The Perfect Candidate

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by Sterling, Stephanie


  It was only three weeks away. Michael sat down in a leather armchair and loosened his tie, while Remus ran and fetched him a toy to throw. Three weeks really wasn’t a very long time. It was only twenty-one days… that meant there were only twenty-one more nights of having his Ashley- less than that probably, in practical terms. He dragged a hand over his face, unwilling, but unable to deny the misery that accompanied that thought.

  “There we are, all ordered,” Ashley said with a smile. “They apologized, there’s a bit of a wait tonight apparently.”

  Michael nodded, and threw Remus squeaky toy again. The puppy didn’t bring it back this time; he was content to throw it around the room himself. Ashley moved over to where Michael was sitting, and perched on the arm of his chair.

  “Michael, about the wedding,” she said softly. “What- what’s going to happen exactly?” she asked nervously.

  Michael frowned slightly, and didn’t feel much like answering that question. The fact he didn’t know the answer didn’t help matters, but he really didn’t even want to think about after the wedding. So, being the expert politician that he was- he avoided the question completely by occupying Ashley’s mouth.

  He wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to give this up the luscious feel of Ashley in his arms- of a woman in his arms who saw him as a man- just a man, not a public figure, or the sum of the office he held. He could be himself with Ashley. He didn’t have that luxury with anyone else. He was going to be so unbearable lonely without her.

  Michael tugged Ashley down onto his lap, relieved when she melted into his embrace and didn’t try to resist him- didn’t try to talk. His lips moved reverently over her soft, smooth skin, trying to tell her without words exactly what it was that she meant to him. Everything… bubbled to the forefront of his mind, but Michael wasn’t quite ready to admit that yet.

  He racked his fingers reverently over Ashley’s body. It was all going to be so much worse when she was gone… the bitter little thought pierced Michael’s heart. He would know exactly what he was missing. He would have only memories to keep himself warm. He entered her with a low, feral growl, wishing that he could stay here, wrapped in her arms forever.

  Michael ran his fingers lightly through her hair, lovingly curling the silky tresses around his digits. To hell with it all! Would it be completely and utterly insane to suggest that they got married for real? Michael jolted at the thought. He wasn’t sure what had given birth to that idea, but once it had been given form he found it impossible to dismiss.

  Would it really be so crazy? Marriages were built on less than what he and Ashley shared all the time! Didn’t Michael’s own second marriage prove that was true? What he felt for Ashley was a hundred times more intense, more genuine than anything he had ever felt for his second wife.

  Michael toyed with the idea, wondering what Ashley would say if he made the suggestion aloud? Would she laugh at him, or worse, refuse him point blank? He couldn’t seem to judge. Michael knew- or thought that he knew- that he meant something to Ashley. He just wasn’t sure what that something was, or if it was as much as she meant to him.

  He wasn’t a coward though! Michael had never shirked away from any challenge in his life. He was just on the cusp of asking Ashley if she would marry him- for real- when Remus began to bark excitedly and rushed towards the window.

  “Oh no!” Ashley gasped, leaping off Michael’s lap and frantically picking up her clothes from off the floor.

  “Oh no?” Michael grunted, trying not to show his acute disappointment. He might not be a coward, but he wasn’t sure if he would reach such an extreme level of recklessness again!

  “Chinese!” Ashley snapped at him, as if this one word explained everything.

  The doorbell rang and he was forced to drag himself away from Ashley’s side, leaving her to fish out one of her shoes from under the sofa. Ashley paused in the endeavor once Michael had left the room. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something different about him this evening.

  Michael was always attentive, but there had been some subtle difference tonight, some extra layer of meaning to Michael’s caresses that she hadn’t been able to decipher.

  It just wasn’t fair! Michael was the only man that she had ever been able to see herself spending the rest of her life with… and she wasn’t allowed to have him! If only there was some way to remain in his life!

  27

  The final push toward the election began the following Monday. The first three days were such a hectic bustle of speeches and rallies that Michael and Ashley hardly got to exchange two words! There were moments when Michael was alone though, alone with his own private musings at least, when his thoughts scared him a little. He found himself wondering what would happen if he lost the overall election. He and Ashley could be together then.

  “Michael, are you paying attention?” Norm muttered, giving Michael’s shin a sharp kick.

  Michael swallowed a yelp of pain and glared at his campaign manager, but he also forced his thoughts to stop wondering. He dragged his attention back to the present, and realized that the current speech was winding down to a close.

  Ashley would have her turn next. Michael tried to dampen the flutter of nervous excitement that pooled in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know what she was going to say exactly… and he hated to admit how eager he was to find out. It might not mean anything, she might only say what she thought everyone wanted to hear, but somehow Michael believed that he would be able to read her face, and pick out the truth from the lies.

