A/N: I'm happy this modern GWTW fanfic of mine got so well received! Thank you! :)
Chapter 2: Waffles and Pink Champagne
The blazing Las Vegas sun abruptly awoke Scarlett from her dreamless sleep. She tossed and turned groggily for a few more minutes in the hopes that sleep would once again claim her, but it continued to evade her so she decided to get breakfast instead. Opening her eyes, the unrelenting light of the sun brought her searing headache to the forefront of her thoughts.
"God, what happened last night?" she mumbled to herself as she threw the covers aside and started looking for her robe.
In truth, Scarlett knew what happened the previous night but was hoping she had had too much champagne and it had warped her memories of the evening. It was all too awful to think about otherwise. As she grabbed her robe and entered the bathroom, she took in her disheveled appearance. She had evidently not washed off her make up because it had caked and smeared all over her face and her hair was a massive, tangled mess. Pulling out a hair brush and face wash from her luggage, she attempted to tame her wild woman appearance before going into the living room to face Cathleen, who was splitting the suite with her now that she had arrived.
A knock on the door to her room as she was washing her face brought her out of her reverie. She yelled for Cathleen to wait a second while she finished aggressively scrubbing her face free of any make up. Once she was certain it had all been washed off, she tied her now untangled hair in a ponytail and went to open the door.
"What the fuck Scarlett?" Cathleen angrily bit at her when she opened the door.
"Good morning to you too sunshine. What do you want?" she sarcastically replied as she walked past her towards the phone in the living room to order breakfast.
"What do I want!? I want you to explain what happened last night!" she yelled at her.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Scarlett diverted as she picked up the phone and started down the list of hotel numbers for the one to the kitchen.
"Don't pull that shit with me now! You created a mess is what you did!" Cathleen scolded crossing the room towards her.
"If you can shut the fuck up for two seconds maybe I'll explain everything," Scarlett growled at her. Cathleen was insufferable at times and this was one of them. Scarlett was angry, hung-over, and starving and that is the last time when you should be thinking of testing her. "Oh hi! Yes, I would like to order the waffle platter with bacon, fruit, and a large pitcher of orange juice. Yes, billing the room will be fine. Thank you," she thanked the kitchen service as she hung up the phone and turned on Cathleen.
"What are people talking about?" she barked at her, cutting to the point.
Cathleen continued to glare at her, but wisely deciding to not go to war with an angry Scarlett, she divulged all she knew. "You made a fool of yourself Scarlett. Throwing a bottle at a helpless bartender and breaking nearly $2000 worth of alcohol is the least of your concerns."
"That bartender was hardly helpless! He purposely pissed me off; he had it coming. And as for the alcohol, there was not $2000 worth lost by my one thrown bottle," she retorted. This was the last thing she wanted to be dealing with right now.
"You fail to realize then that you broke several bottles of Bollinger and a nearly 100 year old bottle of whiskey," she bitterly informed her.
"If I wasn't so hung-over I would almost think it's funny that you think I give a shit what people think about me anymore," Scarlett laughed mirthlessly as she started to close all the blinds in the living room.
"You should care! If I wasn't on damage control already along with tall-dark-and-handsome you would have quite the scandal on your hands; one that would tarnish not only your name but the name of your dad's annual ball!" she replied trying to get Scarlett to see her point.
"Who the hell is tall-dark-and-handsome?" Scarlett asked, deciding that she could only focus on one thing at a time as she took a seat on the couch facing away from the now closed blinds.
"Rhett Butler! You're lucky that he covered for your ass after you broke those bottles or this could have spun out of control before I got to it," Cathleen informed her with an obvious twinkle in her eyes at the thought of the man.
"Ha! You make it sound as if he cares when he probably just finds the whole thing funny!" Scarlett laughed at Cathleen's apparent idiocy. "What story did he spin anyway?"
"That the bartender had been less than receptive when you told him to get the empty bottle of Hennessy off the bar. You had then picked it up and attempted to throw it into the trashcan behind him but missed and hit the bottles instead," she detailed for her.
"And people are buying that story!? How stupid can they get!?" Scarlett laughed. It was the dumbest excuse she had ever heard to explain away her bad behavior and she almost admired the arrogant ass's ability to convince everyone to believe a story that was so obviously a lie.
