Scarlet Dreams Read online

  Copyright © 2020 Sigrit Säga

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, without written permission from the author. The sole exception is for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.

  This book is a work of fiction, where all names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination.

  Cover Designed by 100Covers.com

  Interior Designed by FormattedBooks.com

  ISBN: 978-9949-7425-3-0

  DEDICATION

  I dedicate this book to my family, who never stopped believing that I can do it.

  Thank you, Umar Azam for being my first beta reader. It was a first step without I wouldn’t have been able to make it. I also want to thank my two editors, Megan and Annie, who helped me make this book into something I didn’t even think was possible.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: Fellow Anomaly

  Chapter 2: Attractive Wall

  Chapter 3: Won’t Take ‘No’ for an Answer

  Chapter 4: Jesus Was a Great Man

  Chapter 5: The Challenge

  Chapter 6: Game On

  Chapter 7: Evil Snakes and Yummy Cakes

  Chapter 8: Heaven and Hell

  Chapter 9: On One Page

  Chapter 10: Bring It On

  Chapter 11: So Close, Yet So Far

  Chapter 12: Salty Traitors

  Chapter 13: It’s Complicated

  Chapter 14: Bucket List

  Chapter 15: Family

  Chapter 16: Hope That Holds Back

  Chapter 17: Truth Hurts

  Chapter 18: Scared to Lose

  Chapter 19: Shadow of a Leader

  Chapter 20: Solving the Puzzle

  Chapter 21: Love by Choice

  Chapter 22: The Reciprocity Rule

  Chapter 23: Tease without the Strip

  Chapter 24: A Child Demanding Attention

  Chapter 25: Hidden Feelings

  Chapter 26: Trust

  Chapter 27: Food Fight

  Chapter 28: Burning Calories

  Chapter 29: The Confession

  Chapter 30: A Gift to Remember

  Chapter 31: The Rules

  Scarlet Dreams Trilogy

  About the Author

  BONUS CONTENT

  The Scarlet Dreams trilogy is a series that makes you laugh out loud and squeeze your heart even after you finished the book. But as the book went through the editing phase, some of the chapters had to be cut out. If you’d like to get access to these behind the scenes bits and pieces that WILL NEVER BE SOLD and are accessible to fans only, then sign-up and we’ll send some toe-curling chapters your way!

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  Chapter 1

  FELLOW ANOMALY

  I stood shaking like a newborn fawn. Looking down at my legs, I wondered if they had enough strength to carry my weight once I stepped out of the car, but I was determined to get myself into that white building, crawling on all fours if I had to. Although I’d prefer to have my dignity still attached.

  “You think I can manage to not make a complete fool out of myself?” I asked, turning my head to look at my best friend who had agreed to drop me off. Evidently though, it was the wrong question to ask, especially from a guy who so loved making fun of me.

  “No, you are definitely going to make a major fool out of yourself,” he said, fulfilling my expectations of his heartwarming support. “God, if you just saw your face — ”

  “Stop it! Jeez,” I cut in. “I’m freaking out enough already.”

  He closed his mouth and looked at me sincerely, then taking hold of my cold hand that was fumbling with my bag on my lap; he gave it a warm squeeze.

  “Scarlet, what the hell does it matter? You already won the competition. Isn’t this the reason you dumped our awesome movie nights for some supposedly important paper? Don’t go telling me I had to sacrifice tons of energy trying to come up with something to do, only to see you acting like a complete —”

  “Pussy?” I offered.

  “I was going for scaredy-cat out of kindness, but I guess that fits the bill pretty well, too.”

  The corner of my mouth twitched. He was right for once. It made no sense at all to be afraid of receiving the prize for a work I had put so much effort into. The chance to spend a day learning from one of the important leaders of ZYNOTECH was close to impossible to get. It was one of the best information technology companies in the States — well, the world, actually, but I had gotten it with my own ability, due to all my own work, all the late nights, the loss of sleep, the struggles and the sacrifices… So then, what was I so scared of?

  Not wasting any more time, I unbuckled my seatbelt.

  “Just pull me out if I happen to find some hole I can’t resist crawling into.”

  “No way. But I can throw you a bar of chocolate, so you won’t die of hunger in there.”

  I snorted. “We should just call you ‘Master of Empathy’.”

  “I know, right! I wonder where I can sign up for that?” He grinned, bringing his dimples into full view. His smile was contagious, and I couldn’t help the corner of my mouth curling up.

  “You’ll get home by yourself?”

  “I’ll just take the BART from here when I finish. I have no idea how long this will take.”

  Simon looked out the window at my side to see the modern glass building next to us. Big blue letters above the entrance formed out the name — ZYNOTECH.

  It looked as dazzling as it did intimidating in the early-afternoon sun. Despite my connection to this place — my dad being the CEO here and all — I had never gotten a chance to step into those big glass doors, part of the reason being I didn’t want my dad making a big deal out of it. Just the thought of how that would turn out made me cringe. I looked at the gray of the tinted glass, how it hid everything inside — and hoped I would blend in too, to pass unnoticed there, and just be ‘normal’ like anyone else.

