Chapter 276 Mistaken Identity
Briar, standing off to the side, caught sight of her too, her eyes widening in sheer shock.
Quinlan, ever the master of reading the room, masked her surprise almost instantly. She smoothly took the drinks, passing them to Scarlett and Briar, before grabbing one for herself.
"That will be all. You can go," she told the waitress.
The waitress, Felicity, gave a stiff nod and slipped away in silence.
Once she was out of earshot, Quinlan took the initiative to speak up. "Scarlett, I am so sorry. I had no idea she looked exactly like you. If we had met before, I swear I never would have hired her."
Pulling herself out of her daze, Scarlett quickly waved it off. "Don't apologize. Tonight is literally our first time meeting. You couldn't have known."
Scarlett was fiercely protective of her privacy. She never posted pictures on social media, and her digital footprint was practically nonexistent. There was no way Quinlan could have known what she looked like.
Beside her, Briar let out a dramatic sigh. "I really should have introduced you two sooner."
"Better late than never. I'll let her go in a bit," Quinlan said, her loyalty shining through.
Truthfully, the second Quinlan had laid eyes on Scarlett earlier, she had noticed the uncanny resemblance to Felicity. She had even planned to quietly dismiss the waitress later, never expecting Felicity to show up right in front of them.
Whether Felicity's appearance was intentional or just a crazy coincidence, keeping her on staff was no longer an option.
"No, don't. Tonight is your grand opening," Scarlett quickly intervened.
"Right, tonight is opening night. We'll deal with it tomorrow," Briar chimed in. Her tone left no room for argument—Felicity definitely had to go.
Having made her point, Briar smoothly shifted gears, handing over the gift she'd been holding. "Happy grand opening! May the cash flow in."
The awkward topic was successfully waved off.
Quinlan's face lit up with genuine delight. "Oh, this is too perfect."
She reached out to take the gift—a gleaming golden lucky cat statue.
"I'm putting this right on the bar. It's going to bring in all the good tips," Quinlan said with a playful wink.
Scarlett, who had rushed over, hadn't brought a gift and promised to make it up to her later.
Quinlan waved off the apology, insisting that their presence was the only gift she needed. She handed the golden cat to a nearby server and guided the two women to a plush VIP booth.
After making sure they were settled, Quinlan couldn't stay longer; duty called, and she hurried off to mingle with the crowd.
Left to their own devices, Scarlett and Briar picked at their gourmet bar snacks and sipped their drinks.
"Scarlett, that girl looked way too much like you. You don't think she's your dad's illegitimate daughter, do you?" Briar asked, her curiosity piqued.
Scarlett still hadn't completely shaken off the shock. She looked at Briar, her gaze a little unfocused. "I know my dad's character. It's definitely not him. But maybe..."
She trailed off, hesitating. Briar connected the dots instantly.
"Something from your mom's side?"
Scarlett pressed her lips together. "I have no idea. I literally have zero information about my mom, let alone where she is."
"Look, speaking from my vast experience of seeing doppelgängers, if she were your half-sister, you'd share maybe a fifty percent resemblance. Only identical twins hit that ninety percent mark."
"But that face... she looked ninety percent like you. Do you think she had work done?"
Suddenly, Briar slapped her thigh. "Yes! Plastic surgery! That's the only way someone could look 'that' identical."
"I bet you anything that girl went under the knife to look like you."
Scarlett stayed silent, thinking for a moment as she sipped her drink. "If it really was plastic surgery, it would have to be someone who knows me well enough to know what I look like. Besides, I'm not some A-list celebrity. There's no reason for anyone to use my face as a blueprint."
"Are you kidding? You're prettier than half the stars out there. Maybe she knew you a long time ago, wanted to break into the entertainment industry, and just used you as her personal mood board. It wouldn't be the craziest thing to happen."
Briar's imagination was running wild, spinning the theory until it sounded like an absolute fact.
Scarlett shook her head, a soft laugh escaping her. "It's a tragedy you aren't a screenwriter."
Unbothered by the flattery, Briar stood up. "Whether it's my imagination or not, I'm going to do a little digging and find out."
With that, she was already marching away. She moved so fast that Scarlett didn't even have a chance to stop her.
