by Kim Law
“Lexi. Come on in.”
She hurried to scoot past him and had a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He narrowed his eyes on her. Something was different.
And then he got it. She seemed more “normal” than last time. Her perfume wasn’t as overpowering, her clothes—though still nice—were not over-the-top, and she wore an air more of what-can-you-do-for-me instead of let-me-show-you-how-I-can-screw-you.
She was definitely different than the last time he’d seen her.
He closed the door and rounded his desk. Once he sat, he steepled his hands and tried to keep his voice from showing his full frustration. “What can I do for you, Lexi?”
Lexi licked her lips, then dug some papers out of her bag. “I got the information from the school. Daniel has been admitted already. He starts Thursday.”
JP’s favor had paid off. Daniel would be going to the Montessori school. It was the best place for him. “Great. I was informed all would be set up this week.” At her continued look of uncertainty, he asked, “Is there a problem? I assure you this is a terrific school for him.”
“I guess I’m just nervous.” She picked at her manicure. “I was wondering if you could go to the school with us.”
“Excuse me?”
A blush stained her cheeks. “I just mean…I know he’s not anything to you, but you know these people and…”
Fantastic. Now the blasted woman wanted him to take care of her with more than just money. “Lexi,” he spoke gently. He shook his head to make his point. “I can’t go to the school with you, or someone will wonder if we have some kind of relationship.”
“If anyone asks, I’ll just tell them you’re a friend.”
“And they would take one look at your son and me together with you, and not only assume he was a Davenport, but assume he’s mine. I can’t do that. I don’t believe that’s what you want either.”
At his words, her eyes grew large. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
She chewed the corner of her mouth and suddenly looked no older than a teenager. “I’m just nervous, and I know Daniel will be too. He doesn’t always do well with changes.”
JP leaned his forearms on his desk. “I’ll tell you what. I plan to be at the school Thursday afternoon anyway, reading to the kids. I do that sometimes.”
“I know.” She nodded. “I remember seeing a picture of you, and the headline said you participated in things like that.”
“Yes. Occasionally.” He was doing his best not to think about the kid, scared and feeling alone, heading into a brand-new school. It wasn’t his kid, and he shouldn’t have to worry about him. But he couldn’t keep from it. “So I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll make sure that Daniel is brought into the room while I’m there, then I’ll introduce myself to him and help him to feel at ease. Will that help?”
Her wide amber eyes blinked. “Yes. I would appreciate that a lot. Thank you.”
She began gathering up her papers, and suddenly jumped from her seat as if realizing she’d overstayed her welcome. “I’m sorry to bother you without calling, but I got all this in the mail and didn’t know what to do.”
“It’s fine.” He stood with her. “And you and Daniel will both be fine.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Maybe.” She headed to the door but stopped and faced him once again. “I got a job already.”
“Did you?” Good for her.
“The school offered me part-time, working in the office.” She smiled up at him and he suddenly worried he’d gone too far in helping her out. “I really appreciate everything…JP.” Her lashes fluttered. “Is it okay if I call you JP?”
Yes, he’d definitely done too much. He opened the door for her to leave and made sure she couldn’t easily touch him on her way out. “I’ll see Daniel Thursday afternoon, Lexi. You try not to worry, okay?”
She nodded, her smile no longer quite as bright. “I promise.”
She suddenly threw herself at him, and his arms automatically closed around her, steadying them both.
“Thank you so much,” she gushed.
He wedged some space between them. “You’re welcome.”
When she pulled away, he saw that Vega had returned to the outer office. She stood beside Beverly’s desk as if the two women had been having some serious girl talk—probably scheming his demise—eyeing him steadily.
Both women flicked a gaze over Lexi, then returned to settle on him, and with great clarity, he suddenly understood the phrase “if looks could kill.” Personally, he was glad they couldn’t.
JP looked up at the sound of a door opening, expecting to find Governor Chandler motioning him back. Instead, he found Evan Martens, hands deep in the pockets of his charcoal suit pants, whistling as he walked toward the exit.
What was he doing here? And how had he gotten an appointment earlier than JP?
When JP had called the day before, the governor had been out of town, but the receptionist has assured him she was putting him down for the very first appointment of the day. Yet at barely eight in the morning, Evan Martens had already been here and done that.
Glancing over at the receptionist, JP caught the sour look on her face and fought the urge to ask what the man had been doing here. It would be wasted breath. He knew exactly what Evan had been doing here. Same thing he’d be doing if their positions were reversed. Evan had seen an opening and jumped. No better time than on the heels of a boob shot than to convince the governor that he had the wrong man pegged for the job.
Didn’t make JP’s ire any less, but he couldn’t fault Evan for his actions.
“JP.” Governor Chandler now stood at his door, a grim look marring his face. “Come on back, son.”
The endearment was a positive. He guessed it took more than one major screwup to kill off years of close family ties. No doubt his mother had also come through yesterday and called him as well. She had a way of defusing the situation better than most he’d seen.
“Thank you for seeing me this morning, Governor Chandler.”