  He clapped politely with everyone else, even though he was only watching from backstage, as the speaker wrapped things up and left the floor. Michael looked around, trying to spot Ashley before she walked out and took her place in the spotlight, his eyes caught hers from across the other side of the stage just been she stepped out onto the stage.

  Michael smiled at her, wishing her could instil some last minute confidence into her. Ashley looked a little pale and nervous-and beautiful. She had given hundreds of speeches before, but perhaps not quite to an audience of this scale? He wanted to give her one last kiss for good luck, he wanted to tell her how proud he was of her, but of course, he couldn’t… he could only watch along with everyone else, as Ashley took her place at the podium.

  Ashley looked out a sea of faces and fixed a smile on her lips. Smile, that was the first and most important thing that she had to remember, she told herself, as she gave thanks for her introduction and addressed all the people that were waiting to listen to her talk. Then, she took a deep breath, and got under way,

  “I am so grateful to have this opportunity to stand in front of you all and say a few words about my fiancé, Michael Reese, and why I firmly believe that he should be the next President of the United States.

  “Long before I fell in love with Michael my fiancé, I was captivated by Michael the politician. I was so drawn to the energy and passion that he brought to his politics and campaigns that I determined to pack up my old job and come and work for him. If he would have me, and luckily enough, he decided that he would.”

  There was a small ripple of laugher, which Ashley paused to allow. She hoped that the ardent tone of her voice was doing its job convincing the party and the public of Michael’s merits, and not making Michael question where such passion was coming from.

  “You see, that’s what Michael Reese is like,” Ashley continued, “he makes people want to change, he makes them want to do things for the better. He cares about people and causes, and he has the drive to get things done, because the people who work for him believe in him!”

  Michael tried to keep himself grounded- tried not to let Ashley’s words touch him too deeply, but he feared that he was losing that battle! There had to be some truth in what she was saying, he told himself hopefully, and was immediately disgusted by his weakness.

  But, she couldn’t be making it all up… could she? Surely what she had said had some basis in truth? Michael kept
listening to Ashley talk, but she had turned her attention to certain policies of his campaign, things that he had heard and spoken about many times before, and so he was momentarily more interested in replaying what Ashley had said about being in love with him… until his attention was recaptured by a new section of Ashley’s speech.

  “…and what is more, Michael is a fighter! He earned his medals the old-fashioned way, by putting his life on the line for his country. No one will defend this nation more vigorously than he will —he will always, always be first in the line of fire.”

  Michael felt himself grinning. What man wouldn’t be smiling after being given an address like that? He hadn’t really talked to Ashley about his life in the army. He wondered if she had researched into it or she was just speaking from a general sort of knowledge she had of his history?

  He wondered which he preferred… but didn’t get very much chance to dwell on it, because Ashley was rounding up her speech, and it was almost time for him to join her on stage.

  “…and so, now I ask you to join me in welcoming the next President of the United States, Mr. Michael Reese!”

  Michael squared his shoulders (was poked in the back rather pointlessly by Norman) and then stepped out in the general applause that had erupted. He walked up to Ashley, who was beaming up at him and clapping harder than anyone else, and then- he hadn’t planned to do it, it just seemed the most natural thing in the world- he swept her into his arms and kissed her until she lost her breath!

  Cameras flashed and people whooped, but for the few delicious seconds in which Michael’s lips were locked with Ashley’s everything else faded into the background.

  “Thank you,” he whispered, but he didn’t give Ashley a chance to ask him what she was being thanked for; he immediately started to address his audience. Besides, Ashley looked rather too dazed to form a coherent question, Michael thought to himself smugly.

  She stood next to him as he spoke, and Michael steadily became even more aware that this was where she belonged- by his side!

  They were parted somehow in the rush of people that wanted to speak to Michael after he left the stage, and he felt bereft. He didn’t have a moment free to look for Ashley until the celebrations had got well under way however. Concerned that he hadn’t caught a glimpse of his lover for well over an hour, Michael drew Norman to one side and asked the other man if he knew where Ashley had gone.

  “Miss Kendall? She’s gone back to Chicago,” Norm said with a shrug of his shoulders. “She left to catch her plane about an hour ago I think,” he added, glancing at his wristwatch.

  Michael hoped he didn’t look as though he had just been punched in the stomach, because that was certainly how he felt. Ashley had left him! Tonight of all nights- she had gone, didn’t she know that she was needed here, by his side?

  “Do you know why she rushed back?” Michael managed to croak.

  “I think she said she had to deal with some of the wedding arrangements,” Norm replied.

  “And it couldn’t wait?” Michael demanded angrily, his face was black, his features thunderous. What a fool he had been! He had been completely sucked into the stirring little speech that Ashley had given earlier that afternoon- when she obviously felt nothing for him!

  Norman was staring at him oddly. “Apparently no, it couldn’t wait.” He glanced around to make sure that no one was listening to them. When Norm spoke next he had lowered his voice considerably. “We need to discuss exactly what’s going to happen, Michael.”

