Page 94 of Token

This wasn’t going to be easy.

“You shouldn’t have to think about it. It’s either yes or no,” she prompted coolly. “Although, judging by your reaction, I think I know the answer.”

Nate swallowed hard. “Yes. I did.”

She gave a sharp nod. “I thought so.”

“How did you find out? Who told you?” He’d been promised that no one would ever beableto discover the source of the funds, much less trace it back to him. His identity had been thoroughly masked, they’d assured him a number of times over the years. So much for fucking anonymity. Heads were going to roll for this breach.

“A reporter called. He mentioned the scholarship and asked if I knew who the anonymous donor was. His source at the university apparently wasn’t privy to the information. I guess he thought who better to ask than the lucky recipient herself and thought his readers would love anup by the bootstraps storystarring yours truly.” She dipped low in a mock curtsy. “And can you imagine his glee when he discovered I didn’t even know there was a donor, anonymous or otherwise? And that my college education had been funded by a wealthy donor who chose not to have his generosity known. And so the plot thickens.” She shivered dramatically, her eyes ice-cold. “Wouldn’t this make a great feel-good story for a news feature? Bringing together the luckyhard-luckscholarship recipient with her anonymous donor so I can thank you in person? The public would eat it up.”

Nate winced. “You know it’s not like that.”

“Then tell me what’s it like, Nate. Tell me why you would go behind my back and do something like this. What is it? Do you have a white-knight complex? Or was it guilt?”

She froze him off when he tried to touch her, this time moving beyond his reach. He wisely withdrew his hand at the risk of sending her bolting.

“Kennedy, when you and Aurora were accepted at Columbia, I wanted to give you both what you wanted, and I did what I needed to do to make that happen.”

“Oh, don’t give me that. You were giving me whatyouwanted. Do you know how I know? Because you knew that if you simply offered me the money, I would have said no. So instead, you devised this phony scholarship for theacademically gifted. You needed me to believe that I’d earned it on my own, when the only criterion was that I was your sister’s best friend who couldn’t afford an Ivy League school education. Let’s face it—you felt sorry for me.”

“You were academically gifted,” Nate rebutted forcefully. “And I didn’t feel sorry for you. I wanted to help you get what you deserved.”

“Who said I deserved it, Nate, you?”

At the slight catch in her voice, he instinctively reached out to her, only to stop himself when she automatically took another step back, her entire posture screamingstay away.

“I was just trying to help.” Nate had never felt so utterly helpless in his life. More than a little disconcerted, he ran a weary hand through his hair and gazed at her, his eyes imploring. “Look, I’m sorry I went behind your back. And you’re right—I knew you wouldn’t let me just give you the money or pay for it outright, which is why I didn’t cover everything. I thought it might make you suspicious. But I never wanted to hurt you or make you feel bad about yourself or your abilities. My money may have helped fund your education, but you were the one who did the work. You’re the one who got the grades and graduated at the top of your class.”

What he was going through now?Thiswas why he’d abandoned the idea of buying her a place in the city after receiving her pushback. A lot of women would have accepted the offer the second it was issued. Not Kennedy, though. She was simply too proud to accept a gift that extravagant. And as frustrating as that could sometimes be, he fucking adored that about her.

Kennedy stared at him, slowly shaking her head. “How can I expect you to know how I feel? You can’t. And I guess that’s the crux of the matter. I don’t want or need a white knight to save me. And believe me, a few Black ones have tried.” She briefly averted her gaze and swallowed before continuing. “You have no idea how proud I was of what I was able to accomplish. I didn’t ask my parents for a dime and managed to earn an undergraduateandmaster’s degreeon my own. And all that time it was you carrying me on your shoulders. Making everything I have now possible.”

“No, you earned it,” Nate insisted, panic rising inside him like a tide. He was losing her. He could feel her slipping away in a vortex of doubt, despair, and anger.

Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes at him, her expression turning fierce. “Jack knows, doesn’t he? That’s why he made all those snide comments about how well I’d done for myself.”

Nate was taken aback by the vehemence in her voice. “What are you talking about? Jack doesn’t know anything about this. I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing. And when did he ever make snide comments to you?” he asked, feeling a tiny stab of annoyance. So now she was going to find another reason to cry foul. Find something else to blame him for by casting Jack as the enemy, when, ironically, it was the asshole she’d trusted who had been the one talking shit about her behind her back.

Chin jutted, she said, “I wasn’t imagining things, Nate. Maybe you didn’t pick up on his attitude, but I did.”

Man, she was on a tear and not letting things like facts get in her way.

“Please don’t do that.” His irritation came through in the terseness of his tone.

“Do what?”

“This tit-for-tat shit. Just because I was right about your asshole of an ex-client, don’t go looking for things to accuse Jack of.”

“Lookingfor things? Are you kidding me?” she asked, her voice rising in disbelief. “You’re so blinded by your friendship with him you refuse to see what’s right in front of your face. He was belittling me and you didn’t do or say anything to defend me.”

“You’re mad at me. I get it. But to accuse me of sitting by while my friend insults you really shows how highly you must think of me.” He couldn’t deny that it hurt.

With a frustrated huff, Kennedy furiously flicked her hair over her shoulder. “See, this is why I didn’t say anything when it happened. I was afraid this was the way you’d react, and lo and behold, I was right.”

“Dammit, Kennedy, not everyone is out to get you. Stop looking for enemies in every corner.” The second the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d crossed a line. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Kennedy stood motionless, the air around them palpably thick with tension. This was probably what it felt like in the seconds leading up to the explosion of a bomb. But when she spoke, her voice was eerily calm and very much in control. “I will when you pull your head out of the sand and see that one of the reasons your company is being sued has been standing right in front of you the whole time. Unfortunately—or fortunately, I guess, depending on your circumstances—I don’t have the luxury of turning a blind eye to injustices simply because the perpetrator is a friend.”

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