A/N: Apparently modern versions of Scarlett and Rhett don't go over too well with some on here, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway! I'd love to know what you all think so review or message me. Thanks!
Chapter 1: King Cotton
As Scarlett O'Hara stood in observance of the final preparations for the coming night's charity ball, she felt an overwhelming sense of pride towards herself. If it hadn't been for her and her efforts, this ball would be taking place in some second-rate ballroom in NYC as it had last year and she felt her father's company, King Cotton, one of the largest textile manufacturers in the United States, deserved better. At her insistence and the trepidation of her father Gerald, he allowed her to plan the ball in the hopes that she could restore the reputation of the company's annual charity ball that had been nearly destroyed by the previous year's debacle.
Under Scarlett's care, the ball was taking place in Las Vegas for the first time since its inception. The idea of a destination ball excited her and made her feel important knowing that invitees would be traveling from NYC to take part in the festivities that she had planned. She had managed to commandeer the ballroom of the Bellagio for the event and because it was taking place in the casino, they were allowing their tables and dealers to be used in the private event; for a steep price of course, but Scarlett did not care. This ball was going to be a spectacle and no expense was too much.
"Damn it! How many times do I have to tell you that the DJ booth is to be on the RIGHT side of the stage!? Fix it now!" she screamed at the crew of men setting up the booth. Great balls of fire! Could nobody do anything right!?
"Scarlett, I'm sorry! I should have realized that it was on the wrong side sooner," Melanie Hamilton apologized as she started towards the stage to supervise the move.
Melanie Hamilton, Scarlett's "best friend", was starting to become the annoyance of a lifetime. She had put on a good act of friendship for years, but she only did it for the benefits of her society connections and Ashley Wilkes. Although Melanie and Ashley had been married for years, Scarlett still refused to think of her as Melanie Wilkes. She loved Ashley too much and to think of him and his act of betrayal on a constant basis by thinking of her as Mrs. Wilkes would upset her too much and likely send her into a fit of rage.
But whatever; she could think about that tomorrow. Right now, she had party preparations to oversee and nothing was more important than that.
Green truly is my color, Scarlett thought to herself as she took in her appearance in the mirror one last time before going down to see the finished ballroom. Her vintage green Versace gown, boasting a hip-high leg slit and plunging neckline, made her already irresistible appearance of emerald green eyes, alabaster skin, and long black hair look even more devastating. No man stood a chance that night if she decided to turn her affections on them, Ashley included, and Scarlett was counting on this. He may be married, but that didn't stop him from being a man, and a divorce was easy enough to get if only she could finally ensnare him. Yes, tonight she was finally going to have Ashley Wilkes for herself.
During her ride down the elevator, Scarlett silently prayed that the ballroom looked as she had envisioned it. If it didn't, there would be hell to pay for whoever had fucked it up, giving her an excuse to yell at Melanie, which she would gladly take. It was one of the few reasons she liked Melanie; she could yell at her and she would still stick around apologizing, believing she had actually done something wrong. Well, she had actually done something wrong; she married Ashley and that gave Scarlett plenty of reason to be angry at her forever.
All of her fears about the potential disaster that awaited her in the ballroom though went out the window when she stepped inside. The flower centerpieces, which featured cotton branches, looked stunning, the blackjack, poker, roulette, and craps tables were set up where she wanted them with their dealers at the ready, and the sprawling bar sporting any type of liquor or spirit desirable was established. It all looked better than she had hoped and it nearly brought tears to her eyes. Her father would be so proud when he saw what she had accomplished.
"Scarlett, it's time for you to walk the white carpet! Everyone is waiting for you!" Melanie shouted to her from across the room.
"Coming!" Scarlett yelled back as she quickly made her way across the room to Melanie's side. She had nearly forgotten about the white carpet all of the guests were to walk as they entered the party. Scarlett's elation at seeing how beautifully everything turned out even allotted her room in her mind to compliment Melanie's appearance. She had cleaned up quite nicely and her conservative, but form-fitting Calvin Klein black dress showed off what figure she had.
"You look stunning! I love the new dress," Scarlett complimented as they quickly made their way to the arrival bay behind the backdrop for the white carpet.
"You're too kind my dear. I practically look underdressed standing next to you! You look marvelous!" Melanie beamed. This was another of the scarce reasons Scarlett liked Melanie; she was always full of nice things to say about her.
"Melanie, Scarlett! Aren't you two a sight for sore eyes!?" Ashley called from the front of the front of the arrival bay. Scarlett's heart skipped a beat when she saw him. He was wearing a grey wool suit with a broad black tie, which gave him a classic air. Her heart melted at the sight but quickly froze over again as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek but gave Melanie a breathtaking kiss that should have been hers. Damn him!
