by Donna Hill
“Can’t I look happy?” she asked lamely, stalling for time.
“Of course you can,” Chris replied gently. “It’s just that it’s so rare.” She paused. “And it’s been so long,” she added softly, her eyes filled with warmth for her friend. Crystal, more than anyone, was aware of the tight reins that Vaughn kept around her heart. Hers was the shoulder Vaughn had cried on after that fiasco with Paul. But Crystal also knew that there was something deep in Vaughn’s past, a wound that would not heal, and one that Vaughn had refused to disclose. There was a part of Vaughn’s past that she kept entirely out of reach. Crystal stood up and patted Vaughn’s busy hands, stilling them. “Listen, I’m not prying. I never have. If you’re happy—whatever the reason—I’m happy. If you feel like talking, you know I’m always here.”
Vaughn smiled up at her friend of over fifteen years. “Thanks,” she said softly. “I know.”
“Good.” Then Crystal did a quick switchback to her role as chief of staff. “Once you’ve gotten that smile off your face, go over your agenda and let me know if there need to be any changes. Not that anything can be changed.” She smiled mischievously. “But you know how I like your input.”
Vaughn flashed what could only be termed a sneer. Crystal stuck out her tongue in response.
“I’ll be back in an hour.” Crystal headed for the door.
“Could you send Tess in? I need to respond to these letters.”
“I’ll send her right in.” Crystal closed the door softly behind her.
As soon as Vaughn was alone, her thoughts drifted back to Justin. She wondered what he was doing right now. Was he thinking of her? Her heart beat a little faster. What was he wearing today? Did he splash on that cologne that made her brain turn to mush?
She shook her head to clear her thoughts. What was happening to her? This daydreaming and fantasizing was so unlike her. She seemed to have become engulfed in a whirlwind, a storm of unimaginable power. She was spinning helplessly. It was a heady, frightening sensation. For the first time in her life, at least since her teens, her emotions seemed to be totally out of her control. She couldn’t seem to rein them in and put on the brakes. Although there had been other men in her life, she had always felt some sense of control over her feelings, some sense of reality. Not now. And Justin Montgomery was the eye of her storm.
The light tapping on her door and the ringing of the phone competed for her attention.
“Come in,” she called out, while reaching for her private line.
“Yes. Vaughn Hamilton.”
“Good morning, Vaughn.”
Her stomach did a quick lurch. “Hi, Dad.” She waved Tess inside and motioned for her to sit. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. I thought we could meet for lunch and discuss a few things.”
Vaughn frowned slightly. She didn’t like the sound of “discuss a few things.”
“Has something come up, Daddy? Because if it’s not urgent, I really have a full schedule today.”
“I believe it would be in your best interest to fit me into your schedule. There are matters that must be dealt with immediately. What time is good for you?” he continued.
Vaughn sighed heavily and clenched her jaw. She knew she’d give in even as she told her father about her agenda. But she at least wanted to make him feel a twinge of guilt for disrupting her day, though she knew he wouldn’t.
“How about 2:30?” she said flatly. “I’d really appreciate it if you could come here. It’s going to be difficult for me to get away.”
“I’ll be there at two,” he replied. “Court reconvenes at three. See you then.” Elliott Hamilton hung up the receiver and looked, once again, at the pages in front of him. He pressed his lips together and slid his glasses from his nose. With his free hand, he rubbed it roughly across his face. He didn’t like it; he didn’t like it one bit. Vaughn had to be brought under control. Everything rested on appearances. He’d worked too hard to get her to where she was today. He wasn’t going to let her ruin it; that’s all there was to it. He slapped his hand against his mahogany desk with finality. That’s all there was to it.
The Chaney Building, which housed Justin’s suite of offices, loomed ahead. Moments later, Justin eased his BMW into the underground parking garage and swung into his spot. He looked across the lanes and saw that Sean and Khendra’s Lexus LS was also parked in their usual spot. Good, he needed to talk to Sean.
Retrieving his briefcase and his black leather trenchcoat from the backseat, he automatically activated the alarm system and locked the doors. In long, brisk strides, he crossed the gray and white concrete and entered the elevator that would take him to his offices on the sixteenth floor.
Justin pushed through the heavy, ornately carved wood doors that led to the immense reception area. Although he’d been coming through those same doors for nearly three years, he still had sudden flashes that it was all fantasy. Yet, this was his. He’d worked for it and everything, including every detail in the wood, had his markings. It was all a tribute to his enormous success, both in the courtroom and out. It was as a result of his success that he now had the time and opportunity to pursue other avenues, such as public speaking, advocacy, and writing that book that had been gnawing at him for years. And now, he finally had time for a woman in his life. He smiled unconsciously as visions of Vaughn bloomed ripe. He had the time to devote himself to making this relationship work and not have his work destroy the relationship—as it had between him and Janice.
Years later, it still hurt. Janice had been his first love, and his young heart had been fired with romance and ambition. He’d wanted Janice along for the ride. They’d married, had a child almost immediately, and before Justin had realized what had happened, they were divorced and Janice was gone, along with their infant daughter.