"I don't care if they actually believe it or he just charmed the pants off of everyone long enough for them to be blinded from the truth! The point is, is that you're mostly off the hook for it," she replied as she took a seat across from Scarlett in a plush armchair.
"Whatever. You make it sound like I owe him or something," Scarlett said as she wondered where her breakfast was.
"It wouldn't kill you to thank him Scarlett," Cathleen suggested.
"You realize he probably just said that so I would feel like I owe him right? I refused to dance with him and this is his way of getting back at me so I have to go to him and thank him. It's just a power trip! He just wants to do me, like he wants to do any other thing that has two legs and boobs, and this is his way of luring me in!" she balked at Cathleen. There was no way she was falling into his well placed trap, no matter how good looking he was. She refused to become just another notch on his belt, which she was sure was already full.
"Why not let him!? He's gorgeous and probably fantastic in bed! I would go for him," Cathleen told her as if Scarlett didn't already know.
"That's because you're a slut," Scarlett stated matter-of-factly. It wasn't a lie either and she knew Cathleen knew it. She had pretty much slept her way up the social ladder and there was no denying it.
"Scarlett!" Cathleen yelled, appalled at Scarlett's frank statement.
"What? You have never backed away from the title before. You just don't like it when it isn't to your advantage," Scarlett replied, amused at her friend now seemingly shocked at having been called a slut. It was what it was and Scarlett had no issues calling her out for it. Why run from the truth when it was apparent?
"I'm going to treat this as an isolated incident brought on by your hang-over and lack of food," Cathleen said, effectively ending the conversation and throwing the issue under the rug as if it never happened. As if on cue, there was a knock on the suite door, signaling that breakfast had finally arrived.
"Go get the door Cathleen. If I do it I think my head will split open," Scarlett ordered from the couch, refusing to get up from her comfortable position.
"Fine," she responded as she made her way to the door. Opening the door, the delicious smell filled the room and Scarlett immediately forgot about her unpleasant morning.
As Scarlett knew would happen, as it always did, Cathleen quickly forgot about the argument they had in the morning and went throughout the day continuing to dispel any rumors about Scarlett's conduct at the ball through some well placed texts and phone calls. Scarlett watched the whole thing from the couch as she tuned in and out of whatever was playing on TV, amused that Cathleen had somehow become her de facto PR person, and that was mostly why she kept her around. Scarlett did acknowledge that it was a symbiotic relationship at times, with her needing her connections to stop rumors before they started and she was entertaining, but Cathleen needed her more, which is probably why she worked so hard to stay in her good graces. Scarlett's standing in society was far more valuable than Cathleen's and for Cathleen to keep her newly acquired position in society, she needed to stay friends with Scarlett. Both knew this was the truth of their relationship inwardly, but outwardly it was not discussed.
As a peace offering, Scarlett let Cathleen go through her wardrobe to choose an outfit for their night out. Cathleen had suggested going to TAO, the nightclub famous for its oriental design and catering to its wealthy clientele. Scarlett elected to wear a short, red Galliano dress that showed off her shapely legs and Cathleen chose a vintage thigh-high silver dress that was tight in all the right places. While the realization that Cathleen looked better in it than she did was a bitter pill to swallow, it didn't bother Scarlett for long when she saw how stunning she looked in her dress. No man would be able to resist her tonight and she was excited by the prospect of having her choice of eligible bachelors to choose from. It was mostly for show though. Scarlett believed herself to be above a one-night stand and had never considered taking part in one. The whole thing just seemed so gross to her. Old-fashioned or not, Scarlett at least felt she should be in a relationship with a man before sleeping with him.
Not that her philosophy had done much for her in that department; she had an awful impression of what sex was and she still could not see the allure of it. Her first boyfriend, Charles Hamilton, Melanie's brother, had been a blundering idiot in the bedroom and she was so displeased by their first time together that she nearly broke their relationship off right when he finished. She was furious that her first time had been so boring, not to mention painful, that she resisted him for weeks afterwards. If it hadn't been for the fact that it seemed such an effective method of making Ashley jealous and getting Melanie on her side even more, she would have never stayed with him for the three months that she did and tolerate his obnoxious advances. She was happy to be rid of him when he entered the Air Force. It gave her the perfect excuse to leave him, keep her new alliance with Melanie, and she had won the battle of making Ashley envious of Charles.
