“I’m actually a Vin Diesel gal, Peter.” She narrowed bright green eyes. “You see? It shows you what you know about me. Just remember I’m here for a reason and it’s not because of my beauty. Get your head out of your ass, focus on the campaign, and keep your eyes on the prize. Newsflash, it isn’t scoring with Sigourney. Jeez, you can have such bad tunnel vision. That’s when I know you were a born politician.”
He raised both eyebrows in bemusement. “Is that an insult or a compliment?”
“In this situation, it’s both.”
“Fine. I’m going back to my hotel. Are you still meeting Liz and me for brunch on Sunday?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Okay, see you then.”
He stood and left with his bodyguards while she left on her own.
Peter knew what was happening and though he didn’t have to like it, he would have to deal with it for the time being. Sometimes the best advice was to be patient and though he felt like his was in short supply, he simply had no choice in the matter.
He would have to continue his lust for Sigourney from afar.
Chapter Seven
Sigourney
It’d been quite a while but I laughed more with Russell than I had in a long time. Our date was a spectacular hit where we enjoyed great food, good wine and witty conversation.
My self-imposed hiatus from relationships had definitely come to an end, and not a moment too soon.
After my ordeal between two very passionate men in Western Europe, I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel but I came back to the States frustrated by my lack of choice. I couldn’t find anyone cultured enough or good enough for my cathedral-high standards.
It occurred to me on more than one occasion that it wasn’t the men who were the issue but me. I’d set the bar so high because I didn’t truly want anyone to break through the barrier I’d erected around my body and heart. It was simply easier to not feel than to do so and risk having my heart broken all over again.
Over the years, bitterness had turned into a syrupy acid of cynicism and I realized no one would be ever good enough for me because I didn’t want them to be. Russell had shattered whatever was left of my reserve and it was too easy to give in to him, to laugh at his funny jokes and his dry wit. The guy wasn’t a classic Casanova, bad-boy or alpha male but he was perfect boyfriend material and that was what mattered.
I stole glances from him as we ate from one another’s dessert. I’d ordered the Devil’s food chocolate cake with a side of vanilla bean ice cream while he’d gotten the traditional cheesecake. Since we seemed to be enjoying each other’s selection more than our own, it was more of a foodie seduction. We wouldn’t trade plates so we had to reach across the table to taste one another’s dessert and it was a huge turn-on.
I wouldn’t be sleeping with him tonight but something told me I wouldn’t hold out for long. I just hoped when we got to that point, we sizzled in the bedroom like we did when we were out in public together.
“So, how long have you been working on the Coburn campaign?” I inquired casually as I sliced off another bite of his cheesecake and placed it into my mouth.
Russell licked a dab of chocolate off his lips before he followed up with a scoop of my ice cream. “Since he ran for mayor of Baltimore. My sister brought me on because she thought it would be a great opportunity for me. That was six years ago and we haven’t looked back.”
“Whoa, so you’ve been with his campaign since you graduated from college?”
He nodded, his intriguing blue-green eyes never leaving my face. “I got into Yale for graduate school and I was supposed to go back but I never did. Not that I have to…I mean my dad is loaded. I’m a trust-fund kid, I don’t need to go to graduate school but I didn’t want to be an American idiot under the new media.”
I laughed out loud. “Really? Green Day called and they said they want their slogan back.”
Russell smiled though there was a hint of smirk to it. “I didn’t even think you would know who Green Day was. You don’t exactly seem like a hip chick.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do I look that sheltered to you? My God, I volunteered in east Baltimore as a teen. My dad used to take me along when he went to work at John Hopkins during the summer months. I worked with gun shot wound patients and kids my age suffering from PTSD thanks to living in violent west Baltimore neighborhoods. Don’t treat me like a freakin’ square. I’m not as innocent as you think.”
He stared at me in a beguiling manner and I almost felt my heart swell to epic proportions. In one day, I’d gone from despising this man to finding him quite possibly one of the sexiest men on the planet. There was definitely something wrong with me.
“I see you, Sigourney Stewart.”
I leaned toward him and placed both my hands on the table. “Is that a good thing, Mr. Berkeley?”
“Absolutely. You’re intelligent, self-aware and incredibly beautiful. What’s not to love about a combination like that?”
“I’m not exactly sure.” I smiled back as one crept across his handsome features. “You’re not too bad yourself for a trust fund kid.”
“Kid? I’m older than you,” Russell expressed in mock anger.
“Well, I certainly can’t argue with that.”
A comfortable silence settled between us. We observed one another with the less-than-sly stealth of two people who’d first met and knew they’d find getting to know one another interesting.
I had no idea how Russell could have such a positive attitude when his mother had died weeks before. Perhaps the time off had given him some perspective on the whole situation. I’d never know entirely because he knew how to deflect questions he deemed too personal.
He talked about his relationship with Kylie but only on a surface level. They were close siblings, despite their age difference and the contentious way their mother had abandoned one family to make one with another. Although not exactly ambivalent about her brother, Kylie still cared about him despite the lack of emotion she wouldn’t show for her own mother.
