Chapter Ten - Horny Creeps

I rubbed my eyes tiredly and sat up on the bed. Covering my eyes from the bright sunlight, I walked towards the bathroom to freshen up.

Upon looking in the mirror, I realized that I had forgotten to remove yesterday's makeup and now my skin looked a canvas painted upon by a beginner.

Sighing, I removed the makeup and took a shower. After brushing my teeth, I wrapped a towel around me and walked out of the bathroom. Opening my suitcase, I picked out a red tank top and short denim shorts. After getting dressed, I pulled on my favourite flips flops and walked up to the dresser. I'm so glad I brought these clothes with me.

I started brushing my wavy hair and left them untied, falling above my shoulders. Finally, after applying mascara, I left my room.

To my surprise, Alec was sitting at the kitchen island, sipping his coffee. He was in his busniess attire.

Confused, I walked towards the island. His eyes met my body and lingered near my legs for a while before he looked up.

"You're working today?" I asked as I sat opposite to him.

"Ofcourse I am,"

"It's Sunday," I deadpanned.

He raised a brow while taking a sip. "So what?"

I blinked at him and looked over at the food he had ordered. I picked up two plates and put some bacon and pancakes in each of them and sliding one plate over to him, I took the second one and started eating.

"You know," I shrugged. "People relax on Sundays but that's for normal people," I bit back a laugh as he narrowed his eyes at me. "While you, Alec Sinclair, are not normal at all,"

He rolled his eyes and started eating.

"Seriously? I married a workaholic," I groaned.

"Trust me Scarlet. It's better than marrying an idiot," He cut a glance at me. Was he calling me an idiot?

"Yeah. I was the idiot who wanted to get married in the first place," My voice was dripping with sarcasm.

He shrugged and kept eating.

"So...what exactly are you gonna do today?" I asked.

"I have a meeting with a few clients,"

"Just one meeting?"

He nodded.

"How long is it going to be?"

"One hour and it may stretch up to two. Why?"

"I was thinking about coming with you. If you let me ofcourse. You see...I've got nothing to do here. I would have gone to a club but it's eight in the morning and that's kind of an unusual time for clubbing," I spoke and he seemed to be thinking about it.

"But what are you gonna do there?"

"I'll just linger around somewhere in the building,"

"Okay. But don't disturb me while I'm in the meeting,"

I rolled my eyes. "What do you expect? Me barging inside the conference room demanding a candy?"

His eyes shone with amusment for a moment and my heart skipped a beat as I offered him a smile but he didn't return it and just simply nodded at me. "Okay then. Go and get ready,"

"I am ready," I announced as I got up from my seat and shoved my phone in my pocket.

He raised a brow at me. "Is that what you're going to wear?"

I looked down at my outfit and met his gaze again. "Yeah. Why not?"

"It's short," He spoke.

"So what? It's Barbados," I pointed out and slipped my sling bag across my shoulder.

"Whatever. Just don't come running to me if a horny creep starts chasing you,"

"Running to you?" I let out a laugh and rolled my eyes. "I can take care of myself,"

He got up from his seat and faced me with a raised brow. "The hell you can, Price,"

"Sinclair," I corrected him again and he heaved a sigh, picking up his phone from the island and walking towards the door.

"And yes. I can take anyone down," I spoke in confidence.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to me with a smirk. "You wanna try?"

Smirking at him, I walked towards him, ready to punch or kick him but remembered the night at my dad's house and stopped. He is a pro at kickboxing.

He raised a brow at me while I waved my hand at him. "Some other time, Sinclair," I said, walking past him and leaving the cottage.

The sun was at its full today and I pulled my sunglasses out of my bag. Looking back, I found Alec wearing his own sunglasses and stopped breathing at how hot he looked right then.

The wind from the ocean waved back his perfectly styled hair and the sunglasses made him look like a sexy model in an immaculate suit as he walked up to me.

Gulping, I turned forward and started walking. He walked beside me and I tried to keep a straight face, really thankful for the sunglasses shielding my nervous conduct.

We turned away from our secluded corner and entered the busy beach. Families were sun bathing and children were playing around in the sand. Instead of going to the straight path outside to the exit, I turned a corner and took a stoned path that would first lead us to the hotel lobby and then to the exit.

