As Jake closed the door behind him, Clark guided the icy rag in my hand up to my eye with a gentle grip on my wrist. “So…what brought you to help out my campaign?” Clark asked me as he set the papers he’d taken from me down on his desk.
I looked up at the big guy, as so many called him around the office, and wasn’t sure how to answer. Did he want the noble sounding fake answer, or the truth of the matter?
As I pondered for a few seconds, he added, “Come on. Give me the truth. Do you just hate the Family Tree that much?” he asked as he used air quotes to define his opponent. “Is it community service?” he asked with a laugh.
I guess that answered what kind of explanation he wanted.
As I thought about how to best put my reasoning, he seemed to panic. “Oh geez,” he said. “It is community service. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that and embarrass—”
“No,” I chimed in. “I’m actually writing my thesis on the…inner workings of a political campaign.” I phrased it as best I could. “I’m working on my master’s degree in political science.”
“Oh,” he said with relief. “So no great allegiance to us,” he said with a laugh. “I guess Jim’s campaign already had people lined up from the family’s other campaigns…” His sentence kind of trailed off at the end, as if he was distracted.
I looked down to see water trickling from the rag. It ran down my neck, onto my right breast, and of course…of course I had to be wearing a white blouse today.
We both looked up at the same time, our eyes locking. He quickly backed away, walking around to take the seat behind his desk. “So, what are you doing tonight, Heather?” he asked.
I was taken by surprise. Though I can’t say I was disappointed. Clark seemed like a different guy than he did from afar. Certainly not gay…as Senator Tree’s camp was lead to believe. “I have a…quick class meeting late this afternoon, but I’m free after that,” I answered.
“You’re familiar with my campaign, right?” he said. “How about you join me tonight for my town hall session on the other side of town?” he proposed. “We could mutually benefit from this. You get a real look at things in the line of fire for your thesis, and I get help getting set up and situated for the session. It’s a win-win.”
I totally forgot about the town hall tonight. I’ll blame it on the head trauma. “Sounds good,” I answered. “I could definitely score some extra points with such a close up look at things.”
“Then it’s settled,” Clark said. “My limo will be here at 5:30 to pick us up. Hopefully that gives you time for your meeting. I’ll be here ‘til then. As usual when I have an engagement, after everyone leaves, I’ll be eating Inganno’s and preparing. Feel free to drop by before the limo gets here. I could always use some help getting my ducks in a row,” he said with a hopeful look in his eyes.
“Inganno’s is good stuff. I love their chicken parm,” I admitted.
“Me too,” Clark agreed.
“Hopefully I can make it,” I said, though I knew there was a chance I’d barely make 5:30.
“Son of a…” he commented to himself as he looked over the papers I had brought over. “Is she seriously asking for alimony?” Clark shook his head, his broad shoulders slumping in apparent disappointment.
“Sorry to hear about everything that happened,” I chimed in. “She seemed like a nice girl.” So I bent the truth a little, but what was I going to say.
“You don’t have to lie to me,” he came back.
Busted.
“Sorry. It’s not your problem,” Clark said. “I’ll see you later for the town hall session. I better call my lawyer in the meantime. Not distracting at all.”
Chapter Three
“Guess she’s not making it for dinner,” I mumbled to myself. I stared down a Styrofoam container with cold chicken parmesan inside. I shuffled through my index cards as I forced down another bite of my chicken. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I always did bad at these things on an empty stomach for some reason.
I looked up and watched as the clock ticked away. I’m not sure why I was so set on eating with her. I guess I was looking forward to relaxing and having a real conversation. She treated me like a real human being. I was accustomed to being used as a doormat by lobbyists and Melanie, or being treated like I was some kind of royalty by others. It didn’t hurt that she was so…hot, to use my brother’s term for lack of a better word.
At 5:20, Heather came through the door, stress written on her face.
“I see the black eye is gone,” I observed guiltily.
“Cover up,” she replied as she pulled a compact out of her purse to show me.
“Did your class thing go over?” I asked.
Her face looked pained when I brought up the meeting. “Yeah. It was more involved than I thought it would be.” She evaluated the set up on my desk. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize…”
I stopped her. “It’s no problem at all. I got this just in case you made it early. With the deal Inganno’s gives me, it was practically free,” I said.
Heather leaned forward, and my eyes couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of her breasts, which was made available by the top she had apparently changed into after she left earlier. This one was blue and lower cut than the last.
She eyed up my chest and pointed. “Looks like Inganno’s gave you a free stain as well.”
I looked down at the spot of spaghetti sauce on my shirt that greatly stood out against my baby blue button-down. “Not again,” I said. “This is also a ritual of mine before speeches. Luckily, I came prepared.”
****
He pulled out an identical shirt from one of his desk drawers. “You’re like Batman or something. A closet full of the same thing,” I said with a giggle.
With a laugh, he stood up and walked over to the small private bathroom that was connected to his office. Around the door, I could see him take off his shirt. From what I could see, he was in much better shape than I would’ve thought prior to today.
