VALOROUS (A Quantum Novel)(31)

“Which doesn’t amount to much,” I add. “Of course I was mortified. Fluff has never bitten anyone, and she makes her debut with Flynn Godfrey?”

“The whole thing was pretty funny,” Flynn says.

“I have to ask how you go from her dog biting you to walking the red carpet together at the Golden Globes a week later.”

Flynn glances at me. “I took one look at Natalie and knew I wanted her in my life.”

Carolyn fans her face. “Whoa. I need a drink—and a cigarette.”

We laugh at that.

“You don’t smoke,” Flynn reminds her.

“Today would be a good day to start! And you, Natalie… How do you go about dating someone like Flynn?”

“Carefully,” I say, making them laugh.

“She made me work for it.”

“When did you know this could be something special?”

The question is directed at me. “Flynn showed me who he really is several times in the first few days we were together. He’s hard not to like, especially when he brings out the Godfrey charm.”

“I imagine that can be quite formidable.”


“You know it.” By now I feel like I’m chatting with an old girlfriend, which is why Carolyn is so good at what she does and so well regarded in the business.

“Can you describe for us what it was like to learn that your painful past had been made public after you appeared with Flynn at the Golden Globes?”

I’m ready for this one, because Liza warned me to be prepared. “Naturally, it’s terribly painful to relive a time in my life I’d much sooner forget, but in some ways it’s been freeing, too. I no longer have to worry about someone finding out who I used to be. The whole world knows now, and shockingly, life has gone on.”

“You did lose your job at the Emerson charter school in New York, though. Is that correct?”

“Yes.” A spark of pain registers in my chest at the reminder of what’s been lost.

“Do you have any recourse there?”

“We’re looking at all our options,” Flynn says. “Up to and including litigation.”

That’s the first I’ve heard of that possibility. I clear my throat. “The parents of my students have petitioned the school’s board of directors, asking them to reinstate me. We’re waiting to hear if the board will overturn the principal’s decision.”

“If you’re offered your job back, would you take it?”

“I’m… I’m not sure. It would depend on a number of factors.”

“Can you talk about what recourse you have against the lawyer who sold your story to the media?”

Flynn takes that one. “We’re hoping for everything from disbarment to criminal and civil charges. I won’t be satisfied until he suffers at least half as much as Natalie has.”

“Even to those of us who were appalled by how your story came to be public, it’s been hard not to be moved by your courage and fortitude. Can you talk about the decisions you made in the aftermath of the assault? Is it true that your attacker threatened your family’s safety and livelihood?”

“He did, but there really was no decision. I had—or I guess I still have—younger sisters. I was absolutely certain that if I didn’t pursue charges, he would turn his attention on them at some point. I couldn’t let that happen, so going to the police was the only thing I could do.”

“I understand you’ve had no contact with your family since you made that decision?”

“That’s correct. My father worked for the governor and chose his lifelong friend over his own kid.” Despite my matter-of-fact delivery, it still hurts, even all these years later, to think about my father dragging my mother out of the hospital and out of my life, leaving me traumatized, brutalized and alone.

“And how old were you, Natalie?” Carolyn’s voice has softened, and her eyes are bright with unshed tears.

“Fifteen.”

“What did you do? How did you cope? Did you ever consider not bringing charges against Oren Stone? Wow, sorry that’s three questions.”

I laugh at her befuddled expression. “I was lucky to be taken in by the family of one of the detectives who’d worked on my case. They were very good to me. I also relied on financial support from Stone’s detractors who wanted to help me bring him down. And I never once considered not bringing charges or not supporting the case against him. What he did to me… Well, no one should get away with that.”

“I’m curious as to how your name became public. You were a minor, and usually the names of assault victims are kept out of the media.”

“We believe that Stone’s team leaked my name, hoping I’d back down from testifying, and by the time of the trial, it was no longer a secret. I was also the daughter of one of his top aides, so it didn’t take long for that connection to be part of the story.”

“And when you heard he’d died in prison after being raped… What did you think?”

“Karma. People get what’s coming to them in this life. I honestly believe if you’re a good person, good things will happen to you. If you’re evil… Well, you get what you deserve.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Carolyn says forcefully. That’s when I know she’s genuinely moved by my story. “I have to ask… Well, let’s go back to the week before the Golden Globes. You’ve just met Flynn and begun a whirlwind romance. He asks you to attend a very public event with him. Were you at all fearful of being exposed when you’d gone to such tremendous lengths to change your name and appearance and build a new life for yourself?”