Officer Campbell, a guy with the strangest interpretation of common sayings I’ve ever heard, had let me know that Jake was being released with a small fine and a warning. I’d gotten a message from Sawyer a little while ago that gave me hope I wouldn’t be too far behind him. Given mine arrest is an accusation with no evidence other than Brooke’s word and her busted nose and lip, Devon did what Devon can apparently do. Using connections and skills I didn’t know he had - and no doubt where the liar is concerned, a little bit of grease - things have gone from moving like molasses to moving like molten lava. I can’t wait for all this bullshit to go away. My hope is that it stays away, but that does give me pause for thought.
Nothing ever really stays hidden does it?
Hearing voices approaching, I look up and see an officer holding the door open as a woman wearing a suit walks through it, and heads my way.
“Ella? What are you doing here?”
I couldn’t be more surprised that she’s here. My mind spins at seeing her, but I really only care about one thing.
“Is Jake OK? Where is he? Has he been released yet? Can you ask them to let me see him?” I say, my questions spewing forth, barely a breath between them.
“See him? You’re joking right?” she scoffs. “Do you not see where you are Cassie? You’re in jail. Jail!” she yells. “You got Jake arrested. Haven’t you done enough?”
I didn’t get Jake arrested, Jake got himself arrested. Has she even spoken with him?
She takes a breath and I watch as her fists clench and unclench at her sides, “My God, I knew in my gut that this tawdry fling would end badly and you’d cause Jake trouble and hurt, but I had no idea you would do this much damage!”
The way she says the words tawdry fling and screws up her face makes it quite clear the gloves are off.
“Hey, wait a min––”
“NO! You wait a minute!” she cuts me off. “I hired you to improve Jake’s image, not drag it into the gutter. Jesus, what is wrong with you? You call yourself a professional? Any small gain you made in the past two weeks has been undone so spectacularly in the last few hours, he’ll end up with a more tarnished image than the one he started with.”
“What are you talking about? No one knows. Nothing is damaged, Sawyer assured me that––”
“Do you want it to stay that way?” she asks calmly, quietly, and looking me right in the face.
“What?” I seethe. Surely, she’s not threatening what I think she is?
“Do not fuck with me Cassie! I am far from in the mood. Do you want to keep it quiet?” she sneers, and I’d never noticed how hatred could turn a beautiful woman ugly until that moment.
“You wouldn’t. You wouldn’t do that to Jake.” I say the words, hoping I’d filled them with a conviction stronger than I felt as I think it’s a very real possibility Ella would indeed make sure this story leaked.
“Now-now, Cassie…even you don’t believe that,” she says smiling at me, but it’s cold, only her lips have moved. “You see, my concern has always been protecting Jake’s best interests, and the only thing you seem to be concerned with is feeding your cock hungry cunt.”
She’s pacing across the front of the cell now, too full of anger to stay still. “You don’t care about Jake, about his career, or his continued rise in Washington. You live in L.A. for fuck’s sake - the land of make believe. This is the real world Cassie. Where real people are trying to make a difference. You will always hold him back, drag him down, and you will never be what he needs. You certainly haven’t given him what he deserves…just look at what you’ve done here?”
She waves her arms around her indicating our current location. “Walk away now Cassie. When you’re released, go back to L.A. and don’t turn around. You do that, and this story stays buried.”
“Jake will––”
“Jake will do what you tell him! Well, what I tell him…but I’ll say it’s come from you. I’ll leave this room and I tell him you’ve given me the strategy. I’ll say you’re fine and that you’ve heard from your lawyer. I mention that they’ve settled with Brooke and you will be released around lunchtime tomorrow. I’ll then tell Jake that you want him out of here before there’s a leak, and that there’s nothing he can do. After all, him staying only makes things riskier. I’ll say that as soon as you’re released tomorrow, you’ll call me and I’ll come back to pick you up. Of course, that call won’t come and you’ll be long gone. I will do you a solid though and arrange to have your belongings returned. Payment on delivery of course, tight congressional budget and all that.”