With Briar gone, Scarlett was left sitting there alone. She got bored soon and picked at the bowl of mixed nuts on the table, pulling out her phone to check if her kid had messaged her.
Sure enough, Hayden had sent a voice memo, saying he was staying at The Boleyn Manor for the night.
She quickly typed out a reply.
"Excuse me, miss. Mind if I take this seat?" A male voice suddenly interrupted.
She looked up to find a man staring at her, a predatory gleam in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but my friend will be right back," she replied, offering a polite but firm rejection.
The man acted like he was completely deaf to it, sliding into the booth anyway. "It won't be a problem when she gets back."
Scarlett hated this kind of uninvited, overly familiar approach. But tonight was Quinlan's grand opening, and she figured everyone here had to be a friend of the owner. She didn't want to cause a scene and ruin her vibe.
"I'm Jasper Bennett." he continued.
Scarlett gave him a cool, detached look. "Hello."
She deliberately didn't offer her name in return. Jasper raised his glass, leaning in to toast her, when a deep, resonant voice cut through the noise.
"Ms. Mellon?"
Scarlett glanced up. It was Felix. He was dressed in a crisp blue shirt paired with black suspenders, radiating a refined, undeniably elegant aura.
"Mr. Evans."
Felix stepped up to her booth, his sharp gaze locking onto Jasper. "Jasper, it's your sister's opening night, and you're over here harassing her friends?"
Jasper instantly shrank back, practically bowing in intimidation. "Felix, come on. I'm just entertaining my sister's friend for her. How is that harassment?"
Felix shifted his gaze to Scarlett. "Is that so?"
From the exchange, Scarlett had already pieced together their relationship with Quinlan. Since Jasper was the owner's brother, she had to give him a little grace to save face.
She forced a polite smile. "Yes, Jasper was just keeping me company for Quinlan."
Hearing this, Jasper let out a massive sigh of relief. "See? I wasn't lying. But what brings you by tonight, Felix?"
Taking in the scene, Felix offered a smile, though his words carried a heavy, loaded meaning.
"Just dropping by to check in. We are family, after all." He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly at Jasper. "Since you've already done your hosting duties here, shouldn't you go entertain somewhere else?"
Jasper's face flushed with obvious embarrassment. He let out an awkward chuckle. "Actually, I was just about to leave!"
He turned to Scarlett, raising his glass one last time. "Have a great night, Ms. Mellon. I won't bother you any longer."
With that, he practically sprinted away.
Scarlett looked back at Felix. "Are you Quinlan's brother?"
He gave a vague, noncommittal nod. "You could say that."
While Scarlett was undeniably curious, she wasn't the type to pry.
Felix didn't linger for more than a few seconds before excusing himself. Once he was out of sight, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Ambrose.
[Ms. Mellon is at Quinlan's bar.]
Later, on her way back from the restroom, Scarlett kept her eyes peeled, scanning the crowd for any sign of Briar. As she walked past a row of private VIP rooms, one of the doors suddenly swung open, and a man stepped out.
Scarlett barely paid attention to him, she kept walking, until a heavy hand suddenly clamped down on her wrist, jerking her to a halt.
"This outfit looks a hundred times better than the uniform you had on earlier. Absolutely stunning," the man slurred.
Scarlett whipped her head around, her voice dripping with ice. "Who the hell are you? Let go of me."
"Oh, come on. Just a minute ago, you were begging for a role in my short film, and now you're playing hard to get?" The man, Beau Morris, let out a dark scoff. Without warning, he reached out again, trying to pull her flush against his chest.
"As long as you take good care of me tonight, the lead role in my film is yours. Guaranteed."
A wave of pure disgust washed over Scarlett. It hit her instantly—he had mistaken her for that lookalike waitress.
"Let go of me! You have the wrong person. I'm not who you're looking for."
"Do you think I'm blind? It's the exact same face."
Scarlett's mind raced. She knew explaining herself to a drunk, entitled jerk was useless. She was going to have to get herself out of this.
"Just let go of me first, and we can talk about this properly," she said, deliberately softening her tone to placate him.
But Beau didn't loosen his grip. Instead, he yanked her roughly toward the open door of his private room. "We can talk about it inside."