by Kaylee, Katy
Ah, he’d moved faster and upped the ante higher than I’d anticipated. “Evidence that you got by stalking Ms. DeMarcus,” I pointed out. “I’m sure the board, and the general public, won’t look too kindly on that. And records will show that I’m no longer treating her. She’s been referred to another doctor with whom she’s already had at least one appointment.”
“That won’t matter to the board,” Preston replied. “You clearly had a sexual relationship while she was still a patient.”
“You had to do some real good spy work to prove that,” I said. “Law-breaking spy work. Your evidence will be thrown out of court.”
After all, it wasn’t like I had been sleeping with her where everyone could see. We’d had sex in my office, and in the examination room, two places where there were no cameras. My taking her out to dinner was evidence of romantic interest but not evidence of a sexual relationship. The only place where Preston could’ve gotten images of a sexual nature was when I’d had sex in the car with Veronica, and those were from after she was no longer my patient.
“Those are all matters of technicality,” Preston replied. “I have evidence that there was more between you than the usual patient-doctor relations, and even if any evidence is from after you were no longer her doctor, it sure does look like you two could easily have been having sex before. Is the board really going to care about splitting hairs by the time I’m finished with them? Are you suggesting that you can beat my track record of winning cases?”
“What do you want?” I snapped. The guy was here to try and gloat, to get me to agree to his demands, and I was sick of him. I knew the truth, that I had broken the law with Veronica, but I also knew that it couldn’t truly be proven. I was willing to stake everything on that. I wouldn’t let this asshole bully me. Or Roni.
“I want you to break up with Veronica,” Preston said. He pulled the papers back and returned them to his suitcase. “Leave her alone, never come near her, or I’ll make sure that you lose your license. I’ll even convince the board that you pressed your… attentions onto her.”
“You mean like you’re doing?” I replied, my temper being held back by the thinnest of threads. “You’re blackmailing her into being with you, that includes sexually, and you want to try and accuse me of doing the same thing? Gotta say, that’s a new low I’m discovering here.”
“It’s just business.”
“Veronica is not a business. She’s a person.” I stood up. “Get out.”
Fuck, I wanted to punch the guy. Give him a black eye and a bloody nose. But then he could just push assault charges on me and I’d look unhinged in the report, making everything worse. I kept my thoughts, and my fists, to myself, and only gestured at the door.
Preston chuckled. “I suggest you do what I told you. For your sake and that of Ms. DeMarcus.”
I think the hardest thing I’d ever had to do in my life was refrain from strangling the bastard.
That night, I had to tell Veronica what had happened. How could I not? This affected her, and I wasn’t going to make a choice for her. I wouldn’t break up with her just because some asshat was blackmailing me, but if she wanted to break up with me… that was her choice. She was pregnant, she couldn’t afford a scandal. If she wanted to avoid that, I would understand.
Veronica was upset, understandably, but she wasn’t… breaking down the way that I had feared she would. She’d been through so much all these years, the last thing I wanted was to bring her more pain, but instead of crying… this hard glint came into her eyes.
“I’ll find some way to work this out,” I told her, but she covered my hands with her own.
“No.” She shook her head. “If it’s okay, I want you to let me handle it. I know you can fight my battles, and I don’t - I can’t explain how grateful I am that you want to. That you’ll go to bat for me. But this time… I want to be the one to bring down the hammer. Let me do this.”
“Of course. If that’s what you want, then of course.” I couldn’t refuse her anything.
But I also couldn’t stop myself from worrying that this might be beyond either of our abilities to fix.
30
Veronica
I went straight to Preston’s office the next day.
That - that bastard. He thought that he could blackmail me and the man that I loved? He thought that he could just swoop in there and claim me like I was a piece of meat and then own me? I wasn’t his property. I wasn’t anybody’s property. I was my own person and I was going to stick by the people that I loved for once.
Once, I had given up the person that I loved. I had thrown Ted away for the sake of appearances and for the sake of my parents. I had bought into my parents telling me that I would never be happy with Ted, that I would be alienated and alone, that he wouldn’t treat me right and that I would be ripped away from everything I’d ever known.
Well, everything I’d ever known was shit. The parties, the gossip, worrying about how you looked and your social standing, caring only about appearances and wealth - I didn’t want that. All I wanted was a warm and loving home, and Ted was going to give that to me. He was giving it to me already.
This time, I wasn’t letting that go so easily.
My hands were shaking with nerves as I went into the law offices and up the elevator to get to Preston’s office. I was nervous as all hell, yes. But I wouldn’t let it stop me. I took deep breaths as I rode the elevator, and then put a sunny smile on my face as I walked out of the elevator and up to the receptionist.
“Hi,” I said, “how’s your day going?”
“Oh, good, good, how about yours?”
“Oh, it’s been fine. Lovely weather we’re having though, a bit hot for my tastes.”
“Oh I know, what I wouldn’t do for a glass of lemonade, you know?”
