As far as Virgil was concerned it wasn’t any of her business. But evidently his father didn’t see it that way.
“Whitney Hilton is the daughter of one of my biggest clients,” Matthew said. “At least I should say former clients. During a business trip almost two years ago, Whitney tagged along with her father. She took a liking to Virgil and ended up in his hotel room one night. It caused a little ruckus when her fiancé found out and broke their engagement. Her father was livid and accused Virgil of deflowering his daughter. Claimed she was saving herself for her husband. Since then Marv Hilton has tried to tarnish our company’s good name with potential clients.”
Kara looked over at Virgil, cocked her head. “Do you know if she was a virgin as her father claims?”
Virgil frowned. “No. That’s the lie Marv Hilton wants to believe. But then that’s the thing about lies. They are meant to be believed, especially by those who’re gullible enough to do so.”
Kara didn’t have to wonder if what he’d said was meant to be a dig because she knew that it had been. “How old was she?”
“At the time Whitney was twenty-five.”
“Twenty-five?” Kara asked, surprised. “So she wasn’t a child but an adult who was old enough to make her own decisions.”
“You tell that to her old man” was Virgil’s flippant response. “It’s my guess she would have done anything to get out of marrying the man her father had picked out for her. Some oilman from Texas who was old enough to be her father. And she used me to do it. She had a reason for coming to my room and then making sure both her father and fiancé found out about it.”
“So what do you think, Kara?” Matthew broke in to her thoughts to ask. “Can his image be fixed?”
Before she could sufficiently answer that, she needed to make sure Virgil was 100 percent on board with an image makeover. If he wasn’t then he would only be wasting her time and his company’s money. “Not sure,” she answered Matthew while holding Virgil’s gaze. “Virgil still hasn’t answered the question I put out there a while ago.”
She watched Virgil’s lips twitch in annoyance. “What question?”
“The one I posed as to whether or not you want to be helped. I need to know if you will allow me to do my job to improve your image.”
The room had gotten quiet, and he knew that his dad, as well as Kara, was waiting on his response. “Fine, knock yourself out.”
“In other words you will do it and not give Kara a hard time doing so, right?” His father turned and asked him with those razor sharp eyes that all but said to leave the bullshit at the door.
“Yes, Dad. Right now my main concern is keeping Bougard Enterprises at the top.”
“Good.” As if what Virgil had said was enough to satisfy him, Matthew Bougard stood and looked at his watch. “The two of you can work out all the finer details of what needs to be done. As for me, I’ve kept my queen waiting long enough. Rhona and I are joining friends for lunch at the Racetrack Café.”
The café, which was jointly owned by several drivers on the NASCAR circuit, including a friend of his by the name of Bronson Scott, had the best hamburgers and fries in Charlotte. “I hope you and Mom enjoy lunch with your friends, Dad.”
“And we will, especially since I know this matter of your image will be resolved with Kara’s help.” Matthew then turned to Kara. “I appreciate your handling this for us.”
He paused a minute and then said, “I’m going to tell you just what I told Virgil yesterday. No matter how the two of you feel about each other, this here is business. The reason you’re being hired is because I believe you are the best person to do what needs to be done, Kara. I expect you and Virgil to put aside whatever differences you have and act like professionals. And I’m sure the two of you will.”
With that said, Matthew Bougard opened the conference room door and walked out, leaving Kara and Virgil staring uneasily at each other.
“Well, he certainly said a mouthful,” Virgil said moments later, breaking the silence in the room.
“And I can understand his concern.” Kara pushed back her chair and stood. “But I’m sure you and I will handle ourselves as the professionals that we are. What happened to end our relationship was unfortunate. It was a mistake on my part. I apologized. You didn’t accept my apology. There’s nothing I can do about that but move on and not worry about it. And I have.”
She saw Virgil’s body tighten as he gazed up at her. “Did you really expect me to accept your apology?”
She shrugged. “Don’t know why you wouldn’t. It was made in all sincerity. I admitted I was wrong. My conscience is clear.”
He frowned as he stood, as well. “Your conscience is clear? I don’t see how it can be,” he said in a gruff voice.
Kara couldn’t help but study the features of the man standing before her. He was handsome to the point where the word eye candy just wouldn’t do him justice. But as she stared into his brown eyes, she saw something that made her swallow hard. His inability to forgive. It was there in the dark depths of the eyes gazing back at her, letting her know he was barely tolerating her presence.
“Well, let me tell you how that can be, Virgil,” Kara said, staring him down. Frankly, she was sick and tired of his attitude. He acted as if he was the only one who’d suffered from Marti’s lie.
“I am human. I make mistakes. Big and small. We all do. We also trust and believe in people that we should not. I did. I took Marti’s word over yours. Something I will regret doing for the rest of my life. I loved you and—”
“No,” Virgil said angrily. “There’s no way in hell you can convince me that you loved me. No woman could love a man one minute and then assume the worse of him the next. You only thought you loved me.”
She stared at him, knowing it would be a waste of her time to try to convince him otherwise. In his eyes, a woman who loved a man would not have believed the worst of him. But regardless of what he thought, she had loved him.
“I apologized to you, Virgil. But you didn’t accept it. Great. Fine. That’s your prerogative. Mine is to keep moving and keep living. I can’t let your inability to forgive hang over my head. There’s more to life than living in the past.”
She paused a moment and then in a calmer voice said, “I’ll start work immediately on a plan of action for your image makeover. I’ll call you once it’s completed so we can meet to discuss it.”
With nothing else to say, she turned and walked out of the office.
* * *
Virgil’s body stiffened in anger when the door clicked shut behind Kara. She had a lot of nerve. That was all fine and dandy that she could keep moving and keep living; he could make the same claim. But what she failed to take into account was what her belief in her sister’s lie had done to him. Had done to them. And he couldn’t help noticing she hadn’t refuted his words when he said she’d only assumed she loved him. In not doing so, she’d all but admitted he’d been merely an infatuation. That thought angered him even more.
There’s more to life than living in the past. Upon remembering Kara’s words, it took every ounce of control he had not to go after her and let her know that although he wasn’t living in the past, it was the past he’d shared with her that had shaped him into the man he was today. A man determined not to let any woman get close to his heart again. A man who’d been taught there was no such thing as the perfect love. A man who enjoyed being physically involved but emotionally detached from women.
She would never know how she’d nearly destroyed