Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
K athleen stood at the kitchen bench, fussing with the salad tongs for no good reason. The vinaigrette had already been whisked, the table set, the wine uncorked. She’d even folded the napkins neatly. Twice.
Veronica wasn’t due for ten minutes, but her nerves had arrived early.
This wasn’t new anymore. It wasn’t awkward or experimental for they’d crossed that threshold. What lingered now was expectation. Not pressure exactly—Veronica never pushed—but it was a weight Kathleen placed on herself. To show she could meet the intimacy, not submit to it but to reciprocate.
She heard the elevator bell, footsteps down the hall and a knock.
Kathleen opened the door. Veronica stood on the threshold, wind-kissed and beautiful. Her eyes warmed when they landed on her. “Hi,” Veronica said with a smile.
“Hey,” Kathleen said, her voice a little breathless.
She stepped aside to let her enter and Veronica slipped off her coat, revealing a blue sweater and soft jeans. She hung her coat on the stand at the door and followed Kathleen inside. “Dinner smells amazing,” she said.
“It’s roast chicken and salad. I got ambitious and made those little thyme potatoes as well.”
“Domestic goddess,” Veronica said lightly.
Kathleen blushed. “I wanted it to be... nice. Come into the lounge and we’ll have a drink first.”
Instead of taking one of the single chairs, Veronica settled into the three-seater. When Kathleen handed her a glass of wine, she patted the space beside her. “Sit here.”
She stared down at Veronica—at the curve of her mouth, the hollow at her throat, the way she sat on her lounge like she belonged there.
“To new beginnings,” Veronica said, lifting the glass.
They both took a sip. The wine was sharp enough to settle her nerves. Kathleen lowered her glass and opened her mouth to speak, but Veronica moved closer.
“May I kiss you?” she asked, voice low.
Kathleen nodded.
Veronica took Kathleen’s glass out of her hand and placed it with hers on the coffee table. The kiss came soft and slow. There was no urgency, merely a press of lips that deepened as Kathleen leaned into it. Veronica’s hand came to her jaw, thumb sweeping gently along her cheek to anchor her.
Kathleen’s heart stuttered. She melted into the kiss, letting it unfold like a language she was only learning to speak. As Veronica drew her in closer, Kathleen’s phone tingled in the dining room.
She drew back with an apologetic look. “Sorry, it could be Ted at the lab. He wouldn’t ring if it wasn’t important and he’d be the only one likely to call me at this hour.”
She rose to answer it quickly, cursing Ted’s timing. When she saw the ID on the scene, she stared at it in surprise. It was Darlene Hunt, not Ted. Why on earth would she be visiting, she’d only met her once.
“Hello, Kathleen. I was in the neighbourhood and thought I’d pop in for a minute. The door’s locked. What’s the code to enter and what’s your room number.”
Taken off guard, and with no valid reason to refuse, Kathleen rattled them off. She turned and ran into the lounge in a panic. “Darlene Hunt’s on her way up.”
“Shit,” Veronica exclaimed. “I better get out of here.”
Kathleen grabbed her wrist. “Too Late. She’s in the building.”
“I’d better hide then.”
“The bedroom,” said Kathleen urgently. “She won’t go in there.”
Veronica turned and hurried into it, clicking the latch behind her.
Kathleen snatched up the two glasses on the coffee table and put them in the dishwasher. When the knock came moments later, she wiped her hands down her jeans, gathering herself before she opened the door.
Darlene stood framed in the hallway, immaculately dressed and smelling of expensive perfume. “Hello, Kathleen,” she said.
“Darlene. This is a surprise.”
Darlene moved into the room, unbuttoned her coat and draped it elegantly across the back of a dining chair. She took in the table: the two place settings and the lit candles and eyed Kathleen in surprise. “You’re having someone special for dinner?”
Kathleen cleared her throat. “I am. They’ll be here in half an hour. Sorry, but I can’t talk long.”
Darlene raised a brow. “I’m on my way to a play and only popped in for a moment.” She gave a soft, almost musical laugh. “Edith told me you never date and here I find the table set with your best china and candles lit. I’ve clearly been misled.”
Kathleen managed a shrug. “I’ve changed.”
“Mm. People don’t change that easily. Whoever it is must be nice.”
“They are,” said Kathleen shortly.
Darlene sauntered into the lounge and ran a finger along the back of the sofa. “You have a lovely home, Kathleen.”
Ignoring the myriads of emotions churning inside her, Kathleen answered as calmly as she could, “Thank you. What can I do for you, Darlene?”
Darlene sank into an armchair and crossed her legs. “I wanted to talk to you about your work.”
A spike of unease flared in Kathleen’s chest, at a loss to know what possible interest Darlene could have in her work. She kept her voice even. “I’m not ready to share my work yet. It’s not completed.”
“I’m not asking for specific details,” Darlene replied. “I only want to know what you’re working on.”
“Sorry. I don’t discuss it.”
Darlene eyed her with a look that was almost predatory. “It’s important, isn’t it? And valuable. ”
Kathleen remained quiet.
