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on his bed, he should have tossed her out of his room. But that option had quickly left his mind when she’d proceeded to give him one badass blow job. Her father had found out about the incident, which Virgil suspected had been intentional. Whitney wanted to get back at her father for forcing her into an engagement with some rich, old oil baron from Texas.
“That was almost two years ago, Dad.”
“Yes, but Marv Hilton still wants blood, especially since her fiancé called off the wedding. Marv blames you for that. He swears his daughter was a virgin up to that time and she was saving herself for her wedding. However, I’m sure you know better.”
Yes, Virgil definitely knew better since Whitney had boasted about her very active sex life that night. And the only thing she was saving was herself—from being forced into marrying a man old enough to be her father.
“You’ve done a great job running things in my absence, Virgil.” His father intruded into his thoughts. “And there’s no doubt in my mind the company would be in good hands if I were to retire. But we have to do something about cleaning up your image, especially if we want Paul Wyman’s business. He and I have talked. But he’s heard about you from Hilton, and Wyman has three daughters he’s concerned about.”
Virgil’s gaze narrowed. “You make me sound like someone who goes after anything in a skirt.”
“Well, that’s the impression that’s out there and Hilton is milking it for all it’s worth. Such an image could eventually hurt the company.”
Virgil stood, walked over to the window and stared out at downtown Charlotte. It was the second week in August and already the sun was beating down, guaranteeing it would be another hot day. Drawing in a deep breath, he slowly turned around.
Knowing his father, Virgil was certain the old man had a plan, one he’d thought out thoroughly. That’s the way Matthew Bougard worked. If there was a problem, he came up with a solution. Virgil just hoped it was one he could go along with. “Okay, what do you suggest?”
“I think we should hire a good PR consultant, one who will come in and clean up your womanizing image.”
Virgil frowned. “Do you really think that’s necessary, Dad?”
“Yes. Hilton is claiming that you seduced his daughter. So I hope you can see the need to take proactive measures.”
Virgil walked back over to his desk and sat down. Like his father said, Marv Hilton was out for blood. His. Unfortunately the man ran in circles with people who were potential clients for Bougard Enterprises.
“Fine. Do what you think is best. If you think hiring a PR firm will work, let’s do it.”
“I figured you would understand, so for the past couple of weeks I’ve been checking out firms. The one I suggest using comes highly recommended.”
“Great,” he said drily. “What’s the name of the company?”
“Goshay PR and Image Consultants.”
Virgil was out of his seat in a flash. “That’s out of the question. You know Kara owns that business.”
“Yes.”
Virgil was fuming. “Then why on earth would you want to hire her?”
“Calm down, Virgil. The reason I’m hiring Kara’s company is because she’s the best. Anyone who could clean up Senator Jack Payne’s reputation after that scandal involving him and those women—and get him reelected—can surely clean up yours without a problem.”
Matthew stared hard at him, and continued, “Why are you so upset about it? Are you admitting you’ve only been lying to yourself these past four years and that you do still care for Kara?”
“No! I care nothing for her.” It had taken a long time for him to finally reach that point, but he had. At one time he’d thought it would be nearly impossible to ever get her out of his heart.
“Then working with her shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
“It will be a problem because I prefer not being anywhere near her.”
“Then maybe you need to ask yourself why.”
Virgil shook his head. “You don’t understand, Dad.”
“What I understand is, because of her lack of trust in you, you won’t forgive her and you’re still holding a grudge. But then so is Marv Hilton. That’s why Kara’s services are needed.”
Virgil didn’t say anything but walked back to the window to stare out. A few moments later he turned to his father. “I prefer we go with some other company, Dad.”
“Unless you can give me a good reason why Kara can’t do the job, Virgil, she’s in.”
Virgil drew in a deep breath. There was no need to tell his dad that Kara had been the only woman he had ever loved. Both his parents knew that. But they didn’t know he had planned to propose to her the same week she had hurled her accusations against him.
“Level with me, Virgil. The last thing I need to worry about is you trying to seduce Kara. She’s getting hired to do a job. So if you think you still feel anything for her then—”
“Oh, I feel something for her all right,” Virgil said in an angry tone. “I feel so much dislike for her you can whip it into butter. So I honestly don’t see how I’ll be able to work with her.”
“For Bougard Enterprises it’s business, Virgil. For you, it sounds like a personal problem you need to work through. The way I see it, you could have sent Whitney Hilton from your room that night but you didn’t. Instead you chose to let her stay. It was your decision and with that decision came consequences this company has to deal with. I would love to retire and spend more time with your mother and my future grandchild, but I’ll hang around if I have to.”
Virgil definitely didn’t want that. As much as he loved his father and appreciated his wisdom and expertise, Virgil had gotten used to making the decisions. He was ready to handle things without the old man. If his father thought he needed an image adjustment, then fine. “You win, Dad. Go ahead and hire Kara’s company.”
Matthew stood. “It’s not about winning, Virgil. It’s about making the right moves to ensure that Bougard Enterprises will be around for a long time. I’ll have my administrative assistant call Kara to come in so we can discuss our plan with her.”
Virgil drew in a deep breath. He would have to put up with Kara...or die trying.
* * *
Kara hung up the phone with a shocked look on her face. Of all things... A call from Matthew Bougard’s administrative assistant saying he wanted to meet with her tomorrow to discuss a possible job offer.
She leaned back in her chair. Just what did Bougard Enterprises need? Considering her strained relationship with Virgil, which she figured Mr. Bougard had to know about, she was surprised he’d reached out to her company, despite its excellent reputation. She’d find out soon enough what Matthew Bougard wanted.
Will Virgil be at the meeting?
Tossing a paper clip on her desk, Kara thrust the question from her mind. Sure, he’d be there. And it was no big deal, she told herself. She recalled her last meeting with Virgil six months ago when she had apologized. She would always regret believing Marti’s lie and what doing so had cost her. She had not spoken to her sister since finding out the truth. As far as Kara was concerned, they didn’t have anything to say to each other. She loved Marti but Kara could never forget the day she’d arrived back in town early from a business trip. She’d gone to her sister’s office to invite her to lunch only to overhear Marti telling someone on the phone how she had lied to Kara. Marti had claimed she had seen Virgil having a romantic dinner with a woman and had followed them all the way to a hotel and watched them go inside.
When Kara had confronted her, she had admitted lying and said she had done it for Kara’s