"I have to walk to carpet now. I'll see you two inside," she quickly said to dismiss herself from them. They called back something to her, but she failed to hear whatever they said. Her blood was boiling in her veins at Ashley's lackluster reception of her, but she had to quickly push that aside. Now was her moment on the carpet and she intended to wow the crowd.
Walking the carpet, she was greeted by catcalls from men watching the scene from the strip and photographers yelling her name so she would turn to their camera. The flashing lights from the cameras were blinding, but she enjoyed every second of her walk. She knew she looked better than anyone else was going to that evening and she wanted the world to know that she knew it. And now she had photographic evidence of it.
"You've out done yourself this time Scarlett! What a knock out!" Cathleen Calvert called to her upon entering the ballroom. Scarlett actually liked Cathleen and had invited her to the event knowing that she would pick up on all the juicy gossip from the night. It was a relief to see her since she had spent so much time with Melanie while in Vegas and Melanie was, needless to say, boring as hell in Vegas. Which is what she was anywhere else, but it was especially irritating here. Cathleen knew how to have a good time and would know all the best spots to go to.
"I know, right!?" Scarlett laughed as she gave a dramatic spin upon approaching Cathleen to show off her dress.
"I'm raiding your wardrobe before we go out tomorrow night. It's not fair for one person to have all those fabulous clothes to themselves!" she giggled. Cathleen always dressed well, as she was now in a blue Donna Karen number, but Scarlett knew she dressed better.
"Fine by me! Now start filling me in on what you've heard," she pushed, wanting to know what everyone was saying about the ball back in the city.
"This ball was the talk of the town the entire week before I left. Everyone is going to be here Scarlett. Everyone!" Cathleen told her excitedly. She had flown in just this morning from New York and would know how the city was reacting to the ball. It was a relief to Scarlett's ears to hear of how eagerly anticipated it was.
"It looks like you're right!" Scarlett exclaimed as she saw all of the people entering the room. "Half of New York is here!"
"Yes, the good half," Cathleen agreed. Scarlett loved that Cathleen could be such a snob about her stature in NYC because she was just as snobby about her own.
"Oh good Lord! What is that bitch doing here!?" Scarlett raged. She could see Emmie Slattery from her spot walking the white carpet. Emmie was wearing some ridiculously short Betsy Johnson dress with the its glittery corset portion obviously tied too tightly. The photogs were loving it; probably hoping for a wardrobe malfunction.
"She's sleeping with your dad's GM from the Atlanta branch. Wilkerson or something like that," Cathleen informed her.
"Well she's not going to rain on my parade. Even the slightest transgression gets her kicked out. Do you understand me?" Scarlett ordered Cathleen, as if she could do something about it.
"Oh sure, at the slightest sign of her Janet Jackson impression I'll have her removed," she sarcastically replied causing Scarlett to laugh.
They were having a great time people-watching the white carpet from their spot uninterrupted. Scarlett was enjoying this time because it allowed her to vent her rudest thoughts about people and their outfits with an excuse. Cathleen always laughed, as most of Scarlett's followers did, and it pleased her to no end. Scarlett was also happy that she had recovery time away from Ashley so she could regain her wits about trying to get him tonight after his passive greeting of her. The carpet had remained fairly predictable until the cameras started to flash uncontrollably.
"What the hell is going on out there?" Scarlett asked Cathleen, who was already trying to get a better view. If someone was causing a scene on her carpet, she was going to go ballistic on them, no matter who it was.
"I don't know, hold on," she responded, craning her head in a way that was clearly uncomfortable. "Holy shit! He's here!"
"Who's here!?" Scarlett questioned excitedly. She craned her neck to be just above Cathleen's and that's when she saw who was causing the scene.
She did not know who he was, but she could easily tell he was a man of great power and even greater arrogance. Inwardly Scarlett swore at herself for thinking he was so attractive because his smug facial expression obviously showed he already knew. The mystery man was incredibly tall, with dark tan skin and slicked-back jet black hair. He was wearing an in-season three piece suit from Giorgio Armani with a black silk tie and gold watch chain extending from the second button on his vest to his vest pocket. The perfectly tailored suit hugged his rippling muscles in such a way that Scarlett was certain it could even make Melanie think inappropriate thoughts about him. What caused the scene, however, was that Mr. Arrogant had arrived with two skimpily dressed supermodels, one on each arm, whom Scarlett was certain she had seen on billboards plastered all over Times Square.
