by A. L. Brooks
“Um, well, I guess I’ll get back inside,” Charlie said. She caught Morgan’s eye and raised one eyebrow.
“Sure. I’ll catch you later.”
Charlie gave Morgan’s arm a quick pat, then trotted back into the clubhouse.
Morgan studied her father. The telltale signs of anger were written all over his face—jaw set hard, eyes narrowed, one vein throbbing on the left side of his forehead.
“And you wonder why I don’t give you more support,” he said, his voice like iron.
“What?” Morgan went from worried to angry in less than two seconds.
He stepped closer. “This is exactly why. You’re nothing but a trashy story now. Your TV producer. Really, Morgan?”
“Now wait a minute, Dad, you have no—”
“Where’s your professionalism? Where’s your respect for the game? You think anyone will take you seriously as a golfer after this?”
“Well,” Morgan spat, the dam that had held back her anger all these years finally bursting, “you’ve never taken me seriously, so why should I care what opinion you have of me now, huh? And talk about double standards.”
She stepped up to him, looking him straight in the eye from her position of almost equal height with the man who had fathered her in pretty much name only. Her blood was hot in her veins, her skin almost crackling from it. “I don’t remember you saying anything like this about Woods when he made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. I seem to remember you saying that he needed everyone’s support to get him through a difficult time. How come the rules are different for him, Dad? How come your own daughter doesn’t warrant the same courtesy?”
He flinched, and his jaw trembled slightly. “Because…because you are my daughter,” he said. He pushed one hand roughly through his hair in obvious frustration. “Because what you do reflects on me.”
“So, what, I’m supposed to be perfect, is that it? Because anything else looks bad on you? Jesus, no wonder I never made it in your eyes. What an impossible standard to set for someone. Does Jack have to live by the same measure, huh?”
“You leave Jack out of this.”
“Oh, no, I think we definitely need to bring Jack into this. You’ve always treated us differently, and I never wanted to believe the reason why, but it’s so clear now. Jack was born perfect because he was a boy. I was born far from perfect because I wasn’t. That’s what it boils down to, doesn’t it? That’s why Jack can be number 108 in the world of tennis and you still treat him like a hero, while I’m close to being world number one and you won’t give me the time of day.” She stared at him in disgust. “God, Dad, I’m your daughter. I’m your flesh and blood, yet all you’ve ever cared about is my gender.” She stepped back, her anger spent. “You and I are done, Gordy Spencer. I don’t owe you anything anymore, nor do I have to prove anything to you anymore. I see now there’s literally no point.” She laughed, feeling freer than she had in years. “All this time I wasted trying to impress a man who couldn’t even see me. Not anymore. Now I’m going to play my game for me because I love it and because I’m damn good at it.”
Without waiting for him to respond, Morgan pushed past him and strode back into the clubhouse.
Chapter 20
Adrienne made it to her room with only one person attempting to stop her for a comment. She politely brushed them off and breathed a sigh of relief as she closed her room door behind her.
She set her purse on the desk and retrieved her phone. Daniel hadn’t called again, so at least he wasn’t pestering her. His voice mail was short and to the point.
Adrienne, please call me as soon as possible. We obviously need to discuss what has been revealed, and I think it would be best for all of us if we did that sooner rather than later.
He sounded much the same as always, which gave her a little comfort. However, he wouldn’t be hearing from her until she’d had some time with Morgan. And given Morgan had the small matter of the final round of a major to play tomorrow, Adrienne was more than okay with putting off all other matters until after then. Of course, she still had to decide whether to show her face in public again tomorrow, but that could be a decision for the morning.
Right now, she wanted a large glass of wine and a shower, in that order. She called room service and placed her order and was pleasantly surprised when the knock on her door came only a few minutes later.
“Well, that’s great serv—” she said as she opened the door, only to break off when she found Jenny waiting on the other side.
“Hi,” Jenny whispered. She looked drawn and tired, her normally vibrant, spiky hair lying flat, her skin pale.
“Oh. Hello.”
“Can I…can I come in? It’s important.”