I realized this was all supposition because I didn’t know the whole story. I wasn’t exactly forthright about my own family history except our ethnic makeup. Few people except those closest to me knew I had a thirty-year-old brother, Sebastian, who was also a doctor but practiced in Norway where he lived with his Norwegian partner and their two children. Those not close to me never knew about my twenty-two-year-old sister, Sofie, who resided in Copenhagen. She attended university there after a brutal rape happened to her while she’d attended Harvard and later, attempted suicide before deciding to leave the country.
I knew better than to think anyone came from normal families, after all, what was normal? Mine was no more or less fucked up than anyone else’s but my mother came from a cold country filled with people who were emotionally isolated as they were physically due to their geographical separation from mainland Europe. She didn’t process the showing of emotions very well, hence all of us were somewhat cut off and detached from our own feelings except for the most basic instincts.
My father’s family was similar. My grandmother grew up with a domineering Japanese mother and a hard working black father; my grandfather was from a large second-generation Irish-American family.
Together, my parents were suitable for one another and got along but even between the two of them, my father was much more emotional than my mother who would have rather “kept the peace” at all costs instead of ever having a disagreement in front of us, the children.
Their thirty-one year marriage had shaped me along with my siblings and I realized it was something I actively searched for in partners. I still desired the Governor but the burning need to have him in my bed no longer existed simply because I didn’t know him well enough. There was also the issue of his marriage and children but this wasn’t such a big deal. I wasn’t nearly as morally superior as I liked people to believe. However, my reputation meant everything to me and becoming a whore i
n the eyes of my friends, family and colleagues triumphed any short-term lust issues I suffered from.
Russell, on the other hand, was perfect. He could be taken home to meet my parents, he came from a good class of people and he had an impeccable university record. I’d landed a Yale guy who was funny, not the least bit pretentious and seemed like he could put up with my finicky moods and sometimes unreasonable behavior. This was all a plus. He would also act as the perfect distraction and deterrent from pursuing anything further with the Governor.
I began to glance around the restaurant and it was then I noticed the multitude of political heavyweights in the crowd. There were plenty of senators, representatives, a few Supreme Court associate justices and the wife of a former President. Elaine Riley sat across from a slim brunette who looked familiar, and they appeared deeply engaged in conversation.
Russell finally looked up from signing the check and calculating a twenty percent tip for the waiter before he tucked his black American Express card back into his wallet.
“Aren’t you going to ask how a guy as young as me has a Centurion?” he questioned with a slight smirk masking his handsome features.
I shook my head. “Nope. Your dad works on Wall Street, right? It makes sense he’d see to it his son would have only the best credit cards in his wallet. I never question the amount of common sense—or lack thereof—to be found among the nation’s one percent class.”
His intriguing aquamarine eyes glanced from the cleavage I had on display to my face and back again. “I would put my family in the top ten percent. We aren’t the Waltons for Christ’s sake.”
“Lucky you.” I sat back but his knee brushed against mine and I had to bite my lip to keep my face from turning crimson.
“So, seriously, while you were people watching, did you see anything interesting?”
I casually faked apathy though I pretty much knew he saw right past my thinly veiled façade. “Mmm, I did. Elaine Riley is here with a woman and I’m wondering if there’s any truth to the rumors circulating about her…?”
Russell’s intriguing eyes hardened as if the very sound of her name nauseated him. “What rumors?”
“You know, she married George Riley because she wanted to pursue a political career and she knew it would be professional suicide if she attempted her ambitions as an out and proud homosexual woman.”
“Maybe. I’m not one to fan the flames of solicitous gossip.”
“Okay,” I began as he gently placed his hands lightly over my own. “Do you know who that woman is she’s here with tonight?”
Russell followed my subtle line of vision and he stared a beat too long before his eyes went wide with surprise. “Sure, um, Elaine Riley is seated across from Elizabeth Blanchard-Coburn…Peter’s wife.”
I finished the rest of my wine. “I think that’s our cue to get the hell out of here.”
He stood and helped me from my seat before we left the restaurant and waited outside for his vehicle, which was valet parked.
“Should I be…worried Elaine and Elizabeth were having dinner together?”
A smirk reappeared on Russell’s face. “Maybe, maybe not. It’s pretty bold but then again, they might be playing the phony DC political game of looking like they are good friends and everyone’s in it together. Or, Liz could have been giving Elaine the small nuggets she knows about the campaign to our main competitor. It doesn’t matter, she isn’t privy to everything that happens and she doesn’t want Peter to run for President either. She’s perfectly happy being a Governor’s wife.”
Pieces of the puzzle were starting to click into place and I wasn’t sure how I felt about this new revelation. It was pretty hard for any candidate to win if they didn’t have the full support of their friends and family behind them. Did this spell doom and gloom for the campaign?
Then again, there were other issues to worry about like why were Elaine and Elizabeth really having dinner together? Was it business? Were they friends? Was the opposing candidate fishing for precious details? Or was the ultimate hot topic issue possible? Could Elaine and Elizabeth have been lovers?
