Hi!
"I hate renovations and having massive writer's block." *grumbles*
Anywho! Finally got this done!
Disclaimer: If Totally Spies belonged to me, each episode would take a year to come out instead of chapters. Which would not be good lol.
"Hey, it's okay …. It's all gonna be okay," Scam kept whispering to her soothingly, holding her snug as she pulled herself together.
Slowly Sam's sobs of despair transformed into soft sniffles and her shaking body came to a calmed still.
Yet still her eyes remained squeezed shut and her arms stayed tightly around his torso keeping him close to her.
In the back of her mind, a war was waging. What was she doing seeking comfort from a man? Who was Tim Scam? Her knight in shining armour? Those only existed in fairytales and not real life, she'd learned that harsh lesson already.
Then why had she leapt into his arms feeling nothing but relieved that he'd come for her in her time of need, as though he'd kicked down the gates of her burning castle and rescued her just in the nick of time before it was too late? And why, oh why had it been so easy for her to do so?
She just … couldn't understand it. At all. Did she want to be let down again?
That was what was bound to happen if she learned on another man, she was well aware of that. She had to fight her own battles no matter how arduous they were. She had to stand on her own two feet and carry her own burdens regardless of how heavy they got.
Thinking those thoughts she slowly started to twist in his embrace to break herself away from Scam but faltered the second she felt his chin nuzzle the top of her head while he whispered her name ever so gently, leaving an emotion that she couldn't describe to sweep over her like a tidal wave.
"Samantha…"
A slow gulp passed down her throat as she listened to his baritone voice and breathed in the scent of his spicy cologne that by now was fast becoming familiar to her.
Why did it feel so good to be in his arms? It felt as though she was wrapped up in the most comfortable security blanket without a care in the world or hidden behind an unbreakable shield where no pain could ever reach her.
Why?
Why did he, her former foe whom she should only slightly be able to stand more than Josie's father make her feel safe when she felt afraid around any other guy? What was it about him in particular that made her act differently than she did with any other man? Treat him like a crutch to support her battered soul and body despite professing that she didn't want any part of him?
Was it because he seemed to show up when she was at her lowest moments?
He'd been there at that restaurant that night and had made her feel better by asking her to talk to him, wanting to spend the time with her that her own date hadn't wanted to, and somehow here he was again today trying to mend her broken spirit after she'd almost done the unthinkable in desperately wanting to provide for her daughter.
Suddenly feeling distracted and light-headed from the comforting warmth of his proximity to her, she couldn't help but wonder something else. Wonder what if he'd been there when Lucas Sharpe had broken her heart and left her destroyed his wake, would he have swooped in and picked her off that cold pavement in that parking lot, the same that had taken her nearly an hour to pick herself off of on her own being a sobbing, blubbering mess?
Would he have wiped her tears, unbothered by the ugly lines of the mascara left in place of the meticulously applied makeup she had worn to look pretty for the loser she'd thought to be a prince?
Told her that as horrible as her entire ordeal had been, she'd recover from it because he wouldn't leave her side until she did? That it wasn't the end of the world even if it felt like it was because as sullied and stupid as she felt, in his eyes she was still as perfect and pure, as desirable and worthy as she'd always been?
That her daughter was only hers to him, her biological father was a non-factor and if she allowed him to, then he'd like to be there for them both?
Her lips quivering, she wondered what if? What if? What if, Tim Scam had been there for her then as he was now? Would she still have fallen apart in the way that she had? Broken in that many little pieces that it felt impossible to ever put herself back together all the way? Or would her life be different? Be the total opposite of what it had turned out to be?
Feeling overwhelmed at that possibility and the unexpected desire she felt in spades right now for it have been just as such, she had another stirring thought as the pace of her breathing quickened and her heart hammered inside her chest while feeling the vibrations from the thumping of his own as she now stood flush to his form.
Could it … could it still be so? Was is possible? Was it really too late now for things to turn back around and for her story to have a happy ending?
Her grip on him tightened even more, as if part of her expected him to dissolve, go poof at any second just like every other male that she'd ever put her hopes in. But when he didn't, her frenzied thoughts continued down the same path, one that she hadn't allowed herself to travel in years now.
Scam was here, he was standing here right now with her. She knew he had feelings for her. He'd told her that himself. He'd spelled out the words loud and clear that he wanted her with no shame or even a spec of hesitation. And he kept showing up over and over too! Out of the blue when she needed it most! Almost like he was meant to be there like some guardian angel.
And hadn't she been praying to god just before he'd come tonight and begging for mercy? Perhaps the answer to that prayer was … him. Maybe it was Tim Scam that she was meant to have after everything she'd endured. Him, the man that had been created solely for her and her alone. Her salvation.
Her … fate.
Just as soon as she had that thought, she came crashing back to earth. Her eyes sprang open and a sharp breath escaped her lungs, finally registering what she'd been thinking. And she couldn't believe herself.
What was this crazy nonsense?! She sounded totally insane! Sounded nothing like the mature, wary, and wise woman she was today, the one who saw right through every guy and what he was really after when he said he was in love, and everything like the naïve nineteen-year-old idiot she'd once been, the hopeless romantic who had truly believed everyone had a soul mate, a half that made them whole whom they eventually found at some point through life's journey because it was written by God to be that way.
She … she sounded just like him.
"I believe that it was fate that brought you to my friend's restaurant that night. Fate that is pulling me towards you like a puppet on a string. Fate ... that wants us to be together."
Remembering his words Sam felt disgust and self-loathing with herself for how much they aligned with all she'd been feeling just now. How could she of all women ever have such thoughts? Ever again?! What more was it going to take to kill off the old her once and for all?!
This was wrong, she scolded herself harshly. It couldn't be more wrong!
No one was her soul mate! No one was her other half! No one was her fate! Least of all a man who wouldn't respect her boundaries and leave her alone despite her screaming in his face for him to do so!
Sam glared heatedly, anger replacing the stunned joy she'd felt in the deepest recesses of her heart at realizing he'd come back again to her like no other man ever had before him.
He had to be after something she decided; no man ever cared for free! And after she'd slapped him for kissing her and turned him down flat when he'd told her he wanted her, she didn't even need to think to know was he was after.
So that and only that was the reason why he was here tonight, to try his hand at wearing her down yet again into sleeping with him because he couldn't take no for an answer.
Just like Richard Perez, Just kike Lucas Sharpe. Just like every, other, fucking guy on the damn planet!
Taking a deep breath to clear her head, she quickly blamed everything that had just happened here on a moment of weakness, caused by the vulnerability she felt from the nervous breakdown she was in the middle of when he'd arrived. That was ALL there was to it and she would not allow herself to think otherwise.
Deciding to put an end to this right here and now, she forced him to let her go.
"LET GO OF ME! I'M FINE!" Sam suddenly announced with the coldness of a thousand ice cubes in her jaded tone, snatching herself out of his embrace with an audible huff as though she hadn't been the one who had initiated it in the first place.
Scam almost stumbled back from the combination of her shove and the whiplash he felt from her contrasting behaviour. She was enraged all of sudden and he honestly didn't understand why. A mere second ago, she was melting in his arms and now she seemed to want to kill him dead. Had he done something wrong? But she was the one who had hugged him, not vice versa.
