Part 1 was titled "Atonement" in reference to the Indecent Proposal
Part 2 is titled, "Queen's Gambit" which is in reference to a chess move where pawns (or other minor chess pieces) are sacrificed so that the player can obtain a better strategic position.
I wrote out all of part 1 and then posted it. This will not be the case for part 2. Part 2 will be posted in pieces as I write out each chapter.
The prologue here is the same teaser prologue I posted before at the end of part 1.
I hope you enjoy the story. Reviews are greatly appreciated.
Prologue
Countess Blair Cornelia Waldorf Kishlovsky was having a Hell of a year. If she had ever been jealous of her best friend's impact on society, she no longer had any right to complain of her lack of the spotlight. The spotlight was always on her now. She was the American girl made into a countess. She was the American girl made into a countess who had the heart of the son of a British Duke and Duchess. She was the American girl made into a countess who had the heart of the son of a British Duke and Duchess and of a French prince. But she had rejected both, surprising the media and the rest of the population, to claim her side at one Charles Bartholomew Bass.
Their tumultuous and long-distance love affair was often speculated upon by the media. She was taking classes at Columbia, and was bound to stay within New York. He was the head of a billion-dollar real estate industry, and was often traveling throughout parts of the world in his quest to increase the Bass Industry Empire.
And the gossip began. In the daytime, he was all business. But in the nighttime, he was all about entertaining and keeping investors interested and happy.
Pictures surfaced. Apologies were uttered time, and time again. And gifts were presented again and again. And a gracious countess took back the man who had betrayed her again and again.
But then the video had turned up. Not any video, but a sex video. He claimed it was fake, and it wasn't of him. But she had had enough.
The fairytale couple of Countess Blair Cornelia Waldorf Kishlovsky and Charles Bartholomew Bass, finally broke up. And then the mud-slinging began. She was the media's darling. But, even so, the cruel words she had blasted at her ex- also hurt her own profile. He had blasted back with his own hurtful words and accusations of her being a gold digging social climber.
Blair needed a new tactic. She couldn't allow her reputation to be tarnished any longer. And that was why she had requested a meeting with Jack Bass.
"I won't lie to you," Blair said honestly. "I hate you. But, I hate Chuck even more. I hate him so much, it consumes me. Every nerve ending in my body is electrified by hatred."
"Admirable," Jack said, lifting his glass. "And something I can sympathize with. So what are you looking for, Countess?"
"Blair," she corrected. "Call me Blair. And, simply put, I am looking for a way to hurt him."
"So you're looking for an ally."
Blair shook her head, her eyes steadily on Jack's. "Not quite. I was thinking more of a husband. How about it, Jack?"
