The Billionaire's Seductress ✔

31. My Lucky Red Dress

Looking into his eyes, Scarlett leaned forward and pressed a whisper of a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you," she said, in the softest voice that Ace had ever heard her use.

She stepped back and cleared her throat, putting that bright smile of her back on to her face. "Shall we to breakfast, sir?" she asked, in a mock-posh tone.

Ace wanted to catch her hand and tell her that he could finally see behind that excellently done false smile of hers, but he didn't. Instead, he threw on his jacket and followed her to breakfast.

Scarlett walked a step ahead of Ace at all times and avoided his gaze in the elevator. She knew that if she looked into those questioning, insistent eyes of his, she would probably tell him many more things that she had ever told anyone. Not wanting to do that, she avoided his gaze, all throughout breakfast.

They spoke about the weather, the hotel and the conference, but nothing else.

She was only too happy to skip away from him at the end of the meal, ready to go in for the last discussion panel that she would sit through.

Scarlett was about to walk into the hall, when someone caught her arm.

"Scarlett." Terrence Burke's salt-and-pepper hair came into view.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed at him, glancing around, "Are you asking to get caught?"

"Calm down," he told her, laughingly, "I'm sure it's perfectly acceptable for a man to be speaking to a beautiful, young woman, isn't it?"

"Possibly not when the man is married," she told him, making him laugh.

"I haven't had the opportunity to speak to you all week, Scarlett."

"For good reason. Do you want Ace to find out?" she asked, in a low voice.

Terrence smirked. "Would you be upset?"

"No, I'm thinking that you might be," she stated, rather venomously, "Given the fact that you wouldn't get any more information about him."

His smile didn't leave his face. "You're as smart and spunky as you were on the first day that I met you, Scarlett. It's good to know that Ace Hardwood hasn't changed you."

She wanted to tell him what Ace Hardwood had done, but she bit her tongue. Instead, she put a bright smile on to her face so that they didn't look suspicious.

"Why don't you just put the moves on him, Scarlett?" Terrence asked, leaning in, "Don't pretend that you don't know how to please or attract a man. I think you and I both know that you do."

Scarlett glared at him. "Ace Hardwood isn't like the other men. I think you know that he's different. I can't be brazenly open with my advances and have him want that. He's not that kind."

Terrence smirked. "He's special, is he?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "A part of my job is to identify what the person is like. Haven't you heard? Don't play the game, play the player?"

The man's lips curved into a sinister smile. "I think you're playing the player, alright."

"I've given you the information that I have for now. If something else comes up, I'll let you know. Now, leave before someone finds this fishy," Scarlett said, through gritted teeth.

Terrence nodded and began to walk away. "I hope that the information you have given me is right, Scarlett." He walked away, but not before he made a chill run down Scarlett's spine.

She exhaled deeply.

"What was that?"

"Oh God!" Scarlett jumped, holding her heart and turned to see Ace, frowning at her, "You scared me."