I Demand More Than She Can Give

Scarlet’s eyes widen as she reads the paper, and then they scrunch together.

“I can do the first two things,” she says, “but I can’t get you the third.”

I let out a small sigh of relief, and nod gratefully. I’d been expecting as much.

“It’s still Mr. Samuel?” I ask. Her eyes flick to the top of the paper I gave her.

“Once you’ve found an Outside Man, you stick with him until he gets himself killed. That, or you kill him yourself,” Scarlet says with a casual nonchalantness that would freak most people out. I knew all of this already, though.

“So he still lives,” I say, and she nods. Good. I’d checked the Affection Multiplier app for his score, and desperately wanted to believe that the 10 points I had with him actually meant something.

“About the second thing, I’ll be heading to the Manhattan Appellate court later this week to take care of some business.” You see Scarlet make a note of something on her phone.

“That works for me,” I say. “It shouldn’t be necessary, but…”

“You said you weren’t here because of that,” she says. Her eyes look up from her phone, bordering on accusatory. “And yet, you want me to do this.”

“I do,” I say, perhaps more firmly than I should have.

Scarlet bites her lip, pondering what she should do. God, she looks sexy when she does that.

“I’ll drop it off when I stop by court,” she eventually says.

“Thank you,” I breathe, and I want to reach out and hug her, kiss her, really thank her, but as I try to reach out, my right arm hits the desk between us, and I wince in pain. I bite back a groan.

“I can’t help you with the third item,” Scarlet says, ignoring my strange behavior. “It was always Hyerim’s thing, and I never got involved with that. I think her kids would know better—Claire, Erin, or Holly—but I don’t think they’d take kindly to your presence.”

“You think Erin would know something about it?” I ask. Of Hyerim’s daughters, I think Erin might be the only one with whom I had anything remotely close to a positive score, but I’m not sure. It seems a little hazy.

“Erin wants to know everything. I bet you she even—good Lord, why am I even helping you with this?” Scarlet picks up the fountainhead pen on her desk and starts to fiddle with it. “I don’t even know what you’re trying to do.”

“I’m just doing the same thing you are,” I say. “Fighting for something I believe in.”

“If only I knew what that was, Markus,” she sighs. “Are you going to tell me?”

“I should get going,” I say, reaching for my mask. She’s given me everything I wanted. “Thanks for the help, I can’t tell you how much I appre—”

“You’re still in my office, you still play by my rules,” Scarlet says, her voice cold. “Sit back down. I’ll let you go soon, but you’re going to answer these questions for me first. Where are we right now?”

“In your office?” I hesitate before replying. I don’t understand the point of this question.

“What street, what’s the address?”

“It’s… 15… I don’t really remember.” I frown. I’d just looked this up on my phone an hour ago. It’s how I’m here now.

“So says the kid who wrote a perfect SAT,” Scarlet mutters. “What were you doing at this time last week?”

“At home, I guess.”

“You are employed, yes?”

“I was then,” I say, and her face falls into a flat line.

She picks up her phone, and taps it once. I hear the Whoosh of a text being sent. Paranoia grips me. Am I being outed? If I’m being outed, I’m fucked. Oh God, coming here was a mistake, coming here was—

“I just sent Jessica a message. She thinks I’m sending a client over for her attention ASAP. I couldn’t say who, because Father would see the messages, but I’m going to get you on a helicopter and fly you… no, can’t have that documentation, and it’d draw too much attention, I’ll call the driver and get you over to her practice…”

“Hang on, hang on, you’re talking about Jessica, my sister?” What was Scarlet going on about now?

“Yes, your sister, the doctor,” Scarlet says, exasperated. “Listen, you’re going to put on that mask, you’re going to walk out that door, you are going to step into the car, and you are not going to say a word or anything until step into that private practice. Understand?”

“No, why the fuck am I going to my sister’s practice? I have things to do, places to be!”

“You lied to me earlier. You clearly need medical attention, Markus, and I am making sure that you get it. If you don’t do as I say now, I am going to tell Father you were here today. Not even Jessica will be able to save you then.”

I look into Scarlet’s deep caramel eyes, the ones that have been scrutinising me ever since I stepped into this room, and I realise that I feel a little scared of her. Who is this person that my sister’s become? Just then, she puts her hands on the desk and leans forwards. Her dress shifts with her, revealing a plunging line of cleavage that my eyes instinctively flick to, and then she plants a soft kiss between my brows.

“Stay safe,” she mutters, sitting back into her chair. From her stern posture to her perfectly crafted desk, the image Scarlet presents is pure authority. It is a guise carved out of necessity and ambition. But now, just now, I see a flicker of something cross her hard expression, that touch of innocence and care that I used to know her for.

“You do that too,” I say, flashing her a smile. It’s a genuine one, this time, no matter the fact that I’m feeling a little mixed up inside.

I pick up the mask with my good arm, and affix it to my face, wincing as it comes into contact with my cheek.