With that, she gives a flick of her hand like it’s all decided.
“I don’t give a fuck about my things, you twit! Jake won’t be manipulated like that, he’ll want to see me…” I trail off, suddenly not at all sure that it’s true.
Will he want to see me? I’ve not seen or spoken to him in hours now, who knows what he’s thinking, or what he’s been told. Maybe Brooke got to him, fed him her lies. What if after this fresh round of drama, he’s more than ready to end things between us, to end things with me. If this story leaks, “Current fuck-buddy assaults ex-long-term girlfriend in a bar”, shit…I really will have done him more harm than good.
“Cassie, Cassie, Cassie…you really do have a high opinion of yourself don’t you?” Ella says, her voice nasty and taunting. “What makes you think Jake even wants to see you after this fiasco? His career is important to him, given time alone in a cell to think, he’s probably realized being with you is more trouble than is worth his time. Once he’s realized that, I’d wager he’s more than ready leave here…without you.”
Like she’s pulled the raw thoughts from my inner fears, Ella has delivered a blow I can’t deny. She’s right, at this point I’ll only harm Jake, and if he hasn’t already come to that conclusion himself, then I need to do it for him.
Ella and I are locked in a staring match, neither of us speaking, and I know that if I don’t leave, if I find the courage to battle my insecurities and fight for Jake, it won’t matter anyway. She’ll torpedo his career in a single phone call.
As I nod my head once, and turn my back on her, I hear the outer door open and an officer say, “Time’s up.”
He couldn’t be more right.
As I hear the door snick closed, I walk over to the small cot and roll myself into a ball, and unable to hold it in any longer, I cry.
For the first time in years, I cry like a fucking baby.
* * *
All the paperwork is sorted, Sawyer and Devon have worked their magic, and less than an hour after Ella delivered her ultimatum, I’m in a cab on the way to the airport. I think a part of me was hoping that Jake would demand to see me. Given he was no longer under arrest I’d figured it was possible, Ella had been allowed. Seems Jake must’ve believed Ella’s story, or worse, he hadn’t needed convincing to leave me there. Either way, he never came back.
So for the second time in my life, I’m leaving Montana. Vowing to do the same.
Chapter 20
Cassie
When I’d arrived back to my place yesterday, it’d seemed almost surreal. It had been nearly three weeks since I’d left L.A., and although everything inside my apartment was the same, everything about me had changed. My time with Jake may have been short when you looked at it on a calendar, but in my heart, it’d felt like a lifetime. I’d crossed boundaries with him, metaphorically and personally. All the feelings I have from my childhood only have power if I let them, and Jake had showed me that. Pushing against every one of my walls, just by being himself, Jake Reid had changed me.
He’d made me his.
He’s all I’ve been thinking about, and I wonder what he’s thinking when I come to mind. I’m guessing by now that he thinks I ran again. That I did what I always do when shit gets too hard, and that I’d bailed. I don’t know what version of events Ella had chosen to tell him, but a part of me hopes that above all else, somewhere deep down, Jake knows that what we’d
had meant something to me.
Meant everything.
When I show up at ESM, I go straight to my office since no one else is here yet. It feels like years since I’ve been here too, familiar but not right, like something is missing. Turning my computer on, I wait for my email to pop up along with the other programs I use on a daily basis, and wonder if Jake is back in Washington.
Before I get too settled, I walk down the darkened hallway toward the break room to make a coffee, standing there and waiting while it brews. Reaching into the fridge for creamer, I see a bottle of apple juice and the sight reminds me of the first time I met Jake. I’d known who he was at that point, but I didn’t know him, who he was as a man. I remember the instant connection we’d had and how at that very first meeting it was almost as if something bigger than us was a play.
Maybe it’s true, when you meet the one you know. And then you let them go.