His eyes narrowed in thought as he made the connection. It was just like that night in that restaurant. The same hot and cold switch. She'd indulged in their kiss so willingly before harshly rejecting him with a slap. Always afterwards, always in retrospect but never before the actual act of intimacy.
It was almost as though she wanted to be close to him but couldn't take that step all the way, as though some invisible but strong force was stopping her from bridging the distance.
But thanks to the information Clover had provided him, he knew Sam better now and understood just what that power, that chokehold on her was.
It was trauma. It was fear. Taking one step towards him. the prospect of being loved by a guy and believing that his love was real, was relieving her fear of being disappointed once again. And so she ran right back to her safe space where she was all alone and lonely, but could not get hurt.
He felt his heart break for her, this knowledge about how shattered she was from her past paining him profoundly.
But it didn't deter him from his desire to repair her, instead it only made him want to help her even more. Because he related to her situation. On some level, he'd once faced the exact same thing.
Even though his issues had mostly been self-made unlike her own, he'd always had a chance to do better and had instead resorted to evil schemes and being the bad guy just because he did it so well. Because while it was harmful to himself, it was also familiar and easy. Having to stop being petty and wanting revenge on WOOHP meant having to do something else with his time and energy, having to do something yet unknown and unfamiliar.
Eventually yes he had done it, he'd turned the page that led to the next chapter of his life, but that was just because he'd healed from the issues that had held him back, had cut those iron chains off his wrists that restrained him and broken free.
But Sam … hadn't. Regardless of it having been years since her wounds had been inflicted, she hadn't and he had to be patient. Because Sam, and only Sam would be the one able to decide when she was ready, when she stopped hurting and bleeding. Right now, she wasn't anywhere near that milestone, and her next words and how she said them only reaffirmed that to him.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, SCAM?! I THOUGHT I MADE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR FOR YOU TO NEVER SHOW ME YOUR STUPID FACE EVER AGAIN! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY BACK TO TRY AND CONVINCE ME THAT YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH ME? TO PROMISE ME THE WORLD AGAIN, IF I JUST GIVE IN TO YOU?!
He said nothing, being strategic and waiting for her to give him an opening before he made his move.
"WHAT?!" She only shouted louder, clearly irritated by his lack of reaction to her screaming rudely in his face. "WHAT IS IT?!"
Still he remained mute. He could tell she wanted him to be scared off, turn around, and run, and so he did the total opposite standing his ground and once again, waiting for the right moment.
"WOULD YOU SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!" Sam practically screeched, pointing right at him as if to say that she was talking to him. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!"
Finally his mouth opened.
"I came here … to ask you to work for me."
Sam's entire face screwed up in confusion for just a brief pause before she sneered and crossed her arms over her chest haughtily.
"Work for YOU?" She snorted, not even trying to stifle the biting ridicule in her tone. "What could I possibly do for you, SCAM? Tell me what service …" she stated more suggestively. "…Could I provide you with that you just can't get elsewhere?"
"Go ahead," Sam thought, fury bubbling like hot acid in her veins as she waited for him to do it. Drop the innocent act and be direct. To tell her that he was here to offer her the role of being his official mistress and that he'd pay her well for it.
After all, the Tim Scam she remembered never did like to waste his time by beating around the bush. He had to have figured out by now that she wasn't buying his Romeo act, so the only way he'd ever get what he wanted out of her was to buy it by tempting her with a sum of money so large that a poor woman like her would never say no.
Or so he thought.
So she stood there ready, just waiting to burst his bubble the second he made his indecent proposal to her.
Only it never happened. In fact what he did end up proposing to her, shocked her into silence.
"I want you to work for me, well … with me. I want to offer you your dream job, Samantha Simpson. I am here … to help you become … the lead designer … of your very own fashion house."
"…."
Her jaw hit the floor. For several minutes, Sam stood there like a statue like she'd been struck by literal lightning and died on the spot. Then slowly, very slowly her mouth started to open and close rapidly as if she was struggling with even breathing.
But when he started to look concerned and move to take a step towards her, she stopped him immediately by taking a big step backward.
"H-how …" Sam started to croak out slowly. "How do you know, that that's my dream job?"
His eyes widened as he realized his mistake in how he'd worded his proposition; he only knew this was her dream because of Clover, a fact that if revealed, would likely have her brand him a schemer and potentially the only friend she had left, a backstabber.
Knowing he could not allow that to happen, he recovered by stifling a small cough into his fist and buying a little time before answering her.
"I was curious about you, okay? So I did some research, some askin' around, and well … it's not exactly a secret since making wedding dresses is how you help pay for some of your expenses. Word gets around, ya know?"
Watching him smile charmingly and then shrug in what she was confident was the most harmless way anyone could, Sam rolled her eyes unable to stand how he was acting like that revelation wasn't a big deal when it totally was.
Because it showed that he'd never actually listened to her, respected her wishes and gone away, instead becoming invisible and continuing to stalk her undetected.
He seemed to be able to read the disgust and displeasure on her face as she shot him the stink eye, so he proceeded to keep trying to justify his conduct.
"Come on, you run into an old acquaintance that you haven't seen in years, of course you want to know what's going on with them. That's all. It's not a big deal… " Scam took a deep breath before the smile on his face somehow grew even more charming.
"Sooo, whaddaya say? Are you in?"
"Hmm," Sam said, narrowing her eyes like she was deep in thought. "Let me think … let me think…"
Placing a finger on her chin in fake thought she idled for a long moment, enjoying the way his pretty eyes seemed to fill up with a look of conquest before she snatched it away from him.
"Oh yea, NO! Not in a million years!"
With that she moved to get on with her chores before her daughter got back home. Josie wouldn't need dinner because Clover never sent her back hungry. She could eat the half a pack of No Name Chicken Instant noodles she had left in the pantry before going to bed. Her work week resumed in just a few hours, so she had to get up early.
She just hoped to slip out before her landlady showed up so she could stall paying rent for some more hours and pray for a miracle to save her or at the least, mentally prepare before she was thrown out into the street.
"Oh come on! You didn't even think about it!"
She grimaced when she heard Scam's voice. He hadn't left as she'd hoped he would when she started to act like he wasn't there. No he was still hanging around like the annoying wasp that had gotten in through one of her windows that didn't shut all the way, and she could hear buzzing around her head but couldn't swat.
"Just do it!" He urged enthusiastically like some motivational speaker. "You won't be the first one; many others have partnered up with me and made their dreams come true!"
Feeling it was time to make his official pitch, he reached into his black briefcase and pulled out a glossy catalogue, a fresh copy of "Rags to Riches" magazine and flipped it to the right page before walking around to where she stood still not making eye contact.
"Here," he announced as he made her take it despite her trying to move her hand several times.
But even though he'd succeeded in getting her to limply hold on to it, she still refused to even look at the thing which chronicled in bullet form, just how many people he'd aided in building better lives for themselves by helping them land successful careers with the valuable experience and practically limitless resources he now possessed.
" Richard Rodgers (1), a 42-year-old once too afraid to even let anyone read his writing is presently a worldwide, best-selling author. …" Scam started to summarize unphased by her lack off cooperation and knowing that her ears were open.
"Park Yang, a 27-year-old struggling architect who was just a few years ago working for a company exploiting his talent, not paying even one tenth of what he was actually worth, is now a famous Architectural Designer creating award winning buildings for the country's rich and famous. Anita Malloy, a 50-year-old humble home baker is today so famous for her confections that she's coveted by every, single American hotshot couple that's looking for their dream wedding cake. And just last year I invested in James Shriner, a depressed inventor whose vision no one believed in until me, and as of this past month, he's also made the country's list of millionaires."
