hands as they headed into the club. The loud music booming from within made Tessa a little uneasy. She was never the outgoing type. She always kept to herself and hated to be the centre of attention. This was her first in a club, she'd never been anywhere like this before. As if she wasn’t uncomfortable enough, all eyes turned towards her as the walked through the crowd. ‘Whoa, is it just me or everyone is looking' Charlie mumbled. Freya turned to Tessa who was squirming next to her. She didn’t want to be here, she thought but the fact that she was meant a lot to her. And all the looks they were getting was thanks to her. Freya and Charlie were beautiful and drew attention where ever they went but Tessa lit the room up and stole every single eye wherever she went. But she hated it, she was never one to draw attention tool herself, so she made sure to be unattractive as possible. She wore nothing but lose pants and sweaters, applied no makeup and trimmed her dark blonde hair short just like a boy. But tonight, she was out of her shell, in a tight black dress that hugged her curves displaying her up turned, wide and curvy apple shaped buttocks. As round as a blimp and just as big enough to cause heads to turn. She had her face lightly touched with her golden eyes glimmering, in all she was a sight for sore eyes. Freya slowly wrapped her left arm around her waist. Tessa turned her a look that said, ‘ what are you doing?’ ‘Just so they can get the message' Freya whispered to her. Tessa nodded noticing a few heads turning away but others still ogling. ‘Look who we have here' a tall brown haired man approached them. ‘Nate’ Charlie said with a smile placing a light kiss on his cheek. ‘You look beautiful, Charlie' He whispered to her. ‘Oh, Nate, you are such a flatter' Charlie said with a chuckle. ‘Oh so that’s the good for nothing she's been running around with' Freya whispered to Tessa who elbowed her playfully. ‘And you must be…’ ‘Yes, these are my best friends, Freya and Tessa' Charlie introduced. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, ladies' Nate said kissed Freya's knuckles then Tessa's. His lips lingered on her hand and she pulled back quickly. He looked at her with a sly smile playing on his lips. ‘Look away, Natty boy, she’s ain’t yours for the looking' Freya said in a curt tone. Nate smiled sheepishly quickly looking away to prevent further embarrassment. ‘You should've told me you were coming, I would've gotten you girls some VIP tickets' Nate said quickly. ‘Really, oh its not too late now, it is? I mean…’ ‘It's fine, we are good' Freya snapped giving Charlie a look. ‘Really, I can still get you in if…’ ‘Oh we would love that' Charlie interrupted him. Freya grabbed Charlie’s arm hinting her disagreement. ‘Alright, you want to come along to grab some drinks for your friends before we head up?’ He asked Charlie. ‘Of course, you girls grab a seat. I won’t be long' Charlie told the two as she left with Nate. ‘She just ditched us, didn’t she?’ Tessa asked Freya as they sat in an empty booth. ‘You speak as if you don’t know, Charlie. When it comes to getting it between her legs, she could ran us over for all she cares' Freya said with a chuckle. Tessa chuckled, for as long as she'd known Charlie, she was never one to go through the day without having s*x. She was addicted to it and it didn’t matter whom or where she did it, all she wanted was to get satisfied. ‘Alright, I'm getting us some drinks. What are you drinking?’ Freya asked as she stood to her feet. ‘Err… anything without alcohol?’ Tessa said. ‘Goodness, girl, you have to loosen up, this is a club not a tea party. I'm getting us a couple of shots and some beers. The goal is to celebrate remember?’ Freya turned away to leave. Tessa watched as Freya pushed through the dancing crowd. She sat by herself at the booth ignoring the glancing from three men two booths from her. Her phone beeped drawing her attention. She stared down at her screen only to groan in frustration. It was a text from her lawyer, telling her she'd been subpoenaed to appear in court on Tuesday following her recent issue with Drexler and Sons. One of the reasons why Greg fired her. For getting mixed up with the corrupt Alan Drexler after her attempt to expose him to the public failed. She switched up her phone and shoved it deep in her purse. She took in a deep breath and exhaled, remembering why she was her. To forget her problems and also celebrate with her best friend, who seemed to be taking forever getting those drinks. ‘Hey there beautiful' Tessa turned to find three men holding beers at her booth. She recognized one of them, Jason Fortson who was the VP at her former firm. He was Greg's right hand whom everyone disliked and regarded as a pompous ass. He was handsome and rich but didn’t know how to treat a woman right. Jason sat in next to her with her friends occupy the opposite side of the booth. Tessa shifted away from him staring in the direction Freya left. ‘Wow, for a second I didn’t recognize you but those golden eyes, damn I could recognize them anywhere' Jason said pulling closer to her, with his drank stench fanning her senses. ‘What do you want, Jason?’ Tessa snapped. ‘Wow, Tessa you are very beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this. Have you been hiding all this from me?’ Jason asked. Tessa rolled her eyes, he was so full of himself wasn’t he? ‘Why on earth will I hide from you, Jason?’ She asked in an irritated tone. Jason shrugged sipping his beer and turning to his friends. ‘Stan, Thomas, meet Tessa, the best writer in Atlanta or at least she used to be, until she was fired today' Jason burst out laughing. Tessa clenched her fists in anger. She had to leave to find another booth or find Freya. Anything at all to get her away from this drunk fool, she thought. ‘I don’t have time for this' Tessa stood up to leave. Jason suddenly grabbed her butt cheek. Tessa instantly turned around and slapped him across the cheek. ‘Don’t you ever lay your filthy hands on me, you bloody piece of s**t' Tessa yelled at him really annoyed now. Jason burst into laughter along with his friends. ‘No wonder, Greg was so miserable after he fired you. No more of that soft ass on him now I'm guessing' He said. Tessa ignored him as she walked away. Jason followed after her and grabbed her arm. ‘Let go of me' Tessa pushed him of with all her might bumping into someone in the process. ‘Bloody f**k' a voice yelled. The loud music stopped and all eyes turned to Tessa. She turned to find a beautiful red haired woman with wine spilled all over her blue dress, which looked very expensive. ‘I am so sorry, I didn’t…’ ‘Do you have any idea, how much this dress costs, you bloody i***t' she said her perfect British accent. ‘I said am sorry, it was an accident' Tessa said with a frown. The two stood in a circle with all eyes on them now. ‘An accident? This…’ ‘Evie, its fine, let’s no create a scene' A red haired woman next to her tugged at her arm. ‘This dress costs more than you, you bloody…’ ‘Excuse me Lady, its just a dress and I have apologized. You don’t have to overreact' Tessa said. ‘Evie? What is going on here?’ a black haired woman walked into their mist. ‘Sutton, why on earth do you let bloody low life in here. This girl spilt wine on me and now she’s telling me, I overreacting' The woman told her friend, who turned out to be the manager. ‘I'm sorry, Miss but you have to leave' The manager told her. ‘Seriously' Tessa said in disbelieve. ‘Miss…’ ‘Is this how you treat your customers' Tessa said. ‘Guards' The manager called out. Two giant men in black suits strode in. ‘Miss' One held Tessa's arm. ‘Don’t touch me, I can show myself out' She glared at the red haired woman, who had a smug look on her face. ‘Come to think of it, I take back my apology. You don’t deserve it because you are trash, just like your attitude' Tessa turned away to leave with this. Evangeline Valerian watched as the blonde haired woman walked away from her. How dare she call her trash? Did she have any idea who she was? No one, had the guts to talk back at her and she did it in a heartbeat. Oh, she was going to make that bloody human pay, she thought. ‘Who the hell is that?’ Evangeline asked her friend, Sutton. ‘That is Theresa Scarlet, one of Atlanta's finest writers' Sutton told her. ‘A writer? Hmm, nice, let’s what she’s going to write with after I'm done with her' Evangeline said with a wicked smile.