Scott McCall turned to find a waitress standing by his side and staring up at him. For a brief moment, he just stared at her. She had a nice voice, he found himself thinking for some reason. She looked so unsure of herself and her voice was as faint as a breath on a still summer's day. She was chewing at her bottom lip as if she hadn't eaten a meal in quite a while.

His eyes moved over her. She had long dark hair which was tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. A fringe of black hair swept over her forehead and dark-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, but it didn't hide the strong lines of her face, the sharp cheekbones, the beautiful, innocent eyes or the lush curves of her mouth.

His eyes wandered lower, and he found himself staring even harder. In her simple waitress uniform which consisted of a white shirt and black pants which hugged her body perfectly, she stood out. Even in those clothes, he could see that she was curvy. Her waist was slim and judging by her hips, he knew that if she turned around, he'd find himself staring at a very round ass. The words almost spilled out but he held his tongue. For some reason he didn't quite understand, something in her body language made him pause. It was a weird feeling, and Scott frowned.

Vivian stood there helplessly as Scott McCall stared at her with a look on his face that she didn't quite understand. All she knew was that it made her so self aware and she found herself wondering if there was something wrong with her clothes… or maybe her make up. She had a sudden urge to find a mirror even though she had made sure her outfit was fine minutes ago. His eyes seemed to see through her and Vivian took a deep breath. The little courage she'd spent a long time building seemed to crumble right there…. Simply because he was staring at her.

Scott dragged his gaze away from her body with a strength that deserved a gold medal. But the thoughts she'd incited in him remained. Thoughts that left him throbbing and greedy.

"Yeah. I would like a glass of water" he said finally when she raised an eyebrow questioningly. Apparently, his gaze had made her uncomfortable. He smiled inwardly.

"Sure. Right away, sir" she said.

Vivian had no idea how she managed to keep her voice steady, even though inside she felt shaky all over. The man made her so nervous and she tried not to hold his gaze for too long. Damn, if she couldn't even look at him here, how the hell would she bring herself to talk to him when she finally got the chance. He didn’t know her and he was a stranger to her as well, but she wanted a job at his company so badly that she was willing to do anything to get it.

But surely you couldn’t just walk up to a man who was essentially a total stranger and ask for a favor like that? Vivian hid her trembling fingers in her small apron as she quickly turned away—but the impact of meeting Scott McCall in person made her stomach churn and her heart beat so hard that for a moment she really thought she might throw up.

But she couldn’t afford to back out now. She had to see her plan through—to choose a moment to talk to him… and see if he'd give her a chance. And it wasn’t going to be easy, she knew that. Getting an agency placement to waitress at this party had been the easy bit—the hard stuff was yet to come… and judging by this little encounter with Scott McCall, she knew it was going to be harder than she had anticipated.

"What the hell is wrong with you? What the hell do you think you were doing out there?" demanded an elderly woman as Vivian walked up to the bar to place her order.

Vivian stared nervously at the woman who was the manager and scratched her head. "I just asked the gentleman if I could get him a drink—" she began

"A drink indeed." The woman snorted at her. "Do you have any idea who that man is?’ she hissed.

Vivian knew exactly who he was, but the woman didn't wait for her to reply before she continued. "He’s the life of this party. The man is practically paying your wages. A popular, important and successful business and if anyone here is going to be offering him drinks then it’s going to be me, not you. Get that into your head, right now. Do you understand me? Now, you can go find some other place to make yourself useful while I take over his order. What did he ask for?"

"He wanted… just…just water." Vivian replied.

"Still or sparkling?" the woman snapped again and Vivian wondered if she was always like that. She seemed to be a very angry person… or maybe this attitude was just for her.

"He…he didn’t specify which one he wanted"

The woman looked at her as if contemplating clawing her eyes out. "So you are telling me that you didn’t even ask him?"

"I…I…, I’m sorry, I’m afraid I didn’t ask him. I was in a hurry to get it"

Inwardly, Vivian wished the floor would just open up and swallow her up. She hated confrontations like this as they didn't help her in any way. Especially when she was already nervous. She squirmed beneath the look of rage on the woman's face. She looked so angry and Vivian was sure that she was about to be fired. This was the end. It was over. Her plans and efforts had already been ruined before she even got a chance to speak to Scott McCall.

Instead of firing her as she expected, the woman gave her one last glare before she said. "Just do your job right. Do what you’re supposed to do and don't make any more silly mistakes. Since you didn't ask which one he wants, offer him both still and sparkling, and then after that, I don't want to see you around him. Make yourself scarce. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to do!"

With that, she turned and disappeared to God knows where. Probably to find someone else to yell at, Vivian thought, but she was glad to be left alone once again.

