Донна Хилл – Scandalous (страница 12)

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 trembling. 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.

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