Bachelor Unforgiving (4 page)

Chapter 3

K
ara paused to draw in a deep breath, needing to calm her frayed nerves. She was ten minutes early so why were the Bougards already in the conference room waiting on her? And the thought that one them had seen her naked probably just as many times as he'd seen her wearing clothes was enough to rattle her.

Shaking off the memories of all those times, she thought about one of her favorite quotes.
You are more stronger than you think.
She certainly hoped so because at the moment she felt a little weak in the knees. And what were those sensuous shivers racing through her? Now was not the time to remember any of that. Straightening her spine, raising her chin and pasting a professional smile on her lips, she turned the knob and entered the conference room.

Both men stood and, although she hadn't wanted it to, her gaze immediately went to Virgil before shifting to the older Bougard. She liked Virgil's father and could easily recall when Virgil had taken her home to meet his parents. She'd been nervous then, as well.

Like Virgil, Matthew Bougard was handsome. He was also tall, standing way over six feet, and had a muscular build. She knew he liked playing golf and he'd been on the Olympic swim team while in college at Morehouse.

“I hope I haven't kept you waiting,” she said, and with all the professionalism she could muster, she crossed the room and extended her hand first to Matthew. Instead of taking it, he pulled her to him in a hug. “No, you're early, in fact. We just didn't want to keep you waiting on us. It's good seeing you again, Kara.”

When he released her, she smiled up at him. “Good seeing you again, too, Matthew. How's Rhona?”

“She's fine and sends her love.”

Kara then shifted her gaze to Virgil. He was standing beside his father, impeccably dressed in a dark business suit. She wished she wasn't so intensely aware of him and wished more than anything that seeing him didn't remind her of how long she'd been without a man. After him and the pain she'd felt at the time, she had sworn off men.

His expression was unreadable when he said, “Kara, glad you could meet with us today.” He extended his hand to her, letting her know that if she assumed he would pull her into his arms for a hug like his father had, then she was wrong.

Kara took the hand Virgil offered and tried not to show any sort of reaction when a frisson of heat raced up her spine. “Glad I'm meeting with the two of you, as well.”

Although he didn't say anything, something in his eyes told her that her presence here today hadn't been his idea. She pulled her hand from Virgil's and then said to both men, “I'm eager to find out why you feel that you need my services.”

“And we're eager to tell you so you can get started on our problem right away,” Matthew said, smiling. “Please have a seat.”

“Thanks.” She sat down in the chair Matthew had pulled out for her, the one right across from Virgil.

She tried to ignore his intense stare or at least try to. “So what's the problem?” she asked, darting her gaze between the two men.

It was Virgil who spoke. “It seems my image needs improving.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Your image?”

It was Matthew who then added, rather bluntly, “Yes, his image. Everyone thinks my son's behavior is that of a manwhore, and it's hurting business. We want to hire your company to improve his image.”

* * *

Virgil frowned at his father. “Manwhore? I wouldn't go that far, Dad.”

“I didn't say you were one, Virgil. I said that's the perception out there and it's hurting the company.”

Virgil wished he could say “damn the company,” but he loved Bougard Enterprises just as much as his dad did. He would do anything to make sure the company his father had started years ago did not fail under his watch. Even if it meant making sacrifices. Still, he couldn't help saying, “I enjoy women and like I told you yesterday, Dad, as a single man there's nothing wrong with my dating habits.”

Okay, he would admit he dated a lot of women, but being thought of as a manwhore was a bit too much. The only good thing about his father's statement was that it was painting a picture for Kara that he'd successfully moved on and put her behind him.

But even with all the pain she'd caused him, he could say without a doubt that Kara Goshay was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. Not too many could go from being a staunch businesswoman to a slinky seductress in the blink of an eye.

It had taken every ounce of strength he had to control himself when she'd walked into the room with that sensuous and graceful movement of hers. Six months ago when he'd seen her at that charity event, she'd been wearing an eye-catching evening gown. Today she was dressed in a tan business suit with matching pumps. He'd always thought he was a stilettos man but he had to admit her legs looked gorgeous in a pair of pumps.

Why was he thinking about that? And why was his mind filled with the memory of taking a business suit—similar to the one she was wearing—off her one night? Piece by piece. Bit by bit. And why was he remembering how good she looked naked, how smooth her skin was and how soft she was to his touch?

Her hair hung in soft layers around her shoulders and the little makeup she wore did what it was supposed to do, which was to enhance her looks and not cover them. And were those pearl earrings in her ears the same ones he'd given her when they had celebrated their first Christmas together? If so, why was she wearing them today? Did she think doing so would move him in some way? Make him remember the good times? Forget about the bad? If she thought that, then she was wrong. He was so over her.

“As far as something being wrong with your dating habits, our major investors apparently think so,” Matthew said, breaking into Virgil's thoughts. “So what about it, Kara? Can he be helped?”

Kara didn't say anything for a moment. Matthew's words about Virgil's wretched reputation hadn't been a shock. Since their breakup she'd heard he had gone back to his womanizing ways.

Matthew and Virgil were waiting for her response...at least she figured Matthew was. Virgil sat there wearing one of those “I don't give a damn what anyone thinks” expressions. That made her wonder if he was willing to change his lifestyle for the sake of his company, which prompted her ultimate response. “I can only help if Virgil wants to be helped.”

Virgil decided to speak up. It was time he let both Kara and his father know that this change in his image had limitations. “I'm a single man who's not in an exclusive relationship with any woman. I enjoy dating and if anyone has an issue with that then that's their problem and not mine.”

