Still Hooked on You

Chapter 4 - Surprise Gifts

Her heart was thumping loudly with excitement as she opened the door to her Penthouse Suite, expecting to see the man of her dreams standing there waiting for her…

But she was surprised when instead a familiar face stood waiting for her with a smile.

“Er… Charles, wasn’t it?” she felt embarrassed for even having to ask.

He smiled, nodding his head as he replied.

“Yes maam. Charles Xanderbelt, at your service.”

Scarlett giggled.

“Where’s Adam?” she asked, concern beginning to build now.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, no. Not at all. Mr. Cunningham sends his apologies for not being here in person to collect you from the suite, but it appears that something’s come up last minute. He’s dealing with it now.”

Her face fell with obvious disappointment.

“Oh… I see.”

Scarlet’s pout was obvious now as her eyes lowered to the ground.

Was he cancelling their date?

Their first official date?

Noticing her expression, Charles quickly spoke up, feeling the need to explain and put her mind at ease.

“But he will meet you at the restaurant, Miss…”

Scarlett’s hazel eyes darted upward with great interest now as new hope surfaced. She couldn’t help but smile in delight at this news.

“He will?”

“Oh, yes of course… I am sorry, I probably should have led with that first.” Charles chuckled to himself before continuing.

“I’ve been instructed by Mr. Cunningham to escort you downstairs to the car and then to drive you to the restaurant for your eight o’clock reservation.”

She let out a sigh of relief, smiling with delight as she nodded her head.

“That sounds lovely, Charles. I’ll go get my things.”

-

After collecting her purse and following the older gentleman down to the lobby of the hotel, Scarlett was escorted towards the curb where a sleek black limousine sat waiting for her.

As soon as she caught sight of it her hazel eyes widened with excitement and her smile grew to become massive.

She couldn’t believe what was happening!

She looked to Charles as he opened the car door for her and stood off to the side, waiting patiently for her with a warm smile.

“Is this… for me?” she enquired, seeming uncertain that it would be.

“Of course.” Charles replied. “Mr. Cunningham was very specific with his requests.”

Scarlett frowned suspiciously.

“And what requests would those be?”

“That tonight, you were to be treated like a Princess.”

Her eyes dazzled with happiness as she smiled and bent down to climb into the waiting limo.

This was incredible; like something out of her wildest dreams. Only this was real and happening to her right now.

She couldn’t remember being as excited as she was right now.

Adam sure was going all out to impress her, that was for sure!

Not that she needed such extravagant things to be impressed. Scarlett had always been a simple soul, happy with the smaller things in life.

Climbing inside, Scarlett glanced across the length of the interior and froze, a tiny gasp escaping her lips as she caught sight of the three out of place objects sitting on the plush leather seat before her.

There was a singular long-stemmed red rose, a small note and what looked like a small-sized black velvet jewellery box.

She frowned, apparently uncertain of why they were in the car with her.

Did someone leave these in here by accident?

Luckily for her the divider window between the back of the limo and the driver’s seat was open and as soon as Charles climbed into the driver’s seat and buckled himself in, Scarlett decided to ask.

“Um, excuse me Charles. I think that someone might have accidently left some things back here on the seat…” she began to explain. 

“Do you happen to remember who your last passenger was?”

Charles had a soft, kind tone to his voice as he gave a short chuckle and turned his head around to meet her, face to face. The corners of his eyes were crinkled with happiness.

“I believe they are for you, Miss.” he announced, causing her to frown with confusion.

“F... for me?”

She glanced back down at them as he continued to explain what little information he knew.

“Yes Miss. Just a few small gifts from Mr. Cunningham, to get the evening started...” Charles explained vaguely. 

“He hopes you like them.”

With that he turned back around and started the limousine, causing the silent engine to come to life and the car to vibrate softly.

As he focused on the road Scarlett focused on the three objects sitting before her. She wasn’t used to receiving gifts of any sort from anyone.

Not since… Not since Dimitri.

But she wasn’t going to allow such dreaded memories resurface, not on a night like this.