He paused for dramatic effect before proceeding with nothing but confidence dripping from his every word.
"And that's just to name a FEW. Sam, you too could be a success just like them. Just like me—"
"WE ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON, SCAM!" Sam cut him off with a hot glare before throwing the brochure on the floor and stepping on it with a growl, using it as an outlet for her wrath.
For all she knew none of this was legit. This was Tim Scam after all; master scam artist! And even if every word he was spewing was nothing but the gospel truth, in order to provide this miraculous help, what had he asked for in return?
There was no way, no way in hell he'd done anything for free for anyone. There had to have been a price, some sort of exchange, and she didn't even want to know what it'd been. All she knew was that she wasn't ready to offer it to him under any circumstance unlike these desperate people had. No way, she was much, much stronger than that!
"I'm nothing like you!" She reiterated, before looking at him with undisguised scorn. "As hard as things got for me, I never turned to crime!"
The way his square jaw twitched and his eyes grew dark let her know she'd hit a nerve and she smirked, twisting the dagger deeper because she had him pegged now.
"I'll bet my LIFE that you used some conveniently stashed, misbegotten loot from your filthy, criminal past to fund this miracle remaking of yourself! A fact that none of the pour souls you conned into partnering up with you, putting their trust in you, could possibly have known! You presented yourself as some kind of angel there to rescue them in their time of need, when in truth? They all shook hands with the devil and they don't even know it!"
But she did, she knew exactly how deceitful and fraudulent he was! She knew him inside out, so he was very much mistaken if he thought for one second that he could deceive her with his charisma like he had the others.
"Well I'm not so naïve, Scam!" Sam scoffed. "You won't get anywhere with me!"
Snorting and moving to go open the door to outside that he seemed to be having trouble locating, Sam was left gasping when seconds later, she felt him grab her by her shoulder and spin her back around to him.
"You're wrong…" Scam hissed in response to her tirade. "You are sooo damn wrong about me," he stated with an anger so palpable on his features that it made an unexpected shudder roam down her spine. For in that moment, he looked like temper personified.
"When I made my commitment to change myself, I wanted to do it right. I didn't want any part of my past to follow me into my future. Nothing, not one part of what I have achieved has been gained illegally."
"Yeah, right!" Sam mocked and was in the process of rolling her eyes again when his grip tightening just a little bit on her stopped her short, compelling her to listen to him just a little more.
"As for how I funded myself at the start? I'll tell you. I sold Scamlar … to Jerry Lewis."
Sam's eyes went wide at that, not having seen it coming in a million years. She'd honestly assumed the worst, expecting him to have done anything else at the beginning of the journey to his tremendous wealth; steal, kill, extort, literally anything but use honest means. But he hadn't done anything shady? He'd really just … sold his own creation to their former boss (2)?
Noticing that she was finally paying attention to him with her mouth closed, Scam went on.
"I knew what I had to offer, so when the deal for my freedom was complete and it was time for me to go my own way, I requested a final meeting with Jerry where I successfully convinced him to buy my invention. I made him see how useful disposable fighting clones could be, how he could send them out to battle without any fear for their safety unlike the constant stress he endured every day in sending out agents of his own."
As she stood there with her mouth agape, he continued elaborating just how beneficial to WOOHP a weapon that he'd once forged against it had turned out to be.
"Cutting down on hospital bills, saving lives on more treacherous missions that would be suicide for any real agent, no longer needing to waste time, manpower, or valuable funds on producing anything more than a single unit of any gadget, no matter how complex because my clones can copy weaponry simply through touch … The possibilities were literally endless and Jerry knew it, so he took the chance. And today? Almost all agents going on field missions … are Scamlar clones."
Finding her still stunned speechless at his admission, he pressed on hoping he was finally getting through to her.
"Tell me Samantha, have you ever once wondered how WOOHP could withstand losing all three of its top super spies in a matter of months and keep going like nothing happened?"
The deer in headlights look on her face was enough to tell him she'd hadn't.
"No, no you have not. You haven't bothered because you've been faaaar to busy being IN yourself to look AROUND you. Too caught up in making assumptions that things haven't changed, that things don't change when in truth, EVERYTHING can and EVERYTHING does."
He frowned hard being disturbed with the pessimism and bitterness that seemed to hover around her like a dark cloud, distorting how she saw nearly everyone in the world apart from herself.
"I used my skill, my intelligence, and my talent to get myself off the ground. I had something to sell and so do you. But the first step to achieving anything is accepting that you need to demand more from yourself instead of complacently accept things for how they are … like YOU have."
He looked away and released a puff of air, working to calm himself down a bit before speaking again. The past sullied reputation he'd worked so painstakingly to repent and repair being thrown in his face so insensitively having wounded his pride even though he was no longer ashamed of it. Because she still was, and that bothered him.
He didn't understand why she was determined to hang his former days over his head like a guillotine. It wasn't like he could go back and erase the fact that he'd once been a felon. Life didn't have a rewind button. It also didn't have a pause, something he had to get her to understand. Just because things were bad and had been for a while, didn't mean they'd stay that way forever.
"Yes we BOTH hit rock bottom," Scam confessed candidly a moment afterwards, pointedly meeting her eyes once more. "But I refused to stay there like you. We all have choices, and life in one way or another always gives us a second chance if we take it. YOU have that chance NOW. So take it. Give yourself a new life, one that that you can be proud of. Think of your daughter, and what that would mean for her."
He fell silent for along moment and waited for her to do the talking now, to say yes, or at least indicate that she was considering it. But when she didn't, he couldn't help but feel irritated by her inaction.
Here he was giving her her destination of a happily ever after, the path to navigate towards it, and the tools to reach successfully … and she was still too chicken to start walking?!
No way, he thought. He was Tim Scam, he didn't waste his time without getting results. And unless he dropped dead, he was not leaving here without getting what he wanted from her either.
"Unless you think she doesn't deserve it. Is that it, Sam? Is that why you won't even try?" He smirked now trying a different more callous approach with her. Some people responded better to tough love than being coddled.
"Is it because deep down … you're ashamed of her existence?" He suggested, watching how her face grew crimson and nostrils flared up like an angry dragon about to breathe fire, just as he'd expected from such a protective mamma bear.
But he took no mercy, taunting her further because it had to be done. "Don't lie…" Scam insisted, unafraid of getting right in her fuming face. "That's it, isn't it? The daughter you claim is sooo beloved to you … is actually a mistake? Is that why won't stop punishing yourself … for having her?"
"HOW DARE YOU!" Sam screamed at the top of her lungs, immediately raising her right hand to slap him hard in the face for the bullshit he'd somehow had the nerve to say to her.
But he caught with ease having anticipated that coming, before he smirked harder and continued pushing her buttons.
"Truth hurts … doesn't it Samantha?"
"SHUT UP! YOU SHUT THE HELL UP, SCAM! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Sam seethed, continually battling with him to free her hand by wiggling and twisting with all her strength. When that didn't work she let out a ferocious roar and tried to use her left hand to land a hit on his face, only for him to catch it as well leaving her to erupt even more furiously.
