She laughed. “Good luck, Josh,” she said and shook her head. She walked away and then turned back and shouted. “Remember not to be a dick.”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Okay, maybe she really was as bad as I thought.
Chapter Twelve
Reagan
I popped into Dana’s on the way to work that morning. I was so early and figured I could use a good cup of coffee. Also, I wanted to tell her that I had been a traitor the day before in case anyone had seen me there. The last thing I wanted was for someone else to tell her and for her to think that I had been going behind her back. Josh had found the whole thing incredibly funny, but I had always promised myself never to go anywhere else but Dana’s if I could help it.
“Customer number one,” she said as I walked in.
I laughed. I looked around and saw that she wasn’t joking. I really was the first person to walk in. Was it really that early? I looked at my watch and saw that it was. I was lucky that Dana was as much of an early bird as I was. “Are you even open yet?”
“We are. But we generally only get a rush of people coming before work in about half an hour or an hour. Those people are usually very early. So I’m not sure what that makes you.”
I chuckled. “It’s the conference today. I wanted to go in extra early to make sure everything was on track. But I couldn’t do it without a good cup of coffee. The coffee in the office is not the greatest. Hey, I should actually see if I can get you to supply the coffee there. That’s a great idea. The coffee is awful, and it’s the sort of place that really could use some good caffeine, especially at the moment.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I’m sure we can set something up for you guys. Coffee coming right up,” Dana said and signaled to the barista to make two cups.
“Ah, thank you so much,” I said when a cup was handed to me minutes later. I took a sip and melted into my chair. “This stuff is so good. But . . . I have something you need to know. And please don’t be too mad at me.”
“Uh oh. That sounds ominous. Although I couldn’t imagine you doing anything that could make me mad at you. I don’t think I’ve ever been mad at you. What’s going on?” she asked.
“Well, I went out for coffee yesterday. To a different café,” I said and gave her a timid look.
“Oh yeah? Which one?”
“Simone’s Deli.”
“Oh, that place has great coffee. So, what happened there?”
I frowned at her response. How did she know that Simone’s Deli had great coffee? “Happened? Nothing happened.”
“But you said there’s something you needed to tell me. Something must’ve happened. And you look so guilty. Honestly, Reagan, you can tell me. What’s going on?”
“That’s it. Nothing is going on. I went to another café. And I even liked their coffee. I felt so bad. I just had to tell you in case you found out from someone else. Not that I have any idea who would tell you. But still. It was better coming from me.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t you go to another café and enjoy their coffee? You’ve got every right to do that.”
“Because I’m a Dana’s Café supporter. That’s why. I have always been, and I will always be a supporter of your place,” I said with defiance.
She looked at me like I was crazy. “Are you telling me that you don’t go anywhere else but here? I don’t believe that.”
“Of course I don’t. This is the only place I’ll ever go. I thought you knew that. I told you when you opened this place that I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
She laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m surprised you don’t believe me.”
“The thing is . . . even I go to other places.”
“You do?”
“Of course. Oh, Reagan, I had no idea that you supported me that much. I remember you saying that to me, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it. That’s the sweetest thing ever. It really is the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me. But just because you go out to drink coffee or eat food from somewhere else doesn’t mean that I’ll think any less of you. I know you support me.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I felt so bad!”
“You’re the best. You really are. So, why were you there?”
“Oh, I had to take my boss to go suit shopping, and we got there so early that the suit shop was closed. The suit shop was right next to the café, and we had half an hour to kill. We went for coffee first while we waited for it to open.”
“Suit shopping? That must’ve been a drag.” Dana didn’t hide the fact that she thought Josh was an idiot. She’d only really seen him that one time on TV, but she had taken an instant disliking to him. It didn’t help that she hated politics so much. That just worked against him even more.
I giggled. “It was fine. He complained a lot, but I found him something amazing to wear to the conference today.”
“Wow, that goes over and beyond your normal scope of work doesn’t it?”
“It was within working hours so it’s fine, and it was nice to get out of the office for a change, anyway. I’m here for damage control, remember? That means getting him ready for the public. It took me a long time to convince him that a good suit was an important part of the process, but he eventually caved in.”
“You can be quite persuasive when you want to be,” she said.
“We’ll see how well he does today. It’s not just the suit we’ve been working on but his attitude too.”
“Oh, that must be fun. He must just love you at the moment. Think he’s going to do okay?”
“I’d tell you to watch the conference, but I’m sure it’s the last thing you’ll want to do,” I said and chuckled. “I’ll call you later and let you know. But I’m sure he’ll do fine. He’s a pain in the ass most of the time, but he knows how to turn on the charm when he has to. I try not to let him hear me say that, though.”
I finished my coffee, thanked Dana, and made my way to work. I was still early, but when I arrived, I saw that Josh was already in his office. The moment he saw me, he signaled for me to come in.
“Oh good, you’re early,” he said.
“I’m always early. What’s up?”
