The One That Got Away (23 page)

A
fter adjusting her sunglasses, Serena balanced her refilled popcorn tub and her second twenty-ounce Sprite. When she reached the blond-haired, pimple-faced movie attendant, he took her ticket for the 3:25 showing of Jude Law and Julia Roberts'
Closer
and chuckled. “Are you, like, planning to spend the whole day here, ma'am?”

Serena paused, looking the dumpy, four-eyed kid up and down. “It's a free country, son.”

“E–Enjoy your show,” he responded, clearly sensing he'd tread onto unwelcome territory.

None of his damn business why this is the third movie I've seen today,
Serena told herself as she turned toward the appropriate theater. Not that the kid had asked why, but a part of her felt ready to explain herself.

In the forty-eight hours since Dawn's accusations against Tony had hit the local papers, spurring a healthy round of Rowan Academy demonizing, Serena had refused to face the music. She knew an element of her depression was at work, despite the fact she was just barely forcing herself to stay on her medication, but she only had so much fight left.

From the moment Dawn recounted Tony's attempted
molestation, Serena had been plagued by nightmare visions of what would come next. Would the harassment she'd suffered push Dawn further along in her unhealthy sexual attitudes, maybe even drive her into the arms of a knucklehead who made Glenn look like a choirboy?

Was Dawn on her way to winding up like Serena at the same age, in part due to a man from her own past?

Whether or not Tony was innocent of the accusations, how long would it be before he'd try to use their affair as an explanation for Dawn's accusations?

Just what type of judgments would follow Tony's revelations? Would Serena lose the respect of Dr. Kellogg and her colleagues at work? Her parents? And, dear God, how would Dawn and Sydney process all this?

Struggling to process it herself, Serena had called in sick two days straight now. Yesterday she'd driven over to Indianapolis and spent the day shopping in precious anonymity. She had her cell phone on the entire time, had even forwarded her work phone to the cell number in case of emergency, but she knew she'd have lost it if she'd encased herself in her office. So yesterday, it had been shopping; today, movies at her favorite theater, the Showcase Cinemas in Springdale, enjoyed while productive people were at school or work.

Her hand was on the theater's door handle when she heard a familiar voice over her shoulder. “There you are! Serena, get over here, please.”

Frowning, then sucking her teeth, Serena cursed under her breath. This was what she got for having a friend who knew all her habits—good, bad, and ugly. She turned back toward the entrance to the hallway and exhaled when she saw Jade standing on the other side of the attendant's outstretched hand.

“Look,” Jade said, her arms crossed, her eyes scolding as Serena neared, “maybe I can't stop you from seeing a film you paid for, but the previews and trailers will last a good twenty minutes. Can I get ten?”

Her mouth twisted with annoyance, Serena ambled
rebelliously past the geeky attendant and continued past her friend. “Have a seat in my office,” she quipped before heading toward a low, round table near the main concession stand.

When they'd taken their seats, Jade reached for Serena's left hand. “I'm not here to beat up on you for hiding out here, okay? This is a crazy situation, girl.” She sighed, resting her forehead against one palm. “I can't believe Jamie went public with this.”

Scarfing down her popcorn as a distraction, speaking between crunches, Serena stared ahead blankly. “He said it was necessary, the only way to ensure Rowan doesn't just sweep Tony's alleged behavior under the rug.”

Jade gripped her hand more tightly. “Well, if you both believe Dawn's side of the story, you should ensure Tony's prosecuted. Just having him fired wouldn't mean much, if he goes somewhere else and hooks up with other young girls.” She drummed her fingers on the table nervously before saying, “Again, that's if you believe he actually did this.”

Serena's upper lip curled as she yanked off her sunglasses and stared her friend down. “What's that supposed to mean?”

Jade removed her hand from Serena's and sat back in her seat. “Let's just be real here. Serena, from the first night you told me about all this, you've never told me how you reconcile Dawn's accusations with the Tony Gooden we knew back in the day. I never thought he was exactly husband material, but come on!”

An unspeakable frustration gripped Serena, and before she knew it, she'd flung her sunglasses across the table. When they landed yards away, skittering into a corner, Serena made no move to get them. “I have to go with what my daughter tells me.”

“Have you asked Jamie what he really thinks? Maybe he can be a little more objective.”

Annoyed, Serena raised an eyebrow. “How objective you think he was when he decided to press charges?”