He nodded at the seat in front of his weathered desk, and JP sat down. “Seems you’ve been a busy boy these last few days. Making my life somewhat difficult, I must say.”
JP nodded, feeling like a small kid being called to the principal’s office. “I apologize for that, sir. I thought we were…” What could he say? He’d thought they were alone, so it was okay to take a woman’s top off in public? At a loss, he merely shrugged and knew he wore a look of embarrassment. “Honestly, I got carried away, sir. It won’t happen again. I know it looks bad, but with that being the only thing out there like that…”
He paused, out of ideas of how to go forward. That picture may be the only black mark against him in the media, but it was a big one.
Chandler pulled a fat cigar from a box on his desk. He didn’t light it, simply rolled it between two fingers.
The silence was deafening. “If I may, sir. I saw Evan Martens come out of here a few minutes ago, and I’ve no doubt what he was doing. He wouldn’t be—”
“I’m not putting him in office, son, so don’t even bother.” Chandler put the cigar to his nose and smelled it. “I’ve got more sense than that.”
A soft laugh came out with JP’s exhalation of breath. “Good to hear. I thought so, but…”
He let his words fall off again. What could he say—that he was afraid he’d left the man no other option?
With a deep sound of regret, Chandler put the cigar back in the box and laced his fingers together on his desk. He peered over the surface at JP. “What do you know about Ms. Zaragoza, son?”
“Vega?” JP readjusted to sit up straighter in his seat. “Well, I know she’s excellent in her field, she’s won many awards. She prefers to stay out of the limelight—this past weekend notwithstanding—and she somehow talked me into doing an interview mere days after I proclaimed to my mother that it was one I’d never agree to do.”
Chandler’s eyebrow rose at the last statement.
“Pretty sure I know where your head’s been these last few days. Can’t say as I blame you for changing you mind.”
Humiliation engulfed him. Yes, wanting Vega had played a role in his decision. A bigger role than he’d like to admit. And the man had just called him on it. JP didn’t go to the trouble of acknowledging the statement, instead determined to sell Vega in a better light. But he realized there were too many holes in her background to do it. He could tell him how sweet and vulnerable she was, while at the same time so opinionated and hardheaded she could make your head spin. He could point out that merely being in her presence gave him a sense of himself he hadn’t felt since a very young age. He could tell the governor all sorts of personal things about her, but something told him that wouldn’t convince the man she wasn’t a threat to either of them.
And that’s when he realized that he really had been living with his head in the clouds. He trusted Vega, there was zero doubt in his mind. She’d never do anything to intentionally hurt him or his family. She was a beautiful woman with an even more glorious soul. Yet she was also hiding something. Something that she, at least, felt was big.
Most likely it was big only in her mind, but as a soon-to-be leader of the country, maybe he should have worried more about her background before he’d gotten involved with her. Before he’d left himself get in the position of being taken down by anything she could be hiding.
He scraped his hand across his mouth and cleared his throat. He didn’t want to go behind her back and look into her background; that wouldn’t show the kind of trust he needed to win her over. But he could see that if he did so, it would make the other man in the room feel a lot better about the situation.
Some things simply had to be done a certain way.
“I’ve no doubt, sir,” he began slowly, knowing he was speaking only on faith, because he refused to risk what he and Vega could have together for Governor Chandler or anyone else. And yes, his mother would be the first to tell him to get a background check done immediately. “I’ve no doubt that this photo looks bad. And I’ve no doubt that you have to ask yourself what kind of woman Vega is, given the depth of the decision I hope you’re still prepared to make. But I’m sitting in front of you today, telling you that she’s one beautiful person, both inside and out. I know that’s not a lot to stand on, but it’ll have to be enough.”
The governor sat back in his seat and contemplated the situation, studying JP as thoroughly as JP had ever done to either his allies or his competition.
Finally, he pulled that cigar once again from the box and brought it back to his nose. He inhaled deeply. “You’re a good man, JP, from a good family. And I honestly believe you’ll be good for this country. But you can’t go around getting caught in such positions. I can’t stand behind someone who does so.” He pointed a heavy finger in JP’s direction, and a finality crossed his features. “You’ll guarantee never to be caught like that again?”
JP let out a huge rush of air. “Without a doubt, sir. Trust me, I don’t like it any more than you do. The media this week has been ruthless.”
“It hasn’t been a boat ride for me either,” he mumbled. “The number of calls this office has taken has more than tripled this week. Poor Janie out there is ready to skin me.”
“I do apologize for that. As you know, I try my best to remain under the radar as much as possible. I obviously failed at that this week.”
The simple understatement broke the tension in the room, and Chandler guffawed with laughter. When he calmed, he pulled a lighter from his pocket and lit the cigar. After taking several long puffs, he mumbled something about not giving a crap about smoking regulations.
“I would agree,” Chandler said, “you failed heartily at remaining under the radar this week. But I’ll also tell you one thing more, if you’d like to hear it.”
JP nodded, having respect for what the man had to say. “Absolutely. What’s that?”
