Politically Incorrect

by Jeanne McDonald

  I lifted my head, resting my elbow in its place. “So much for keeping things professional until you’re elected.”

  Liam tweaked my nose. “Yeah, but we were only doing that so the media wouldn’t catch us.”

  “True. True.”

  I touched my fingers to his face, tracing along the scar over his eye. “Where’d you get this?” I asked.

  He probed his fingers where mine were. “I got into a fight in the eighth grade. I’ll never forget the kid. He was such an ass.” He chuckled. “He was interested in Kris and she didn’t feel the same. He tried to kiss her and when she said no, he proceeded to force her. I found them and whooped his ass, but not before he got a good punch in on me.”

  I smiled and pressed my lips to his scar. “Always protecting the women you love.” I stiffened as the words fell from my lips.

  Dammit!

  I didn’t mean to say that. It just came out.

  Liam pulled back a little, meeting my eyes. His smile tugged at his lips. “You could say that.”

  There was a loud knock at the door.

  Liam looked over my head and then back at me. “That’s my ride. I was supposed to be downstairs fifteen minutes ago.”

  “Oh, shit!” I tried to jump up but he held me to his chest.

  “I still wish you’d come with me, but I understand why you’re not.”

  I sighed as his lips found mine in a kiss, chaste and sweet, but full of meaning. “Thank you for understanding.”

  “You’ll at least watch me, right? I’ll feel better knowing you’re watching.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now go knock ‘em dead.”

  “Don’t you mean, knock it out of the park?” he teased.

  I smacked his chest and laughed. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I mean.”

  I watched as Liam left then managed to sneak out of his hotel room without being noticed.

  That was a feat in and of itself, but I succeeded.

  Thank God for a history of backdoor exits.

  Back at the Lone Star Ranch, I slipped in the front door, high on having spent some quality time with Liam.

  I unfastened my blazer and untucked my camisole from my slacks. The house was quiet save the click of my heels on the hardwood floors. I sauntered down the hall toward the den to watch Liam’s interview.

  “Bet, is that you?” Harper’s Texas twang echoed from his office. I jumped, startled to find I wasn’t alone in the house.

  I diverted my route to his study and popped my head inside. “Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t realize you were home.”

  Harper leaned back in his oversized leather chair, crossing his arms behind his head. “No worries. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t some crazy stalker who snuck into the house with Ivory gone.”

  “Ivory’s out?” I lumbered into his office. It was much like the den, all dark woods, animal heads, and earth tones. The walls were covered in bookshelves filled with volumes upon volumes of books of all genres. If it wasn’t for the creepy heads and bearskin rug, his office would’ve been my favorite room of the house. Across from his desk sat two high-backed leather chairs. I plopped down in one, crossing my legs at the ankles.

  “Yeah. He went home for a few weeks. His daughter’s having a baby.”

  “That’s wonderful!”

  Harper ruffled the hair at the back of his head. “Depends on how you look at it. I think this is like her fourth kid or something.”

  “Wow! You’d think by now she’d figure out what’s causing that issue.”

  “I keep telling Ivory he needs to buy her a Netflix subscription.”

  “Binge watching. The world’s most effective birth control.”

  We both had a good laugh at poor Ivory’s daughter’s expense. When the laughter died down, I leaned forward and placed my elbows on Harper’s desk, resting my chin in my hands. “We’re good, right?”

  Harper let out a long sigh. All of the lightheartedness was syphoned from the room. “Why him, Bet? You know better than to get involved with a politician? I mean, look what’s already happened.”

  I shrugged, not knowing how to explain. “I didn’t plan for it to happen. It just did.”

  Harper pushed forward, his face so close to mine that I could smell the scotch and peppermint on his breath. “Which part?”

  I tilted my head, my brow crinkled. “What do you mean?”

  Harper jumped up from his chair. He crossed his arms behind his back and started to pace the floor. For a moment I was reminded of Liam. “What I mean is, you didn’t plan on having sex with him or you didn’t plan on falling in love with him?” The bite in his inflection cut me to the core.