Jade played with a loose curl of hair near the base of her neck. “Serena, I don't want to meddle, so I'm going to say this and then leave you to watch your movie. You know I'm not seeing him anymore, but Tony's boy Trey has been burning up my phone line
since Dawn leveled these accusations. On top of that, he got word to Devon and Kym, too.”

“And?” Sniffling, Serena popped a few more kernels of popcorn into her mouth. She knew good and well that Devon and Kym had heard; Kym had called twice the past three days, and Serena had let her go through to voice mail each time.

“No one in Tony's circle back in Chicago believes he's guilty of this,” Jade said. “Devon is sick with anger, insisting somebody's lying on his boy. Everyone says Tony's always worked around attractive women, including young girls, since he worked in the mayor's office there. They swear this is not something he'd do.”

Serena's chest burned with guilt as she replied. “Jade, how many of these people thought he was capable of what he's done the past few months? Moving to a new city, just to chase an old married woman like me?”

Jade took a second to let Serena's unfazed responses sink in, then shrugged. “I'm done,” she said, her patience clearly shot. “I mean, for all I know Tony could actually be guilty of all this, and I don't want to help out a would-be molester. Enjoy your movie, girl.”

“No, don't go.” Serena clamped a hand to Jade's wrist, anchoring her in place. Her voice jumped two octaves as she asked, “Am I doing the right thing?”

Jade shook her head, confused. “How would I know? Do
you
even know what you're doing?”

Serena frowned. “I'm on my lithium, if that's what you mean.”

“I know that,” Jade replied. “Who reminds you every day to take it? I know you're in your right mind, girl, but that doesn't mean you're sure how to handle a situation as nuts as this one.”

Serena held fast to Jade's wrist, the muscles in her neck straining. “I'm fighting to save my marriage, and to save my little girl's self-esteem. I have to stand by Dawn, and I have to back Jamie in his method of handling this. I owe him that much.”

Jade inhaled and looked away before training her eyes back onto her friend. “Who says you owe Jamie anything? You know
what I think? I think this is less about Jamie or Dawn than it is about you and your guilt.”

“Okay, you can stop right there,” Serena said, before pressing a hand to her mouth and letting the tears flow. “Dammit, Jade. I'm no fool, you don't have to analyze me. I've had plenty of time to do that myself these past few weeks. This is about me, you're right. It's about me stepping up and doing the hard work responsible people do every day to provide their children with two-parent homes, decent incomes, and a place that feels like home.”

The corners of Jade's mouth turned up as she searched Serena's eyes. “You know something's not right with Dawn's story, don't you?”

Serena neatly folded her empty popcorn bag. “You think I'm a fool? I'd have to be lobotomized not to realize Dawn's word is no more reliable than your average teenage girl's, and that Jamie has every possible reason to take her accusations as gospel.”

“But you don't care.”

“Don't put words in my mouth,” Serena replied. She pointed toward her bleary eyes, the tear tracks on her cheeks. “This look like the face of someone who doesn't care to you? I haven't returned any of Tony's calls since the day I asked him to leave town, precisely because I do care. Because if I let him tell me his side of the story, and I believe him—”

Her own eyes misting, Jade pressed a finger to her girl's lips. “You'd have to leave Jamie.”

The truth hanging in the air, Serena sat with her best friend and had a good cry for the next fifteen minutes, right there in the midst of the growing crowd and the booms of the Dolby speakers surrounding them. By the time she and Jade left the cinema arm in arm, Serena had marshaled additional strength for the task she'd already assigned herself early this morning. After watching Jade pull away and into traffic, she drove out onto the road herself and headed back into the city.

When she pulled into the lot of the Nation's offices, Serena looked toward the gaggle of handsome, bow-tied brothers and began seeking her prey. Fritz stood amidst the crowd, barking
orders and handing out stacks of
The Final Call.
When he saw her approaching, though, his features softened and he handed the papers to a taller brother standing nearby. Fastening the top button on his suit coat, he collected himself and strode over to meet her. “Sister Serena,” he said, extending a gracious hand, “to what do I owe—”

“I need your help getting the one thing I'm not sure I want, Fritz,” Serena replied, an odd peace overtaking her. “The truth.”