"MY DAUGHTER IS MY SOLE REASON TO LIVE! SHE IS THE ONE THING, THE ONLY THING THAT I HAVE DONE IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS THAT ISN'T A MISTAKE! THE ONLY THING I DO NOT REGRET DOING! AND DON'T YOU EVER, EVER THINK OTHERWISE!"
When she reached the end of her speech, she felt his hold on her slacken so she yanked her hands free and stomped away leaving him sighing after her in pure exasperation.
She said all that about her kid, yet still wouldn't do what she needed to to make things better for her, for the one person she was still making herself go on for when it painfully clear how badly she wanted to quit. She was so, so, soo damn frustrating.
Running a hand through his hair to shed some of the vexation he was experiencing at her hands, he shook his head regardless knowing no matter how impossible she was being, he still could not leave her. He just couldn't!
Five years, 1,825 days were more than enough of a stretch of time to fall in love with someone. He'd been hoarded by far, far more than just his share of women in that period, and yet no one had clicked. It hadn't mattered how pretty, how smart, how willing she'd been; none of them had made him turn his head twice in their direction.
But that day when he'd crossed paths again with this one and kissed her, it had lit a fire in him that had been impossible to extinguish. And right then he'd known she was the one he'd been waiting for, the one missing piece in an otherwise perfect life. Sam Simpson, his ex foe, a girl who had once so long ago, through no attempt of his own had somehow fallen for him back when they'd first met.
Scam's eyes turned pensive as he remembered to this day, how she'd told him with her own lips that she'd gained feelings for him. Were they all gone? All of them? Didn't even a seed remain that could possibly be nurtured back to life with the right amount of effort and care? Had she transformed so drastically from then that it was entirely hopeless to even try?
Wanting to prove himself wrong for having such bleak thoughts, he raised his head and looked back her way, only to be left disillusioned when he realized just how much she had in fact truly changed.
She was much, much thinner, her once radiant emerald eyes had completely lost their spark, her luminous smile that could light up the room had vanished, and her most defining trait, the thing that always identified her as herself to him from even miles away, her striking red hair wasn't even a third of the length it used to be.
"God … I miss your long hair," Scam suddenly blurt out distracted.
"…Excuse me?!" Sam whipped her head around in a flash, sounding alarmed and looking at him with eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed. Had he really just said what she'd thought he had?!
Realizing what he'd said and that she'd heard it, Scam crossed his arms over his chest and quickly threw her off his trail.
"I said that I missed when you cared, Sam." He exhaled heavily as if to illustrate the magnitude of his disappointment in her state of apathy before fixing her with a critical and penetrating stare.
"I miss when you had confidence in yourself. This … this isn't like you. This ISN'T you."
No he could not, would not accept that there was nothing left of the old Samantha. She had to still be in there somewhere, the girl that he'd once known, the same she'd become a shell of now. All he had to do was dive in, pull her to surface and resuscitate her back to life.
"Are you really going to stand there and say that you know me better than myself?" Sam huffed, questioning him in sheer disbelief with her hands on her hips. The audacity of this man was almost amusing.
"Well, maybe I do," Scam only retorted boldly, making zero attempt to take his words back and making it clear that he'd meant them. "Because the Sam I know, would know that this life is beneath both her and her kid. The Sam I know …" he said, elegantly removing a hand from his pocket and making a wide sweeping motion to refer to the entirety of her small flat.
"Would never settle for this."
"…Settle?" Sam glowered as she uttered the word he'd chosen with disdain, her outrage with him reaching all new heights.
"SETTLE?!" She repeated now shrieking. "I HAVE BUSTED MY ASS OFF FOR THIS! SURE, IT MAY LOOK LIKE NOTHING TO YOU, BUT THIS IS MINE! ALL MINE I EARNED ALL OF THIS BY MYSELF! IT MAY BE RATTY, AND SMALL, AND DINGY COMPARED TO THE PALACE YOU PROBABLY LIVE IN, BUT I AM STILL PROUD OF IT!"
Her whole body was shaking now sick and tired of being attacked, having had it up to her limit at having to defend her home and her life to this man who felt he had the right to judge her when he didn't. Who had asked him for his unsolicited opinion, anyway?!
Peeved, all she could do was gawk at him and his cockiness as he stood there dressed to the nines in his expensive Italian suit with not a wrinkle in sight, sparkling Swiss watch on his wrist, and disapproving scowl on his pretty boy face.
And suddenly the house that she'd just been proudly shielding from his scrutiny seemed to become smaller, poorer, uglier to her eyes with him standing there for her to compare it with. Scam stuck out like a sore, pink thumb, looked totally out of place; a prince standing in a beggar's shack where he should never at all be.
"UGH WHATEVER!" Sam snapped indignant, no longer having the patience in her to deal with him anymore. "JUST GO BACK TO YOUR CASTLE WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" She bellowed, desperately wanting him gone.
But he didn't move an inch, being able to see through her act. She was trying so badly to seem strong with her defensive posture and ruthless jabs, but she was failing miserably. In truth she looked exhausted and traumatized, like a soldier fighting a never-ending war alone with no one to back them up.
But she was wrong. She wasn't alone. He was here for her. Here to help her out. If she'd just … let him.
"But you don't have to do this alone anymore Sam," He offered sincerely, again trying to somehow make entry into the brick tower she'd locked herself in. "I'm here to help you out."
"WHY?!" She almost barked back, while throwing both her hands up in the air theatrically. Why do YOU want to give me YOUR help? I don't recall asking you for it!" Sam jeered rudely.
"…Sam," Scam tried interrupting only to be ignored completely.
"No, seriously!" She complained. "All I did was have one, brief conversation with you in that restaurant that night because YOU asked me to … and you seem to think that that gives you permission to keep tabs on me?!"
He'd said so himself that he'd asked around the neighbourhood about her, and to say that it ticked her off was putting it waaaay too mildly. Just who did he think he was gathering information on her like some creep?! Where did he get off treating her like she was his property? His possession?!
"WELL IT DOESN'T!" Sam announced lividly, glaring daggers at him. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO IMPOSE YOURSELF ON MY LIFE!"
"I'm not imposing…" she head him mumble and found herself breaking out laughing almost manically.
Was he for real? All he had done since they'd bumped into one another was go on a stampede through her territory and invading her privacy like a favourite hobby!
"YES YOU ARE! YOU ARE!" Sam accused haughtily, offended by him pretending otherwise. He had to be blind if he didn't realize it for himself.
"YOU THINK I'M SOME DAMSEL IN DISTRESS!" She cried, calling him out for the sexist white knight routine he was subjecting her to. "ONE THAT'S JUST SITTING AROUND WALLOWING IN MISERY, WAITING FOR YOUR TO RIDE IN ON YOUR WHITE STEED TO RESCUE HER! BUT I'M NOT! I AM A STRONG, INDEPENDENT WOMAN, AND I AM JUST FINE!"
"JUST FINE?!" He shouted back this time, it becoming beyond challenging to keep his cool in the face of her blatant and endless denial.
"WHEN I WALKED IN HERE, YOU WERE HAVING A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN!" Scam reminded her. Heck, his shirt was still damp from how many tears she'd cried into it.
"YOU WERE BAWLING YOUR EYES OUT AND HAVING A CRISIS! SO UNLESS YOU WERE REHEARSING FOR A GREEK TRAGEDY," Scam quipped with excessive sarcasm. "NO, YOU ARE NOT FINE! YOU ARE THE LAST THING FROM BEING FINE! WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!"
