Page 54 of Snowy Surprises in the Highlands

‘I… I think you have me all wrong. I respect women.’

Bella huffed. ‘I’m sorry but if you think it’s acceptable for you to slap a woman’s bottom just because she bends over in front of you then you really don’t know much about respect at all, or what women want.’

‘I didn’t mean anything bad by it,’ he insisted. ‘It was a compliment when you think about it. And it was only done in fun.’

His comments annoyed her all over again. ‘Fun for whom? Because I can assure you if a man slapped me on my behind, I wouldn’t think it was fun. And I wouldn’t take it as a compliment either. I’d feel degraded, humiliated and angry.’

She felt him move to face her. ‘Humiliated? Really?’

Bella sighed. ‘How can you not realise that? Women aren’t objects for your entertainment, Carlton. Just because you usually get any woman you want doesn’t mean you can take any woman when she’s said no.’

‘She’d flirted with me too. She was just playing hard to get.’

Bella yanked her hand free. ‘No, Carlton. She wasn’t. You can’t make excuses like that. Next you’ll be saying she was wearing a short or tight skirt on purpose, that she was asking for it. Women shouldn’t have to explain themselves in detail to you. Nor should they have to consider what to wear to stop you from behaving like that. No doesn’t mean maybe if you slap my bottom I’ll think about it. No means no. She owed you nothing.’

Anger bubbled up from deep within her. ‘Men don’t seem to realise that women all over the world are faced with this kind of stuff on daily basis, and we’re expected to deal with it quietly. Say nothing or else we’ll be seen as – what did you call me? Overdramatic? – try being terrified of walking the streets at night in case some guy attacks you. Try having to watch what you wear in case a man can’t control himself around you, because you’ll be blamed if he can’t. We’re expected to have a sense of humour when men say things to us that make us uncomfortable. We’re expected to accept the whole boys will be boys thing but it’s shit, Carlton. It’s hard. It can be terrifying being female. There are so many assumptions put on us and we’re just expected to accept our lot in life. It’s not fair. And it’s not fun at all. Just imagine you had a daughter, and a man slapped her bottom without her consent. Would you laugh and think oh, he was only doing it in fun? What if she came home and told you her boss had been walking around half naked in front of her? In a work environment, shirtless and wearing only boxers. Would that just be him playing around? What if she told you a man she hardly knew had pulled her into a lift and pushed her up against a wall and forced himself on her?’

‘But it was only a kiss, I⁠—’

‘No, Carlton! An unwanted kiss is assault. An unwanted slap to the behind is assault. Pinning someone down without consent is assault. How was I to know you weren’t about to do something worse? We’re here alone. I was afraid.’

‘You were afraid? Of me?’ He sounded genuinely surprised.

‘Yes. I was afraid of what you might do next. You hid my phone, so I had no way to contact anyone if I’d wanted to. That’s not something a normal person does. I’ve already told you I’m engaged on numerous occasions, and that I’m not interested. You had absolutely no right to do any of what you’ve done today, or before today for that matter.’ Her eyes welled with angry tears, and she wanted nothing more than to be at home with Harris, in the arms of a man who knew how to treat people and would never force himself on anyone.

She heard Carlton swallow, but he didn’t speak for a few moments. Eventually he reached out and took her hand again. ‘I’m sorry, Bella. I’m a jackass. I hate that you were afraid of me. I really like you and I hate that you see me as this monster.’ His voice trembled as he spoke and he fell silent again for a while until he eventually said, ‘You’re right, too, if I had a daughter and she’d been in any of those situations I’d wanna go and beat the guy to a pulp.’

‘Exactly.’

‘Do you think you can forgive me?’

‘Right now, I’m not sure. Because if I’m going to continue working on this project, I need to feel safe, so I need you to please think before you say inappropriate things to me in future. And I need you to wear clothes.’

‘I… I will. And I won’t say anything… or do anything wrong to you again. I really am sorry. Please don’t pull out of the job. You’re the right person for it. I know how passionate you are about this place and your ideas are amazing. And I swear I’ll even stay out of your way if you’d rather. Although I’m kinda hoping we can maybe get past this eventually. I promise I’ll be better. And I really am sorry, Bella.’

‘Thank you.’ She didn’t say she accepted his apology because at that precise moment she didn’t know whether he was being genuine or just feeling scared due to the situation they were in. She wanted to further request that he stop belittling her and her qualifications but decided against mentioning that particular thing at that moment. Although she wouldn’t hold back if he said anything like it again.

They sat in silence for what felt like hours and Bella was fighting sleep. But in the distance, they heard a voice.

Bella sat bolt upright. ‘Did you hear that?’

Carlton squeezed her hand and then scrambled to his feet. ‘I did. I did! Hey! We’re in the elevator! We’re stuck!’ He banged on the door, making Bella cringe at the piercing volume of the sound that felt like pins in her ears.

‘Bella?’ The voice got louder. ‘Bella?’

‘Harris!’ Bella shouted, smiling with relief. ‘Harris! Carlton and I are stuck in the lift!’

‘Bella! Are you okay?’ Harris shouted. His voice was closer now. ‘Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?’

‘No! We’re fine. Just cold and sitting in the dark.’

‘I’m going to go call the Fire Brigade. They’ll be able to get you out. Sit tight.’

‘Okay, thank you!’ And then to Carlton she said, ‘I told you he’d come.’

‘I’m so glad you were right because I couldn’t have been in here all night. I’d have gone crazy.’

‘He never lets me down,’ she replied, matter-of-factly.

After a few moments, Carlton spoke again. ‘Look, thanks for helping me earlier. You didn’t have to do that after how I’ve behaved toward you, so I want you to know I really appreciate it. You have a very calming way about you. And that’s not me trying to flirt. I’m just stating a fact. And I hope it’s okay to say this but… Harris is a very lucky guy, although I’m sure he knows that.’

Bella didn’t respond.

* * *

A short time later they heard the wailing siren of a fire engine, and following that, more voices. Before they knew it the door was being pried open, and a torch was being shone down on them.

‘Are you both okay? Any injuries?’ a man’s voice Bella didn’t recognise asked. ‘Any need of medical attention?’

‘No, thank you, we’re both fine. Just ready to get out of here.’