Uncensored Ch. 01 (The Scarlet Key # 1)

CHAPTER 1

We all have those moments in life where we let hindsight get the better of us. Whether it's foraging through the depths of our souls to look for reasons why we left a lover, or searching our minds to try and understand how we could have possibly passed up an opportunity, we are creatures of constant second-guessing.

So, it's only natural that I would be sitting here now, wondering what my life might have been like if I had just turned down the assignment that I was offered. What if the company that I was interning for had given me another job instead of this one? And where would I be today if I had listened to that little whisper of a voice inside my head just this once, telling me to leave Calvin Gas and Oil the minute I walked through the big, cold, steel doors? Then again, it's a slippery slope when you try to analyze every choice you've ever made, because you don't quite know how many regrets are going to be there waiting for you at the bottom of that hill.

****

I was just about to begin my last semester of college when I was accepted into the internship program at BioDiverse, which was no small feat, I can assure you. There were around one hundred students who wanted the highly coveted spot at the prestigious environmental consulting firm. It was common knowledge that they turned us lowly interns into people who could pick whichever high paying job they wanted after graduating. There was even a rumor floating around about the last intern, who apparently was offered a high-paying position with not one, but twelve of the Fortune 500 companies.

Of course, I accepted their offer right away. It wasn't because I wanted the money that the experience would eventually earn, nor the boasting rights that I could now toss in the face of my family, who were all very vocal about the fact that switching from pre-med was the biggest mistake of my young life. No. It was none of those things really. As pathetic as it sounds, the main reason why I jumped at the chance to work for BioDiverse, the “holy grail” of environmental consultant internships, was because I genuinely wanted to save the world.

While most people my age were doing their best to party as much as humanly possible before the real world began breathing down their necks, sleep with as many people as they could, and come up with new and inventive ways to beat the common hangover, I was trying to figure out ways to stop the melting of the polar ice caps or organize a rally against offshore drilling. As a result, I was the one in class who always had the opinions, rarely drank anything stronger than a cup of coffee, and had never had sex.

It wasn't that I hadn't had the opportunity to make love before. In fact, there were a few times throughout my undergraduate career that I probably could have finally lost my virginity to some random guy who I'd met on campus. That wasn't who I was though. I wasn't the girl who slipped into bed with the first boy who came along. It's not that I was waiting for marriage, despite the fact that my father—who was as Catholic as they come—had made it very clear that he would disown me if I “let myself be compromised” before walking down the aisle at our church.

The simple truth was that it had just never happened for me. There hadn't been any lusty encounters in clubs and dark alleys, or gentle hand-brushing in the halls that escalated into a full- blown steamy sex scene, like I'd read about in my roommate's stash of romance novels. Nothing particularly sensual had ever entered into the equation, even though there were times when I would have loved to have felt a firm grab or a warm tongue. But when these thoughts lingered, the shame of them would send me further into my studies, and I would tuck the deep, mingling desires into the back of my mind. A girl who was raised in a strict Catholic home like I was shouldn't be dreaming about men thrusting hips and quivering lips; or so I thought.

My first day on the job wasn't particularly eventful. I ended up getting a cup of coffee for my boss, who was a short bald man by the name of Timothy. He smelled like cheap aftershave and mouthwash well into the day. I found out later that it wasn't really mouthwash, but vodka that he was sneaking into those perfectly poured mugs of Colombian ground that he asked for every hour on the hour.

“Rosalind,” he called for me yet again, from his desk. “Rosalind, I need you to go and get me a batch of reports from downstairs.”

“Sure, no problem,” I obediently replied.

I walked down the long hallway that led to the elevator, lined with offices that had floor to ceiling windows that over-looked the city, and beautifully etched ones that faced the hallway. A few of them had their blinds drawn so that no one could see in. I wondered what was going on in those offices. I let my imagination get the better of me, as I always tended to do, and thought about all of the things that were hiding behind those blinds, and all of the acts that were being done just feet away from me as I scurried down the corridor. Maybe there were a few of them that were actually doing business in there. On the other hand, it was quite possible that there were also a hiked up skirt and a pair of unzipped trousers behind at least one of those guarded windows. And heavy breaths were exhaled just quietly enough to be blocked by the door. I wouldn’t be surprised if this building had seen plenty of bared thighs and eager hands. It certainly wouldn’t be the first case of office encounters.

I stepped into the elevator and pushed the button, but just before the doors had a chance to close, a woman raced up and quickly pressed her arm between them. She stumbled in after she practically pried the sliding doors open, carrying a stack of paperwork in one hand and fixing her hair with the other once she'd managed to get inside. We both stood there quietly for a moment, until she broke the silence.

She looked about the same age as me, and wore expensive heels that looked uncomfortable. There was a little run in her pantyhose that she had tried to cover up with clear nail polish. I could tell, by the way she carried herself and how she looked, that she was a full-timer here. She didn't have that intern “newness” about her, and she exuded a sort of confidence.

“Are you new here?” She asked.

“Yeah,” I replied. “It's my first day. My boss sent me downstairs to pick up some reports.”

“I thought so. I didn't recognize you. I definitely would have remembered that hair of yours,” she said. “It's gorgeous. Are you a natural red head?”

I nodded and gave her a polite smile. People always commented and complimented me on my hair. It was a deep red color that did look like something straight out of a bottle, I have to admit. I had my mother to thank for it. Her hair was nearly the same shade once, until it started turning gray. Rather than try and dye it back to its normal color though, she simply let it be. So, now there were only a few strands here and there that reminded her of the scarlet locks that she once adored.

And, oh, did she ever adore her hair. I can remember, when I was much younger, she would sit there every night at the edge of her bed and brush her straight, vibrant red hair for what seemed like forever. She was so proud of the fact that I had inherited it from her. Though, I think there were times when she was a bit jealous as her color started to fade. She'd make remarks about how I should do more with it, or that it looked a bit dry and that I should take better care of it.

