Chapter 10: Enter Scarlet

The light in Ethan Blackwood's office was always cool and clinical, but today it felt sharper. Lexi stood near the edge of his desk, folder in hand, carefully keeping her posture straight. She was giving a quick update, or at least trying to.

Ethan's gaze was fixed on the mock-ups she'd handed him—no expression, just sharp concentration. He wasn't the kind of man who interrupted. He let silence do the heavy lifting.

"I adjusted the lighting section. You mentioned something about clean minimalism—less gold, more glass," she said.

He flipped through the pages slowly. "You reworked the layout entirely."

Lexi nodded. "I felt it needed to breathe. You don't want the Blackwood Gala to feel like a costume ball."

A beat.

Then: "Good instinct."

Just like that. A rare, clean acknowledgment. Not a compliment. But it settled under her skin like heat.

She tried not to smile. "Thank you. I'll prepare a revised board for the vendor meeting."

Before he could respond—

Click. Click. Click.

The sharp rhythm of designer heels against polished floors echoed in the corridor, getting closer.

Lexi stiffened, instinctively glancing toward the slightly open door.

The outer office hushed. Subtle enough that someone less observant might miss it. But Lexi felt it. The rhythm of conversation broke. Fingers paused mid-typing. Even Camille stopped scrolling on her phone.

Then came a voice—low, silky, and calculated.

"Darling. I hope I'm not interrupting."

Ethan's gaze didn't lift immediately, but his jaw tightened.

Lexi turned just as the woman stepped inside without so much as a knock.

She was breathtaking in a way that felt designed. Intentional. Every inch of her screamed power and polish—her crimson dress sculpted like a second skin, hair in glossy waves that fell over her shoulder like liquid gold.

Lexi didn't need to ask who she was.

This was Scarlet Vale.

The name that had hovered around the edges of whispers. The socialite. The favorite of Ethan's cold, elite family. The one everyone assumed he'd marry—until he didn't.

But right now, Scarlet's blue-gray eyes were fixed on Lexi like she was a misplaced chair in an otherwise perfect room.

"Oh," she said with false sweetness, her gaze dragging from Lexi's shoes to her blouse. "I didn't realize you had company."

Lexi squared her shoulders. "I was just leaving."

Scarlet smiled—too wide. "Intern? Assistant? Or one of those new PR girls?"

Before Lexi could reply, Ethan spoke, calm but clipped.

"She's neither."

Scarlet's lashes fluttered. "Ah."

She sauntered farther in, ignoring the awkwardness in the room. "Lovely office. Still cold as ever." Her gaze flicked back to Lexi. "Then again, maybe warmth isn't the goal here."

Lexi's fingers curled slightly at her side, but she didn't bite. She wasn't going to snap at a guest in front of her boss, no matter how deeply Scarlet's words cut.

"She's here for work," Ethan said. His voice hadn't changed, but the undercurrent had. Cold. Protective.

Scarlet ignored him. "Don't mind me," she said to Lexi. "I just dropped by to say hello. I was nearby for brunch at the Carlisle with your mother, Ethan. She's doing well. Still hoping for the best, of course."

Lexi's breath caught.

There it was. The real strike.

Ethan's mother. The silent, powerful matriarch Lexi had never met—but somehow felt.

Scarlet turned her attention back to Ethan like Lexi had vanished from the room. "She mentioned how thrilled she'd be to finally see us together again. I told her some things are worth waiting for."

Lexi swallowed hard, the weight of the moment settling on her chest. She wasn't naïve. She knew the look Scarlet had just given her. Dismissive. Possessive. Threatening.

"I'll email the final revisions by noon," Lexi said, her voice steady, refusing to show what she felt. She looked at Ethan, not Scarlet. "If there's anything else—?"

His eyes flicked to her. "That's all."

She turned toward the door, ignoring the chill in the air that Scarlet had left behind.

But then—

"I love that skirt, by the way," Scarlet called out, voice syrupy. "It's so… brave."

Lexi paused. The room felt smaller. Her pulse pounded, but her pride held.

She turned slightly, just enough to glance at Scarlet. "And I admire your confidence. Walking into someone's office without knocking takes real nerve."

Scarlet's smile faltered.

Lexi's eyes met Ethan's briefly. His were unreadable—but something flickered beneath.

She gave a small nod and stepped out, closing the door softly behind her.

The office was no longer quiet.

The tension had shifted, and now it buzzed. Heads turned. Fingers stopped moving again—this time, not out of surprise, but curiosity.

Lexi could feel eyes on her.

Camille, perched at the edge of her desk, smirked. "Well, that was something."

Maya stood nearby, wide-eyed. "Are you okay?" she whispered. "I mean… that was her, right?"

Lexi nodded but didn't trust herself to speak. Her skin felt tight. Like every word Scarlet had said had scratched at something buried deep.

She walked past the glass meeting room, through the hall, and ducked into the ladies' bathroom.

Locked in the last stall, she leaned her head against the cool wall. Just for a moment.

Her heart still thudded like it hadn't caught up with her body.

"Pull it together," she whispered.

Not because she was weak. But because she refused to let anyone—especially someone like Scarlet—see her stumble.

By the time she returned to her desk, her face was calm again. But her hands trembled just enough to feel it in her fingertips. She didn't look around.

She opened her project binder and turned to the next checklist. The vendor meeting was in two days. Lighting schematics, floral palettes, seating charts—real things. Tangible things.

Scarlet could have her brunches and bloodline.

Lexi had a deadline.

Inside the closed office, silence stretched between Ethan and Scarlet.

He didn't offer her a seat.

She leaned against the edge of his desk anyway, crossing one leg over the other. "She's… cute. A little rough, but I can see the appeal."

Ethan didn't reply.

"I wasn't expecting her to be so… spirited," Scarlet continued. "Does she speak for all your interns or just the special ones?"

His voice came low. Controlled.

"Don't do that, Scarlet."

She tilted her head. "Do what?"

"You walked in uninvited. You insulted someone on my team. And you're using my mother's name to start a conversation I've already ended."

Scarlet's smile slipped.

Ethan stood slowly, straightening his sleeves with deliberate calm.

He watched the door Lexi had exited through moments ago.

She'd walked in with fire—and stayed standing.

"If you're here to make a scene, don't. It won't end the way you want it to."

Scarlet's chin lifted. "You used to be more fun."

"You used to be relevant."

The silence was loud.

Ethan's gaze never wavered. "Next time you want to say hello, call reception."

Scarlet stood, smoothing her dress. "You've changed."

"No," Ethan said. "I've just stopped pretending."

She left without another word.

That night, Lexi sat by the window of her tiny apartment, her laptop open but untouched.

The skyline blinked outside. Her planner sat on the table beside a half-empty mug.

She reread the note she had scrawled earlier:

> Don't shrink. Don't run. Just keep building.

Her fingers hovered above the keyboard, but the words wouldn't come.

Scarlet had walked into that room like she owned it. Like Lexi was just passing through.

And maybe she was.

But tomorrow, she'd show up anyway.

Not to prove anything.

Just to become something.

She closed the planner, leaned back in her chair, and whispered to herself—barely audible:

 "I won't disappear."