A
rthur Champion sat at Larry Whitaker's desk, staking his claim to Tony's boss's office. Sitting high in the massive leather chair, he swiveled toward Tony, his eyes simmering with judgmental rage. “Mr. Gooden, I'm a man worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I have employees, plants, and real estate on every continent. So, why do you think I'm here, in podunk Cincinnati, looking at your raggedy ass?”

Seated across from the desk, his ankles crossed and his hands in his lap, Tony arched his back. “I know exactly why you're here, Mr. Champion. Because Rowan's success is important to you.”

“Damn right,” Champion replied, glancing quickly to his left, where Larry stood at his office window with his chin in one hand. “I've already proven I can make any number of shareholders, including myself, wealthy. I'm into a new phase of legacy-building now, and proving I can make a difference in a field as crucial as education is the first step.” Planting his feet suddenly and rolling closer to Tony, Champion leaned against the desk. “By jeopardizing Rowan's public image with these molestation charges, you're jeopardizing my legacy, do you understand?”

Turning back toward Champion and Tony, Larry took a step in their direction. “It's not yet been proven that Tony did
anything,” he said, his hands chopping the air for emphasis. “I agree this is a hell of a headache, Arthur, but let's be fair here. Something like this could just as easily have happened to me. There's every chance Tony's an innocent victim in this.”

“Oh, certainly. Let's review just where we are, shall we?” Champion stood and grabbed a stack of papers from the desk, then tossed them into Tony's face.

Leaning over and grabbing up the magazines and newspaper sections, Tony scanned each one and quickly caught Champion's point. Dawn Kincaid's accusations against him—accusations for which the Cincinnati district attorney was preparing attempted molestation charges, while the family planned a separate civil suit—had given the national media a new hammer to use against Champion.
Newsweek,
the
New York Times,
even
Black Enterprise
: all had run stories using the charges to question whether Rowan's supposed successes were more illusory than real. The point: Champion's business success wasn't much help in his new role as a social do-gooder. The allegations rocking the school he'd joined forces with proved he ran a leaky ship, one so lax he couldn't even keep child molesters off his staff.

“You should be ashamed if this is your first time reading these,” Champion said as Tony completed his skimming of the
Times
article. “I've found, Mr. Gooden, that most employees who cost me money and embarrassment bring trouble on themselves in some way.” Rising, he stood over Tony, arms crossed. “What's your story?”

Tony leaned back in his seat so he could make eye contact with the tycoon. “Have you read my foster son's statement, sir?”

Champion stuck his hands into the pockets of his suit pants, grimacing. “Yes, very touching. He seemed to be saying this was his ex-girlfriend's way of getting back at him, by falsely accusing you of coming onto her? No one's buying that; the kid's obviously just looking out for you.”

Larry strode back over to his desk but stayed on his feet as he searched Champion's eyes. “Why wouldn't there be some truth to that, Arthur? I suspect all of us here have broken our share of
female hearts. You really wouldn't put this past a young girl reeling from a breakup?”

“Let me remind you of something.” Champion matched stares with Larry, their respective egos filling the room. “I'm the investor here. I provide resources, and in return I get a say when you or your people screw up.” He jerked a thumb toward Tony. “He screwed up. Why the hell was he alone in a classroom with that girl in the first place?”

The intercom on Larry's desk buzzed and he impatiently punched his speakerphone button. “I said I wasn't to be disturbed!”

“I—I understand, sir,” his secretary said, only momentarily thrown off by her boss's heated response. “Principal Jacobs is here, though. She says there's an absolute emergency concerning the school, and she has to see you right now.”

Larry cursed under his breath, then leaned back toward his intercom. “She's actually here?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Send her in.” He punched his speakerphone off and glared at both Tony and Champion. “How many things can go wrong at once?”

Audrey cracked Larry's office door open, peeking inside before opening it further and stepping across the threshold. “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” she said, her face showing no signs of emotion, her voice cold and professional. Tony appreciated his girlfriend's acting skills; they had just been ready to go public with their relationship before Dawn's accusations, but with the disruptions that had followed, they'd agreed it was best to stay invisible a while longer.

Larry nodded toward Tony and Champion. “Can you discuss this emergency in front of these two?”

“Yes, I can.” Stepping gracefully toward Champion, Audrey reached out and shook his hand respectfully. “Sir, I'm going to be straight with you. The only emergency is the one you're already here to discuss, but I had to get my say in regarding these allegations against Mr. Gooden.”

