5

Vivian understood why he would think that, but she never considered or thought in that direction at all, but now that he mentioned it, she realized that that was how it actually looked to him… and how it would look to everyone else.

"Then why are you here if my assumption is wrong?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"I… I wanted to ask you for a job at your company. Vivian blurted out. She had to tell him that truth. Anything was better than him thinking that she had snuck into his room to have sex with him. The thought alone made her shudder. She had never had a one night stand with anyone and she wasn't going to start now with a stranger for that matter.

Scott McCall looked at her like she'd made a weird statement, and it probably was now that she heard herself say it out loud, but then he moved to the table nearby and poured himself some scotch, then he turned back to her.

"Drink?" he asked.

Vivian shook her head. She had to think straight and drinking wouldn't help her in any way.

"So you snuck into my hotel room because you want me to give you a job?" Scott asked, as if he hadn't heard her well the first time.

"Yes," Vivian added, "And I know that this isn't the appropriate way to do so, but… "

"You don't say" Scott cut in. He took a sip out of his drink, then added, "And do you seriously expect me to believe that, miss? That's the worst lie I've ever heard in my life. At least try to come up with something better. ."

Vivian's eyes widened. An expression he could only define as anger flared in their depths before she lowered her eyelids, hiding her gaze from him. She almost hissed. There was no point arguing with him if she was still going to get a chance to get what she wanted, although she highly doubted that she would now, but if he kept insinuating that she wanted to have sex with him, then she wouldn't be able to hold her tongue.

"It's the truth." she said as calmly as she could.

"I don't believe you" he cut in, and moved towards her. He was standing right in front of her after two strides. "Perhaps you came to take something…and I came in before you could so you had to come up with this story as plan B. Tell me, what did you come for?"

If he hadn’t been studying her so closely, he might’ve missed seeing the way her body stiffened and her lips pressed harder together. She hesitated, before she said:

"Nothing" The man was getting out of line, Vivian thought, but she had gone into his room without invitation so she wasn't really in the clear here. "I'm not a thief. I've never stolen anything in my life."

She shifted away from him and he laughed. It sounded like he was mocking her. "You do know that I can get you arrested for this. You'd be fired too…. Better hurry up and tell me the truth if you value your reputation. It would make this situation easier for the both of us."

"I already did. I told you… I wanted a job. I have applied before… to your company and so many others, but I was never granted any interview. I'm so tired of being a waitress, and I know that I have so much to offer. I'm very good at being an advertising agent, and I know that I'll be of great help to you and your company. I didn't want to get rejected again… so I…. "

"You decided to go straight to the top…" Scott completed the sentence for her.

Vivian nodded. He didn't look angry anymore, she noticed. In fact, she thought she saw concern on his face for a while. "I'm really sorry that I disturbed you like this. I was way out of line."

She was telling herself not to get her hopes high when he said, "Your story is really hard to believe, but if you are indeed telling the truth, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you, miss. I don't even think there's any opening at my office at the moment."

The look of disappointment on her face almost made Scott take his words back, but he shook the feeling away. He didn't have to feel guilty or sorry about anything . He truly couldn't help her, and barging into his hotel room to ask for a job didn't exactly give her points, but that didn't change the fact that he had a weird soft spot for this strange, beautiful waitress.

Vivian nodded slowly as she accepted her fate. This plan was a horrible one right from the start, she told herself. That was the problem she had, she always made the wrong decisions.

She made to leave. "Thank you, Mr McCall" she said gravely. "I'm grateful for your audience and for not throwing me out or calling the cops on me even when you should have."

As she took her first step, he stopped her. “Wait.” He lifted his arm to grasp her elbow to prevent her from leaving. But at the last moment, he changed his mind and lowered his arm back to his side."I…I didn't get your name," he said.

"My name is Vivian…. Vivian Sanchez."

She reached into her pants pocket and handed him a small piece of paper. Scott reached out and took it. "My number" she said softly, "Just in case something opens up… and I'm willing to do anything even if it's not related to advertising. I'm sure that I'll catch up fast as I'm a fast learner. Thanks for your time once again…. I should… I should leave now"

Scott McCall said nothing, but he nodded and watched as she walked past him towards the door. The door opened and closed behind her but he didn't turn around. He stood there with the paper in his hand.

He looked at the handwriting. Beautiful, just like she was, he thought. The woman definitely was crazy to come after him the way she did, but he couldn't help but admire her guts. The sane thing to do was to throw out the paper and hope not to run into her again, but instead, he found him pulling out his wallet and slipping the paper into one of the slots.

He didn't know why, but he just had a feeling that he'd be seeing her again. How, when or why? He had no idea.