Page 56 of Match Point

“Tucker and I will.” She offered a sad smile. “You’ll be gone.”

“I’ll be gone, but I’ll be checking in on your progress.” He had a stake in her success. Call it pride or stubbornness, but he wanted to see all her hard work pay off. She deserved it. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Chapter Forty-Four

Sorcha sat on the couch in the cabin, an icepack on her shoulder. With her good hand, she answered a few social media posts. Before Leo, she’d found countless hours of enjoyment exchanging messages with her many fans. Now it seemed a useless endeavor.

Leo’s question about how she’d handled stress before her father’s death stayed with her. There was one huge difference between then and now. Grief. She’d never been a depressed person. Being outdoors and athletic gave her positive endorphins and although she had a bit of a temper—more so of late—she’d never allowed herself to indulge in the blues. She still mourned for her dad, but she’d come out of the deep hole she’d been in, and she had the man at the end of the couch to thank for it.

Leo reclined on the sofa with his laptop, black shorts showing off his powerful thighs, close but a world away. He was leaving and at such a critical time, it made her panic a bit. It wasn’t fair, but then he’d never promised to be fair and she hated him for that. Except she loved him. Crazy and unhinged.

Her phone chimed and she glanced at the text. It was from Grace Chen asking if she could talk. Had she found out something already?

The reception is bad here. Can you video chat?

Yes.

“I need to use your laptop,” Sorcha said.

Leo raised his head, his green eyes questioning. “Why do you need to use my laptop?”

She considered not telling him a damn thing, but petulance wasn’t going to make things any better. He’d been straight with her and she needed to accept his feelings. She didn’t have to like it, but she had to accept it and move on. “I need to video chat with Grace about Miller and you have the internet.”

He frowned. She waited for his lecture and he didn’t disappoint. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to expose Miller as your father? He’s not a nice man.”

“No, he’s not and that’s all the more reason to call him out. Your laptop, please?”

Leo sighed and held it out, the muscles in his forearm bunching. He’d shaved his beard and cut his hair, the casual man she’d grown to know disappearing. Stiff Leo was back in place. “Have at it.”

Careful not to touch him, she accepted the laptop. For a long moment, she considered heading to her room, but she had no secrets from him. Well, maybe one. How much she loved him.

She resumed her seat on the couch and clicked on the app. Biting her lip, she waited for Grace to appear on the screen. The reporter wore no makeup and looked much younger than in person. Her skin was flawless and devoid of freckles, something Sorcha envied.

“Hi Sorcha, thanks for calling me. I hope it’s not too late at night. I know you work out quite early in the morning,” Grace said.

“No, it’s not too late. I’m just sitting here on my phone.” Painfully aware of Leo feet from her, and even more cognizant of the fact he was leaving the following day.

“I wanted to give you a preliminary status on the segment we discussed.”

Sorcha raked a hand through her hair and cast a glance at Leo. He had his arm along the back of the couch, knee bent. He was scrolling through his phone, but listening to the conversation. Judgement oozed from him and she inhaled a steadying breath. He’d given up his right to tell her what to do. . “Let me guess, you contacted his attorney and he threatened to sue.”

“No. That happened the last time I tried to do a story on him. Contacting him isn’t at the top of my list. I have some leads, but I just started asking questions so I’m not comfortable telling you something that might not result in anything but frustration.”

“He’s covered his tracks well over the years. I did manage to trace the attorney who drew up the papers, but the man died a few years ago, so it’s a dead end.” Sorcha crossed her legs, balancing the laptop with her free hand. The minute she’d found the NDA, she’d begun to obsess over Miller. It had brought her to Seattle. To Leo.

“I like your suggestion of an autobiographical special edition show featuring you. You can talk about your childhood and explain how this entire situation played out.” Grace leaned towards the screen as if she were reaching for something. “I’d like to schedule it for after the tournament. Just give the okay and I’ll have my team start to pull it together.”

“You have my permission. I’ll have my assistant Trent contact your office. Let him know if you need anything from me and I’ll make time for it. I don’t have to tell you how important this is to me.” Baby steps. Sorcha’s anger toward Miller hadn’t faded since her disastrous meeting with him. It was still early in the game and although she’d hoped for a quick resolution, she wasn’t delusional enough to think that would happen.

“Just to give you fair warning, I’m not going to go easy on you,” Grace said, grinning.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else from you.” Sorcha would do what it took to pin Miller to the ground, even if it meant revealing all her skeletons. “I want Miller to pay for what he’s done, and since he’s rich, we’ll hit him where it hurts, in the public arena. Perhaps his rag-mag will do a story on the scandal.”

Laughter sounded from the speakers, the picture freezing.

“I’m losing you, Grace. Let me know if you need anything else,” Sorcha said.

“Good luck in the tour…na….ment. I’m rooting for you.”

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