We laughed. “I was wondering,” I said, now that the preliminaries of polite small talk had been done with, “if I could speak to Mr. Andrews?”
“I’m afraid that he only sees people by appointment,” the receptionist replied.
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll see me.” I let my smile morph into one that I’d seen my mother make my entire childhood when she was dealing with someone who dared to tell her ‘no’. It was the smile of someone who knew that she was the richest, most powerful person in the room and expected to be obeyed - or there would be consequences. “If you could just let him know that the governor’s daughter-in-law is here to see him? And that it’s urgent.”
The receptionist’s eyes went wide and she stammered out, “Oh, oh, of course, I’ll… I’m sure that he’ll want to see you.”
“Oh, I’m sure.” I kept my smile firmly in place but made my voice just a little icier. “We’re old friends, Preston and I.”
The receptionist quickly got up and hurried into Preston’s office. I felt bad, even though I hadn’t treated her as badly as I’d seen some people, like my mother, treat waitstaff and secretaries and others, but I also felt powerful. Like I had more of a handle on this situation than I’d thought.
The receptionist showed me into Preston’s office, where he was sitting and smiling. He looked like a predator who’d just been shown a wounded gazelle. “Veronica. I’m so glad to see you stopping by. I take it this means you’ve considered my offer?”
“I’ve given your offer all the consideration it was due,” I replied. “And I’ve decided that it’s very important that the governor hear about how his beloved former daughter-in-law is being blackmailed.”
Preston’s face changed immediately, going pale. “What?”
“Oh, yes. And the congressman who’s married to my best friend, he’ll be very interested to hear about this as well. After all, as you pointed out, we’re very protective of ourselves here, aren’t we, Preston? Our old families and our old money. You come from nothing, nobody, no family line. That’s why you need me. Do you think that they’ll favor an upstart who’s trying to ingratiate himself into their ranks, or me? One of their own? A bluebl
ood just like them?”
My whole life, my connections and my family had stifled me. Imprisoned me. They had taken me from what, who, I loved.
Now I would use them to free myself.
“Those are just two of the people I know - and I’ve known these people all of my life. Your accusations are going to be flimsy to prove, don’t you think? Did you have a camera in my bedroom? A camera in Ted’s bedroom? You can’t actually say when we started our sexual relationship. And you can argue all that you want, you can persuade people all that you want, and sure, you might get Ted to lose his license and his clinic.” I shrugged. “But the doors of our world are going to be barred to you. You’ll never get the ticket to high society that you crave. I’ll make sure of that. You can burn us to the ground, but I’ll make sure that you burn with us.”
Preston’s face was white with fury, his eyes practically standing out of his head. “You’re really going to risk it all for this man?”
As I should have done years ago, yes. “Of course,” I said simply. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to leave us alone, you’re going to withdraw your call for an ethics inquiry, and you’re going to admit that you trumped up the charges to try and manipulate Ted. Are we clear?”
“And what if I don’t do that?” Preston replied.
“Then I’ll get you disbarred,” I replied. “I have enough connections, enough power. I’ll make sure that you’ll have to leave this city - this entire state - in disgrace if you’ve got any hope of continuing your career or your social life.”
Preston spluttered, but I had no interest in continuing to talk to him. We were done. He would back down, if he knew what was good for him. I was going to make good on my threats and I was going to contact every single person I knew and get them to go after Preston. I wouldn’t stop until he was annihilated.
I smiled. “Have a nice life,” I said sweetly.
Then I turned and walked out.
I felt powerful. In control. Free.
I was finally charting my own course in life, and I wasn’t going to let anyone take that from me. Being single, or being with someone I loved, it was all my own choice. I would never let anyone else dictate my choices to me, not ever again.
When I got home I was ready to break out the ice cream in celebration and call Ted, only to find that he was already up in front of the house.
“Hey,” I said, getting out of the car. “What are you doing here?”
Not that I minded him here, but wasn’t he supposed to be taking care of patients at the clinic?
Ted stood up from where he’d been sitting on my stoop, clearly waiting for me. I hoped that he hadn’t been waiting a long time. “I was hoping to talk with you.”
“Of course.” I unlocked the front door and ushered him inside. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.”
“I have some news—”
“And I’d love to hear it, but I just… I was hoping to go first.”
“Sure thing.” My stomach was knotting tighter and tighter as I wondered what was going on, what could possibly be happening.
And then, he got down on one knee.
31
Ted
I’d spent all night thinking about our situation.
Veronica had some kind of plan in mind. I had been able to read that in her eyes. And I was more than happy to let her take charge if that was what she wanted. But I wasn’t going to just let her go, either. I wanted her to know that I was sticking with her. Preston could toss any threat that he wanted at me, and I wasn’t going to budge. Not unless Veronica truly didn’t love me.