Vivian got the glasses of water and approached Scott McCall for the second time that night. She tried to put herself in check, but it was difficult not to react to him on so many different levels. The man had an imposing presence.

Obviously, the years had not just been kind to him, they had treated him with the deference usually only given to the chosen few. He was incredibly handsome and good looking, and judging by how confident he was,he knew it too. His body was lean and lithe, his skin kissed with the faintest tan. His wavy hair was black and thick and his dark eyes were narrowed and watchful. He looked—not exactly unfriendly, but he didn't look like someone who played a lot either. His eyes were the blackest she had ever seen, and his lips looked hardened as if he pissed just by being in the ballroom.

Vivian tried not to focus on his hard, muscular body or finely shaped jaw. He had a certain cool distance and carried about him the unmistakable aura of a man with power radiating from every part of his body. Her heart thundered beneath the silk of her shirt as she approached him, but the voice of reason began to clamor in her head. None of that stuff she was thinking about mattered, she told herself.

"Hello, sir. Here is your water, sir," she said when she got to him. She tried to smile at him… just a friendly smile, she thought. And maybe it wouldn't be so hard to say what she wanted to say. She stood there, silently praying that he would return the smile, but he didn't.

She had this issue whenever she was nervous. She would end up saying more than necessary and over explaining, and it was happening now. "I…I ermmm… I decided to bring you both still and sparkling, sir" she explained, unable to stop herself.

Scott McCall lifted an eyebrow as he stared at her, making her wonder what he was thinking, before he took one of the glasses from the tray. She couldn't blame him. Even she suspected that she was beginning to look crazy with all her rambling and lingering.

"Thank you" He said as he nodded, and then turned his back on her and walked away. Vivian stood there, staring at him as he walked away with her heart full of frustration and regret. She had failed and lost her chance to speak to him. But what had she expected? She asked herself. That he would engage her in some kind of small-talk which would provide the perfect opportunity for her to tell him that she wanted a position in his company? Did she really think that in this room, filled with so many sophisticated and important people, he'd stop just to have a conversation with a waitress? Clearly she had not thought this through at all.

Vivian bit her lower lip. This was a fairytale, and fairy tales never worked out the way you wanted them to, and all you'd end up doing was hurting yourself.

Should she just give up, Vivian wondered. The stubborn part of her didn't want to. She had to try again even if she knew that it'd make her look a bit creepy. At this point, she didn't care anymore. She was just going to have to choose her moment carefully—because she wasn’t leaving this building without Scott McCall hearing what she had to say.

—-------------------

“You are drunk, Elizabeth” Scott said as he and Elizabeth stumbled up to his hotel room. Well, Elizabeth was the one stumbling while he helped her up the stairs. "Let me take you to your room"

"Ohhh…. No, I don't want that" Elizabeth protested. "Why don't we go to your room instead. I don't want to be alone tonight, Scott. And why did we even book two rooms? It sucks that we are not staying together."

They stopped in front of Scott's room and Scott cupped her cheek so she'd look at him. "I told you I need to attend to some work stuff. I just need some time alone so I can concentrate."

Scott hoped Elizabeth would just listen and leave. He did have some work to attend to, but he also wasn't in the mood to spend the night with her. The hours with her at the ball were already enough for him.

"Okay, let me just come in so we can have a glass of wine or two before I leave" Elizabeth said. "It's the least you can do since you're chasing me away tonight."

Scott was about to ask her if she didn't have enough to drink at the bar, but he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. If a glass of wine was all he needed to get rid of her for the night, then so be it.

He slipped his key card in the lock and flung the door open. They both walked inside, but neither of them expected to see a waitress standing in the middle of the room. Elizabeth gasped as she stared from Scott to the waitress and then back to Scott.

If Scott McCall was surprised to see her in his room, he barely showed it, Vivian thought as she watched him slip his hands in his pockets and stared at her with little or no expression on his face.

His date on the other hand, looked as if she wanted to murder someone, and Vivian thought that the lady looked like someone who would actually kill her if she got the chance.

"Who the hell is this and what is going on here?" she asked Scott, who didn't even look in her direction or make any effort to answer her question. His eyes seemed glued on Vivian and he seemed to recognize her from the ballroom. That was a good thing, right? Vivian thought.

"What do you want?" he asked simply.

Vivian looked up at him, her voice low and trembling. "I'm…I'm sorry I came up to your room like this, but I just… I needed to talk to you." She stammered. She glanced over at the woman who still had hand wrapped around his arm. She was still glaring at her. "Alone… I mean… if you'd allow me to"

"Who the hell is this?" the woman snapped again.