The hairs on his neck tingling, his stomach growing warm, Tony turned over his shoulder and shot his lady a warning look. “That's really not necessary, Audrey. I can speak for myself.”

Her arms hanging at her side, her back drawn tight, she gave Tony a brittle smile. “Well, I hope you've shared the full context of exactly who this girl and her family are. They have every possible motivation to set you up with lies.”

Seeing the raised eyebrows of both men, Tony bolted from his seat. “You'll have to excuse us.” Stepping quickly to Audrey, he took her by the elbow.

Champion bristled, focusing his sights on the way Tony had taken control of the young principal. “Excuse you? What gives you the right to shunt her out of the room?”

Tony shot the billionaire a look that said
back off.
“This won't take five minutes.” He exchanged a more respectful glance with Larry as he led Audrey out the door and toward his own office.

Audrey slammed the door behind her as soon as they stepped inside. “Have you told them?” It was a shout, not a question.

Tony took a seat on the edge of his desk. “Told them what?”

She bounced in place as if ready to charge him. “Have you told them about your affair with Serena, about the fact her husband had every reason to tell Dawn to set you up!”

Tony crossed his arms, peered at the wood beams in his ceiling. “I don't see how that's relevant.”

Audrey was pacing back and forth, clearly struggling to contain herself. “Not relevant? Tony, we have discussed this four separate times since this nightmare began. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you agree that Jamie probably put the child up to this?”

Tony rose and walked over to Audrey, placing an arm over her shoulder. “You need to have a seat, calm down.”

Audrey let him lead her to a chair opposite his desk but wasn't finished yet. “Answer my question.”

“Yes,” Tony replied as he set Audrey down. “More likely than not, Jamie's behind this. I can't prove it, though. Besides, the minute I bring him into this, I bring Serena into it.”

Audrey looked up at Tony, her eyes widening with surprise. “Why would that be so terrible? They've all brought you into this, shooting you full of specious accusations. My God, don't you understand your entire career in education is over if these charges stick? Even with that at stake, I don't see Serena bending over backward to stand up for
you.
”

“Just stop this, okay?” Tony's voice had grown hollow from stress, and he collapsed into the chair next to Audrey's before continuing. “Serena is not at fault here, and she doesn't deserve to have our affair made public. Audrey, you know what kind of a black eye that would give her, having her personal life dragged through the courts and local papers. There's no way I'd do that to her, not even to save myself.”

Audrey's voice took on a tinny, nearly shy quality as she said, “She put herself in harm's way from day one. You said yourself that she enrolled Dawn at Rowan knowing you worked here. And no one forced her to sleep with you.”

Tony leaned forward, taking both of Audrey's hands in his. “That would have never happened if I hadn't had the nerve to move here,” he said. “Don't you see? I moved here out of a selfish urge, first and foremost, to try and get Serena back. That was such a limited view. It's not about
getting
her back, it's about respecting her attempts to lead a better life. I can't do much, Audrey, but I can at least do that much for her. And I'll start by keeping her out of this mess.”

Gripping his hands more tightly, Audrey inhaled deeply and pulled Tony to his feet. Rising, she leaned forward and kissed him, communicating a mixture of lust, love, and concern with her gentle tongue and full, moist lips. As she pulled out of the kiss, though, her right eye glistened with a single tear. “You still love her,” she whispered. “I knew it from the first night you told me about her, but I didn't want to believe it.”

Her words felt less like an accusation than an acceptance, but Tony rushed to dampen their meaning. “There's more than one kind of love,” he said, lightly stabilizing her chin in one hand. “What I feel for you—”

“Will never compare to what you feel for her,” Audrey replied, pulling out of his grasp and staring at him longingly. “If it did, you would have told Larry and Champion the whole story, no hesitations.”

“Audrey, I—”

She was already backing out of the room, her back still straight, her proud expression straining to suppress the pain inside. “I love you, Tony Gooden, but I know when to say when. I hope someone can replace Serena for you someday, because it clearly won't be me.” He was still grappling for words when she pivoted suddenly and was gone.

Ten minutes after Audrey's exit, once he'd had time to hide in a bathroom stall and expel the warm, shameful tears, Tony stepped back into the lions' den. Taking a seat on Larry's couch, he looked up at his boss and Champion with dry eyes. “Gentlemen,” he said stoically, “do what you gotta do.”