My train of thought abruptly vanished as the valet brought around Russell’s truck and he helped me inside. Shortly after, he got in on the driver’s side and took off down the streets of Washington D.C.
“Should we…tell Kylie or Peter what we saw tonight?” I wondered out loud.
Russell shook his head. “Listen, it’s none of our business. I mean, say it’s the worst-case scenario. That is, Elaine and Liz are lovers meeting covertly. How does that help the campaign right now? Before you do anything that directly impacts the campaign, you have to ask yourself how it’s going to affect the campaign. Seriously, we’re all working so hard now and the closer we get to the actual election and decisions are made, we will be working our ass off.”
“I know that.” My fingers played with the hem of my dress. “I don’t know, Russell…I know we’re working so hard and I’m not trying to give us any additional work but do you think we should keep this to ourselves? What if it backfires?”
“Well if it does, at least we won’t have anything to do with the political fallout. Seriously, Sigourney, do you want to have anything to do with starting a rumor? You’ll look vicious and petty. We don’t know what they were talking about and because of that major issue, we don’t want to cause trouble for anyone.”
I chuckled. “Excuse me if I thought politics was about playing dirty.”
“It is but that doesn’t mean we have to contribute to it. Peter hates melodrama and I’m with him when it comes to a decision like this. It makes you look weak and vindictive. Is that the image you want to convey? Let’s take the high road and decide it doesn’t matter why they met for dinner. We didn’t see it and we won’t say a damn word about it to anyone. It will be…our first secret.”
“Why do you make secrets and lack of melodrama sound so damn sexy?”
“Believe me, honey, it’s harder than it seems.”
Russell managed to drive to me to my condo fairly quickly. I grabbed my clutch before I turned toward him.
“Do you want to come inside for a moment?”
He smiled and nodded his head. “Sure. If your roommate is up then maybe I will meet her.”
“I don’t think you will but I’m hoping you want to see me again outside of work and I would be more comfortable with discussing it here than at the campaign office.”
“That works for me. I was going to follow you up to your condo anyway. I can’t just leave without making sure you get home safely. To me, that means inside your actual home.”
We both stepped out of his truck and he quickly met me on my side, slid one of his arms around my waist and accompanied me inside. The building was always fairly quiet and although Andrea and I lived on a pretty high floor, we rode the elevator without one other person disturbing our comfortable silence.
As soon as the bell dinged and we walked to my condo, I opened the front door and stepped in, Russell not far behind me. I stopped just inside the doorway and he closed the door behind us.
“What’s the matter?” he whispered in my ear.
I grinned like a Cheshire cat though I knew he couldn’t see my face. “You have no idea how much I want you to kiss me. I’m afraid if you do that, we might go too far and won’t be able to stop.” I turned around to face him. “My biggest fear is you think I’m some sort of slut or floozy when I’m neither.”
“I would never think that about you.” Russell’s hands gripped my cheeks, his pinkie fingers teasing my jawline. “I don’t date sluts and believe me, I would have known about your reputation before I got settled into the office once again. You’re incredibly bright and I’m going to have so much fun getting to know you better.”
“Even though we’re sure to fight like cats and dogs? I’m not a very easy-going person and I can be a major bitch. Do you think you’ll still find getting to know me…exciting?”
He leaned closer to me, his b
reath warm and enticing against my cheek. “I guess we’ll have to find out. No one’s perfect, Sigourney. I know I’m not. I can be a misogynist prick sometimes but when all is said and done, I want to know you better. Not because I deserve you but because everyone has a right to happiness and I think being with me is a much better alternative than counting down the days, waiting for Peter.”
Ah, the real issue and the elephant in the room. I wish I could block my attraction for the Governor and pretend like it’d never existed. That was the real reason why I was so eager to spill our little secret about tonight. I wanted Peter to know his wife had been out to dinner with Elaine. I knew there was no way she would have told him, not if she didn’t want him to run for President in the first place.
Russell’s lips brushed against my own and I responded by stepping closer to him, invading his personal space as his hands continued to massage my face. There was something so highly erotic about it, my lips pressed harder against his and we began to explore one another.
My arms wrapped around his neck, as we took soft, small nibbles from each other. Our lips knew what to do and when his mouth opened and his tongue slid into my mouth, I accepted it with renewed ardent passion. It’d been so long since I’d been kissed and I wanted to memorize his lips in a way my mind could record this moment. It would be on an endless loop of replay until the next time we were this intimate again.
His body, firm against mine, felt solid and I surrendered to the swirling of tongues, the sheer willingness for us to express our passion. The lack of words and the way our skin felt against one another in the heat of the moment.
My mind cleared of my attraction for another man, the possibility of acting on it and I zoned into this brief period with Russell. It was a wonderful feeling to have him so near and yet know instinctively, I wouldn’t give him the ultimate pleasure just yet. It wasn’t in me to ever experience a one-night stand.
Russell pulled away, his brilliant aquamarine eyes full of lust and his lips, slightly parted. We stared at one another intensely before he kissed my forehead and held his lips there a beat too long.
DC Affairs Page 5