“Well, you're lucky,” the woman added. “I'm stuck with this boring brown color that I have to highlight every other month. I've been thinking about just giving up though and just dying it all a completely different color. How do you think I would look as a red head?”

“I don't know,” I answered, with a shrug, a bit unsure as to why a complete stranger would be asking me for advice.

I think that she could tell she was making me a little uncomfortable with her random chatting, because she switched the topic rather quickly as we both got off the elevator and walked down yet another hallway.

“I'm Cathy, by the way,” she said.

“Rosalind,” I smiled again. “But everyone usually calls me Reaux.”

“It's nice to meet you then, Reaux. I'm sure you'll do really well here,” she stopped just in front of an office and pulled at my arm gently to bring my ear closer to her. “Whatever you do, just stay away from Zack. He's this creep up in accounting who likes to hit on all of the girls and do a bunch of completely inappropriate things. He gets away with it though, because he's related to one of the big high-ups. He grabbed my ass once in the hall and I know that he even tried to feel up Carly, the girl that's in the office next to mine”.

I gave her a look of mild disbelief and shock.

“And he just gets away with fondling everyone?”

Cathy nodded and stepped inside the office door.

“If you ever want to talk or anything, you know where to find me,” she said. “Oh, and you'll probably need to head over to that office to get your reports. That's generally where they keep all of the paperwork for your department”.

I thanked her and made my way to the door that she'd pointed at. There was a man sitting at the desk inside, who handed me what I needed once I had told him my boss' name. He didn't bother to look up at me or say a word, but just continued to focus on the report that he was busily filling out after he'd handed everything over.

I thought about how strange this place was, and much different it was from what I had expected it to be, as I walked back down the corridor and returned to my floor in the elevator. I don't know quite how I had pictured it was going to be, but I guess that I had assumed that I would actually be doing something more important than fetching folders and making coffee for my new drunkard boss. There didn't seem to be anything particularly prestigious about this place, not that I could see, anyway. In fact, it was apparently filled with a bunch of mental patients who felt up random women in the hallways, and others who started babbling on about their dissatisfaction with their hair color to any stranger who was unfortunate enough to be trapped in the elevator with them.

I wasn't necessarily expecting fanfare when I walked through the front doors and to be given my very own office, complete with an espresso machine and an assistant of my own. I mean, I knew that I was going to have to put in some time doing “intern things” in the beginning. I just didn't think that I would be left to work alongside people who, quite honestly, weren't very impressive. After all, this place was supposed to be something of a factory when it came to churning out successful environmental consultants who wrote their own paychecks. At least, that was how the rumors went.

I handed the folders to my boss, who gave me once-over glance before telling me that I could take a break if I wanted. I hadn't eaten anything all day, so I sat down at the little desk in the corner of the main room that they'd assigned to me, and opened up the bag of chips that I'd picked up from the store on my way into work earlier this morning. Just as I did, I noticed that one of the corner offices' blinds were finally being opened. They had been closed since I'd arrived, and I hadn't heard a sound escape from the crack beneath the door.

An older woman was standing there, pulling at the blind cord, and stared at me for a moment as she drew them open. For one reason or another, I got the impression that she wasn't happy to see me there, even though she probably hadn't the faintest idea of who I was. Her expression was cold, with her thin lips pursed as though they had never cracked a smile in her long life.

Once she moved away from the window, I could see a man seated in a chair in front of the desk. His hair was a deep black, with flecks of brown scattered throughout. The hue of his skin seemed pale from the contrast of the dark coloring of his suit; an expensive looking suit that had obviously been custom tailored to fit his chiseled frame. When he stood up to leave, I noticed how tall he was, probably a bit over six feet, and how broad his back was, with its impeccable posture.

He glanced over at me through the window just as I placed another chip into my mouth, clumsily letting its crumbs collect around my lips as I bit down. He smiled at me, and I licked away the specks of salt that were burning my dry lips. His gaze remained fixed on me for quite some time, even after the smile had gone from his face and a look of fascination took its place.

The man who had been seated across the desk from him was the one who I'd been introduced to when I'd arrived that morning. He was my boss' boss, Sam, and seemed like a nice enough person, despite the fact that everyone said that you didn't want to get on his bad side. Then again, that saying really never made much sense to me, because you never really want to get on anyone's bad side in the end.

The pale man in the pricey suit finally took his eyes off my desk and began walking for the door, but not before saying something to Sam, who then shot a glimpse in my direction. I thought it was strange at the time, and a bit unnerving, but shrugged it off when I saw that they were headed out of the office and walking over to the elevator. The man gave me one last look before disappearing behind the corridor wall, smirking and striding confidently. Why wouldn't he be confident though? He had obviously achieved everything that he wanted in life, judging by the way he carried himself. He had good looks and guessing from his appearance, obviously a fair amount of money. He even looked young enough to enjoy it all; maybe in his late twenties, or early thirties at the most.

I went back to eating my snack, until my boss came out of his office to tell me that I could leave early if I wanted. Apparently his wife had called him and said that he needed to go to his daughter's school for some emergency, and I wouldn't really have anything to do without him there. Given the way that the day was going, I was more than happy to head home a couple of hours before I was supposed to, especially since the boredom was bound to get even worse if I had stuck around. The only exciting thing that had happened all day, a day that was supposed to be full of excitement, was that stranger with the dark hair staring at me through the window. I did wonder who he was though, and why he seemed to have such a fascination for the girl in the corner desk who was messily eating her potato chips.

*Author's Note*
If you would like to get updates on (and freebies during) my book releases this summer, please email me at as soon as possible (preferably this week). Thank you!
Eme <3