  Cold chills formed over my skin. I dropped my head down and closed my eyes. “Both.”

  “Jesus Christ, Bet! You can’t seriously tell me you’re in love with the kid.”

  I sprang from my chair, my stance taut and ready to fight. “He’s not a kid, Guy. Believe me when I say he’s all man.”

  “His balls have barely dropped,” he sneered.

  It wasn’t too long ago I’d said something quite similar to that statement. I was wrong then and Harper was wrong now.

  I shook my head in disbelief. “You had no problem with his age when you introduced him to me as a potential client. What changed?”

  Harper threw his hands in the air. “You changed!”

  “How? How have I changed?” My voice shook with anger.

  He moved closer, allowing me to see the ire outlining his pupils. “You used to tell me you’d rather be dead than get involved with a politician. They couldn’t be trusted, you said. And now look at you. You’re acting like a lovesick teenager over one. What is it about him, huh? Does he make you feel young? Is this some sort of phase for you? Like a mid-life crisis or something?”

  I stepped back, barely able to keep the bile down in my stomach. “Why are you acting this way? You’re supposed to be my friend.”

  “Am I? Am I your friend? Because the way I see it, I haven’t been your friend for a long time now. He took my place. Or haven’t you noticed?”

  “No one’s taken anybody’s place.”

  Harper slammed his fist into the wall. “Bull shit. I saw the way you two acted around each other when you were on the trail…” A low, dejected chuckle sniffed from his nose.

  “Funny you say that, because there really wasn’t anything going on then.”

  Harper covered his eyes with his hand, applying pressure to his forehead with his index finger and thumb. “Maybe not, but it didn’t take long for it to start afterward, now did it?”

  He had me there. “No,” I admitted. “It didn’t. But in my defense, I can’t help who I fall in love with.”

  Wow! That felt good. Saying those words out loud made them all the more real to me.

  Although, by the look on Harper’s face, he didn’t share in my relief.

  He jammed his hands into his jeans pockets and dropped his chin to his chest. There was a slight lift and fall in his shoulders as his head shook. “You’re right. You can’t.” Harper drew in a long, deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass lately. I know with everything going on you needed me and I haven’t been here for you.”

  I fidgeted with my sleeve cuff. Mushy stuff always left me a little unnerved. “It’s okay. I haven’t been the best of friend to you either.”

  Harper crossed the great divide between us and pulled me into his arms. I wrapped my arms up around his back and let him hold me for a moment. Unlike with Liam, I didn’t feel a sliver of safety in Harper’s embrace, but it was still comforting to have my friend back.

  Harper curled a lock of my hair around his finger. “We’re both shitty friends,” he teased.

  “That we are. But I think we’ve known each other long enough to get past our shitty ways.”

  He chucked my chin, and clicked his tongue. “Most definitely.” Harper released me and moved back around his desk. “By the way, why are you
here? I was under the impression you’d be at the studio with Baxter for his interview.”

  I swayed in place, hating that I wasn’t there and the fact that my fight with Harper was keeping me from seeing the interview. “To put if frank, I’m a chicken shit.” I wilted into the chair with a huff.

  Harper propped his chin in his hand, rubbing the day old scruff along his jaw. “No you’re not. You’re just in uncharted waters.”

  “Understatement of the year, my friend.”

  “So, tell me, as Elizabeth McNeal the greatest political consultant of our times, not the woman who finds herself in a sticky situation, what are you going to do?”

  I dragged my foot across the bearskin rug. It felt nice talking to Harper. He knew how to speak to me. “For starters, I should watch his interview. We both know Masters has a tendency for crassness.”

  Harper nodded. “That man made Hillary Clinton cry. And I didn’t think it was possible for robots to have feelings.”