Ashley had admitted so one night when they were talking in his apartment. At that point he and Melanie had no engagement plans, they barely seemed friends at all, and Scarlett wanted him desperately. It was the moment she had been waiting for, so when he kissed her she took it without hesitation. Although they were not in a committed relationship of sorts, she did love him and allowed herself to sleep with him. While the experience was not boring or painful as it had been with Charles, it still lacked any luster to draw her back. She did not crave it at all, but she enjoyed the closeness it gave between her and Ashley and if he wanted it, she would be more than willing to give it if it won his heart.
But it didn't win his heart, or his commitment at that. He became engaged to Melanie within the following month, giving some lame excuse to her that they would never work because they were so different. It broke her heart, but never her spirit. She knew he still wanted her, but had resisted all urges on the grounds of "I'm married now." They had kissed on occasion since then, but that was the extent of their physical interaction. Now he was expecting a baby with that ninny for a wife that he had. While Scarlett knew the day was coming, it didn't make it any easier to handle. It would have been so easy for him to leave Melanie for her before the pregnancy, but now he had a child on the way. That changed everything! Ashley and Melanie were now tied together forever, not her and Ashley.
Such depressing thoughts would have to be put off until tomorrow though. Tonight she was going to have fun in TAO attracting every man in the room and that was bound to be plenty for her to handle.
As Scarlett and Cathleen left the hotel to head for the club, they talked excitedly about who they might see there. Plenty of their friends were bound to still be in town from New York and a fair share of Hollywood always seemed to be meandering around the place. Scarlett for one was hoping to run into the Tarleton brothers. They were both party animals at heart, which is why they made for the best frat boys away at school at Georgia State, and Scarlett had only seen them for a brief while at the ball. Her sister Careen had long been jealous of Scarlett's rapport with the Tarleton brothers, especially Brent whom she had a thing for, but Scarlett didn't care. Careen had made no effort to make the ball (her flight out of Italy had been delayed due to storms, but this meant nothing to Scarlett) so she would feel not an ounce of guilt if she were to flirt with him.
As for her evil sister Suellen, she was off schmoozing that old bat Frank Kennedy in God-knows-where Tennessee. Scarlett inflamed at the thought of her sisters preferring to be off somewhere else instead of supporting their father here. At least their mother had an excuse not to show...
Fucking Hell, I can't think about Mother right now, she thought as she pushed the thought aside quickly. The doors of TAO were opening for her and Cathleen and she needed to focus her energies on having a great time dancing.
"What's the buy-in for a table?" Cathleen called to a drink server over the loud house music.
"It's at $1,500 right now. Not bad for a Saturday night! Do you want to buy-in now?" the server replied.
"No, not yet. Thank you though!" Scarlett said before Cathleen could respond. "Let's dance for an hour and then buy-in," she explained to Cathleen. She wanted nothing more than to get on the dance floor, the only place in the world where she could forget all her troubles for the time she was there.
"Okay!" Cathleen yelled to her excitedly as Scarlett grabbed her arm and dragged her onto the dance floor.
The beat began to reverberate in Scarlett's chest when she hit floor and she started to dance. So much was wrong with her world at that moment and dancing was helping her to forget it all. Her body moved to the beat as she continued to dance through countless songs. As she suspected, she did see the Tarleton brothers, but after dancing with her for a few songs, Brent got side-tracked by some blonde who was obviously willing to do more with him than flirt. Scarlett continued her dancing solo until Cathleen grabbed her by the arm.
"Let's take a break from all this dancing! Lets buy-in now," Cathleen requested over the music.
"Alright," Scarlett replied as she realized suddenly that she could use a break. "Do you think we could buy-in that private room?" she joked pointing at the private room knowing how expensive they always were, especially in Vegas.
"Sure! Do you have ten times the buy-in value?" Cathleen asked sarcastically, knowing what the average buy-in of a private room was.
"Excuse me!" Scarlett called when she saw the first passing drink waiter. "What's the buy-in for a table now?"
"$125,000," he informed her as he stepped towards her.