I really don’t think I’m up for this now, but…
“Okay.”
Adrienne stepped aside, and Jenny walked into the room.
“Are you okay?” Jenny asked as soon as Adrienne joined her in the center of the room. Jenny had her hands clasped in front of her, and her entire body was rigid with tension.
“I’ve been better,” Adrienne replied coolly. Feeling no need to pussyfoot around, she said, “Was it you? Will you tell me why? I know we inadvertently hurt you, but I don’t think—”
“It wasn’t me! I swear it. But I can totally get why you think it would have been.” Jenny’s eyes filled with tears, and seconds later, they overspilled, trickling down her pale cheeks. “I was such an idiot, Adrienne. I’m so sorry. But believe me, it wasn’t me who gave that prick, Harrison, the story.”
She seemed sincere, and Adrienne’s fears that Jenny had been their leak started to abate.
“Look,” Jenny said, a little more firmly, “just listen to this.”
She pulled her phone from her pocket, tapped the screen a couple times, and then Cindy Thomson’s voice came from the speaker.
“Sick of her acting all superior because she works on films like that. I could do that. I just need my chance. I need some way of getting her brought down a step or two, and your news might just be the way to do it.”
“And we’d both get something out of it.”
That was Naomi Chase’s voice. A chill raced down Adrienne’s spine.
“Wait,” she said, and Jenny stopped the audio. “What is this? Where did you get it?”
“Yesterday I stumbled across the two of them talking in a small meeting room at the back of the clubhouse.” Jenny blushed. “I was…um, trying to avoid you, to find somewhere quiet to work where you wouldn’t be looking over my shoulder. Anyway, I was going to back away and find somewhere else when I realized they were talking about you and Morgan.” She sighed. “I was already feeling pretty stupid for the way I treated you, and I knew I’d need to apologize, but when I heard them badmouthing both of you, I listened in. As soon as I realized what they were talking about, I started recording them.” Jenny looked at Adrienne. “Shall I play the rest?”
Adrienne nodded, her hands trembling.
“I do like a win-win situation.” Cindy again. “Now, obviously we need to make sure this does not come back to bite us on the ass. So who’s gullible enough to break this for us?”
There was a pause. “Tom Harrison?” Naomi said. “That asshole would sell his own grandmother for a story like this.”
“Oh, yeah. Perfect! And I know just the person to deliver the message. There’s a runner for our channel who’s desperate to get a step up. If I hint to her that some sort of promotion might be coming her way if she helps out, I bet she’d grab that chance with both hands. I do like an ambitious young woman.” Cindy’s laugh was almost evil.
Naomi laughed with her. “You know, Cindy, I thought I was a bitch until I met you. Something tells me I could learn a lot from you.”
“Oh, you could, I’m sure,” Cindy purred.
“Enough!” Adrienne held up a hand, and Jenny
stopped the playback once more. “God, I feel nauseous from that last exchange.”
Jenny laughed. “Hell yes. Trust me, the rest of it got pretty gross, and I stopped recording anyway. Couldn’t quite get the image of those two out of my head for the rest of the evening.”
Adrienne walked unsteadily over to one of the chairs in the corner of her room and sat. A knock sounded on the door.
“Want me to get that?” Jenny asked.
“It’ll just be room service, so if you don’t mind…” Adrienne wasn’t sure she could stand again any time soon. How the hell could Cindy and Naomi do this? How could anyone be that filled with envy and jealousy that they’d try to ruin two careers? “Hey, Jenny, take my purse. There’s some cash in there for a tip.”
Jenny returned with Adrienne’s wine, handed it to her, then took the other chair. She flopped unceremoniously into it with a big sigh.
“I’m really sorry they did this to you.”
Adrienne waved her words off, drinking heartily from her wine. “God, I needed that.”
“And I’m sorry I didn’t bring this recording to you earlier. I was sure I had more time to play with. It never occurred to me they’d get the story out that quickly. I guess that’s another sign of my naivety when it comes to this business. And my immaturity around the whole situation with you and Morgan.”