“Nothing really. I’m just nervous. I’ve been pacing up and down the office going through everything that we discussed. It is so good to see a friendly face.”
I laughed. “You think my face is friendly?”
That made him laugh too. “When you’re not busting my balls, it is.”
“Fair play. You nervous?”
He nodded. “I’m not normally nervous but that last conference was such a disaster, and I’m almost certain they’re going to mention Kason. I just don’t want to mess things up and make it worse. I feel like there is just so much riding on this conference. I know that people are relying on me to do well.”
I didn’t like the guy all that much, but I did feel sorry for him. It was an important conference, and I wasn’t used to seeing him look nervous. It was nice to know that he had a human side to him after all. “Don’t worry. You’re good at this. You’re better than good. You’re great. You already know what to say no matter what they ask of you. We’ve run through so many scenarios, and I highly doubt anything will come up that we don’t already know. You just need to keep calm and charm,” I said and then laughed. “‘Keep calm and charm.’ That should totally be your new motto. You look great, by the way.”
“I feel weird. I’m not used to wearing things like this,” he complained.
“You just don’t want to admit that I know what I’m doing. You look great,” I said. I walked up to him and adjusted his tie, which had moved slightly askew. I looked up at him and saw that he was looking down at me, and for a brief moment, we just stood there looking at each other. What the hell was going on? I was just about to make a joke of it when Ralph walked in.
“You look great, Josh,” he said. “Good choice on the suit, Reagan.”
; “Thank you,” I said and quickly moved away from Josh. Why was I so nervous suddenly? I looked at Ralph to see if he had noticed anything, but thankfully he hadn’t.
“You’re on in five,” he said.
“You’ve got this, Josh,” I said. “Calm and charm remember.”
He chuckled slightly at that. “Calm and charm,” he repeated as he walked out the door.
Ralph and I walked to the back of the room and took a seat along with the rest of the crowd. I looked at my watch. Three more minutes to go. Two. One. I took a deep breath as Josh walked through the doors and stood at the podium at the front.
It was strange to be inside the room instead of watching it on my TV at home. This was a job that I had wanted for such a long time, but I hadn’t been sure if I’d ever actually get it. Actually being there to watch the conference in person was a dream come true for me. I felt a flurry of excitement build up inside me as I took my surroundings in. To think that not so long ago I had considered going to work with Dana instead. I reminded myself of how lucky I was to be in this situation and quickly shot Ralph a grateful smile.
“I’m excited,” I said.
“I’m nervous,” he replied. I forgot that he had done this so many times, so his excitement had probably waned. After the last conference, I could understand why he was so nervous.
“Well, that too.”
We watched as Josh delivered his speech and then stood to answer all the questions the media threw his way. I was happy to discover that every question they asked him was something that we had been through in our meetings together. Ralph and I had thrown every possible scenario his way, and we’d thought of answers together as a team. We had thought of questions that we were sure that they wouldn’t even ask, but we wanted to make sure that we had every area covered so that there was no room for error. Josh had looked nervous when he’d first walked in, but I could see that his confidence was growing with each question. He knew that he was doing well, and I was happy that the media seemed to be responding well to him.
“He looks good in that suit,” Ralph whispered to me.
“He really does.” And as much as I didn’t like Josh, I couldn’t help but think how good looking he was standing up there in all his confident glory. I had also warned him to keep his flirtations to a minimum, because while they might work on some, they would also work against him with others. I was pleased to see that he had toned them down, and it was obvious that the majority of the audience seemed to like him. He definitely had a way about him that made him stand out from everyone else. I wasn’t sure what it was. It was partly because of the passion that he had and the beliefs that he stood by no matter what. You knew what you got with him, and there was something so refreshing about that. But I had to admit that his charm played a big role in his appeal. It annoyed me in a way, but I couldn’t deny it. The man was very good looking. Of course, this was a fact he clearly knew himself too.
Afterward, I walked back to my desk and watched as Josh was congratulated by all his team. Everyone had something positive to say to him, and Josh was beaming. I smiled and sat down at my desk, ready to get stuck back into my work. I was happy with how everything had gone but there was still a long way to go, and I had to make sure I was on top of everything. Being two steps ahead of the game meant that my work was never ending. I wanted them to know that they had done the right thing when hiring me. I had no intention of leaving this job, even once the election was over. I was where I wanted to be, and I was going to make damn sure that I stayed there. The only place now for me was up. My work phone rang, and I reached out to answer it.
“Reagan Knead speaking, how many I help you?”
“It’s Josh. Can you come to my office?”
“Sure. Be right there.”
I put the phone down and shook my head. His office was not far from where I sat, and he could’ve easily have just come to see me. Some things would never change. As I got to his office, I knocked on the door and waited for him to tell me that I could come in.
“You don’t have to knock,” he said.
“You always tell me to knock.”
“Yeah, but I called you and asked you to come here. So I was expecting you.”