“Edith mentioned something in passing, and I may have spoken to a few former colleagues of yours. People are curious, Kathleen. Curious and hopeful. You’ve always been smart, but lately, it’s sounding like you’ve built something that could... turn a few wheels.”
Kathleen narrowed her eyes. “You shouldn’t be poking around in my business.”
“I’m looking for an investment.” Darlene plucked a grape from the fruit bowl and popped it into her mouth.
“And I have access to resources that could make your work shine. Proper backing. Marketing and legal protection. The right kind of media framing. You don’t want to end up with your name buried behind some corporate lab that patent-shops your brilliance out from under you. ”
Kathleen stared at her. “You came here to offer me money?”
“I came to offer you options. ” Darlene’s voice dropped into something syrupy.
“Let’s not pretend you haven’t thought about it.
You must know what you’ve built can’t stay in that lab forever.
Secrets are short-lived. You’ve got one shot to steer how this goes, and I’d rather it be me backing you than… let’s say, someone less refined.”
Kathleen took a step forward, her voice low and tight. “You think this is about refinement?”
“No,” Darlene said, tilting her head. “I think this is about control.”
Their eyes locked. The silence stretched taut.
“You’re not the only one asking around,” Kathleen said finally, desperate to finish the conversation.
Darlene’s smile faltered for a breath, then recovered. “Of course not. That’s exactly why you need someone familiar and with teeth.”
“I don’t want to be rude, Darlene, but I don’t need your clout.”
Darlene’s lashes fluttered, feigning hurt. “Well. That’s a pity.” She hesitated for a moment, then lifted her coat from the chair, and shrugged it on. “I’ll take that as a no, then?”
“You should.”
“Very well.” She paused at the table, casting a final glance at the flickering candles. “Please, do me one favour?”
“What?”
“Don’t let whoever you’re trying to impress distract you from what really matters.
Breakthroughs are rare. Emotions are a dime a dozen.
If you want to protect your little project, you’d better start thinking like someone who knows how the world works.
Because the minute that invention of yours gets attention, the big dogs will be circling.
Governments. Corporations. And trust me, sweetheart, none of them play fair. ”
Kathleen didn’t speak, merely waited for her to go.
When she reached the small entrance foyer, Darlene stopped and stared at the coat hanging on the rack. She sniffed the air, then turned to Kathleen, her eyes narrowed. “I hope your lover is as good a fuck as Veronica. You remember her, Kathleen. You couldn’t keep your eyes off her.”
Then she stepped out and vanished down the hallway.
Kathleen stood staring at the carpet, her thoughts in a whirl. Veronica had had sex with Darlene Hunt when she left the restaurant. Her stomach turned and she nearly vomited. She locked the door with a decisive twist of the deadbolt and turned back to the quiet apartment.
“She’s gone, Veronica,” she called out.
The bedroom door opened and Veronica stepped out, her expression careful. “That was close,” she said lightly, trying to inject a breath of humour into the tension. “Are you okay?”
Kathleen stared at her, arms crossed, face unreadable. “You heard us talking in the lounge?”
“Snippets. She’s after your invention.”
“Yes, but she’s not going to get it.”
“Good. I wouldn’t trust her an inch.”
Kathleen snorted. “Yet you slept with her,” she said flatly.
Veronica frowned. “I beg your pardon.”
“She recognized your coat at the door,” Kathleen went on, voice cool.
Veronica blinked. “I didn’t sleep with her that night.”
“Don’t lie to me.” Kathleen’s voice cracked. “She stood there gloating like I was an idiot.”
Veronica stiffened. “I haven’t been to bed with her. Whatever she implied, it wasn’t true.”
Kathleen laughed bitterly. “What? Because she would actually care what an escort does?”
“She’s manipulative. You know that,” Veronica said.
“Don’t defend her. Tell me the truth,” Kathleen snapped.
“I am,” Veronica said, her voice rising. “Yes, she paid me to accompany her to your dinner. Yes, she made advances when we got back to her apartment. But I never accepted. I didn’t have sex with her.”
“You expect me to believe that? Isn’t that’s what you do?”
Veronica’s face hardened. “No, it isn’t.
Elise would have told you that the Langford is a unique service for men and women who need a partner for events, public appearances, or the occasional lonely evening, without the expectations that come with traditional dating.
If we want to go further, it’s up to us. ”
The silence that fell between them was bitter, crackling with hurt.
“I’m sorry. I can’t do this,” Kathleen said quietly. “I let you in, I trusted you. I opened myself up to you and now I feel like a complete idiot.”
Veronica looked at her sadly. “Trust goes both ways, Kathleen.”
“Get out.” Kathleen’s hands were shaking now. “Please. Just go.”
Veronica stared at her for a moment, then she nodded slowly. “All right.”
She walked to the door, picked up her coat and turned the lock. As she opened it, she paused, and said in a quiet voice, “Look after yourself, Kathleen.” Then the door clicked shut behind her.
Kathleen sank onto the couch, trembling with anger, confusion, and something worse—grief.