Sam gasped audibly at his overbearing gall as her eyes one more time, swirled with blazing and destructive venom.
He was such a smug asshole, parading in unannounced and looking down his nose at her. Did he think he was the king of the freaking universe just because he was rich?! That his privilege gave him the license to harass little people like her just for sport?!
Well she had a newsflash for him, it didn't! And there was no reason for her to have to listen to any of this BS!
"YOU BARGE IN HERE WITH NO NOTICE WHEN I ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH SHIT TO DEAL WITH," she spat being way over being pleasant or polite any more. "BEING A SINGLE MOM RUNNING AROUND AND DOING EVERY FUCKING THING BY MYSELF, AND EXPECT TO FIND ME SINGING AND DANCING?! AND IF I'M UPSET, IF I DON'T HAVE EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL FOR ONCE, YOU ARE ENOUGH OF A DICK TO JUDGE ME FOR IT?!"
He shook his head because that wasn't how he'd meant it. All he'd been trying to say was that it was obvious that she was struggling and needed assistance. But just as she had a habit of doing, she'd taken his words and jumbled them into the worst possible meaning then proceeded to get angry with him over her mistranslation.
"I'm sorry, if that's how it sounded…" He tried apologizing to placate her. "That wasn't what I was trying to say."
But it was like she hadn't even heard him, as she kept on ranting undeterred.
"WELL EXCUUUUUSE ME FOR BEING HUMAN AND SHEDDING A FEW TEARS BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE MY LIFE ALL PERFECT AND TOGETHER LIKE YOU DO! I'M SORRY THAT I'M SCARED TO DEATH THAT MY BABY GIRL AND I ARE GONNA END UP ON THE STREET BECAUSE MY RENT IS DUE TOMMORROW, AND DESPITE HOW HARD I TRIED AND HOW HARD I WORKED, I DON'T HAVE IT!"
As Sam stood there sweating hard and breathing in and out rapidly to recover her oxygen after her outburst, she didn't realize just what she'd done. But that was only until she saw the stunned look on his face. It lasted just for a moment before transforming into a look of pity that she hated seeing so much, especially from any guy.
Her face grew hot, this time from shame. Closing her eyes tightly pained and embarrassed, Sam bit her cheek hard to chastise herself for her huge mistake.
There she went, spilling her life to him again. Why, why did she do this? Keep on doing this with him in particular? Letting him in despite telling him to get out?!
Feeling stupid, small, and humiliated, she slowly lowered her gaze to look at the gaps between the uneven flooring beneath his polished shoes, unable to meet his eye after letting him know what he now knew about her.
She, the girl who once had so much potential was now such a failure that she couldn't even provide for her kid, while he, the once convict was thriving. She was completely worthless, worth even less than a penny.
"Just go…" Sam attempted to say firmly seconds later only for it to come out in a whisper as weak and crushed as she felt right now.
When it fell on her ears, her eyes started to well up at how unbelievably pathetic she was. So she bit the inside wall her cheek once again and then again, more and more painfully each time till she started to taste iron. It was something she often did when the emotionless mask she wore started to show chips and cracks when it needed to be kept it in place.
Panicking when it wasn't working, she did the only thing she could to save face and turned herself towards the wall before it fully cracked and fell away right in front of Scam.
But as she did that, her simple act of hiding herself away told him everything. Sam was embarrassed, but she had no reason to be. He was seeing her at her worst moment, so what? She'd seen him like that for years when he'd been the one defiant to the fact that he needed help and wasn't okay.
They were so alike that it was almost chilling, he thought with a sad expression as his ears picked up on the soft whimpers she was trying greatly to choke back. And that was why he knew better than anyone that she needed help and deep down somewhere, he knew that she knew it too. She was just too hesitant to ask for it because she thought that it made her look weak.
But it didn't, not to him anyway because he was well aware of just how much courage it took to take the first step towards recovery. And so he wasn't going to go anywhere until he helped her take it.
"I'm not leaving…" Scam announced decisively, breaking the thick and prolonged silence between them.
Her breath hitching in her throat, slowly Sam turned around wide-eyed, clearly astonished that he was still hell bent on staying put while doing her best to not be affected by that decision of his.
"…Do you want another slap?" she threatened slowly once she got her bearings back. "Because I'll do it."
Just because he'd stopped her once or twice tonight, it didn't mean he could for a third time.
"Fine, go ahead," the man before her astonished her again as he crossed his arms over his chest with a saint like calmness and planted himself steady in the face of her projected violence towards him.
"Hit me, call me names, scream your head off if you want to … it's not gonna do anything. I am not leaving here until I am finished," Scam declared, his eyes boring into hers with a promise written in them.
All she could do stare back in wordless wonder. She'd shouted, she'd insulted him, ordered him to get lost and in return he'd displayed veins of ice and for the most part, stayed calm and collected, treating her like a child having a tantrum and waiting for it to end before they could have a mature conversation.
Unsure of how to deal with him dealing with her like this, Sam just opened her mouth for a second then closed it, then opened it again, then again shut it before giving up and waiting for him to do something next.
Noting that he seemed to have at least progressed in making her understand that he wasn't going anywhere with her acting like this, and hoping that that meant she was legitimately going to pay attention to him now, Scam went back to his briefcase and brought her a sleek binder before holding it open towards her.
And even though she did her best not to, her curiosity got the better of her and as inconspicuously as she could, she glanced at the contents while he flipped through it.
It looked to be a catalogue amassing the finest wedding gowns from over the years by the top dress designers in the country: Carolina Herrera, Reem Acra, Monique Lhullier, and of course, Mandy Marilyn Luxe.
"Do any of these compare to your work? Or at the very least, outshine it? They don't," he stated unwaveringly because it wasn't up to debate for him.
He'd done his homework, he'd talked to the experts in the field, and they all agreed with him. Samantha Simpson didn't just have potential, she had extreme amounts of it.
"You have the makings of a star, Sam. Fame and fortune, you can have both. If you just give it a real honest-to-God shot and let me help you put yourself out there where everyone can see you, you could be living the life of your wildest fantasies."
With vivid detail, Scam began to paint for her a picture of what her future could be like.
"Just close your eyes and envision it for a second. Orders pouring in for your dresses, being able to not just live but prosper off your talent, having admirers all over the country if not the entire world just waiting to see your next collection drop. Imagine television appearances, magazine covers, being featured in Fashion Week, fashion competitions all over the world, sweeping award shows. Think about the prospect of living a life of success and satisfaction that you made happenfor yourself…"
So vibrant and alluring was the vision he painted for her in comparison to her current and drab existence, that Sam was actually obliged to visualize it inside her head.
For just a moment she saw the dream she'd once held dear to her heart as if she was watching a movie scene, saw herself standing tall and confident in a sparkling cocktail gown, holding a shimmering, silver, trophy in the shape of an abstract silhouette and grinning from ear to ear with overwhelmed tears brimming in her gaze as she was elected into the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
She could see her daughter dressed to look like the princess she always was to her, clapping in the crowd and bouncing up and down in joy, and Clover's mascara smudging from the volume of her proud tears as she whistled and cheered not caring about who turned and looked her way as she celebrated her bestie's landmark achievement.