He’d expended his savings, his skills, and all the resources available to him trying to locate his ex-wife and child. They’d virtually disappeared off the face of the earth. Finally, after years of frustration, he’d given up and dove into his work with an incomparable intensity.
For that reason he’d become a devout advocate of children’s rights. He truly believed that he could somehow make an impact on legislatures to repeal the laws governing the sealing of adoption and foster care placement records and allow those children to lawfully find their natural parents. He had been a catalyst in helping to establish several organizations across the country who assisted parents and children in finding each other. It was his hope that although Janice saw no need to have him involved in their daughter’s life, his child would somehow find him through the channels now available. That hope was like an eternal flame that burned in his heart. If and when his dream of reuniting with his daughter was realized, he wanted Vaughn to be a part of that ultimate joy.
“Good morning, Mr. Montgomery,” Barbara Crenshaw, his executive assistant, greeted him cheerily. Her soft gray-green eyes warmed at the sight of him.
“Morning, Barb. Any messages?”
“They’re on your desk. Do you want coffee or should I send out for breakfast?”
“Coffee will be fine. I want to get my notes together for the staff meeting.”
“I’ll be right in.”
Justin waved and nodded acknowledgment to the bevy of staff members that made up his team as he wound his way through the maze of offices that led to his own. Once inside the soundproof room, he hung up his coat, rounded his desk, and punched in the extension for Sean’s line.
“Good morning, Phillips here,” came the distinctly feminine voice.
Justin smiled broadly. “How can that man of yours ever get any work done if you’re in his office doing who knows what when I’m not looking?”
Khendra’s husky laughter filtered through the phone. “Who says we’re here to work? We just come in to get a change of atmosphere,” she teased, enjoying the bantering that went on between them. “I presume you want to speak to my handsome, brilliant husband,” she added, giving her husb
and a quick wink.
“Well, only if you’re not keeping him too preoccupied to talk to me, of course,” Justin joked.
“Let me just check and see if he wants to be distracted, by business, that is, this early in the morning.” Khendra chuckled. “Listen,” she said, switching gears, “I was just going over the reports on the Harrison murder case. I think we should take it, Justin. I know I can pull this off.”
“Great. Bring your notes. We’ll discuss it at the meeting.”
“Here’s Sean.”
“Hey, Justin. What’s up?” Sean’s voice came over the wire.
“I was hoping you, uh, had some free time this morning, before the meeting.”
Sean immediately caught the hitch of hesitation in Justin’s voice. His thick eyebrows arched. Justin was never hesitant about anything.
“Sure. You want me to stop in now?”
“Yeah. Barb is bringing in coffee. Have you had breakfast?”
“We just finished. I just need to make two short calls and I’ll be right down.”
“Thanks.”
“Justin?”
“Yeah, Sean.”
“Is everything all right? You don’t sound like yourself.”
Justin thought for a moment and almost laughed out loud. He wasn’t himself. “Everything’s fine. Better than fine. That’s what I want to talk with you about. See you in a few.”
Justin reached again for the phone. His smile was broad. This time he dialed an outside number to the local florist.
Shortly there was a light knock on Justin’s office door.
“Come in.”
Sean strutted in, the picture of polish, power, and control. Sean was a connoisseur of fine clothing. His instincts and tenacity when it came to criminal law could be paralleled only by his wife, Khendra. But Sean knew when to relax and enjoy the good life he’d built for himself. He spent hours in the gym and on the racquetball court, which was where he and Justin had met nearly eight years before. They’d become fast friends, sharing a variety of similar interests. Justin had come to rely not only on Sean’s legal judgment, but on his personal judgment as well.
“What’s up, partner?” Sean asked, breezing in and taking a seat opposite Justin.
Justin stood up, slinging his hands into his pockets. He turned dark eyes on Sean. “I’m thinking about making some…changes.”
Sean’s eyebrows rose in question. He remained silent and listened as Justin revealed a side of himself that Sean hadn’t known existed.
The morning flew by with blinding speed. Before Vaughn had completed half of her tasks for the day, it was time to meet her father for lunch. She’d had Tess order two jumbo salad specials, knowing that they would be both filling and in keeping with her father’s diet, which he readily ignored.
Her midday interview with Channel 6 had gone off smoothly; the statements she’d made to the reporter from the Herald would be in the next day’s paper. She’d gone through half her mail, returned nearly a dozen phone calls, and remained sane through it all. To cap off a morning of success, she’d just received a huge bouquet of two dozen red roses from Justin. The whole office was buzzing. And she knew that as soon as Crystal was finished with her meeting, she’d be beating down her door for some answers. She’d tried to call Justin to thank him for his thoughtful gift, but he was tied up in a staff meeting.
In the meantime, she had her father to deal with. She checked her watch. Ten to two. He’d be arriving in minutes. Vaughn straightened her desk and crossed the parquet floor to the small conference table that held their lunch. She looked over the array of salads, breads, and low-calorie dressings. Everything was in place.
The brief knock on the door signaled her father’s arrival.
“A little noisy around here today, I see,” Elliott commented, hanging up his coat on the rack. He took out his pipe and slipped it between his teeth.
