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“You have?” Andie asked.
Veronica waved her hand in dismissal. “Once. Years ago. And it was nothing. We weren’t even formally introduced.”
Terrence kept smiling. “I’d hardly call it nothing, Veronica Fair.”
When Veronica didn’t say anything, Andie cleared her throat. “I’ll head back to the kitchen since the two of you know each other already. Terrence, Fulton said to let you know he’s ready to kick your ass in chess again whenever you’re ready.”
“Tell him I’m looking forward to it,” he said, still watching Veronica.
“You never told me you were Terrence Knightly,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest once Andie was out of sight and hearing range. “I never would have agreed to play with you that night if I’d known.” It was a lie, but he didn’t know that. She wasn’t even sure why she said it other than she wanted the chance to somehow try to level the playing field. Bring him down a notch or two.
But his smug smile didn’t falter. “I guess that makes two of us then. Because I’d have gotten the hell out of that joint as soon as I saw you if I’d had any idea you were the nineteen-year-old daughter of Senator Lewis.”
Judging by the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes, he wasn’t lying the way she’d been.
“You never called me after,” she said. As soon as the words were out, she wanted to take them back. Listen to her, sounding like a pouty teenager.
“You’ll have to forgive me,” he said in a deadpan tone. “I was doing what I could to ensure I hadn’t killed my career byexploring kink with the barely legal daughter of a man so far on the right he’s almost left.”
“From where I’m standing, your career seems to have weathered the storm without any blemish.” She hoped she didn’t come across as self-pitying as she feared she did. “You’re still making movies, and you get to spend your summers here getting your funny bone tickled. Although that’s not really shocking, is it? It’s a known double standard. Men are applauded for exploring their sexuality, but a woman doing the same thing is labeled a whore.”
It was as if she slapped him. The smile left his face, and he took two steps toward her looking mad as hell. “Who called you that?”
Was he serious? “You mean who didn’t, right? Because that list is the shortest of the two.”
He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Just as well. The damage had been done years ago, and she didn’t want to hear an apology five years too late.
“You know what?” she asked. “Just forget about it. Doesn’t matter anyway.”
She walked to her desk and shuffled the papers on top, waiting for him to leave. He didn’t. He stood, still and silent. She looked up and couldn’t help but wonder how long he would have stood there and waited for her to meet his eyes.
“Is that the reason you changed your name?” His voice was gentle, concerned.
“One of them,” she replied in a whisper.
He closed his eyes as if her admission hurt him. “I’m sorry.” He spoke so low she could barely hear, but she did, and those two words were enough.
“No.” She slapped her hand down on a paper pile, causing him to jump. “You don’t get to be sorry. Not now. Not five years after the fact. You never called. Yes, I was nineteen, but I neededmore after that night and I had nothing and no one. I was all alone.” She took a deep breath. “So you can leave my office and take your I’m-sorrys with you. I don’t need or want them anymore.”
He nodded and moved toward the door. Just as he was a step away, he stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. “If you need anything, let me know.”
“All I need from you is for you to stay the hell away from me.”
She waited until he left before sinking into her desk chair. Unbidden, memories of that night five years ago flooded her brain.
Chapter 5
VERONICA
Five Years Ago
Ronnie held her phone away from her ear as her best friend, Charity, let her know exactly how she felt about being left out of Ronnie’s plans for the evening. The sated and weightless aftereffects of the past several hours disappearing as the seconds ticked by.
“I can’t believe you played with Terrence Fucking Knight and didn’t even call me.” Charity was only getting started with her tirade, and Ronnie didn’t have the time or energy to deal with her at the moment. “I had to read about it on social media!” Charity added as if it was the worst thing imaginable.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ronnie said as calmly as she could. “The guy I played with was named John. And besides, he didn’t look anything like Terrence Knight.”
Charity sighed loudly into the phone. “Terrence Knight’s middle name is John, and of course he didn’t look like himself. He was in disguise.”