  “I know! He’s a scary twerp.” I created a circle in the poor animal’s fur. If it had been alive, it would’ve mauled me over sheer discomfort. “Which is why I should be watching. Honestly, I should’ve swallowed my pride and gone.” I sighed. “But I know Scout and Aaron will take good care of him.”

  Harper drummed his fingers against his chin. “True. But you said for starters, which means you have a plan. Lay it on me.”

  “I’ve already set it in motion.”

  Harper cocked his head. “That’s my girl. Now, details.”

  I shifted in the chair. “I told Liam to tell the truth tonight. He’s not to deny our interactions. His strength is his honesty and it’s vital that he faces this thing head on.”

  Harper’s eyes grew wide. “Are you kidding me?”

  I shook my head. “No. I’m serious. He needs to be honest, which means I’ll be forced to give an interview as well.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  I lifted my chin and tucked my hair behind my ears. “No, but I’ll do it. Not because I love him, but because he has integrity. Liam’s the right man for this job.”

  “You say that like he doesn’t know you love him.”

  I dropped my eyes, hot shame burning under my skin. “He doesn’t.”

  Harper fell back in his seat, causing it to roll. “Really? How’s that? You just said...”

  “I haven’t told him.”

  “And he hasn’t said anything about being in love with you?”

  I laughed. “Nah. No undying professions of love from either of us.”

  “Hmm. I didn’t see that one coming.” Harper flicked his fingernails against each other. He sat up a little straighter and somehow seemed a little lighter. He smiled and reached across the desk to take my hand. “I have faith in you, Bet. You’ll survive this and come out stronger for it.”

  “Studying up on your Nietzsche?” I made light. His head dropped in a deadpanned expression. I chuckled and patted the top of his hand. “Thanks.” I moved to stand only for Harper to stop me.

  “Where ya goin’?”

  I thumbed behind me toward the door. “To the den. I need to, at least, catch the end of his interview.”

  Harper released my hand and reached for the remote on his desk. “We’ll watch it in here.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind going to the den.”

  Harper flipped through the channels. “I’m positive.” He came to a stop as Corgin Masters’ face appeared on the screen. “You relax. I’ll grab us a couple of drinks,” he stated, dropping the remote on his desk.

  “Thanks.” I sank back into my chair crossing my knees as Harper maneuvered around his desk. He stopped in front of me and placed two fingers under my chin, tiling my face upward.

  “You look tired.”

  “I haven’t slept well lately.”

  “After this is over, go get some rest. You need it.”

  I smiled and nodded. “I’ll try.”

  He kissed the top of my head and stepped out of the room. Liam’s face appeared on the screen. He seemed so calm. The epitome of cool. The camera loved him. Harper had neglected to increase the volume on the television before he left, so I turned around and grabbed the remote. In my haste, I accidentally knocked over a pile of papers that had been neatly stacked on the corner of Harper’s desk.

  “Dammit!” I griped, kneeling down to collect the mess I’d made.

  Among the papers I found a folder that looked oddly familiar.

  Double dammit!

  It was exactly like the one that reporter, Mariah Herbert, had given me. I grabbed the folder off the ground and moved into my seat. Inside were more pictures of Liam and me. The sex photos were there, but there were far more than I’d seen before. On top of that, there were pictures of me walking into Liam’s townhouse and of us together at Bilbo Baggins talking with Gerald Samford.

  My stomach knotted. We’d been under surveillance for some time. I couldn’t believe the nerve of that woman. She had some balls trying to use me to get a story out of Harper.

  “What a relentless…” I stopped before the curse fell from my tongue. I’d turned to the last page of the folder to discover a plastic bag tucked into a pocket. Inside the baggie was a flash drive with a large sticky note in handwriting I knew all too well.

  Mr. Harper,

  Here are the pics I printed. The flash drive has more, but these are the clearest.

  Thank you for the bonus.

  ~Brandy

  I stared at the sticky note, unable to move. This had to be a sick joke. There was no way Harper could do something like this to me. No, that wasn’t possible.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m out of…” Harper came to an abrupt stop at the sight of me holding the folder. “I can explain,” he cringed.