Scott didn't reply, because he had absolutely no idea who this lady was or what she was up to. All he knew was that she had served him at the party… and he knew that because he'd noticed her - more than he cared to admit. There had been a few seconds when she came to him where he had very weird thoughts about her but he'd dismissed them almost immediately.

He narrowed his eyes and let his eyes sweep over her, still wondering what was going on. She didn’t look like the kind of woman capable of any kind of elaborate or evil plan. The expression on her face was pale and sad, and it made him study her more closely. Made him want to hear what she had to say.

Her eyes were wide open, and she looked as if she was scared and fighting the urge to run out of the room. His eyes roamed again to her breasts as they heaved up and down with her rapid breathing and he hated the way his body reacted.

"Who the fuck are you?" he demanded stiffly, clenching his fists together. "And what the hell are you doing in my room."

"I… I needed to talk to you." She stammered, "I was desperate and this was the only way I could think of to see you… and I know how inappropriate it is…. I just… I'm sorry…. I didn't mean to… l…. I…" Her voice trailed off as the words tumbled out of her mouth.

Scott was pissed. She was right when she said that it was really inappropriate, but there was something about her that made him want to listen to this lady and know what she felt was so important that she had to do this. In fact, he couldn't even deny the fact that he was curious.

He turned to Elizabeth, who was glaring at the waitresses and shooting daggers at her with her eyes and prayed that she would be understanding and leave without making a scene.

"Elizabeth, please could you give me some privacy so that I can get to the bottom of this?" he questioned quietly. "You can go to your room and we will have that drink another time"

For a moment, Vivian felt so guilty as she saw the look on the woman's face and she felt so bad. Any woman would be pissed if this happened to her, but in her haste to come up with a plan to see Scott McCall, she had completely forgotten that he had a date and would probably be spending the night with her in his room.

She felt guilty, but a part of her couldn't help but notice that Scott wanted the woman out of the room too. Oh, this was just terrible, she thought and it was all her fault. She had made a fool of herself and ruined Scott McCall's date. Anything she said now would fall on deaf ears. She was sure of that.

She moved her weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. "I'm really sorry. This isn't how it was supposed to… look, you know, I can just leave and come back later…"

She forced her legs to move, but Scott blocked her path with his arm as he glared at her. "The hell you can…" he growled at her. "You are not leaving this room until you and I talk… Elizabeth was just heading out…"

Elizabeth gasped and her face stiffened even more. "You are such an asshole, Scott. No problem… have fun with the help!"

She slammed out of the suite without looking back and there was an awkward silence in the room as neither Scott nor Vivian spoke, but she could see anger in his eyes as he continued to glare at her.

Vivian tried to apologize again. "I'm… I'm… I'm so sorry—"

"You already said that before," Scott snapped at her, as he withdrew both hands from his pockets. "And don't you for a second think that you can fool me with that, 'I'm sorry' shit because I won't fall for it. Do you think you can just come into my hotel room and demand to see me when I have no idea who you are, and then suddenly turn around to act like a concerned and responsible person who cares about the trouble she caused along the way? Do you really think so?"

Vivian averted her eyes from his and bit her lip as she stared at her feet. Her heel shoes weren't too high, but she was suddenly so uncomfortable in them. She couldn't blame him for being angry. In fact, she'd expected him to be, but she'd been too selfish to think about how he'd feel and completely concerned about getting what she wanted no matter how she got it. She supposed she deserved whatever he said to her and she had no choice other than to stand there and take it. Maybe if she kept quiet and let him yell out his anger, then maybe later, he would calm down, and hear what she had to say….or maybe he'd kick her out of his room. That was the worst thing that could happen.

He continued to frown at her. "So are you going to tell who you are now?" he demanded furiously. "And why are you really here ?"

She drew a deep breath. "I'm sorry once again, and you haven't done anything wrong to me or to anyone. I just had to see you and I didn't know when you'd be leaving tomorrow. I just felt like this was the only opportunity I would ever have to see you and that would mean a lot to me…what?"

She stopped talking when she saw him smirk. Was that a smile she could see on his face? She wondered what was funny about their situation. She didn't have to wonder for too long.

"Oh I get it," he said, suddenly.

Vivian shook her head." You do?" she asked.

He shrugged, dismissing her question like the answer was supposed to be obvious. "You saw me at the party…. Probably saw the way I looked at you and figured you could sneak into my room, have a one night stand and get… whatever… I don't know… money I guess… but I'm sorry, that's just not my thing"

It took Vivian a moment to understand what he was really talking about and when she did, she gasped. Taking a step back as if suddenly afraid of him.

"I assure you, sir. That was not my plan at all," she said, her voice shaking with emotion as she got the words out in a rush.