I think about my parents, and how I’ve spent most of my life thinking that connections like theirs were to be avoided, when the reality was that they were simply dealt a shitty hand. I wouldn’t change a minute of my time with Jake, even the rough spots, because I know now what a gift it is to find a connection like that. A gift I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.
Coffee in hand, I’m heading back to my office, my eyes downcast until I feel like I’m being watched. Looking up I see Jake standing at my office door. Shoulder braced against the frame, one hand in his pants pocket, his legs crossed at the ankle, and his eyes firmly on me. The suit he’s wearing is the one he’d had on the day we first met. It’s also the one he’d been wearing the day he’d fucked sense into me at the television station. Needless to say, it’s my favorite.
My heart flutters, flips and damn near leaps out of my chest at the sight of him. I want to throw myself at him, press my body to his and feel his arms wrap around me tight. His eyes do that squinty thing that happens when he begins to smile, but it’s not a full smile.
Regardless, he’s here and it’s time to pay the piper.
“Hi,” I say, walking past him into my office, setting my coffee on my desk.
“Hi,” he nods, his eyes taking in my work attire of fitted dress pants and a silky cream-colored sleeveless top.
“Fancy seeing you here,” I remark, not really knowing what else to say.
“Where else would I be Cassie?”
“Montana, D.C.,” I shrug.
“I think I’ll be visiting L.A. quite a bit now,” he answers.
A crest of hope washes over me at his words, before it breaks against the reality of the situation.
“Jake…we can’t. I’m not good for you…what happened with being arrested, it could’ve ruined your career,” I pause, opening my mouth to say more but I don’t know how else to tell him he can’t be with me.
Because I don’t want to.
“Who cares?” he asks, furrowing his brows.
“Jake––”
“No…who gives a shit Cassie? I want to be with you. It doesn’t mean we have to move to the same state, or see each other every weekend…I’m not proposing or expecting you to leave your career or come to events with me,” he states.
“But what happened, getting arrested––”
“I can’t even go there with the shit Brooke pulled, and I know Ella made you think you had to leave, she told me. She also told me that she was in love with me and when I said I wanted you, she threatened to expose the story and how unprofessionally you’d acted.”
“What did you say?” I swallow thickly.
“I told her to go ahead, grabbed our luggage and came here.”
“Oh God, Jake,” I groan.
“I haven’t seen anything yet, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. She was fairly riled up,” he says, stepping closer and running his fingers along the side of my hair.
“Jake,” I whisper.
“I want you Cassie, I want to be with you in any way I can. You can say whatever you want, but I know you want me too.”
He barely finishes the sentence before I’m pulling him into me.
“I fucking knew Ella loved you, from day one!” I say against his neck.
“You did?” he asks, like a typical boy and I roll my eyes.
“So how long are you in town? Do you want the key’s to my place?” I ask still standing in his arms, my own around his hips, not willing to let him go just yet.
Jake just looks down at me, and I can see that he’s holding in a smirk.
“What?” I ask feeling a little vulnerable even though I can see his eyes are playful.
“Nothing,” he says smiling fully now, before leaning in to speak against my ear. “The keys to your place Cassie? That’s almost the equivalent of an engagement proposal for you isn’t it?”
“Ha-fucking-ha. Keep it up and I’ll send your sexy ass to a hotel,” I say sassily before smiling back at him. Truth is I’m also blushing from the thought of being engaged to Jake. The not entirely unwelcome thought I might add. And I absolutely love that he just called me on my shit.
Sobering a little and shaking his head, he says, “I’m not staying in town Cass, my luggage is downstairs with security, so is yours. I’m headed to the airport now. I’ve got the livestock control bill amendment to present, and Congressman Grant wants a meeting first. I think maybe I’ve got his support on it, which is huge.”
There is awe in his voice, and his smile is one of disbelief.
“Jake, that’s brilliant! Having him on board could bring another couple of votes too right? Maybe Iowa and Nebraska? Who knows after that, anything is possible.”