As he pulled his shirt from his back, his muscles tensed. He paused with his shirt off and appeared to be staring into the mirror. I could read the tenseness in his shoulders. He let out a deep breath and put the clean shirt clone on. As he was buttoning up, he exited the bathroom. Getting to the top and final button of his shirt, he struggled with it. He looked up at me and smirked. “I swear my neck is too oddly thick for these shirts.”
“Let me help,” I said as I stood and walked over to where he was standing. I was able to fasten the top button without much issue.
“Thanks,” he said gently. He reached down into a drawer for a matching tie.
“Allow me,” I said as I took the tie from his hand. As I placed it around his neck, I looked up into his eyes. He held my gaze with his piercing blue depths. His eyes were literally…
****
Breathtaking. There was no longer a lack of a better word than what Jake called her. She was absolutely the distraction I needed. I had it all wrong before. She brought a calm to my hectic week that I really had been without for a long time.
She smiled, looked down, and proceeded with my necktie. After a couple of seconds, she reached up, patted my shoulders, and stepped back. She grimaced.
“What?” I asked self-consciously.
Heather gave herself a fair evaluation. “The back flap of your tie probably isn’t supposed to hang lower than the front.”
I chuckled. “I could make a fashion statement along with the rest of the statements I’ll be making tonight.” I reached for the knot of my tie at the same time as Heather. Our hands lingered together for a second before we both relinquished our grip. I reached back up, undid the knot, and got my tie situation straightened out. Thankfully, due to habit, I was able to do this as almost an instinct, because our eyes were locked once again. I was truly enraptured by her mesmerizing brown eyes.
Heather stepped even closer and reached up to tighten up the knot on my tie.
With her grip on the tie, she tentatively pulled my head down toward hers. We both closed our eyes and…
“Sir, I’m ready when you are.” My limo driver Larry interrupted us at the worst possible moment.
Heather and I quickly jumped apart and gave Larry forced smiles.
“Just finished getting ready,” I told him.
He didn’t budge from the doorway. He was oblivious.
I sighed and grabbed my suit jacket from the back of my chair. “Shall we?” I asked Heather.
“Yep,” she answered. “Let me grab my notes. I had some ideas I was hoping I could run by you on the way over.”
Pleasantly surprised by her ambition, I raised my eyebrows. “Sounds great.”
Chapter Four
I was in front of roughly one hundred people and trying not to sweat too much. As usual, the venue must have been using light bulbs to match the wattage of the sun. Heather had briefed me on the hot topics that were likely to come up that most affected the group attending the town hall session today, something Tom never did for me. He always told me to just go in ‘guns blazing’. He would give me an agenda and tell me to always get my answers to come back to a set of bullet points he said highlighted my best policies.
Things were going fairly smooth, I had to admit. I could tell, because any time I looked to Heather standing against the wall at the left end of the auditorium, she was smiling. Almost everything I was asked was something she’d predicted…until now.
“Senator Crosby,” an older lady wearing a business suit addressed me, “what do you have to say about your brother, Jake Crosby, and his actions this evening?”
I was blindsided. I had no clue what she was talking about, but I had a feeling in the pit of my chicken parm filled stomach that it wasn’t good. “I’m afraid I’m not aware of anything going on with my brother.”
“Your brother was picked up for driving under the influence,” the lady informed me. “Resisting arrest also.” She added the cherry on the disaster sundae. I turned to Heather, who had a pained look of distress on her face.
“I’m sure it was all a misunderstanding and will be cleared up soon. My brother is one of the most responsible people I know.” I lied, barely sure I got the words out. “I stand by him one hundred percent. People make mistakes. He’s my best friend, and I’ll be there to help him get through this.” I secretly was ready to choke him. Jake had always been a wild man, but had never really gotten media attention with his antics. I was pretty sure this wasn’t his first arrest but not certain I wanted to know.
Chapter Five
“What the hell happened?” I asked Jake over the phone from my limo. Across from me sat Heather and my security guy, Fred.
“They let me go on bond,” Jake said. “I was driving just fine. It was like they followed me and waited for me to screw up.”
“And you did.” I completed Jake’s story.
“Sorry!” Jake came back. “I only had one light beer with Steve. I swerved while changing radio stations. I swear radios are built into cars to get drivers in trouble!”
“Whatever,” I said and hung up. Jake and I had the type of relationship where we would want to kill each other by the end of pretty much any time we got together. The beauty of it, if you want to call it that, is that we never carried over any of that stuff. We just let it all go.
“What happened, guy?” Fred asked. Fred had been employed by me since I first started my political career. He was the only security I ever needed or wanted. He’d become a friend after all these years.
“Jake claims he wasn’t drunk, that he was targeted,” I answered Fred. “My guess is some more low tactics from Senator Tree.”
Heather frowned, obviously feeling bad for me.
Sitting here feeling sorry for myself was probably not the most attractive or presidential thing to do. “Whatever,” I said, trying to shrug off the incident. “I’m just glad Jake’s okay.”
