Yes, Mistress!

Chapter 7: Patience of an Angel

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When Gabriel walked in her flat, he could hear her incoherently talking to herself under her breath. He has never seen her so infuriated before. Usually, Scarlett had the patience of an angel, was reserved, calm but none of those demeanors showed up right now.

She was sitting on the couch, pressing an ice pack to her foot. His eyes subconsciously travelled the length of her leg and reprimanding himself mentally, he asked, trying to focus, “You okay? What happened? Did you fall down?”

She shook her head, lashing out, exploding in anger, “First she stood me up at a four star restaurant. Then she ignored my mails and today when I headed to Kir tech, she wouldn’t even see me! How can I even work in these conditions?!”

He gazed at her for a minute before he sat by her side, taking the ice pack from her hand. She had dealt with unbearable clients before but it seemed the most eligible bachelorette in the world had taken the term up a notch. He pensively said, pressing the ice pack gently on her foot, “I’m sure there must be a valid reason, Scarlett. She must be overloaded—” 

She ranted, not listening to him, “And the moment I almost got to talk to her, I find myself surrounded by a dozen of hunky bodyguards with guns pointed to my head, snatching me away from her as if I was a vulgar criminal!”

As the information sank in, Gabriel stared at her with wide eyes, “Hold on. Guns?” She pressed the palm of her hand against her temple, feeling the impeding headache, “Yeah and I got hurt in the ordeal.” 

This still didn’t sit well with him, “Tell me you’re joking right now.” When she gazed at him with a murderous gleam, he gulped, going pale. It was clear that she was serious. This job might be more tough than they had thought.

Scarlett seethed, “And the worst thing is, she didn’t even apologize to me. She completely disregarded me and left me there when she knew I was there for her. What am I doing wrong for God’s sake?!”

Gabriel suggested, observing the swollen area, feeling concerned, “Maybe she’s afraid, Scar. How would you feel if you knew your father hired a matchmaker to set you up with potential suitors?”

She glared at him, finding that incredulous, “Oh you haven’t seen her, Gab. Her cold vicious green eyes when she stared down at me. She isn’t scared of anything. She is mocking me.” She recalled how the heiress had held her jaw and studied her, standing tall in front of her, showing her just how powerful she could be. She reddened, burying her face in her hands, wondering how pathetic she must have looked like to her. She wanted to scream.

Gabriel’s voice softened, “Come on.” 

She frowned hard, “No. She’s really different from all others. I have never seen such arrogance before. I need to find something to make her break, something that could get her to come to me.” 

Gabriel sighed heavily, squeezing her arm. He reasoned with her, “I think you should call up our client and refuse the job. This is clearly beyond our scope.” 

“I refuse to back out like a coward! And I already signed a contract. ” 

“You could have gotten more hurt, Scarlett. This is not okay.” 

“It makes me want to put her in her place more. Plus, are you forgetting that it’s Silas Kir we’re dealing with? We could pay off the expansion area of our branch in France without a worry!”

When he sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping in defeat, she reassured him, “I’ve never failed before. I don’t plan on starting now. This is much more important to me than you think. It’s more about my reputation than the money.”

Somehow, she felt slightly guilty for saying that, but it wasn’t as if she was completely lying. She never told Gabriel about the sweet million that Silas was personally offering her if she ever managed to match up the heiress to someone. If she knew just how aggravating the woman was, she would have demanded more.

She coolly said, “Look at it this way! If I can set up the most eligible bachelorette in the world, then nothing can stop me. Just imagine the traffic we’ll bring. The celebrities who would want to work with us! The fame.”

He nodded, laughing at her determination, “Alright, alright, I get it. I know. You’re wonderful. Have I told you that before?” 

She found herself smiling, lifting an eyebrow, “Not that I recall of.” 

“Then now you know.” He cleared his voice, patting her foot. He inevitably applied too much pressure at the gesture and she winced at the pain, immediately drawing her foot away from him. He jerked, apologizing as he took his hand off, “Sorry! My bad! Should I… uh get you dinner or something?” 

“Thanks. That’s sweet but I already ordered sushi.”

He imagined them watching a movie on that couch, sharing the food, sitting close together, “Want me to stay?” She laughed, shaking her head, “I don’t want to hold you up. You’ve got to get back at work.” She nervously averted her eyes, adding, “And I’m sorry for bothering you. I just realized that I wasted your time. I call have just explained on the phone. I guess… I just wanted to let you know about the situation.” 

He smiled warmly, standing up, burying his hands safely in his trousers’ pockets, “I’m glad you called me. And of course, you can’t deal with that all on your own. We’re a unit. Though, I’m… happy you thought of me.” He nodded towards the door, “I’ll head back now. Call me if you need anything and take some good rest.” 

“I will. Thanks, Gab.” She looked at his broad back, where his shirt clung to his muscles. He then paused near the door, looking at her over his shoulder. It felt as if he wanted to say something more.

“We’re still having dinner on Sunday right?” 

She arched an eyebrow, wondering what he was talking about and then rapidly nodded, before he could catch on that she had forgotten about this, “Sure! Absolutely! I am excited.” 

He grinned, “I’ll pick you up.”

She watched him go and she let herself relax on the couch, thinking of nothing but of cruel ways to get back at Cattleya. After what happened today, she felt more eager to find suitors for that woman and she swore she would.

She would ensure she fell in love with the perfect man and when that would happen, she would collect the money from Silas. God knew she needed it. She so desperately wanted to start living for herself. She grabbed her phone, scrolled through her contacts, stopping till it displayed her mother’s. How she ached to call her. 

She hesitated over the call button. Damn it. She shouldn't bother her. She had enough issues like that as it was. She shouldn't add to her worry. She sighed, resting her head back. 

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