"Have you been here before?" Alec asked me.

"Yeah. I used to come here with my family," I spoke hesitantly and he nodded.

The path was covered with trees and the tiny fountains beside it looked like little welcoming hosts as we walked through it. A smile formed on my lips.

"You know I was kidding about not running to me over that creep thing, right? You can call me during the meeting but if and only if-"

"There's a horny creep after me?" I completed for him and he stared at me for a moment but nodded.

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Are you talking about yourself, Alec?"

He stopped walking and I turned to him. His lips pressed into a thin line and I couldn't quite see his eyes because of his sunglasses but his eyebrows were positioned like he had narrowed them. I bit my lip to stop the smile from reaching my lips and crossed my arms.

"What did you just call me?" He snapped.

"A horny creep," I grinned at his blank expression and mentally patted my back.

"Horny? Fine. But a creep? Seriously?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

My jaw dropped at his words. This guy!

"Nope. Not a creep. You're an asshole," I said and gauged his expression, which didn't come out to be a pleasant one as he lurched forward but I was fast in jumping away from him and running towards the lobby while giggling like a fool.

Thump!

I ran into a wall.

I almost expected Alec to be laughing at me but as I fell back, I felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around my waist and I grabbed the shoulders for support.

I opened my eyes to find a pair of warm brown eyes staring down at me. I had bumped into a person.

He helped me stand up and I looked up at him. He was fairly tall, but not as tall as Alec. His face had a sharp jawline, a long nose, full lips and finally, cheekbones someone could die for. His hair were a beautiful messy blond. He could be anywhere near his mid twenties. He was handsome but not as good as Alec.

I frowned at the comparisons going on inside my head and scolded myself before looking up at him.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I wasn't looking,"

He seemed to be assessing me too as he blinked and looked at my face, a smile reaching across his lips. "I apologize too,"

Just then, he looked behind me and I felt a presence close to me. I looked back to find Alec, staring at the stranger. Within a second, his gaze hardened.

"Williams," He spoke in a dangerously low voice.

I turned around in confusion and looked at the stranger, who seemed to be having the same expression now. "Sinclair," He spoke in the same bitter voice.

Their staring went on for a few seconds and I decided to butt in.

"So you guys know each other?" I spoke, only to wish I hadn't as both their gazes snapped to me. Alec's dangerous one while the other one's soft one.

"I'm Luke Williams," He extended his hand and I shook it, his warm hand fitting firmly around mine. I couldn't help but tense under Alec's piercing glare out of my peripheral vision.

I offered him a smile. "Scarlet Price," He withdrew his hand and just then, Alec wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me towards him.

Whoa! I placed my hand on his chest for support as he pinned me to his side.

"You just keep forgetting love," Alec spoke with a smile and I stopped breathing at what he had just called me and how protectively his arm was wrapped around my waist.

He looked ahead at the man and his smile vanished instantly. "Meet my wife," He stressed on the last word and my heart skipped a beat. "Scarlet Sinclair,"

I looked up at the man who seemed to be in a shock at the news but recovered soon and turned to Alec. "I saw it in the papers," He turned to me with a soft smile once again. "I'm glad to have met you Scarlet. The photos did not justify your beauty at all,"

I smiled politely at him and muttered a thanks, feeling a certain arm tighten around my waist.

"Are you guys staying here?" He asked me, completely ignoring Alec.

"Yes,"

"Well, great. I'm staying here too. I'll see you around," He said to me and turned to Alec, his expression hardening.

Both of them gave each other a firm handshake before Luke walked past us to leave.

I turned to Alec with a raised brow but he was still throwing daggers at Luke's retreating figure.

"What was that about?" I asked him.

He turned to me with the same look and let go of me. I stumbled back a bit but regained my balance and glared at him.

Without answering my question, he started walking again and I, left with no other choice, decided to follow him.

A car was waiting for us and he motioned for me to get into it. Once I was seated beside him, I felt his eyes on me but looked outside the window.

"Scarlet?" He called and after a few long moments, I turned to him.

He still had the previous frown on his face but I knew it wasn't directed towards me.