Reaching out she grasped the stem of the rose and lifted it up toward her nose. She took a deep breath in of the fragrant scent, closing her eyes for a moment to fully enjoy the sensations now surrounding her.

It smelt incredible and the flower’s petals were soft and fresh as they brushed gently against her nose.

Something so simple and yet it had stolen her heart. 

Adam was indeed a genius when it came to romance.

Scarlett couldn’t help but let out a soft moan as she smiled with delight.

Next, she took the tiny note between her delicate fingers and carefully removed it from the matching white envelope.

Unfolding the small piece of paper inside Scarlett began to read the brief note. The familiar handwriting appeared handwritten in black ink.

-

Scarlett,

These gifts reminded me of you… Stunning, delicate and utterly intoxicating.

I love you and I can’t wait to see you.

You’d better be ready for a night you’ll never forget!

Yours always,

Adam x x x

-

Her smile brightened as she blushed and lowered the note down to rest on her lap.

She could feel the car taking off now and her eyes lowered to the last item, the jewellery box.

Biting her lip nervously, Scarlett reached out one final time and grasped the box, lifting it up and then slowly opening it to see...

“Oh my god!”

Those three words were all she could mutter softly to herself as her hazel eyes stared down at the glistening pair of diamond earrings contained within the box. She was stunned by such an extravagant gift.

They were beyond exquisite!

The earrings, which she guessed must have cost a small fortune, appeared to be at least 20 carats each, with a pear-shaped drop-diamond style. They sparkled brilliantly in the dim lighting surrounding her as she remained frozen in a mixture of both admiration and shock.

Excitement coursed throughout her veins at the thought of being able to wear something so stunning. Never in her entire life did she think she would wear anything like this.

But a part of her felt that this gift was too much, that she was perhaps unworthy of such expensive things. They had to be worth more than a new car!

How could she wear them and feel worthy of doing so?

“Well, what do you think?” Charles’ voice called out from the front of the car as he kept his eyes focused on the busy evening road. 

“Do you like them? Mr. Cunningham wasn't sure if there was a particular type of gemstone you'd prefer. It took the poor man bloody hours in the jewellery store, but he eventually settled on diamonds. You know what they say... diamonds are a girl's best friend and all...”

He appeared to be making small talk with her. Perhaps trying to ease the tension he could clearly sense coming from her after receiving such an expensive gift.

But poor Scarlett couldn’t form a single word; it was as if her lips were paralysed.

“Miss Workman?” he asked, his eyes glancing in the rear-view mirror to see if she was alright. “Are you alright?”

Snapping out of her daze-like state, Scarlett turned to face him now as she replied.

“Oh, er… yes! They’re…” she paused for a moment, shaking her head with a smile, “…stunning.”

“I’m very glad to hear that, Miss. And I’m certain that Mr. Cunningham will be also.” he assured.

“As a matter of fact, he asked if you might wear them tonight, to dinner.”

Scarlett's tongue darted out to moisten her nervously dry lips as she contemplated wearing them as Adam had apparently asked her to. This was a one-in-a-million opportunity and she quickly decided that she was not going to miss out on it.

Taking every precaution to be extremely careful, she took each earring out, one at a time and put them on.

They felt heavier than she had imagined, not that it was a problem.

Once they were on, she placed the box back down on the seat and tucked the note into her bra.

Turning to glance at the rose, Scarlett picked it up and took another deep inhale of its alluring scent as she leaned back against the cool leather seat.

Their date hadn’t even started and already she was having one hell of a time.

-

Dimitri sat in his office, located in one of his hidden beach houses spread throughout the massive countryside. In truth he owned a total of over twelve different houses, including various mansions, apartments and condos.

After the fateful night of his near-death escape, the Police had raided Dimitri's mansion and confiscated everything contraband that they found. This included guns, drugs, weapons and over one million dollars in cash.

Yes, it was a loss.

Not only to him personally, but also to his family and their legacy.

He had been dealt a brutal blow that night, one that many others would not have been able to promptly rise from.

But luckily for him, Dimitri was a very smart man and all he needed was a little time to get back up onto his own two feet.