The sounds of that applause along with an even more thunderous one from the crowed filling her ears, and the flares of the spotlight and flashes of the cameras twinkling in her eyes made them glaze over in real time as she thought of life, her life, actually being so good.
But that was until she saw herself smile even harder and turn her head to her right and reveal that she was not alone standing up on that stage.
No, right next to her was a man. A man standing there as close to her as her own shadow, holding her other hand tight in his own with her fingers weaved between his. 6 foot tall, with perfectly styled chestnut brown hair, and a smug "I told you so" smirk on his handsome face. A man with telltale sea foam eyes.
Turning sheet white Sam came back to herself instantaneously, shaken beyond words at seeing Tim Scam in the place of the man she'd once been madly in love with and anticipated having this exact wonderful life with.
The one who'd taken her virginity before marriage contrary to what she'd truly wanted, lied about wanting to marry her and be a father to the child he'd made inside her, before running away like a coward and leaving her to deal with all the consequences alone.
No, no, no, no! She was not going to go there! She wasn't about to consider another guy being a fixture in her future so that he could disappear on her again and leave her broken-hearted! Never!
"…I'd rather stay in a life of reality, thanks," she suddenly snarled leaving Scam taken totally aback.
Staring at her in profound confusion, he asked himself just what the hell had just happened here? He'd really believed that he'd been getting through to her this time. His words had been having an effect on her, he'd felt it! He'd seen it with the look on her face! Then what had gone wrong?! He just couldn't understand.
"SO THAT'S IT THEN?!" He yelled, sounding just as jilted as he felt and being at his wits' end with her as he slammed shut the folder he held hard.
He'd dealt with hard sells before but this was ridiculous! Ultimately he'd always gotten the job done and had never been turned away cold like this.
Was he really not going to able sway her? Was he truly going to fail in making this deal? The most important one he'd ever needed to make in his life? No, he just couldn't bring himself to accept it.
"YOU'RE REALLY CONTENT WITH THIS LIFE? WITH WORKING YOURSELF TO THE BONE FROM SUN UP TO SUN DOWN, DOING IRREPARABLE HARM TO YOUR MIND AND BODY TO BARELY LIVE PAY CHECK TO PAY CHECK, WHEN YOU HAVE THE ABILITY, INTELLIGENCE, AND OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO MUCH BETTER? REALLY?!"
His state of incredulity in her mounted when she didn't say anything back in return to his fervent enquiry and picked up the laundry hamper from the corner of the room and started folding, actually being foolish enough to retry the approach of treating him like he was invisible so he'd get bored and leave when it hadn't worked the first time.
"AND EVEN IF IT'S FINE FOR YOU…" he continued, walking over to where she sat on the couch and standing over her to block the singular light bulb that lit up the room with his height to let her know he was still present, refusing to become the ghost she wanted him to become and fade away in silence.
Her low groan of complaint, gave him the petty revenge he needed to experience in that moment.
"WHAT ABOUT YOUR LITTLE GIRL?" He tried appealing again to her maternal instincts. "IS THIS REALLY HOW YOU WANT TO RAISE HER? HERE, IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD?!"
He'd only seen it in bits in pieces from the time he'd spent around her, but what he'd witnessed had been more than enough to concern him. Thugs, drugs, vulgar vandalism and everything else that an innocent child should not be exposed to at such a formative age.
And besides her less than ideal living arrangement, what about her education? Talents were often developed at a young age, and to give a child the best start in life those had to be fostered. He knew that if Josie was his baby, he'd be supporting whatever interests she had now to find out what she excelled at and might enjoy doing in the future.
Forgetting about talking to her mom for just an instant, he zoned out focusing strictly on Josie.
Was she interested in sciences like her mother or favoured the arts? If it was the former, he knew of a great program for young minds that focused on STEM which she could greatly benefit from, the same he'd attended a year of and remembered loving. And If she was into the latter, he also knew of many art programs she could already join to hone and practice her skills. Or was she perhaps a sporty child?
A soft smile tugged at his lips because if she was, she'd be taking after him. He still fondly remembered the years of playing soccer, football, and hockey as a preschool and school aged child. And just like his father had for as long as he'd been alive, he would love to drive her to and bring her home from practices and tryouts each and every day. And who knew? Maybe one day, she'd make him proud by earning a scholarship or two for her athletic prowess just as he ha
"JOSIE IS NOT YOUR CONCERN!"
Sam's booming yell hauled him from his daydream with a brutal reality check. And when he looked her way again, he found her frowning at him crossly, her fist white from how hard she was clutching onto what looked to be one of Josie's tiny t-shirts and a vein pulsating and throbbing hard in her forehead.
"SHE IS MY DAUGHTER. MINE! NOT YOURS!" Sam broadcasted in a voice as territorial as a lioness protecting her cub, making it clear she did not like him mentioning her.
Him lecturing and berating her like this over Josie's upbringing was seriously inappropriate. Like he had any damn say about it! She was sick of him trying to play a part that wasn't his! Tim Scam was not her daughter's dad! And he certainly wasn't her husband, fiancée or even her boyfriend to be meddling into her child's life to any degree like he was right now!
"YOU ARE NO ONE TO HER, OR TO ME! AND YOU HAVE ZERO SAY IN ANYTHING TO DO WITH HER! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
His mouth settling into a hard line, Scam did his best not to lash out at that statement because being Josie's dad was exactly what he was aiming to be one day, and to hear just how little her mother favoured that idea was terribly disheartening.
And then there was the matter of being told he wasn't even qualified to be concerned about her just because he wasn't related, which was also hurtful for other reasons.
Since when did someone need to have a blood tie to a child to care about them? Wasn't it basic human instinct? And also when did being biologically connected one hundred percent guarantee feelings of responsibility, love, and care towards a kid?
It didn't. After all his own blood uncle had failed to be a parent to him in any capacity, making him even make up for the finances he begrudgingly spent on him from ages five to thirteen with daily beatings with his belt, an electric cord, literally anything he could use as a weapon to cause him pain.
Having been around Josie's tender age back then when his life had first fallen off track, was it any wonder that that made him want to swoop in and protect her in the way he hadn't been?
Was it his fault that Josie's actual dad hadn't cared enough to stick around and be the guardian for her against the entire world that the father of every little girl was naturally meant to be? And was it so wrong if he wanted to willingly step in and fill the shoes that no other guy had wanted to in the almost five whole years of Josie's existence?
No it wasn't. As sad of a fact as it was, millions of children had deadbeat dads that left and wound up with much more loving and caring stepfathers. Josie could be one of those fortunate ones instead of having to grow up without ever knowing what it was like to have two parents. He just had to get Samantha on board first even if it killed him! She just had to give him an opening into her life by taking up this partnership that he was presenting to her!
But why was she being so fucking inflexible and impossible about it? What was her deal? For real?! Why couldn't she open her eyes just a little bit and see him and what he was trying to do for her? He was fighting so hard for her, why couldn't she fight for herself dammit?!
"OH BUT YOU DO!" He exclaimed sardonically, responding to her ferocious explosion with one of his own. Being civil be damned; an innocent child's life was at stake here. "YOU ARE IN TOTAL CONTROL OF HER FATE; THE GOD OF HER WORLD! OF THE KID THAT YOU CLAIM IS YOUR REASON TO LIVE AND THE ONE THING THAT YOU DON'T REGRET!" Scam quoted her with heavy amounts of skepticism before letting out a small tsk.