"Rhett Butler! Oh Scarlett, he only goes to the best parties. It's guaranteed to be a success now!" Cathleen bellowed excitedly.
"Rhett Butler... Rhett Butler, where have I heard that name before?" she questioned as she tried to rake her brain for the answer.
"Don't you remember!? He recently made the Forbes 400 list and Fortune's 40 Under 40! He's filthy rich, not to mention he's known around the city as a playboy extraordinaire," she whispered back conspiratorially.
"I can see that! Why didn't he just go the full nine yards and pull a Bruce Wayne and arrive in a helicopter?" she practically spat back at Cathleen. She was furious that this Butler man was making a mockery of her charity ball by showing up with two skanky supermodels; not mention that he had roused her in a way that Ashley had not that evening, which made no sense and Scarlett hated nothing more than things that made no sense.
"He probably would've if he could've. Do you have any idea of what I would like to do to that man?" Cathleen said with lust pouring out of her eyes.
"I imagine it's pretty close to what those skanks are going to do to him in a few hours," Scarlett replied bitterly as he walked by with his hands placed far too lowly on the backs of the supermodels as he escorted them into the ballroom. She started to debate whether she should confront him for making a mockery of her ball when she turned and saw her father on the white carpet.
Seeing him made Scarlett glow with pride. He looked dashing in his white tuxedo and black shoes and tie. He was bursting with glee at the show Scarlett had put on and she immediately excused herself from Cathleen's side to go greet him.
"You've put on quite the parade, puss! I could not be more proud of me daughter!" she said brimming with pride as he hugged Scarlett, Irish brogue on full display.
"Pa I'm so happy you like it! This more than repairs the damage that last year's party caused, don't you think!?" she asked hopefully.
"More than repairs it! I knew I put this in good hands when I charged you with planning it! There's nothing me daughter knows more about than parties," he boasted.
"Let me show you around! Come now!" she said as she took his arm and guided him into the ballroom that was almost vibrating with excitement.
As the hours passed, it seemed that the ball just got more exciting rather than winding down. Everyone was dancing and drinking to their hearts desire and donating more money to the cause than some families made in a year. Men and women alike were having the time of their lives gambling away small fortunes at the tables. The only one who seemed to not be losing was the infamous Rhett Butler. He had caused yet another scene when he cleared $100,000 in a single high-stakes hand of poker and then casually threw his winnings into the donation pot as if it meant nothing. Although she could acknowledge that he was charitable, she still refused to acknowledge him in any other way as the women surrounding him were.
Scarlett, as she expected, had attracted every man in the room; all except for Ashley. He had remained firmly at Melanie's side, much to her chagrin. If she wanted to talk to him, she had to go up to him while Melanie looked on the entire time, seemingly happy that her husband and best friend were getting along so well. Scarlett was talking to them, attempting to come up with a scenario to get Ashley alone, when her father took the stage.
"Everyone grab a glass of champagne! I wish to propose a toast!" he said, slurring his speech slightly with his glass of champagne in hand. Most in the ballroom grabbed a glass as the servers came around with trays.
"For starters, I would like to thank everyone in this room for being so generous. Together, you have helped us raise over three million dollars to clothe homeless children in the US and abroad!" he shouted to the cheers of the crowd.
"And last, but certainly not least, I would love to thank my beautiful daughter Scarlett for putting on such a show! I could not be more proud of you and all you have done for your dear old Pa. Cheers!" he exclaimed as everyone in the room turned to face Scarlett. The applause pleased Scarlett immensely and rather than taking it humbly, she smiled broadly and lightly bowed several times to the crowd. Melanie and Cathleen looked beside themselves with pride towards Scarlett and Ashley's fervent cheering lifted her spirits to new highs. This bubble was nearly burst when she caught sight of Rhett Butler out of the corner of her eye clapping, but seemingly laughing at her. God how I'd love to slap that man and wipe that grin off his face! Scarlett thought with impotent anger.
"I could not be more proud of you sweetheart," Melanie gushed as she gave her a hug.
"Yes, Scarlett. You've done a fantastic job," Ashley said as he smiled warmly to her.
Scarlett's heart swelled at his compliment and as she was going to give him a flirty reply, when she noticed that Melanie had toasted her with a glass of water rather than champagne.
"Oh Melly! Why would you toast me with water? That's no fun!" she chided playfully, but with the truth in the back of her mind. Melanie was never fun, but that was beside the point.
"I, well, I don't know if I should say right now," she replied smiling ear to ear.
"Why not? It's not as if you're pregnant or anything," Scarlett joked.
"Well, actually..." Melanie said gazing lovingly up to Ashley.