With that, Fred got out and went to the front with Larry. “Let’s go,” I could hear Fred tell Larry as he sat in the passenger seat.
Trying to change the subject, I turned my attention to my guest. “You really helped me out there,” I told Heather. “Your notes were really spot-on. It was nice to have someone on my side who seems to really care.” I took a deep breath. “So, how would you feel about becoming my new campaign manager to get me through to the election?”
****
I was shocked at the opportunity Clark offered me.
“I need you for the debate next week in Phoenix,” he added. “I need…you.” Clark looked away, appearing unsure of himself for the first time since we officially met…elbow to eyeball.
I was starting to feel like I needed him too…but not to help with my thesis. It was a scary thought to have when dealing with the man I believed deserved to be the next president. I gave my answer. “I’m in.”
His demeanor immediately perked up. He let out a breath. “That’s great,” he said. He loosened his tie. “You’re gonna love Phoenix.”
I had a feeling I’d learn to love any city he was in. “Sounds good. I’ll start getting notes together for the debate.”
“We should meet at the end of every day between now and then to discuss your status and allow me to give my input,” the big guy commanded. Something told me I’d like his input.
“Sir, we’re at Miss Swift’s apartment building,” the limo driver said as he put down the glass separating the front and back of the limousine.
“I guess this is my stop,” I said wearily.
“Let me walk you to the door,” Clark said. He was a gentleman on top of everything else. He exited the limo when the driver opened the door. He then ducked his head back in and stretched a hand out to assist me.
I reached up but grabbed his loosely hanging tie instead. I pulled him toward me and kissed him on the cheek. I had to start out slow, because I wasn’t really sure where his head was at.
He smiled and took my hand, helping me out of the vehicle. We walked side by side up the steps to my building’s door in silence.
Luckily no one was around, or it would have been a circus due to Clark’s presence. Now face to face, he looked down at me. “Thanks for everything.” With that, he gently placed his right hand against my left cheek, bent down, and placed a kiss on my injured right eye.
I looked up and involuntarily smiled at him.
His mouth moved to my lips. He gave me a peck and smiled against my lips. Feeling my return smile, he seemed to grow bolder. To my surprise, he followed the soft kiss up with a more sensual one, his tongue darting out to dance along mine.
As he deepened the kiss, I allowed my tongue to explore his mouth. His arms wrapped around me, and the kiss grew truly heated.
Then, all of a sudden, he broke it off, much to my chagrin. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said with a blissful smile. He then turned, walked down the steps, and with a wave, he got into his limousine.
Chapter Six
The next afternoon, I sat at my desk in anticipation of my status meeting with Heather. The night before had been exhilarating. The only way to control myself though was to stop kissing her, quit cold turkey. I didn’t want to abuse my position and pressure her into anything.
The office was emptying out, and I stared out my door awaiting Heather’s arrival. I assumed she had another class function to attend, because after diligently working at her desk all day, she left at some point when I wasn’t paying attention.
I noticed it was raining outside and starting to get dark when Heather burst through the door. She had no umbrella, her hair soaking wet. She was carrying a plastic bag along with her purse. She slid out of her jacket and set it on the back of her desk chair. Grabbing a hair tie out of her desk drawer, she pulled her hair up.
She walked into my office, closing the door behind her. “I always grab an umbrella on days it doesn’t rain, and of course I didn’t today,” she said in frustration. “I brought dinner.” She pulled two containers f
rom Inganno’s out of the plastic bag she was carrying and sat down across from me.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Wow,” I said. “Dinner never even crossed my mind. Thanks.”
She smiled in return. “I figured I owed you after missing dinner last night,” she said. It was weird having someone so thoughtful in my life. I was silently thanking myself for elbowing her in the eye.
“Do you mind if I take my shoes off?” she asked me. “They are drenched.”
“Go right ahead.”
She leaned forward and took off her black heels. Her feet were in black stockings, as were her legs…man, her legs. The skirt she was wearing today was shorter than yesterday’s fairly long one. I had a great view, as she was across from me with her legs crossed.
I snapped myself out of it and back to the task at hand. “I saw you writing away at your desk today,” I said. “Not that I was watching you.” I gave her a smile.
She smiled back the smile I’d kissed last night. The sight of it completely threw my thoughts off track. I couldn’t remember what I’d been about to ask her. There went my brain again. What were we talking about?
Her voice broke my daze. “Well, there’s a lot I’m guessing Senator Tree is going to come at you with.” She bent down and pulled a folder of papers out of her purse, her breasts prominently displayed by her red top’s generous cleavage at that angle. “We have a lot of ground to cover,” she said as she sat back up.
She was right. “So what’s at the top of your list?” I asked.
Heather flipped through some pages in her folder.
****
I couldn’t focus. How could I as he sat there with the top button of his black shirt undone, his broad chest threatening exposure. “Maybe we should eat first,” I suggested, hoping to delay and give myself time to get my bearings. “Ya know. Before it gets cold.”
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