"What!? It was only $1,500 when we got here an hour ago!" Scarlett yelled angrily at the innocent server.
"I'm sorry ma'am but it happens whenever those with tables and rooms start throwing around a lot of money! If you want to buy-in I suggest you do it now before the price sky rockets. It's not unusual for it to go up to $500,000 in a couple of hours," the server told her and he could tell from her expression she was not willing to pay that much for a table.
"Maybe later. Thanks," she said as she walked away with Cathleen in tow.
"I knew that would happen!" Cathleen cried as they made their way into the bathroom.
"If you knew that would happen you should have insisted harder for us to get a table when we walked in," Scarlett bit as she began fixing her make-up in the mirror next to some starlet snorting coke.
"I didn't know it would get that high," she insisted.
"Well too bad. Now we can't sit down and cool off before dancing again," she stated, disappointed that her exhaustion from no breaks in dancing would drive her back to her hotel room before she wanted to.
"At least we know to buy-in sooner now," Cathleen said trying to point out the bright side.
"Yay," Scarlett replied lackadaisically as she finished repairing her hair. She made her way to the bathroom door without waiting for Cathleen and as she walked down the hall towards the dance floor, she saw a drink server waiting with a single glass of pink champagne on a tray.
"Excuse me, but are you Miss O'Hara?" she asked as Scarlett approached.
"Yes?" Scarlett replied questioningly. How did she know her name?
"This drink is for you miss. Would you please follow me?" the server asked holding the tray out for Scarlett to take the drink.
"Where to?" she inquired as she sipped on the champagne. It had a delicious, crisp taste; it was likely the best glass of champagne she ever had.
"To the private room. The gentleman occupying it bought you this drink and requested your prescience," she replied with a friendly smile stretched across her face.
"Lead the way," she responded following her out of the hallway. Before thoughts of who the gentleman occupying the private room was, she was standing in front of the room paneled with opaque panes of glass looking out onto the dance floor. The server then handed her a red keycard etched with the words "TAO Room 1" in gold and departed. Taking a deep breath, Scarlett ran the card against the keypad and when it flashed green she entered the room.
Although there were at least ten other people in the room her eyes immediately, almost by instinct, fixed on a pair of dancing black eyes towards the back of the room. Rhett Butler was lounging casually on a large white leather couch alone smoking a cigar, whose smoke was pouring out of his mouth lazily. He looked so self-possessed and sure of himself with his look of polite indifference towards his surroundings. The way his black eyes sparkled was mesmerizing to Scarlett and as if against her will, she found herself moving towards him unknowingly and taking the seat beside him on the couch.
"Enjoying your champagne?" he asked as she sat down.
"Yes, it's delicious! I don't think I've ever had this kind before," she smiled. She was sure she could have many more glasses of it and not get bored of its flavor. It was divine.
"I'm sure you haven't. If you had you would have been far more upset about breaking several bottles of it last night," he teased with a look of anticipation waiting to see how she would react.
"Is that what you brought me in here for!? To tease me about last night!? If that is what all this is for then I'm leaving!" she exclaimed as she slammed the still half full champagne flute on the table and started to stand.
"Fiery little vixen aren't you!?" he laughed at her outburst. "I promise to not tease you about the other night if you stay with me awhile longer. My company here is so trite. You are like a breath of fresh air."
Scarlett had every intention of leaving the private room and the only thing that kept her from doing so was his firm grasp on her arm. It wasn't firm enough to not shake off, but she found that she didn't want to. His large warm hand felt as if it were sending an electrical charge through her bare arm and she briefly wondered what his hands would feel like elsewhere on her. The thought made her blush and she felt flustered knowing Ashley's touch had never affected her so. The man before her was a total mystery and the intrigue of it all is what made her sit back down.
"So, where are Thing 1 and Thing 2?" she asked when she sat back down. After taking inventory of the people in the room, she noticed that the supermodels were MIA.
"You mean the lovely ladies that accompanied me to your party last night? They are flying back to New York as we speak," he responded as if it were obvious.
"Already? Didn't you want them flanking you everywhere you go?" she teased remembering how much he seemed to enjoy the attention the sight of the three of them together brought.
"That was my original hope with bringing them but they developed the most curious habit during the night. They kept moaning 'more, more' and I simply had to send them away in order to get some sleep," he laughed as he smiled devilishly at her.