"BUT STILL, YOU SOMEHOW DON'T WANT WHAT'S BEST FOR HER! YOU KEEP CRITICIZING ME, SAYING THAT I'M ARROGANT AND EGOTISITICAL BUT REALLY, HOW ARROGANT AND EGOTISTICAL ARE YOU THAT YOU'LL DENY HELP FROM A FORMER FOE JUST TO HOLD ONTO A STUPID GRUDGE, EVEN IF IT WILL MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR HER?!"
"ARROGANT?! EGOTISITCAL?!" Sam fired right back with eyes bulging from their sockets, tossing the one shirt that she'd managed to fold onto the faded rug with enough force to make it bounce a foot into the air.
How dare he say such untrue and unjust things about her! He had no idea what he was talking about!
"I HAVE ALWAYS! ALWAYS GIVEN JOSIE THE BEST OF WHAT I HAVE! I'VE MADE SO MANY SACRIFICES, GONE THROUGH SO MUCH HUMILIATION AND DEGRADATION FOR HER THAT I HAVE LOST COUNT!"
Just because she didn't regret any of it and loved her daughter more than life itself, it didn't mean that raising her thus far had been a piece of cake! Nor did it mean that it hadn't cost her on many occasions her pride, her comfort, her personal wants and desires.
She had surrendered her all to be the best mother that she could be given her circumstances, and to be told otherwise was simply intolerable!
"Then do it AGAIN," Scam egged her on to prove her motherly devotion to him not just with words but action. "Make another sacrifice. Sacrifice your hesitation, your apprehension, your doubts, and take the chance I am putting in your lap! You can pay me back later," he added in case that was what was what was hindering her, the financial aspect of it all.
But while he'd said so to try and make this decision easier on her, all it did was make Sam release a loud cry of frustration.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT'LL TAKE ME TO PAY YOU BACK FOR A FREAKING FASHION HOUSE?!" She voiced her thought while looking at him as though he were a madman who'd just escaped from the asylum.
He truly didn't have any concept of reality left anymore, did he? After crapping money for the last several years, but she did! This wasn't chump change that he was talking about investing in her; it was millions of dollars! A huge gamble for anyone to take, even a tycoon as big as he was!
Why would he do all that for her? Take such a colossal risk at likely never getting his funds back or having to wait years and years down the road for them when she had literally nothing to give him now?
She didn't care how much of a good Samaritan the reformed Tim Scam made himself to appear; no one was that generous, she thought eyeing him warily. He was definitely after something, after the only thing she owned that she could give to a man bestowing such a monumental favour on her in order to show her undying gratitude.
Just like that day when he'd made out with her, he wanted her body! And he'd go to any length to get it! He'd lie! He'd make promises! He'd pretend to be trustworthy just until he gained her trust! And then at the moment she was most unsuspecting of his true intent, he'd have his way with her! Then he'd do it again, and then again, and again until he'd had all his fun and fill and then he'd pull the rug out from under her feet, wipe his own off on it, and leave!
Well not this time! She refused to let any man ever play her for a fool again!
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Sam put him on the spot, insistent on knowing the truth. "NO BUSINESSMAN IS GONNA OFFER TO MAKE SOMEONE'S DREAMS COME TRUE WITH NOTHING IN RETURN! SO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD," she beseeched him. "CUT THE CRAP AND BE MAN ENOUGH TO ADMIT WHAT IT IS THAT YOU'RE REALLY AFTER!"
But he just stared at her blankly as if he had no clue what she was talking about, prompting her to become even more irked with his feigned innocence because she knew that he knew exactly what she was implying and didn't need for her to say it. But just to make him stop acting like the clueless idiot they both knew he was not, she would.
"I WON'T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS JUST ABOUT BUSINESS AFTER YOU KISSED ME!" Sam decreed, finally tackling the giant elephant in the room around which they'd both been tiptoeing.
"Ah so that's her problem," Scam finally understood. "That's why she's having trouble accepting my deal, she keeps cycling back to our kiss and assuming I'm being disingenuous about the motive behind my offer to help her."
He couldn't say that he was altogether surprised, but the reason he hadn't opened their meeting today with that subject was because he'd been wishfully thinking that by now she'd have let it go. Evidently, that wasn't about to happen, so he needed to address it and clear the air before they moved forward. Luckily for him however, he'd come prepared.
"Yes I did," he confessed candidly, owning up to his past actions with grace. "And you made it crystal clear how much you hated it. That slap you gave me, said it all."
Raising his hand, he touched his cheek exactly where it had landed to show that he did remember everything perfectly and had no delusions about her sternly rebuffing his advances.
"And if there was any semblance of doubt left after that," he continued solemnly. "You telling me to go to hell when I told you that I wanted a life with you afterwards … pretty much took care of it."
Putting his hand back down to his side, he gave her as earnest of a smile as he could muster. "So if you still think that I'm only interested in getting into your pants and that's why I came here, you'd be incorrect. Because as beautiful as you are Samantha, I'm not that kinda guy."
The words came easily because he was not lying. He hadn't wanted just her body then, or now. He wanted all of her. Her heart, her soul, and most of all her love.
But she still wasn't persuaded as he could tell with what she said under her breath.
"Oh yea, sure you're not."
"Sam…" Scam sighed heavily as he rubbed his forehead to try and stop the sharp headache that he could now feel forming. The way she thought about herself really bugged him even if he couldn't fault her for it.
She'd reduced herself down to just her body, because the only guy she'd ever loved had only seen her for that aspect alone and not for how incredible, how capable, how wonderful she was in so many other ways.
If only she could see herself through his eyes he thought wistfully, even if just for a second maybe she'd understand how wrong she was. Yet he knew she couldn't do that right now and he didn't expect her to either. But one day, one day if things just worked out the way he was wanting for them to, perhaps she would.
"Please…" Scam said bringing his hands together before her in literal prayer, openly begging her now with zero concern for his male ego. "Please stop misunderstanding me," he implored. "I'm not trying to pull the wool over your eyes or trick you in any way. I'm being as genuine as I know how to. I am here, strictly for business and that is all."
With her eyes squinted and lips pressed together, Sam studied him carefully. He seemed so full of conviction with his words and how he was saying them but she still wasn't sure because it was actually his own words that were still her dilemma. The words he'd said to her before to be exact.
"What about everything you said to me that day?" She decided to just ask him outright. "When you told me you wanted me? That fate wanted us to be together?" Sam continued grilling him, refusing to let him off the hook until she felt safe enough.
"Forget everything I said that day," she heard him state simply, clearly trying to dismiss the subject quickly.
But Sam shook her head a hard no, letting him know she couldn't do that.
"It's not that easy to just forget. You stood right there…" she pointed to the exact spot where he coincidentally happened to be standing today was well. "And practically proposed MARRIAGE to me. And now you're saying it's all just business you're interested in me for … and nothing else?"
Hearing the dubious tone of her voice and seeing unconvinced expression on her face, Scam knew he had to do better to pacify her.
Quickly putting on look full of remorse, he let out a deep sigh and detached his gaze from her, making it seem as though he was too guilt ridden to even look at her right now.
"… I'm sorry for how I acted that day…" He slightly pouted looking even more apologetic. "Honestly, I don't really have an explanation for why what happened, happened. I've tried to make sense of it and, I dunno. I guess I just saw you after so long that I confused nostalgia for something else," Scam sighed resignedly. "I wasn't thinking clearly but I am now. Just know that everything I said and did that day … it meant nothing."