  “This place looks nice,” Simon mumbled with an approving nod. I had to agree with him. The exterior of the building was already eye-catching, so I wondered what the inside looked like. Despite my rapidly beating heart which threatened to jump out of my mouth, I couldn’t wait to find out.

  I turned to throw a last look into the mirror and carefully smoothed out stray strands of hair that were rebelling against the thin layer of hairspray used after straightening my wavy, rebellious hair for this special occasion. I usually didn’t bother, but thought I’d try today. But of course, it was pointless; some things were just meant to break the rules.

  From the corner of my eye, I caught Simon reaching out his hand toward my head. With speed comparable to light, I slapped his hand away.

  “Don’t you dare. Even your mom can’t save you if you mess up my hair!”

  He chuckled, giving me a cheeky grin. “You really did your best to look old. Is that a wrinkle?” he teased.

  I rolled my eyes and opened the door, not bothering to take his words seriously. True, I had exchanged my comfy sweater for a smart jacket and dress shirt, but the mirror told me I looked barely twenty, although I had hoped to mak
e myself look a bit more, I don’t know… serious? Experienced? I just didn’t want them to think I was a naive high-school girl who couldn’t be taken seriously.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, then closed the door and took a deep breath of humid city air that carried a briny taste of the sea. It already smelled like summer to me.

  Looking up, I took in the enormous building before me. I had worked my butt off to get this chance with my own two hands, and I sure as hell was going to wring out even the smallest drop of knowledge I could get here, during the limited time I had.

  Stepping through the wide glass doors, my heart was thumping as if to break free from my chest as I let my eyes take in the warm interior. The first thing my eyes were drawn to was the tall wall filled with greenery, plants hanging down, some blooming in vibrant colors. The second thing screaming for attention was the outsized screen, wall-mounted behind the reception desk. Pictures of smiling people stared back at me, every one of them decorated with a golden sticker. Best People Person and Team Leader of the Month were some of the titles stuck to the faces. Way to make the employees feel recognized.

  I knew I also would be motivated if I knew everyone walking in from the front door would see my face, and I understood why so many people craved and clamored for a chance to work for this company. Although this was only a branch office, it was still very popular; over a hundred people had applied for only one post.

  The only thing holding this company back from exploding into the leading IT companies’ ranks worldwide was that it was private, 70 percent being owned by only one family.

  And this amazing place was where I was going to spend my day, learning how this place was run. Straightening my back, I stepped toward the reception desk with determination. Even my jelly legs had finally started to act like proper ones; somehow, they were keeping me upright, though I wasn’t sure how. My knees wobbled as I went.

  A woman wearing a crisp white shirt and with rosy red lips smiled at me kindly when I approached.

  Wow, she looks super classy. And so pretty! Thank God I chose the dress shirt. At least my wardrobe won’t stand out as too simpleminded.

  “Hello. How can I help you?” she addressed me, her politeness as impeccable as her white-toothed smile.

  Tightening the grip around my small bag, I gave her a soft smile back, my nerves probably betrayed by a slight tremor on my lips as I did so. I felt myself gently biting into the soft flesh inside my lower lip.

  “I’m Scarlet Black, here to meet the Director of Finance, George Parker.”

  I glanced at the other woman behind the table who had looked over after I’d said my name, her bright hazel eyes twinkling as if she — maybe — recognized me.

  Do I know her? Hmm. Doesn’t ring a bell though.

  She stood up, pulling all my attention to her, and walked out from behind the round counter. To my relief, she spoke up instead of keeping staring, burning holes into my flushed-pink face.

  “Hello, it’s really nice to meet you, Scarlet. You’re here to meet George because of the Youth Entrepreneurship Competition, right?”

  Wow, first-name basis with the Director of Finance. That doesn’t seem to fit with an administration post. With a blinding smile, she reached out her hand in greeting. I accepted the handshake.

  “Yes — nice to meet you, too…” I hesitated, not knowing how to address this woman. Glancing at her chest, I couldn’t find a nameplate so was at a loss.

  “Oh, it’s Sarah,” she smiled brightly again, those crystal-white teeth in full view a second time. “I was one of the judges for the last round of the contest. Your work really stood out from the others. Such strong beliefs and practical ideas are really rare for an 18-year-old. You should feel proud of yourself.”

  I blushed at the praise. It was all too embarrassing to hear people saying good things about me, the impostor syndrome kicking in full force with an extra hundred pounds. That essay had been my best one yet, but still… Had it really been that good?

  “Thank you,” I said sincerely.

  “Cassidy, please notify George and give Scarlet a visitor’s badge.”

  Sarah turned to the other woman behind the desk.

  Cassidy nodded and gave me a small tablet.