Adrienne placed her wine carefully on the small table between their chairs, then leaned over and waited until Jenny met her eyes before speaking. “We’ve all done things we’ve regretted, and, yes, usually when we’re young, but trust me, age is no protection against stupidity. I’m sorry I suspected you.”
Jenny smiled. “It’s okay. I would have too.”
“And I appreciate you coming to me with this and your apologies. That’s the end of it as far as I’m concerned, okay?”
Tears leaked from Jenny’s eyes again, but she nodded furiously. “Yes, yes, thank you.” She rubbed her eyes. “So how’s Morgan taking it all?”
Adrienne sighed. “I haven’t actually spoken to her. She needs to focus on tomorrow. Whatever we need to discuss can wait until after the tournament. It’s not like we could change the story now.”
“God, I’m so angry on your behalf!” Jenny picked up her phone and spun it in her hands. “Adrienne…” She pursed her lips. “We do have a story of our own here, you know.”
It took a moment for Jenny’s suggestion to register, then Adrienne shook her head. “No. Absolutely not.”
“But we could totally nail them both! Don’t you want some sort of revenge after what they’ve done? I mean, I really hope they don’t, but TC could fire you for this, couldn’t they?”
“They could,” Adrienne said quietly, “but that’s even more reason not to stoop as low as Cindy. It’s not my style, Jenny. Though I appreciate your anger on my—our—behalf.”
Jenny looked as if she wanted to say more, then exhaled in a loud huff. “Okay, okay. God, you’re so grown up.” She pouted, but her eyes glinted.
Adrienne chuckled. “It’s a cross I have to bear,” she said sadly, then laughed when Jenny rolled her eyes.
“On that overdramatic note, I think I’m going to get going.” Jenny stood and smiled at Adrienne. “Thanks for hearing me out.”
“Thanks for making the effort.”
They nodded once at each other, then Jenny left, quietly shutting the door behind her.
Adrienne picked up her wine and took a long drink. She closed her eyes. Jesus, what a mess. And I still have to speak to Daniel. Ugh.
A minute later there was another knock on her door. She opened her eyes and looked around, assuming Jenny must have left something behind, but there was nothing obvious lying anywhere.
Groaning softly, Adrienne rose out of her chair and walked to the door. When she opened it, she came face-to-face with a scowling Morgan.
“Oh,” Morgan said, her tone sharp, “you are alive, then?”
“Morgan,” Adrienne cautioned, glancing up and down the hallway, “don’t you think you’d better come in?”
Morgan huffed but strode into the room as Adrienne stepped aside. Somehow finding the entire situation funny, Adrienne bit back a chuckle as she closed the door and faced her.
“Stop smirking, Adrienne! This isn’t funny.” Morgan planted her hands on her hips. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
“You…you have?” Adrienne’s mirth died. “Why?”
Morgan shook her head. “Seriously?”
And suddenly she could see it all in Morgan’s face. The worry, the concern, the fear. God, how could she have been so stupid?
“Oh, Morgan, I’m sorry.” She stepped over to her and tentatively reached out her arms to pull Morgan close. “I didn’t mean to worry you. God, I’m really sorry.”
Morgan finally relaxed into the embrace, her cheek resting on Adrienne’s hair. “You disappeared on me. I didn’t know what to think.”
“I just assumed you’d need to focus on the tournament. I…I thought you’d want to shut this all out until after tomorrow.”
Morgan held her closer. “You are just as important to me as my career, okay? ‘All this’ is huge for us and especially for you. No way do I want to only focus on tomorrow. I also want to focus on you. On us.” She kissed the side of Adrienne’s head. “I know you thought you were doing the right thing keeping away, but I never want that, you hear? Remember how I said you didn’t get to make all the decisions in this relationship?”
“Yes,” Adrienne acknowledged meekly. Shame prickled at her skin for misreading the situation and Morgan’s feelings for her so badly.
“Well, then,” Morgan said, and there was a smile in her voice. “Don’t forget it, okay?”