Thing was, I could admit that my behavior was unethical. I had crossed a line in sleeping with Veronica while she was still my patient. Even though I knew that Preston’s evidence could - if we got a good defense lawyer - get dismissed, he was right. I had a sexual relationship with Veronica while I was still her doctor, and I was willing to accept the punishment for that, if it came.
But forcing myself on anyone? Or crossing a line with a patient before? No. Never. Veronica was with me by choice, she always had been, and I would never just sleep around with patients for the fun of it. Veronica was the love of my life, dammit, and that was the reason I had chosen (stupid as it might have been) to disregard the rules about doctor-patient interactions. Not because I couldn’t keep it in my pants.
I was willing to fight for my business with the board and with the court. But I was also willing to just walk away. Veronica was important. Not my business, not in the end.
So on Wednesday I cancelled all my appointments and had my nurses handle the ones that they were qualified to take care of (a surprising amount, no hospital or clinic would be able to run without nurses) while I went to a ring shop.
I hadn’t thought about this in the sense that I’d been planning how to ask her and when or anything. But I had known from the start that I wanted to marry her. That I wanted to be with Veronica for the rest of my life.
And who cared, really, if I hadn’t planned some big romantic day? I would have preferred that, who wouldn’t, but it didn’t matter so much in the long run - if all went well, we’d have the rest of our lives together and I could be as romantic as I wanted any day of the week. It was about starting our lives, not just the one day.
I took a while picking out a ring, though. Something that was simple and classic, timeless, sophisticated but not ostentatious. I had a feeling that Veronica would hate it if I got her something with a huge rock on it. She had told me about how friends would show up with these huge diamonds on their fingers showing them off, and showing off in turn how rich their fiancé was.
Veronica didn’t care about that. Maybe she had, in high school, but not now. I knew that for a fact. She would want something that she could wear with any outfit, something that she would be proud to pass onto future generations.
I ended up selecting a ring with small diamonds in a row embedded in it. It would sparkle and catch the light, add a bit of flair, but it wouldn’t overwhelm or become gauche. And it would, I figured, go with just about anything she wore.
Once I had the ring taken care of, I headed over to her house. I knew that Veronica wanted to take care of things. That wasn’t what this was about. This was about showing her that no matter what happened, I would be there. I was up for anything. I would do whatever it took to make it work. We were the priority. The two of us together. No matter how this all worked out.
She wasn’t home when I got there, so I waited. Luckily only about half an hour. She looked stunning when she got out of her car. Veronica had clearly dressed to the nines today, her pale pink fit n’ flare dress and the kitten heels more conventional ‘Southern belle’ than I had seen from her in my entire time of knowing her as adults.
When she showed me inside, I saw no reason to wait or hesitate any further. I got down on one knee and pulled out the ring box.
Veronica dropped her small clutch purse in shock. I almost laughed, but nerves got in the way. I hoped that she would say yes, but… this whole time she had been trying to take things slowly. Most men didn’t propose until they knew that their girlfriend would definitely say yes. It was the how and when that was supposed to be a surprise for the proposal, not the act of proposing itself. It was supposed to be something that you and your partner talked about and understood, a step that you knew you were both ready to take.
I didn’t know that about Veronica. I hoped, but I didn’t know. And I was fully prepared for her to say that she wasn’t ready, that she needed more time, that she needed to wait. No matter what she said, though, she would know that I loved her and was ready to make that official, known to the world. I wanted us to be together for the rest of our lives. That was what this was about. That was why this was important.
Thank God I’d practiced my speech, because I would’ve completely blanked out otherwise. “Roni.”
She smiled at me, a helpless, giddy kind of smile, and clapped a hand ov
er her mouth. I thought I could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
“I’ll be honest with you… I’ve loved you since we were in high school. All this time, I had tried to get over you, and I’d failed. And I’m not exactly one to believe in fate and destiny and all that, but I also believe that when you know, you know. And I knew you. I knew you were the only one for me.
“You don’t have to say yes. You don’t have to set a date. We don’t have to move in together or anything. We can take it as slow as you want. But this is my promise to you. This is my offer to you - to let me love you and worship you for the rest of our lives. I’m not asking for you to belong to me in any way. I’m asking for a partnership. And if you wanted to join me in that, I would spend the rest of my life making sure that you knew that you were beloved, and valued, and adored.” I took a deep breath. “I don’t want to limit your freedom. Not in any way. I just want to be allowed to dedicate myself to you the way I’ve always wanted.”
“But…” Veronica looked like she was struggling not to cry. “Your… your job?”
“Who cares about the job?” I replied. “You matter to me. You and our child. You were the reason that I worked so hard to get to where I am, you’re my priority, you always have been. I can find something else. I’ll always find a new path, so long as you’re with me.”
Veronica’s hand trembled as she held it out, and my heart soared. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.”
32
Veronica
I could hardly breathe as I listened to Ted pouring his heart out to me. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I could in a way because Ted had always been certain about this, certain about us, in a way that I had been scared to be.