Hearing his explanation if it could even be called that, Sam's face only contorted further in confusion because it didn't make any sense to her.
"How is it even possible to do something like that?!" She dared him to explain with doubt leaking from her every word because she honestly didn't get it. "To tell someone that you want them, and not mean it? To kiss someone so … so …"
Sam trailed off stalling for a moment, not wanting to say the words to summon the mental picture of something she had tried so hard to forget sharing with him, but had failed to over and over.
Knowing it needed to be said to make her point to him though, she relented with just the tiniest of a hint of a soft blush on her face.
"…Deeply, slowly, and passionately," she finally spit through gritted teeth failing entirely to see how hard he had to battle not to chuckle right then, because she was too fixed on winning this argument.
"But then claim that it meant nothing to you? How?!" She fiercely interrogated.
"…"
When he didn't answer right back for once Sam felt relieved expecting him to now see her side as to why she could not agree to work with him under any circumstances, and finally give up this charade.
But then just another second after, she saw that his mouth was parting to speak again and for some reason, she had a foreboding feeling she was doomed before she even heard what he had to say.
"I mean …" Scam drawled, coolly placing his hands in his pockets and tilting his head towards her. "Shouldn't you understand better than anyone how it's possible?" He asked, placing the onus on her shoulders instead of his own. "Didn't you kiss me back just as deeply, slowly, and passionately…" he used her own words against her like weapons with an expert level of prowess. "But you claim it meant nothing to you. That you have no interest in me whatsoever. So of course you must understand since it's exactly the same for you..."
"…"
Only the sound of chirping crickets met his words as they hit bull's-eye on their target, and the eyes of the redhead before him went so wide they looked as though they might actually pop out.
Turning ripe tomato red, Sam's body shriveled up and she shrank inside herself feeling completely flustered and thrown off guard from his unforeseen comeback.
Then when she just continued to squirm and then squirm some more despite several moments ticking by, Scam had to refrain from displaying his signature "gotcha" smirk at the sour look that slowly become visible on her features.
And he knew that she was well aware she was backed into a corner, that he had her locked in a catch-22.
She had nothing, nothing at all that she could say to get herself out of that unless she wanted to go on and admit that she did indeed have feelings for him, something he knew she'd rather die on the spot than have to confess to.
"… So what you're saying is that you're gonna respect my boundaries, and keep things super professional between us?"
Sam finally grumbled after what seemed like an eternity, opting to pick what she saw as the lesser of evils compared to being compelled to saying she liked him, just as he'd predicted.
"Hallelujah!" Scam thought, thrilled that she'd accepted her fate and all his effort had ultimately paid off. The urge to break out in celebration with a fist pump was strong but he controlled it by pretending to adjust his silk tie as he answered her.
"Yes, of course. Pure, one hundred percent business and that is all. So…" Striding over to her and smiling in a friendly manner, he reached into his breast pocket and took out his business card before presenting it to her.
"Tell me what your decision is in a few days, kay?"
Sam didn't dare move a muscle merely glimpsing at the sleek, glossy, black and silver cardstock hovering before her that had all the information she needed to reach him if she wanted to, before moving her eyes back to his face.
"…The answer is no, Scam," she responded but this time, with much less gusto and not nearly as much confidence as before. "And it's not going to change in a few days, a week, a month, or even a year. Get that through your thick skull," she added, trying to sound more assertive.
Because as enticing as his proposition was, she wasn't going to be putting herself in his circle for him to have access to and pounce on later. Yes, she was still unwilling to let that scenario slide despite his various assurances to her.
She couldn't help it. Sure he hadn't hurt her now, but he very much could still do so later. That was just what all men did. And he was a man too; he couldn't change what was in his DNA.
"Okay, that's great," Scam only scratched his ear, unbothered and far too intelligent to risk saying anything more in case that ended up backfiring and giving the reason to make a legitimate escape from doing this that she was looking for right now.
"If that's your final answer, you can confirm that in a few days. We'll talk contract and numbers then. Oh and uh … one more thing."
Sam watched as he went back to his briefcase to quickly return with a huge stack of bills in his hand, one so large that its value couldn't even be estimated in a single glance.
When he moved to put it down on the table, she wondered if he was trying to give her some sort of sum up front to sweeten an already much to generous of an agreement.
But that wasn't how legal business was conducted. One party didn't accept payment from the other without having worked out all the details and officially signing something with lawyers present. Surely a business magnate like him, had to know that much. Unless…
Finally comprehending what he was doing, Sam gasped and immediately sprung to stop him. She was not about to let him pay her rent!
"Oh my God, no!" she protested. "I don't want your mon—"
But he silenced her by raising his hand.
"If you don't use it, you can give it to me in two or three days along with your decision. It's not running away."
Bending he placed the stack down on the second-hand, repurposed, folding ironing table which proceeded to wobble noticeably from trying to balance the weight upon its uneven legs. Kneeling down further, he withdrew another business card from his pocket and folded it in a particular way, sticking it under one of the metal pegs to stabilize it before standing back up to his full height and addressing her again.
"Look, you're panicked right now," he said, explaining himself. "This money gives you a chance to sit down and really reflect on my offer with a clear head, something you won't be able to do if you have to keep worrying about your rent. Okay?"
He'd phrased it like a question, but she knew it wasn't up for debate as he stepped back from the money to relinquish his claim on it and leave it to her.
And Sam truly didn't know how to react, flabbergasted at him somehow granting himself the permission to do this for her. And whilst she was bumbling for words to ask him again, just who the hell he thought he was, he made a swift escape by picking up his bag and heading to the front door.
Opening it, he stepped into the doorway only to pause and say one last thing to her from over his broad shoulder.
"Please do think long and hard about everything I said. This life that you're living is unworthy of you, and your daughter. If you say yes to working with me, then I promise you won't regret it. And frankly? Whatever happens with our partnership … things can't get worse for you than they already are. I look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now... Samantha."
Before she could say or do anything else, Scam exited leaving her stunned. She was so stunned in fact that it took her a full moment to find her legs and go after him.
Picking up the money he'd left behind, she followed after him to try and return the cash she desperately needed but her pride wouldn't allow her to keep.
"SCAM, WAIT!" She called out, barreling after him as fast as she could only to make it to the sidewalk just in time to see his black Lamborghini Veneno Roadster take off and disappear far into the distance.
And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
Sam sighed, slumping her shoulders in defeat. She could run as much as she wanted to, she was never going to be able to catch up to him in that freaking car.
Not having any other option, she turned around and slowly trudged her way back inside her flat with his money still held in her hands, and a lot to think about on her mind.
(1) If you know what TV show and character this name originates from, you get the biggest chocolate cookie from me!
(2) Oh look, another mention of Jerry! Oooh and WOOHP! :P
…
Anyway!
I know this was a long one but I wanted to make up for the ridiculous wait! Also I wanted to get Scam's proposal … err, business proposal hehe done with so the story can move forward!
So what do you guys think? Was Scam convincing enough? Will Sam say yes? Any theories as to what will happen next?!
I look forward to your reviews and reactions! Would be nice to hear from y'all after this much time xD
More updates to come when I am able to, for this and others! Till the next one!
Love Always,
Cresenta :D