"You're disgusting!" Scarlett balked at him through ill suppressed giggles.
"Yes, and yet you find me humorous. What does that say about you?" he mockingly asked.
"It says I'm an idiot for continuing to put up with you. By the way, how did you know I was even here?" she asked finally realizing that there was no way for him to know.
At first he looked slightly confused by the question, but then he smiled as he came to a sort of realization. He then raised his eyebrows and tilted his head and eyes towards the front of the room. When she followed his gaze, she saw that while the panes of glass had been opaque on the outside of the room, inside they were crystal clear and overlooking the entire dance floor.
"Oh! I didn't realize that the frost was only on the outside," she replied lamely, feeling a little stupid for asking the question.
"It doesn't have to be. We can also frost it on the inside or we can even completely remove the frost so everyone on the dance floor can be as voyeuristic as we have been. The choice is yours," he posed as he continued to look outside. Scarlett was about to respond when she felt her clutch vibrate. Taking out her cell phone she saw that she had a new text message from Cathleen, who had completely slipped from conscious thought since she had been in the room.
Where r u? Want 2 leave.
"Leave it her to spoil the night," Scarlett said out loud viciously.
"What's the problem?" Rhett asked looking back at her.
"My friend is wanting to leave already! She'll probably be pouting the whole way back to the hotel too," Scarlett said bitterly.
"Tell her to leave without you. I'll get you back to the Bellagio," he casually suggested as he took another puff from his cigar.
"Are you sure? I don't know if I should be leaving her alone though," Scarlett replied, wanting to stay but feeling torn between her obligation to see her friend safely back.
"Would it make you feel better if I had her taken back in my car?" he inquired.
"Yes, if you wouldn't mind," she responded, happy to find a solution to her issues of staying at the club and getting Cathleen back safe.
"Text your friend to wait at the front of the club for a man in a black suit and shirt with a red tie," he told her as she began typing back right away. "Clive!"
"Yes sir?" said a beautiful looking African American man approaching them wearing the same clothes Rhett had described.
"I need you take a Miss..." he started before turning to Scarlett.
"Cathleen," Scarlett interjected recognizing that she was to fill in the blank.
"Cathleen back to the Bellagio in my car. She is at the front of the club wearing..." he said turning back to Scarlett.
"A tight silver dress," she told him.
"A tight silver dress. Would you mind?" he asked the beautiful man.
"Not at all. I'll be back for you after," he replied as he left the room.
"Who is he?" Scarlett asked once he left as she resumed sipping her champagne.
"My assistant, body guard, chauffeur; basically anything I need him to be really," he informed her.
"Are you friends with him?" she asked. There seemed to be a light nature between the two that was not normally there between those who observed a strictly employer/staff relationship with their help.
"I suppose so. I admire him a great deal and he is always there for me when I need him, whether it be a business matter or private. He's a good man," he finished strongly. It was evident to Scarlett that he meant a lot to Rhett and it surprised her. He seemed to regard everything with indifference but his voice held nothing but admiration when speaking of the man named Clive.
"Do you not have many friends like that?" Scarlett pried wanting to know more about their relationship while completely ignoring her vibrating phone signaling a text from Cathleen.
"No. I have business associates and acquaintances all over the world but very few friends. One should be very careful when labeling someone a friend. The term is incredibly abused in our time," he replied seemingly indifferent again, but there was a note of irritation in his voice that puzzled her. It was as if the subject made him uncomfortable.
"Speaking of friends," he continued before she could say something. "Why did you say your friend would be pouting on the way back to the hotel?"
"Because we would have been leaving sooner than we hoped; due to us not having a table to rest at. You wouldn't believe it! In the one hour we were here the buy-in for a table exploded from $1,500 to $125,000! They said it happens when people start throwing their money around like no one's business!" she cried, her anger towards the people keeping her from getting a table resurfacing.
"I'm afraid Miss O'Hara that it wasn't multiple people's money driving the buy-in so high. The source of your troubles lies with one person," he informed her with an all knowing smile creeping onto his face.
"You're the asshole who drove the price so high!?" she bellowed before she could stop herself.
"Yes, I'm the asshole who drove the price so high," he choked out through booming laughter that filled the room.