"Luke Williams is an old business rival," He said and I listened closely, expecting him to say more but he didn't. So I didn't ask him anything either and turned to the window once more.

After a few moments, I heard him sigh but he didn't speak anything for another long minute.

"Now you see what I meant by horny creeps?"

I turned to him again, feeling the tension leaving the air as he was now leaning back in his seat in a relaxed posture.

"What?"

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I'm talking about Luke,"

"Are you kidding me?" My jaw dropped. "He was such a sweet person,"

The repose dropped again as he lifted a brow at me.

"You found him sweet?"

"Ofcourse. He saved me from falling and unlike you, didn't glare at me when I bumped into him,"

"When did I glare at you?" He snapped.

"Right now?" I snapped back.

He glared.

Rolling my eyes and letting out an exasperated laugh, I turned back to the window.

"Look at me Price," He snapped.

"Sinclair," I gritted my teeth.

"Whatever. Williams is an asshole and I want you to stay away from-"

"You know what," I looked at him. "I can decide who I have to stay away from. This is pointless. We're fighting over nothing. How about we just not talk at all?"

He turned to look outside the window and my jaw dropped.

"Look at me Sinclair," I demanded.

"I thought we weren't talking at all," He spoke without turning and I blinked at him.

Did he actually listen to me?

"Oh okay," I said and turned to look outside.

It took another ten minutes to reach the place and I glanced at the building. It wasn't as large as Sinclair Enterprises but it did seem to have a professional aura.

We entered the building and a man, who seemed to be in his early fifties, met us at the main entrance. He was dressed neatly in a business suit as he stood forward to greet Alec.

"Mr. Sinclair," He shook his hand.

"Mr. Roberts," He greeted back. "This is my wife. Scarlet Sinclair," The word wife coming from his mouth did something crazy to my stomach but I kept a straight face.

The old gentleman turned to me. "Mrs. Sinclair. Pleasure to meet you," He shook my hand.

"Mr. Roberts. Likewise," I smiled at him and he directed us in.

The lobby was huge and furnished well with a huge mahogany desk in the middle of the place and a middle aged woman sitting behind it. There were a few couches made into a sitting, their pattern complimenting the marbled floor.

He led us to the elevators and pressed the tenth number.

"I didn't think you could make it here Mr. Sinclair, seeing that you just got married yesterday. Congratulations to both of you by the way," He looked between the two of us with a smile and then set his gaze at me. "And I owe you an apology Mrs. Sinclair for being such a boring rock to schedule the meeting on a Sunday of your honeymoon," He let out a laugh.

"It's alright," I spoke with a smile. He seemed nice. It's not like we were celebrating a honeymoon as a happy couple anyway.

Did I just complain?

Scarlet Pri- Sinclair, something is wrong with the Barbados air.

"And I'm really grateful that you agreed to this. Thank you," He said to Alec.

"Don't mention it at all. I owed you," Alec replied politely.

The old man smiled in response while I was confused.

Alec Sinclair owing to someone?

"Also, it's for a serious cause. There was no way I was declining it just because it's a Sunday. Emergencies don't see a Sunday,"

"Well said,"

I was confused about what they were talking about but didn't feel the need to ask. It was their business.

The elevator doors opened and we stepped out into a long corridor. "The other clients are already in there,"

"Uh..I'll be waiting outside," I spoke.

"In that case, let me guide you to the waiting room," Mr. Roberts said and I followed him to the two doors in the corner, feeling Alec walking behind me, though I didn't see the need to, seeing that we weren't talking at all.

He opened the door to an empty room and my eyes grew wide at the pink walls painted with cartoons and the disney themed ceiling fan. There was a tiny swing set in the corner, a few lego toys lying on the floor, clay moulding toys, soft toys, colouring books, paints and don't know how much kid stuff.

Mr. Roberts shifted uncomfortably. "I apologize. They just keep renovating these rooms. This one's for children. This way please," He shut the door and led me to the other door.

He opened the door to a white themed room with black leather chairs lined up in a corner, a coffee machine sitting in the other corner. The only source of entertainment here was the huge window through which I could see the beaches and roads.

I made my mind up.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather be in the other room," He turned to me with a blank stare, which soon turned into fits of laughter.