The governor inhaled, then blew out a perfect O of smoke. “Your dad would be real proud of the way you stood up for yourself today, son. Real proud. And I am too. Right or wrong, we’ll go with your gut and move forward together.”
JP wanted to let the words about his father not matter, but the fact was, he’d so rarely made his dad proud, he couldn’t help but be pleased by the comment. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate all of it.”
Chandler nodded, then snuffed the cigar out in a heavy cup he pulled from his bottom desk drawer. “Better air this place out before Janie reports me.” He flipped on an air purifier sitting on the corner of his desk. “I’ll take care of things on my side, son. You take care to keep your nose clean.”
JP stood, the meeting at an end, and reached his hand out to shake. “I can promise you that.”
“Thank you so much.” Vega smiled into the phone at the compliment Bob had just doled out. She’d spent last night pulling together the first day’s footage, and so far, he loved everything she’d sent. “I added the audio clip of me because…well, I was just messing around last night and wanted to see it pulled together a bit more. Plus…I couldn’t sleep.”
She couldn’t sleep because she’d been missing JP.
Regardless of how angry he’d made her the morning before, after spending the remainder of the day with him, then returning to a lonely hotel room at the end of a long, tension-filled day, she’d done nothing but toss and turn, wanting the man there by her side.
Of course, she’d still wanted to make him pay for using her as he had. But then, payment could come in the form of being naked and serving up her every desire. Who’s to say she couldn’t be the one to use someone for a change?
“It’s terrific, Vega. As good as I knew you’d be. I want you to seriously consider doing this one yourself.” Bob forged ahead as if they hadn’t already had this conversation a hundred times, always ending with her saying no. “I’ve been talking to Atlanta, and I think when they hear this audio, you won’t just get the job, but a nice fat raise to go along with it.”
“Except then they’d want me to be on camera out in the field.”
“But, honey, you’re honestly fantastic. So good, in fact, there’s zero doubt in my mind you should forget video journalism and go straight for anchor. You’d be an instant hit.”
She flopped back on her bed and sank into the rumpled down comforter. She didn’t want to be an anchor. If she ever got up the nerve to actually go for what she wanted, sitting at a desk reading from a teleprompter wouldn’t be it.
“I need to go, Bob.” Having another repeat of this conversation would get them both nowhere. “I’ll be getting clips of JP around town today, hanging out at his favorite places and such, then I’m accompanying him on a date tonight.”
She thumped her fist against her forehead at the snarky tone her voice took on at the mentioned date. Bob wouldn’t miss that.
“A date?” Pause. “That’ll be great for the show.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll more than turn on the charm. Women viewers will eat that up.” She uttered the expected words, then held her breath, knowing he wouldn’t leave it alone that easily.
“So what happened in Anguilla…that’s over?” he asked after several seconds’ pause. He hadn’t mentioned the second photo that had come out, but she had no doubt he’d seen it. The man couldn’t have missed it.
Along with the photo—a cleaned-up version, thank goodness—practically every step she’d taken the last couple of days had been broadcast on around-the-clock news stations, along with every trashy tabloid out there. They’d figured out she had secured JP’s first behind-the-scenes interview, and were now playing guessing games as to whether it was because she was sleeping with him or not. At least it seemed to keep them from digging too deep into her past, but she knew it was only a matter of time.
“Yes, it’s over. I know you’re probably disappointed in me, but…”
What could she say? Some men she just lost her head over?
“Not disappointed, honey, just concern
ed. It’s not like you to get caught…” He cleared his throat. “As you did. Heck, it’s not like you to do anything of the sort. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
A tear escaped the corner of each eye as she lay there staring up at the rotating ceiling fan. She pinched the bridge of her nose to try to keep more from falling. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“And you’re okay with this date tonight?”
She couldn’t stop the painful laugh that escaped. “It’s exactly what I knew it would be, Bob. Sunday and Monday was nothing serious. Just a good time.”
He chuckled. “If you say so, but I have to admit, you raised your hand Saturday night like a woman on a mission.”
She groaned. He’d already brought up the auction when they’d talked on the plane Monday evening. “Don’t even bring that up again, it’s history. We’re calling that episode…heck, we’ll call everything from then through Monday temporary insanity. Every girl deserves that at least once in her life, right?”
Easy laughter was her answer. “Sure does, kid. And I’d say you’ve paid your dues over the years. You deserved a momentary lapse. Tell me before you go, though, who’s his date with?”
She smirked at the irony, knowing Bob would get it as well. “Greta Kirby.”
This time, instead of a light chuckle, she got a full minute of rollicking laughter. And she couldn’t say she blamed him.
By the time Bob finally had himself under control, Vega was beginning to snicker at the situation herself. Of course the first man she’d gone gaga over in years, she’d end up having to watch—to record!—on a romantic date with the woman who’d beat her out.
Not that she thought JP would let himself get trapped by Greta for anything more than one night, but he was a man. And Greta was a very good-looking woman. Vega wouldn’t be surprised to find out they ended up exactly how she and JP had ended Sunday night. Buck naked, and eating chocolate cake crumbs off each other’s parts.