Matthew turned to him. “But you would agree after the Whitney Hilton scandal that your image needs an overhaul?”

Not really
, he thought. Whitney had gotten just what she'd come to his hotel room for that night. She'd been happy. He'd been satisfied. It was her father who refused to accept that his daughter had an active sex life—before, during and after Virgil Bougard.

“Is that something I need to know about? The scandal with Whitney Hilton?” Kara asked.

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.

Chapter 4

“W
ell, 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 him four years ago. For months he hadn't been able to eat, sleep or function like a sane person. It was only when his godbrothers had talked him into taking one of those singles cruises with them that he'd returned to the land of the living. It had taken him almost a full year to get over Kara, put her behind him. And in doing so, he'd developed an entirely new agenda and game plan when it came to women. He refused to love one, and he lusted for plenty.

And she thought she could wipe the slate clean with just an apology?

Virgil shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked over to the window and looked out. And now they would be working together to improve his image. How crazy was that? He rubbed his hand down his face.
There's more to life than living in the past.

He forced his mind to rethink Kara's words, this time with deeper meaning and clarity. Maybe by carrying all this bitterness inside of him the way he had, he was living in the past, not letting go of what she had done.

Forgiving didn't mean forgetting. Nor did it mean reconciliation. What they once shared could never be regained. She was totally and completely out of his heart now, so wasn't it time he acted like it? There was no reason why they could not deal with each other on the professional level his father had alluded to. It wasn't about him or her but all about Bougard Enterprises.

Virgil figured one day he would eventually marry, especially since he needed heirs to continue the Bougard legacy. And when he did, it wouldn't be for love. Thanks to Kara Goshay he would know better the next time.

* * *

“Your father is on line one, Ms. Goshay.”

Kara released a frustrated sigh but couldn't stop the smile that touched her lips. She figured since her mother's attempt to bring an end to her strained relationship with Marti had failed, Lydia had called in the big guns. Namely Byron Goshay. Kara had always been a daddy's girl and proud of it. Her father adored both of his daughters, but there had always been a special bond between the two of them.

“Put him through, please.”

Leaning back in her chair, she waited for the connection while recalling her conversation with her mother when she returned her call yesterday. It was a discussion that hadn't gone over well. Lydia tried shifting the blame to Kara, saying she was allowing a man to come between her and her sister. She felt Kara should make up with Marti now that her sister was under a doctor's care for stress and anxiety attacks.

Kara had gotten royally pissed. She sympathized with whatever Marti was going through, but what about those four years Kara had suffered, thinking the man she loved had betrayed her? What about the stress she'd gone through? The heartbreak? The pain? How could one sister do that to another?

“Kara? How's my girl?”

The sound of her father's voice chased away the anger. She smiled. “I'm fine, Dad. What about you?”

“I'm doing okay. Looking forward to retirement in a few years. Just waiting for my daughters to pay off their student loans so they can take care of their old man.”

Kara shook her head. “Our student loans are paid off. Besides, you wouldn't accept a handout from me or Marti even if your life depended on it.”

She heard her father's chuckle. “True.”

He then paused, and she knew what was coming when she detected him shifting to a more serious mode. “Your mom talked to me last night about the ongoing situation between you and Marti.”

“And?”

“And I think we need to have a family powwow. A sort of bonding session. I'd like to fly both you and Marti home for the weekend.”

As if flying out to San Francisco would magically make things better. “It won't do any good, Dad.”

“Sweetheart, Marti's your sister.”

So now her father was taking that approach? She couldn't stop the flare of anger. “Yes, and
my sister
deliberately sabotaged my relationship with the man I loved.”

There was another pause. “I just want my daughters back together. I feel our family is breaking apart.”

“Don't blame me, Dad.”

“Of course I don't blame you.”

Kara was glad to hear that. “Mom did.”

“Lydia should not have said that. I told her we needed to stay out of it and let you and Marti handle things. But I guess she saw that wasn't happening and figured she needed to step in. But that's no reason to blame you. You didn't ask for what Marti did. Have you seen Virgil and told him the truth?”

“Yes, for what good that did. I apologized but he didn't accept my apology. I can't blame him to be honest with you. I said some mean things to him back then. I think now he hates me more than ever.”

“Sorry to hear that. I tried calling him to apologize, as well. He's changed his number from the one I had.”

Kara lifted a brow. “Why would you need to apologize?”

“Because after the two of you broke up and Marti told me what he did, I called him and said a lot of not-so-nice things to him.”

Kara's eyes closed for a minute. Her sister's lie had caused more damage than Kara had realized. “I didn't know,” she said softly. Her father had liked Virgil a lot, and vice versa. Getting such a call from her father had probably only added to Virgil's anger. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“At the time I felt there was no reason to tell you. I thought he had hurt you and that was all I needed to know. Now I feel bad about what I said.”

Welcome to the club.
“That's okay, Dad. Like I said, Virgil is not in a forgiving mood right now anyway.”

“So there's no chance the two of you can patch things up and get back together?”

Kara shook her head as she recalled Virgil's words.
Without trust, love is nothing and you proved what we shared was nothing.

“No, Dad. There's no way Virgil and I will ever get back together.”

The finality of what she'd just said overwhelmed her and she knew she had to end the call with her father before he detected anything. “I've got a ton of things to do,” she said softly. “Goodbye, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you, too, cupcake.”

It was only after he clicked off his phone and she clicked off hers that she gave in to her tears.