"Sure," He spoke. I turned around to find Alec looking at me with amusement.

I walked past him and it was a struggle to not smile when he was scanning my body through those blue orbs of his.

The two men entered the conference room in the end of the corridor while I slipped into the cheerful waiting room.

As I was checking the toys out, the door swung open and a little girl stepped in, followed by a man.

My eyes grew big. "Luke?"

His lips pulled up into a smile. "Scarlet? What are you doing here?"

"I'm just waiting for Alec,"

"Here?" He raised a brow.

"Yeah. The other waiting room is quite boring,"

He chuckled. "Can't disagree,"

"What are you doing here? And who is this little girl?" I cooed while stooping down to come to her level. She seemed like a shy girl but she giggled at me. Her brown curls swinged in air as she moved her head, and glanced at me with her soft brown eyes. She was hardly three feet tall and seemed nothing more than four years old.

"That's Leila. My niece," He smiled at me.

"Leila...that's such a sweet name," I squished her cheeks and she grinned happily at me.

"Thank you," She spoke in a cute baby voice and I was suddenly reminded of how Jimmy used to speak a few years ago. I reverted with a smile.

"So you're on a family vacation?" I asked him.

"Yeah,"

"That's great. But what are you doing here?"

"We're in good relations with Mr. Roberts and we usually meet him whenever we are in Barbados. Leila seemed to have left her teddy here yesterday and wouldn't settle for another one. Had to bring her here," He shrugged and pouted at the same time.

Just then, Leila spotted her teddy in the room and ran to get it. She jumped happily once she hugged it. I smiled at her.

"She's really sweet,"

"Yeah but babysitting. Not so sweet," He rolled his eyes.

"Come on. It's not that bad. I have a little brother too,"

"Exhausting," He let out a sigh and I chuckled.

"So I was going to leave but incase you want company, Leila can stay here while I can wait in the other room,"

"Ofcourse. If she's okay with that. But why don't you stay too? I mean if you don't have to be somewhere else," I added.

"I would love to. But once that husband of yours gets out of that conference room, trust me, you'd wish I had left,"

"What do you mean?"

"We're just not on good terms presently,"

"Yeah I noticed. What was that about back there at the hotel?"

He shrugged. "It's not a big issue. Just business rivalry. It's nothing personal,"

"Well that's assuring,"

He chuckled and Leila ran up to him. "I wanna play with her,"

He looked up at me.

"Sure," I smiled at them and Leila dragged me to the swing set while giggling. She looked so happy while I just clicked a picture of her from my phone.

"Hope you don't mind," I called out to Luke.

"Unless you're going to get her kidnapped, nah," He spoke casually.

I burst out laughing. "She's a sweetheart. I might as well do get her kidnapped,"

Leila stopped laughing and looked up at me with a blank expression.

"Oh no no no. I didn't mean that. I was joking," I spoke in a hurry as she got off the swing set and ran to Luke.

Luke burst out laughing from the sitting chair as she ran in his arms and clutched onto him tightly.

"Oh no. I'm sorry Leila. I really didn't mean that," I walked over to her but she didn't turn to look in my direction, instead buried her face in his chest.

Luke seemed to have whispered some soothing words in her ear as she slowly turned around, still keeping her cautious guard up as she glanced at me with worry.

I offered her a smile and she walked up to me slowly. I caressed her cheek and within another second, she smiled at me and then laughed again, running back to the swing set.

Whew!

"That was terrifying to Leila. I'm such an idiot. Sorry," I muttered to him but he just waved his hand.

"She's sensitive about that stuff. Her best friend was kidnapped last year for ransom,"

"That's terrible. Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She was rescued safely by the cops though,"

"But how come Leila was told about it? She shouldn't be told about that stuff. She's a child,"

"The cops had to interrogate her since she was last seen with her,"

"Oh," I spoke and focused back on the little girl who was now busy moulding clay into different shapes.

I went to the chairs and sat beside Luke.

"She's having such a good time," I spoke.

He chuckled.

"So are you," A deep voice murmured from the door and I looked up.

Did you like Luke? What do you think of him?

Do let me know in the comments section! ^^