“I know. I’m just messing with you. You did great by the way.”
“You think?” he asked. Although his attempt at modesty didn’t fool me. He knew that he had done well. We both knew it.
“Of course I think so. And you know it too. You must’ve felt the energy in the room. Ralph and I were so happy with how it went. You answered those questions perfectly, by the way. You had the whole audience in the palm of your hand.”
“So much flattery. I didn’t think you had it in you,” he teased.
I laughed. “Congratulations, Josh. This is just the sort of thing we need right now. I’m a straight talker like you. If I give you a compliment, it’s because I mean it.”
“I’m glad you think so. I was nervous at first, but I definitely felt like it went well.”
“It did. Naturally, it had everything to do with that suit.”
He chuckled. “I’m not so sure. I just caught sight of myself in the mirror again. It looks like something Johnny Cochran would’ve worn at the O.J. trial.”
“A simple thank you would suffice,” I said, cocking an eyebrow.
“Thank you. It is a nice suit. So, have you heard about Saturday yet? I’m not sure if Ralph mentioned it to you.”
“Saturday? No, I know nothing about it.”
“There’s a big gala happening for all the senators. I have to be there, and so do you.”
“You’re bossy.”
“I am your boss.”
I chuckled. I wondered if I was supposed to bring a date for it, but figured he’d tell me if that was the case. I waited for more, but he simply told me that it was an important function and as his public relations officer, it was important that I was there. I thought about telling him that it would’ve been nice to have at least had a fair bit of warning for it. After all, Saturday is usually the time of the week where most people have plans. But I decided against it. After all, I didn’t have plans at all. I generally didn’t have a social life, but he didn’t have to know that.
“Great, I’ll be there,” I said instead.
Chapter Thirteen
Josh
After the successful conference the day before, I was looking forward to a morning off at the golf course. It was a nice day to be outside, and I was tired of being in front of a computer or smiling for the cameras. I loved what I did, but it was exhausting at times. I tried not to complain, though, because I knew how lucky I was, but sometimes it was good to just let off some steam.
I was looking forward to seeing Kason again and catching up. It hadn’t been long, but it felt like forever since we’d last caught up with one another. It was strange not having him in around the office every day, but it was important for him to be out of the limelight for a while until things settled down. I knew that it was probably killing him to be away from work for so long. He might be a lot of things, and some of them less than flattering, but he had always been a very hard worker. If the roles were reversed, I would’ve gone crazy by now already. Just like him, I always needed to be busy.
I made my way to the clubhouse to wait for Kason and saw someone waving me over. When I got nearer, I saw that it was John Steenman, the owner of the clubhouse. He’d always been nice to me, but I generally got the impression that he didn’t like me all that much. I wasn’t sure that he liked the way I handled things in the public eye. We generally didn’t talk all that much, so it was strange that he was calling me over. I hoped he didn’t want to talk to me about Kason.
“Hi, John, good to see you again,” I said. Even though he’d never liked me all that much, I actually liked him a lot. He was great at his job, and I had always admired anyone who was good at what they did.
“Josh, I’m glad to see you.” That was strange. He was acting suspiciously nice toward
me today. He was smiling at me in a way that I knew he meant it. “I’ve been kind of scarce lately. I put my back out and it took me a while to find my mobility again. But I’m back on track.”
“Ah, sorry to hear that. You’ve had problems with your back before, haven’t you?”
“I have. It’s all a part of getting older I’m afraid. Enjoy your health while you can, young man.”
I smiled. “I’ll try. And you’re not old.”
“Oh, I’m old. But thanks for saying that. Anyway, I’ve been keeping track of what’s been happening in your world, and I must say, I am very impressed with how you handled that conference yesterday.”
“You are?” That was not at all what I had been expecting him to say to me. His comment completely threw me off guard. He’d never said anything horrible to me, but this was also the first time that he’d ever really said anything nice too.
“You did a great job out there, and it was a pleasure to watch you. I kept telling my wife that you were one of the men that came to the clubhouse all the time. She loved you. She told me that you were a hit with the ladies, by the way. I know Kason is going through a rough time, and I think you did a great job with showing people your human side yesterday. I stand by your beliefs and I just wanted to let you know that you have my vote.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. If there was one person that I thought would definitely not vote for me, it was John. I beamed at him and went to shake his hand.
“Thank you so much, John. I cannot tell you how much that means to me. And thank you for letting me know. That’s kind of you. Things have been pretty tough lately and I’ve been desperately trying to stay positive. So, this was just what I needed to hear.”
“Just keep doing such a stellar job. We need more men like you around.”
That was a good sign, and I reminded myself to let Reagan know when I saw her again. John might only be one vote, but I was certain that before the conference, I didn’t have it. If I had changed his mind, then there was hope that I had changed a few more. He was not the sort of person that I thought would have his mind changed easily, so we must be doing something right.
Dirty Boss (An Office Romance) (The Maxwell Family) Page 8