His connections remained, as did other large stashes of confiscated weapons, money and drugs hidden in several other different locations throughout the country. All he needed was time to put his plan into action.

To get his revenge.

‘Knock, knock, knock…’

The sound of someone knocking on his office door pulled Dimitri from his thoughts as he pushed the papers to the side and called out.

“Yeah? What?”

“Boss, it’s us. Gabrielle and Diego.” Gabrielle announced, his voice only slightly muffled by the large oak door separating them.

“Come in.” Dimitri called out as he leaned back into his rotating leather chair.

The door opened inwards and both men marched in, quickly closing it behind them.

Dimitri picked up the packet of cigarettes sitting on his desk and proceeded to light one up as his henchmen came over and sat down on the seats in front of him.

“What have you got?” Dimitri demanded before taking a long smooth drag of smoke into his lungs.

Gabrielle lifted a small manilla folder and opened it, flicking through several papers and photos as he began his report.

“From what we can gather it appears that Scarlett’s staying in some swanky hotel called the Waldorf Astoria. She’s in the Penthouse Suite on the top floor.”

“Is he living there with her?” Dimitri’s tone showed dry bitterness.

This time Diego answered.

“Not from what we understand. I mean, he comes and visits every now and then but it appears she’s the only one actually living there... for the time being.”

“It seems that Mr. moneybags is currently paying for all her accommodation.” Gabrielle added, leaning forward.

“There’s not been one hit made on any one of Scarlett’s five credit cards since... well, since that night, boss.”

Dimitri’s eyes narrowed as he spoke his thoughts aloud.

“That smart little fucker… he’s covering up her financial trail to protect her. Using his own money to prevent anyone tracing her whereabouts.” Dimitri explained, sitting up and putting out the remainder of his lit cigarette in the black marble ashtray sitting on his desk.

“And her schedule?”

Both Diego and Gabrielle nodded their heads as Gabrielle replied.

“Yeah boss…” he flipped through a couple of pages and then continued on with the report.

-

An hour later Dimitri and his men had their plan of attack prepared.

Diego left the office to go and have some lunch leaving both Dimitri and his second-in-command alone to have a quick little chat before they put their plan into action.

Ever since that night Gabrielle noticed that something had changed in his boss and he was beginning to feel concerned for him.

“Boss, I’ve been meaning to ask you about Scarlett.” Gabrielle started to probe.

He noticed as Dimitri's entire demeanour instantly tensed up at the mere mention of her name.

“What about her?” Dimitri asked, his left brow rising with curiosity.

“Well, assuming we do get her back alive and well as planned, what’s to stop her from running again? All I'm saying is... are you sure this is what you really want?”

Gabrielle watched as his boss suddenly stood from his chair and walked around his desk, stopping right in front of the large, arched glass window beside the desk. Dimitri was facing the window as he spoke.

“Every single time I see these bullet wounds in my chest I am reminded of her betrayal. That she would choose someone like him...” he paused, sneering before continuing, “Over someone like me… But the truth is, she never had a choice in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” Gabrielle asked, his brows furrowed together in confusion.

Dimitri turned around to face Gabrielle now, the Mafia Boss’ expression like cold-hard steel as his almost black eyes bored into those of his second-in-command.

He looked completely possessed.

“She’s mine, Gabrielle… Scarlett belongs to me.”

His tone showed no sign of emotion, no room for deliberation.

Nothing.

And Gabrielle still had no new clue as to what his boss had planned for Scarlett. Dimitri was purposely being vague with the information he was sharing, even with someone he trusted.

Whatever it was that Dimitri had planned for the beautiful Scarlett and her rich lover Gabrielle knew that, without a doubt, it wouldn’t be pleasant.

And sure, Dimitri was playing it cool for now.

Keeping his anger and rage at bay, buried somewhere deep within himself as everything slowly fell into place around them.

He also looked healthier and more determined now than he had been in weeks.

But Gabrielle knew his boss better than anyone else.

He knew that it was all a façade and that sooner or later, the monster would re-emerge hunting for fresh blood as it always did. And it was obvious that poor Scarlett would bear the brunt of his boiling rage for her unfortunate betrayal.