"You nearly spoiled my night!" she laughed, forgetting her previous anger towards him at the sight of him laughing.
"Nearly? You mean it wasn't a complete loss? I wonder why," he joked as he winked at her. Scarlett rolled her eyes at his implication, but she knew it was the truth. He had likely saved her night and more than saved it, he made it fun.
"There is a reason I asked you in here though," he said lightly to regain Scarlett's attention.
"And what's that?" she asked intrigued.
"I want you to thank me for covering for your little spectacle last night and for tonight's champagne," he told her.
"I owe you no thank you! I did not ask for you to cover for me. What you did for me was out of courtesy. And no gentleman would ask for a thank you!" she spat at him.
"A gentleman shouldn't have to ask for a thank you because a lady freely gives one. And you clearly are no lady, but no bother. I'm not a gentleman. Besides it isn't your words I want as thanks," he said slowly, his voice drenched with all kinds of implications.
"And what is it that you want?" Scarlett inquired, hating how curious she was about what he wanted.
"I want my dance," he stated simply but with an edge of humor.
Debating what she should do, Scarlett looked into his eyes. They were filled humor, anticipation, and other emotions she could not place. Looking beyond his few rude comments, she had to admit he had been fun to be with and had likely saved her from a boring night back at the hotel room. With these thoughts in mind, she caved into his request with a smile. "Alright, you can have your dance."
"No more of that 'not if you were the last person on earth' rubbish?" he teased.
"No," she replied as she felt excitement build at the prospect at dancing with him.
Without another word, he put down his cigar and took her hand in his newly freed one. He kissed the top of it lightly, sending a charge through Scarlett, and flashed her a wicked smile. As she smiled back, he stood and started walking her hand-in-hand out of the private room. It was only then that she appreciated the low rumble of music in the room compared to the blaring music on the dance floor. She had barely any time to adjust before she felt him start to dance and urging her body to join his in the movement.
He was such an easy person to dance with that Scarlett began to forget her previous resistance to it. His towering, powerful frame felt so natural against her own that she found herself pulling him closer. The way his hands so skillfully traveled up and down the curves of her body gave her chills that she had never experienced and it was so thrilling that she began to crave more. Desire began to pool inside her for the man she was dancing with and the extent that it was spreading through her body began to startle her. She had never felt such carnal passion towards a man in her life. Her hair was flying freely behind her as she moved and a thin film of sweat, not entirely caused by exertion, covered her body. When both of his hands spread to cover her lower back, she felt an intense heat coming out of them that made her look back up into his eyes.
Rhett's dancing black eyes had become pools of deep desire that Scarlett began to sink into. In that moment she started to appreciate the sheer animal magnetism he possessed that attracted any and all women to him. It was undeniable to her now, with his body clad in expertly tailored charcoal grey slacks and vest that proved to only exacerbate his muscular build, pressed possessively against hers. She wanted him; she wanted him badly and the same passion she held for him was reflected back to her through his own lustful eyes.
"Come back with me Scarlett," he whispered in her ear. The way his lips moved against her ear, his hot breath grazing over her neck all spoke of passions she had never experienced. His deep voice silkily cascading into her ears screamed of sex and for the first time in as long as she remembered, she wanted it. She wanted sex with this man whom she barely knew, but felt she had known for a lifetime. He had awoken something inside her that had long felt as if it were dead.
As Scarlett began to fall into what her body seemed to desire most, she remembered with abrupt clarity what sex had always been like for her; either boring, painful, just there, or any combination of the three. She didn't want that with him, but she knew that is what she would get. It always was, whether it be with Charles or Ashley. Ashley. Didn't she love Ashley!? Shouldn't she be feeling these things for him and not this Rhett Butler; this Butler man who had been with too many women to count!? Not only would the sex be awful, but she would feel as if she were somehow betraying Ashley and Rhett Butler would likely discard her in the morning as easily as he had the supermodels. It was bad. It was all so bad! How could her treacherous body be making her feel these things for him!?
"I... I can't. I'm sorry," she said without looking him in the eyes before she ran away from him and temptation towards the club exit.
As she ran, Rhett Butler looked on with disappointment and sadness plain on his face as he began to wonder what he had done wrong.