"Actually, yes Scarlett. Melly and I are expecting a baby. We just found out this week and were waiting till after the ball to tell you, knowing how busy you were with it and all," Ashley replied with enthusiasm, but seemingly not as much as Melly.
"Oh wow. That's great. I know how much you've been wanting a baby Melanie," she replied with the barest amount of happiness needed to fend off suspicions to her real feelings. She now felt as if she were in a dark, black tunnel. Nothing made sense to her any more. Pregnant! Melly couldn't be pregnant! How could Ashley have a child with Melly when he belonged to her!? She needed to get out of there and away from him as soon as possible. She could not possibly face him, not now.
She left their group after all the necessary hoorahs and congratulations needed for the news of a coming baby and made her way across the ballroom to the bar. She needed a drink and she needed one badly.
"Hennessy on the rocks," she barked at the nearest available bartender. Hennessy had become her go-to liquor of choice over the past few months during days of stressful planning for this wretched night.
The bartender quickly placed the drink down in front of her and started to walk away from her before she spoke up. "You know what, just give me the bottle."
"The whole bot..." he started to question.
"I planned this fucking thing! Just give it to me!" she ordered. One glass of Hennessy was not going to do the trick tonight and she might as well take a bottle from the bar so she wouldn't have to leave the hotel to buy one. The bartender came back with the bottle of Hennessy and set it down in front of her.
"What the hell is this?" she asked, staring at the empty bottle save for maybe a shot left at the bottom.
"That's what's left ma'am," he replied anxiously.
"Then go get me a new bottle," she said in a tone that made it clear to him that he should have obviously thought of that before bringing her a nearly empty one.
"But that is all that is left of the Hennessy. There are no other bottles," the bartender said with new irritation after being talked down to as if he were a child.
"You've got to be kidding me," Scarlett said with disbelief.
"Not kidding. Sorry," he bit back, evidently not feeling sorry.
"How dare you talk down to me!" she seethed before she threw the nearly empty bottle of Hennessy at him. It missed him, but only barely. However, it did not fail to miss a row of colorful bottles behind him, shattering at least three on impact and causing four others to fall to the ground and break there.
The shattering made a terribly sound but only those at the bar noticed it above the loud music. Everyone looked around to see who had done it, much to Scarlett's further mortification, and she was sure a few picked up on it being her who had done it. Luckily it didn't captivate people's attention for long and they went back to their drinks and conversations. God can this night get any worse!? she cried inwardly.
"Assaulting the staff and taking out half the liquor at the bar... I think you've just ruined your own party," a deep, condescending voice dripping with humor from behind her commented. Scarlett whipped around, ready to assail whoever said that, when she found herself face to face with Rhett Butler.
"This isn't a party, it's a charity ball" she responded viciously. She was not about to allow herself to fall under his spell as all the other woman at the ball had, but it was undoubtedly disorienting being so close to him. He smelled of rich cologne and cigars, a deadly combination to most women. And he knew it.
"Oh really? Do educate me on the finer points of the difference," he said with a tone that was outwardly curious but so obviously intended to be mocking.
"A charity ball is done to benefit a cause such as tonight's is to benefit children who..." Scarlett started knowing he really wasn't listening, but saying it for her own good.
"And the fine people of this room can't find time to donate otherwise?" he posed before she could finish.
"No, it's just that..." she began not really knowing how to answer.
"It's just that it brings more attention to the issue? Garbage! You know what the difference between parties and charity balls really is? Charity balls allow the wealthy to throw their money around for all those to see under the veil of "caring"," Rhett replied with malice, whose origin she did not know.
"Like you were after that hand of poker?" she bit back thinking she had him cornered.
"Yes," he replied blandly with a sparkle in his black eyes.
"You're an ass," Scarlett said with as much conviction as possible.
"And you're an insolent brat but you'll hear me making no qualms about that," he laughed freely.
"Leave me alone! Don't you have some sluts to go bang or something?" Scarlett practically yelled at him, immediately regretting her choice of words. His howling laughter at her statement did not make matters much better either.
"Those sluts, as you called them, have been waiting on me for months. I'm sure they can wait for a few minutes longer," he arrogantly replied.
"Why make them wait?" she chided sarcastically as she tried to walk away from him, but his large body barricaded her in next to the bar.
"Because I thought I'd enjoy a dance with you first," he said as he flashed her a stunning smile of straight, strikingly white teeth.
"I wouldn't dance with you if you were the last person on earth," she cried as she shoved past him, noting with resentment how ridiculously hard his body was.
"Maybe not then, but you will soon enough," he mockingly called after her as she made her way out the nearest exit, his hearty laughter following her the whole way.