“Beautiful, for a woman who claims to understand little about politics, you sure sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
I’ve just spent two weeks on the fringes of Jake’s political life and while I still know very little, I do know Jake getting a call from Congressman Grant that night in the seafood restaurant was a turning point for how his peers saw him.
“Oh, I don’t. But I’m dating this sexy cabin owner and he’s right up with all that shit. I pretend to listen when he talks because he’s handsome and eats my pussy like it’s an Olympic sport.”
Jake throws back his head and laughs, the feeling of it reverberating from his chest into my own. Shifting his hands from where they’re clasped across my back, Jake grabs my ass, pressing our lower bodies harder together.
“My guess is your sexy ass brings it out in him,” he growls against my cheek in that way of his that makes me wet, before dropping a chaste kiss across my lips. “You’re right though, about Grant. I’m hopeful. More hopeful than I have been in a while.”
His words may be about the livestock bill, but his eyes, the way he’s looking at me, intense and sure, I know that’s not the only thing he’s hopeful about. If there was ever a time to give him the words, it’s now.
“You’re a smart guy, so I doubt it’s escaped your notice, but I’m falling for you Congressman Reid, hard. Of all the things you’re hopeful about, that doesn’t need to be one of them. I’m already yours.”
“Yeah, you so fucking are,” Jake says right before kissing any further thoughts out of my head.
His kiss is the perfect mixture of pressure and tongue, predatory and claiming yet sweet and full of promise. We both seem to realize where we are at the same time, each of us ending the kiss with a groan, our foreheads resting together.
Brushing my fingers down the front of his dark blue tie, I’m tempted to let them to run them lower, but knowing I’ll only end up frustrating us both further, I take a small step back. Remove the temptation and all that.
“Ok, now, business. I need to work quickly to come up with a strategy for how we’ll spin the arrest. Ella could break it at any minute now…” I trail off midsentence, my finger coming up to rest on my lips as if holding in my words, while light bulbs are firing up in my brain.
“Cassie?”
“Jake, have you ever heard the saying that there’s no such thi
ng as bad publicity?”
I see him nod, and I’m getting excited now. I know this will work.
“Well it’s bullshit. There is such a thing or ESM wouldn’t exist. The reason ESM is the best of the best however, is that we know exactly how to spin shit into silk my friend…and Ella won’t see us coming.”
“What are you thinking?” Jake asks, moving behind me to where I’ve moved to my desk. I know he can sense I’m excited, but he’s more reserved, waiting for more information. My guy is such a logical thinker, no rushed decisions for him. It’s one of the many things that make him a great politician; he genuinely gives a shit.
I lean over and opening my tote I pull out the folder I left Bounty County with yesterday. All in all, those guys were pretty fucking cool.
Flipping it open, I pull the picture from the top and hold it up to show Jake.
“My mug shot?” he says, a tiny crease between his brows. “How’d you get that?”
“Sheriff. We kinda bonded, I think he’s used to dealing with mouthy women,” I say with a shrug. “Besides this is not a mug shot Jake,” I explain as I wave my hand across the front of it like a game show hostess presenting a prize. “This right here is a sexy as fuck picture of a hot young Congressman who got himself arrested by standing up for his girl. Men will to relate to it and women will get wet looking at it.”
Jake is smiling at me, a small blush across his cheeks like he has no idea he’s a panty-melter.
“Seriously? Cassie, you’d willingly put yourself out there with this? You don’t live your life in the public eye.”
“I know, but Ella will drag me into it anyway. This way it’s our choice. I’m done playing by her rules. I want to do this Jake. I want to do it for you,” I pause, hoping he gets that there’s a lot I’d be willing to do for him. With him. For us. “I say we beat her to it, we control the release, we control the information and most of all, we control the spin. She won’t get too much traction, and you’ll only come out in a more positive light.”
Act of Congress Page 17