Adrienne placed a gentle kiss on Morgan’s earlobe and thrilled at the shudder that ran through the woman in her arms. “I won’t. I honestly thought I was doing the right thing, and…” She sighed.
Morgan raised her head and looked deeply into her eyes. “What?”
Adrienne was now wonderfully aware of how close they were, of how their bodies were connected from breasts to thighs. Of how soothing yet exhilarating it felt to be held by Morgan.
She sighed again. “And…I’m still getting used to the idea that you care about me. That there is an ‘us.’ And it’s not because of anything you’ve done or not done.” She released one arm to tap the side of her own head. “It’s all in here.”
Morgan’s breath, released in a long sigh, was warm on Adrienne’s face. “Okay, I understand. I think.” Then she smiled playfully and quirked one eyebrow. “I suppose that just means I have to keep working on selling it to you, huh?”
Smiling, Adrienne shook her head. “I don’t want you to have to work that hard. You shouldn’t have to, anyway. I suppose I just need a little more faith.”
“In me?” Morgan’s face fell.
“No! God, no.” Adrienne drew her near again and kissed her softly. “In myself. In the possibility that you, you amazing woman, can feel as strongly as you do about little old me.”
Morgan kissed her, a longer kiss, her lips moving gently, sensuously over Adrienne’s. “I really do, you know.”
Her voice was husky, and she lowered her mouth to Adrienne’s again, this time kissing her with more ardor, pulling Adrienne in a little tighter.
Warmth swept through Adrienne. Morgan’s tongue met hers, softly stroking, and it was as if she had applied a lit match to kindling. The warmth transformed to crackling heat. It seared Adrienne’s limbs and swept down and inward, focusing between her legs.
She moaned low in her throat, and Morgan shuddered once more.
Raising her head, Morgan gazed at her, eyes heavy with desire. “I…I need you,” Morgan whispered. “I want you.”
There were so many reasons to say no, not least of which was Morgan’s big day tomorrow. But
every reason that presented itself in the next few moments simply turned to ashes on the fire that burned between them. Adrienne knew there was nothing that could stop this, not even her own fears of finally doing this again: letting someone close, letting someone have every last piece of her. Because in doing this now with Morgan, there would be no holding back. Morgan deserved nothing less than all of Adrienne.
And Adrienne wanted to give it, heart and soul.
Adrienne trembled in Morgan’s arms, and her eyes were wide with what Morgan could only assume was fear.
Morgan’s stomach plummeted as she wondered if she’d pushed too hard. She hadn’t meant to. It was simply that her desire was too strong, all encompassing, enflaming every inch of her, inside and out. Adrienne was everything Morgan had ever wanted in a partner and then so much more besides. She’d not lied to Adrienne when she’d told her about her physical response—she had genuinely never felt so in need of climbing inside someone, of learning everything that would make Adrienne feel cherished and…loved.
Fully prepared to take back her words, suspecting it really was still too soon for Adrienne, Morgan thought her heart would stop when Adrienne’s eyes softened and a hint of a blush stole across her cheeks. She raised one hand to stroke gently along Morgan’s jawline.
“Yes,” Adrienne whispered, and she smiled.
Morgan’s knees weakened, but her arms strengthened, crushing Adrienne to her, much as she had done all those weeks ago in the elevator in Williamsburg. There was one exquisite moment where they simply stared at each other, then they both moved at once, their mouths meeting and opening once more, the kiss hard but not bruising, intense with the heat that blazed between them.
Adrienne caressed Morgan’s back, her fingertips skimming over her spine and sweeping down her sides. Even through the cotton of her shirt, Morgan could feel their heat and strength, and her mind nearly exploded at the thought of those fingers on her naked skin and everywhere they could travel.
Morgan relaxed her arms, keeping Adrienne close but freeing her hands to go on their own journey. Their first stop was Adrienne’s hips, wide and firm, and the perfect spot to dig her fingers into, eliciting a delicious gasp as she did so. The noises Adrienne made could be Morgan’s undoing on their own. Every sound seemed to be infused with an intense kernel of desire and passion, barely contained, threatening to detonate and bring them both crashing down.
