Page 28 of Primary Season
“You wouldn’t do that, Kathryn.”
“Oh, wouldn’t I?” Kathryn tossed her Louis Vuitton handbag on the table and took a seat in one of the accompanying chairs just inches away from the place where I’d been eating Alex’s pussy. “I’ve told you before, darling. I like you—a lot—and we get along, but that doesn’t mean you should take me, or any of this, for granted. Ever.”
“I never have.” My jaw hardened and I glared at her. “You know that.”
“Those photos will ruin you.”
“Probably.” I sighed as the weight of her threats began to sink into my shoulders. “But those photos also aren’t your property.”
“They are now. Everything has a price. You, this campaign, secrets.” She leaned forward, talking once again only to me. “And being a Van der Loon means knowing how to play all of it.”
“Hang on.” Alex glanced back and forth between us. “I don’t understand. What photos?”
Kathryn shot her a tight smile. “Sit down, honey. There’s a lot about Patrick Blanco that you simply don’t know.”
“Don’t call me honey.” Alex snarled, but she followed Kathryn’s orders and took a place across from her at the conference table.
Reluctant and resigned, I did, too. What else was I going to do? Kathryn had me by the balls. No, not just Kathryn. Mypasthad me by the balls. Good fucking grief.
“Look,” I said as my mind raced. Kathryn held some major cards, and I didn’t want her to win this round. “I’ve made mistakes in my life. A lot of them, but there is no need to do this. No need to put her through this.”
“Why not? I would think after your—whatever this is, you’d at least give her the courtesy.” Kathryn made a dismissive gesture. “If you’re not going to tell her the truth, darling, then I will.”
A beat passed, and the three of us stared at each other.
“No, I’ll do it.” I finally said, then I let out a defeated sigh. “You’re right. She deserves to know.”
“Damn straight I do,” Alex said, a little too loud for it to be fully under her breath. “And you’re going to tell me.”
I leaned back and studied the two ladies who, over the last six months, had unexpectedly become the two most important women in my life. One of them represented everything I wanted when it came to my professional career. The other represented everything I needed inside.
And right then, both of them scowled at me.
“This isn’t easy to talk about,” I said.
“The truth never is.” Alex crossed her arms.
“When I was in college, I had trouble with the workload at George Washington,” I began, realizing there was nothing to do but just admit the sordid truth. “I did great in high school, but once I got to college, things changed at GWU.”
“George Washington?” Alex frowned. “You graduated from Ohio State.”
“This is the part no one knows about,” I said with a slow nod. “I got in trouble during my freshman year. Started drinking really hard. Too much fast living. It spiraled into—cocaine.”
“What?” Alex’s eyes widened. “Coke?”
“My roommate got it cheap, and we did it to stay awake. We could party all night and still make it to class in the mornings. It was…a hell of a thing.”
“Cocaine is like that,” Kathryn said. “Just ask half of Manhattan.”
Alex narrowed her eyes and glared at Kathryn.
“My usage got out of control, and when I went home for winter break that year, my parents realized something was wrong. They took me out of school, gave me a semester to get clean, and then I re-enrolled at OSU.” I smiled at Alex halfheartedly. “They threatened to cut me off if I ever did it again, if I ever fell back into that kind of problem. And I didn’t.”
“But the past never stays in the past.” Kathryn propped her elbows on the table and closed her hands together, studying the two of us. “And of course, someone at GWU bothered to get plenty of photos during all of those wild nights of partying.”
“Photos that didn’t show up until we announced my candidacy for president,” I added. “Photos that came with a price tag.”
“Who had them?” asked Alex.