  “Please fill in all the blanks. The ones not underlined are optional.”

  After I was asked to also take a picture, I realized how tight the security was, but I guessed this was normal for an IT company. The security guards I now noticed standing next to a door, didn’t seem to be only for decoration either.

  After a minute of listening to Cassidy clicking away, I was given a small badge with my name and photo printed on it. I smiled wryly, noticing the same strand of hair I had tried to fix before still poking out slightly in the photo. Why did this always have to happen? It was never like that in the advertisements!

  Sarah checked her watch.

  “I’ll send you up. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few questions about your work.”

  “No, not at all. I’m happy to answer all of them,” I shook my head with slight embarrassment. Jeez, now I was starting to feel like I had won the Nobel Prize or something!

  Waiting for the elevator, she turned her curious eyes to me. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you are Robert’s daughter, aren’t you?” she asked suddenly, taking me off guard. I looked at her with surprise before letting out a slightly nervous laugh. So much for trying to keep that quiet. I had thought him being away on a business trip would help me keep that small fact under wraps — if not forever, then at least while I was there. But it seemed that was a pipe dream.

  “Yes, I am. But he doesn’t know I participated in the competition,” I added quickly, feeling my face redden in just the same way as you always feel guilty when you walk through airport customs.

  I had no desire to make her think I had gotten any help from my father. Doubts about the originality of my work were what I’d wanted to avoid the most.

  “Oh, no, I’m not thinking you won thanks to him,” she said, careful to soothe me right away, catching on to my thoughts. “I just recognized you from the picture he has on his desk, that’s all. And I’m sure if he’d known you were participating, everyone would surely be aware of it. He loves bragging about his sweet daughter a lot, you see,” she chuckled.

  I groaned inwardly, not sure if I wanted to know what my Dad had been saying about me. As an only child, my parents showered me with enough love for a dozen children. Especially my father, who had a soft spot for kids. If my mother hadn’t had a difficult birth with me, I bet I would probably have had a dozen siblings. But alas, with no one sharing his overwhelming fatherly love with me, I was doomed to bear his bragging about me to everyone he knew. But I seriously had thought he wouldn’t do that at work. It was a really embarrassing surprise for me.

  “And you don’t have to worry about the accuracy of the results. The judging was done anonymously. We didn’t know who any of the authors were until the very end.”

  I let out a small breath of relief; at least I knew I really had been chosen based completely on my ability, not my connections. Having contacts wasn’t bad, but sometimes I needed to know my achievements were based on my own strengths. Depending on others wasn’t really my style.

  A musical sound announced the arrival of the elevator and the doors opened, revealing two men, one in a suit and the other comparatively casually dressed. My eyes locked with the one in black jeans for a second before they passed us.

  We stepped into the elevator. Turning around, I followed the two men walking out the glass front door with my eyes.

  He’d looked so young, surely not much over twenty, if he even was twenty yet. I hadn’t expected to meet someone close to my age in a place like this.

  The doors closed, wiping the guy out of my mind. Seeing the curious look in Sarah’s eyes, I prepared myself for a barrage of
questions.

  “You said you had some questions about my work?”

  It was no use. I just couldn’t do it. Trying to fit an elephant through the eye of a needle had about the same possibility of success, maybe even more.

  “What are you doing?”

  I looked up, seeing nothing but a blurry outline of a person, or people — I wasn’t completely sure. Pushing up the glasses that had slid down my nose, I found Simon and Ben, the quiet one among my small group of friends, both looking at me with conflicting expressions. Simon was pressing his lips together in an effort to not burst out laughing while Benjamin looked just interested.

  “Nothing, at least not anymore,” I sighed, abandoning my efforts to fit my earring that had fallen out back into its place. I could swear the hole in my ear had shrunk in seconds.

  It had been a few days since my amazing day at ZYNOTECH. I was still shivering from excitement every time I remembered the people I had met and meetings I had been allowed to attend. More than ever, I wanted to create something like that company, which was why I was planning to raid the library when I got the chance. Some extensive research was acquired to do what I was thinking.

  Sitting down at the desk behind me, Simon leaned over. “What’s with the glasses? Decided to finally start looking smart?”

  “Sure, about time I started living up to my colossal brain, just like you,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I lost my last pair of contact lenses. The new order will only arrive on Wednesday.”

  That was in two fricking days. I was already annoyed after three hours of pushing the glasses back into place. My nose was feeling uncomfortably itchy also — I was probably having an allergic reaction to the plastic glasses supports.

  The sound of the classroom door closing pulled my attention. Mr. Williams walked into the classroom and the chatter died down instantly, as if someone had pressed the mute button. This teacher was an interesting anomaly among his colleagues, one actually respected by the majority of students in this school — or in some cases, feared. He was the kind of teacher you didn’t want to mess with, since no one wanted to fall victim to his sharp tongue. Even poking a sleeping lion seemed a better option.