  I gripped the folder in my hand, popping up out of the chair. “You better, because from what I see here, you’re a lying, backstabbing prick.”

  Harper placed the two tumblers he was carrying on the table near the door and moved in toward me. I took a step back, shaking my head. “Explain these, Guy!”

  Harper raked his fingers through his hair and growled. “Fuck. You were never supposed to find those.”

  A heartless laugh spilled from me. “That’s your explanation? That I wasn’t supposed to find these? You had me followed.”

  “I had to!” Harper bellowed. “After I saw how close you and Baxter were, I had to do something. You weren’t about to tell me the truth, and I knew you weren’t thinking straight.”

  “You’re saying you did this for my protection?” I spat.

  “Baxter’s a politician. I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. I knew he’d use you like he does everyone else. That’s what they do.”

  “So, you had me followed,” I reiterated in an emotionless lilt.

  Harper flattened his hand over his chest. “Yes! Okay. I had you followed. There. I admit it. You happy?”

  “But, why?”

  “I told you why!”

  I flipped through the pictures, astonished at how much he had on me. “But you leaked them to the press!”

  “No! I would never do that to you.”

  “So how did they get them?”

  Harper wrapped his arms around his chest. “Victor,” he proclaimed.

  I stumbled backward. “Victor Knolls?”

  Harper nodded. “He came in here all high and mighty, flapping his lips about Liam and that woman. He tried to blackmail me.”

  “So not only did you give him real ammo, but you knew he was about to attack and you didn’t warn me?”

  Harper threw his arms out at me. “Just like you didn’t tell me about Baxter. Even after you came into my house and fucked him under my roof, you still didn’t tell me.”

  Ouch. He heard.

  No matter. My indiscretion didn’t equate to his ruination.

  “Fine. We’ve established I’m a terrible person, Guy. I crossed the line. I messed up. But that doesn’t excu
se you for exposing me.”

  “I didn’t. Victor…”

  “You gave it to him.”

  “By accident. I never intended…”

  “It doesn’t matter. You did it and you didn’t tell me.”

  His brows knitted together in a scowl. “I’m in love with you. Can’t you see that?”

  Whoa! That came out of left field.

  My lips curled in icy contempt. I lifted the pictures in my hand and shook them. “This is what you call love?”

  “No! That’s twisted jealousy.”

  “And giving them to Victor, was that love?” I seethed.

  “That was hurt. I could see in those pictures you wanted him. And then Victor showed me the pictures of Baxter having an affair with that woman….”

  “He didn’t have an affair with her!” I screamed, unable to maintain my control.

  Harper charged forward, reaching out for me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. “He did. He did have an affair with her. You can’t see it because you think you’re in love with him, but you’re not. If you were, you’d have told him. I get it. You just like the way he makes you feel, but I can make you feel better. I know you. I love your daughter like she’s my own. I can give you everything he can’t. I’ve waited so long for you. I couldn’t let that lying, cheating bastard hurt you.”

  I pushed out of his grasp, sickened by his touch. “You’ve waited for me?”

  “Since the day I met you, I’ve wanted you.”

  “Then why didn’t you ask me out twenty years ago?” I shouted.

  “Because you were with Russell!”

  “And after that?”

  “You needed time, but now, now we can be together. I love you, Elizabeth.”

  I covered my mouth with the back of my hand, disgusted by the sight of Harper. “All these years...you’ve waited all these years to tell me that. And when I’m finally happy and in love, you spring this shit on me.” I took a step toward Harper, dangling the pictures at my side. “You asked me earlier why Liam. Well, let me tell you. He’s a man who knows how to treat a woman. He takes what he wants, when he wants it. He doesn’t act like a pussy, slinking around in the dark, having others do his dirty work for him. He owns up to his shit, and most of all, he challenges me. He knows what I like and what I want. You could never be that for me.”