  Michael groaned, and picked up a glass of something (he hoped it was strong and alcoholic), that was passing on a waiter’s tray. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Norm wanted to start planning out the details of the wedding- or rather, the sham wedding that wasn’t really going to happen.

  “Do we have to talk about this now, Norman?” Michael hissed, in a tone of voice that didn’t really brook opposition. “Let’s just enjoy today’s victory, shall we?” he suggested, even though he knew that he was no longer in the mood to do any celebrating.

  28

  Ashley sniffed, and stared out of the plane window glumly. She couldn’t see anything, just her reflection in the glass, and she didn’t make a particularly cheerful sight.

  She sighed heavily, and tried to tell herself that it was for the best. If she weaned herself off Michael gradually maybe it wouldn’t be so bad when the final wrench came? She didn’t really believe that argument though. Frankly, it hurt that he hadn’t wanted her to stay around for the party that evening!

  Even if she hadn’t been his “fiancé”, she was an important member of his team, and she deserved to be there, celebrating with everyone else!

  It was ridiculous that Norm had arranged her final dress fitting for first thing the very next morning! Ashley didn’t even know why he had arranged it for her. Didn’t he trust her to take care of things herself? It wasn’t as though it couldn’t have been postponed for an hour or two, or even an extra few days!

  But Ashley’s attempt to argue this angle with Norm had fallen on deaf ears. He had seemed quite desperate to get her on the plane and out of the convention, which- as Norman worked for Michael- could only mean one thing. Michael had wanted her gone! She had almost served her purpose, and now he didn’t want to have anything to do with her if he could avoid it.

  Ashley bit down on her trembling lip and told herself that she had too much self-respect to cry over him! In public anyway. She was going to have a good old wail when she got home!

  Ashley was appalled with herself for following through on this self-threat. She cried herself to sleep that night, and woke up feeling miserable the next morning. She had expected to have a message from Michael waiting for her on her phone or in her email inbox at least, but there was nothing.

  “Well, that proves it,” she sniffed. He obviously couldn’t be bothered with her any more!

  Ashley almost burst into tears again while she was having her dress fitting. The woman dealing with her kindly handed her a tissue, and chatted sympathetically about last minute nerves, and how she would look back on this and laugh in few weeks. Ashley highly doubted that that was the case! In a few weeks she would have lost Michael forever.

  Ashley took herself back to her office after the fitting. She still hadn’t heard a peep out of Michael, and she knew for a fact that he was back in Chicago now! There had been a story about him on the radio in the taxi to the campaign headquarters.

  Ashley wasted an hour staring into space before she plucked up the courage to go and find Michael herself. Maybe by doing so she wasn’t showing a lot of respect for herself, but all Ashley could think about was the time that they were wasting by being apart. She rapped sharply on Michael’s office door, and then waited for him to call and tell her to come in, which he did a few moments later.

  Ashley drew a deep, rallying breath and pushed open the door. She and Michael stared at one another awkwardly once she had stepped inside the room- well, Ashley felt awkward. Michael, she noted miserably, looked horribly cool and aloof.

  “Did you want something?” he asked, his words clipped and hard.

  Ashley gasped as though he had struck her, but she wasn’t about to be dismissed by him. He was like a drug, and she had thought that she had a little longer to feed her habit!

  “I’ve done something to make you angry with me?” she demanded baldly, striding towards his desk, deciding to face the matter head-on in the hope of getting to the bottom of it. They didn’t exactly had time to waste!

  Michael avoided her gaze by shuffling some papers around. “Of course not,” he said smoothly, too smoothly.

  “Michael!” Ashley whimpered.

  “I have a meeting in half an hour. I need to prepare for it, Ashley,” he said distantly. “So, if you don’t mind I-”

  “I do mind!” she blurted, before she could stop herself. Something dark and dangerous flashed in Michael’s eyes. He pushed himself out of his chair so that he was standing, towering over Ashley,
who suddenly felt very small and vulnerable… and excited. “I- I wanted to talk…” she whispered feebly.

  “I have to go, darling, I have that meeting, remember?” he said, hardly evening mustering a note of apology. He saw her eyes flash. “I shouldn’t be long though. “Wait for me.”

  Ashley sank down into Michael large leather chair. She was barely settled before there was a rap on the door. It flew open before she could answer.

  It was Norman. He looked surprised see Ashley sitting behind the desk.

  “Michael asked me to wait for him here,” she explained.

  “I- I see, well… I had something to discuss with you too, Miss Kendall,” Norm said, shuffling through the papers he was holding. Ashley’s heart sank. She had hoped that he would just go away once he saw that Michael wasn’t here. “We can wait for Mr. Reese together,” Norm added, drawing a chair up to the desk and sitting himself down opposite Ashley.

 

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