Vaughn crossed the room and gave her father a quick kiss. “I took the liberty of ordering lunch,” she said, crossing to the table. “I thought we could eat and talk.”
Elliott took a seat without comment. He looked across at his daughter and waited for her to be seated.
“Would you like some spring water, or tea?” she asked nervously, the ominous look of her father rattling her. He waved the offer away. She sat down like an errant schoolgirl waiting to be reprimanded. She became angry at herself. She influenced all sorts of men and women and changed government policy. So, why did her father still have the ability to rattle her nerves?
“I want to get straight to the point of this meeting,” Elliott began without preamble. “I just received a report today on your activities over the weekend.”
For an instant she was sure she couldn’t have heard correctly. “You what?”
“You were seen at the docks on Saturday, with that Montgomery fellow in a very compromising position to say the least.”
Vaughn felt the heat of embarrassment and anger burn her face. She shot up from her seat. “Are you saying that you had me followed?” she asked, her voice rising in indignation and disbelief.
Elliott cleared his throat and shot her a thunderous look. “Let’s just say that your activities have been brought to my attention.”
Vaughn spun away, barely able to contain the fury and humiliation that welled inside her.
“Sit down!” Elliott ordered.
“I will not,” she tossed back, spinning around to confront him, her face a blanket of outrage. “How dare you? How dare you have me followed? What right do you have to interfere in my private life?”
“I have every right,” he countered. “Wasn’t your experience with Paul enough to teach you a lesson? And Brian,” he added. The impact of his last comment had the desired effect, he noted, as he saw her resistance crumble.
The cold, on-target remark was like a splash of ice water. Vaughn felt her eyes sting with tears that threatened to overflow. Her throat tightened. She would not allow him to see her cry. Never again, she vowed. She remained standing, stiff and defiant, meeting her father’s eyes head on.
“Vaughn,” he said, almost gently, “I have only your best interests at heart. I want to protect you. Now is not the time for you to get…involved.” He cleared his throat. “The last thing you need is for the tabloids to pick up on any relationships you may be having. They’ll eat you alive. You’ll have enough to contend with without the added burden of a relationship that couldn’t possibly go anywhere. For heaven’s sake, child, you only just met the man. I gave you more credit than that.”
“Did you really?” she asked hollowly. “I didn’t think you gave me much credit for anything, Daddy.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I do. If I didn’t believe in your abilities, do you think I’d have guided your career for so many years? I want the best for you, sweetheart. But I want you to realize your ambitions before you make any commitments. You need to be sure of who you’re dealing with and ultimately of what they want from you. Everyone wants something, Vaughn; you know that as well as I do. It’s the nature of our lives. A mistake now could be disastrous for your career.”
Is that all she would ever have? she wondered numbly. A career? What about love, a family, a man in her life who loved her for who she was? Was Justin the right man? Maybe her father was correct. Hadn’t he always been right? Hadn’t he always made everything right?
He reached across the table and patted her cold hands. “I know you’ll realize the truth in what I’m telling you. Put an end to this, before it gets out of hand. I know you may not agree with me now. But if you think with your head and not with your heart, you’ll see that I’m right.”
Vaughn’s eyes trailed across the room to her desk and settled on the brilliant bouquet of flowers. Inhaling deeply, she nodded.
Elliott rose. “Then it’s settled.” He rounded the table and briefly touched his lips to her cheek. “You won’t regret this, sweetheart.”
Vaughn pressed her lips together to keep them from tre
mbling. Elliott collected his coat. His goodbye went unanswered.
Mechanically, Vaughn rose, crossed the room, and locked her office door. She turned and pressed her back against it. She squeezed her eyes shut and fought down the tremors that raced up and down her spine. What was she going to do? Her political career was already a daunting struggle, but now she would have to put her energies into fighting her father as well?
Slowly she recrossed the room and sank down onto the low couch that braced the far wall of the airy office. A part of her knew that her father was right. She didn’t know Justin Montgomery. Her past experiences had demonstrated time and time again that the men in her life had proved disastrous, on many levels. Was Justin any different?
Her father was one of those men as well. For reasons she couldn’t fathom, she at times found it almost impossible to get from under his spell. Her father had dictated every aspect of her life for so long, that she felt incapable of making an independent decision.
Vaughn sucked on her bottom lip. She’d always succumbed to her father’s demands and expectations. She stood up and took a deep breath, her face resolute, her eyes glowing with rebellion. Until now. This time she would prove her father wrong. Justin would prove him wrong.
Chapter 6
Over lunch in a small café on Pennsylvania Avenue, Sean and Khendra talked animatedly about the pending Harrison murder case. It was one of the most noteworthy cases to have arisen in decades. All of the players were very public people, and the prime suspect was one of the most prominent athletes in America.
“I’m sure that the family will be agreeable to retaining us,” Khendra stated, taking a sip of Perrier. “We have the manpower and the experience. And the D.A. has so much circumstantial evidence, it’s almost funny.”
Sean nodded in agreement. “Unfortunately,” he said, “circumstantial evidence has convicted a lot of people.”