She stood from the center chair in the front of the room and whistled, loud and piercing. The room silenced as both men finally stopped and glared at her. “Violence will not be tolerated,” she spoke firmly.
Her poker face consisted of calm and stern eye contact; no emotion. Unlike the two red-faced men who slowly took their seats. The relief on the cops’ faces rippled across the room. “I don’t think either of you want to spend this evening in jail away from your families. This is a passionate topic for many, but name-calling doesn’t solve anything.”
“They only care about their bottom line and whether or not they’ll have enough for Christmas bonuses!” Tommy shouted, blotch-faced and stiff necked. If the bald man had any hair, it would have been white.
“Tommy, we are so close to a solution. With the concessions both sides have already made, do you really want throw all that work away over just ten grand?”
With a shake of his head, Tommy clamped his mouth shut and leaned back in his chair.
This was what Audrey loved best. Everyone’s eyes focused on the solution. One everyone could live with. If they’d just let go of their egos and open their ears.
If only one man didn’t keep looking at her like his own personal holiday feast.
“The ranching industry is booming in this area, and we want to keep those jobs here. If it weren’t booming, we’d have a different problem on keeping people from the unemployment line. So arguments like this are a
good
thing.”
Reluctant murmurs of approval filtered throughout the room. A quick glance to the other side of the room and Audrey received the head-nod from Miranda, coupled with a knowing smile.
“From where I sit, you both need each other to keep this industry successful. Ranchers need Clayton’s distribution company for your product. And distributors don’t exist without the ranchers. So you help yourselves by helping each other. Calling your customer an ignorant redneck isn’t the best way to ensure repeat business.”
Clayton’s lips pursed and he crossed his arms.
“Telling your distributor to screw himself only makes him less willing to help you in the future.” Her admonished stare to Tommy brought the same response.
“Folks, ten grand is the only thing keeping everyone from getting paid and having a great Thanksgiving with their families. Which Clayton concedes his company can spread across the five-year contract.” When her eyes met the plump man on her left, he nodded. “Tommy, I’ve seen that old tractor sitting out behind your barn for the last seven years. The one you’ve meant to sell but never got around to. Driving around these parts as much as I have, I’ve noticed almost all of you ranchers have some piece of unused equipment.” A dozen more nods around the room made Audrey smile. “Something that you can either sell or donate and get the tax write-off. Things you already planned to do anyway. All of which can go toward this gap. Combine that, I bet you’ll have more than enough to cover this. Maybe enough to give you all that unexpected Christmas bonus.”
More nods and approving murmurs. Miranda gave her a discreet thumbs-up while Ethan jotted down a few notes on his notepad, juggled in the same hand as his recorder.
Damn
,
that smile of his was distracting
.
“Now, who wants to call this a done deal, leave the beef business alone and go home to fat Thanksgiving turkeys?”
When the papers were signed and the room cleared, Audrey brushed her hair from her face and gathered her briefcase. A heartbeat later, Miranda patted her on the back. “Damn, you’re good. Your former boss couldn’t get this dispute off his desk for six months, and you solve it in one meeting.”
“It wasn’t that hard to fix.” They strolled out of the room. “Think of how more productive they’d be if they spent the same passion in their jobs as they did bickering.”
Miranda handed Audrey another soda from her tote. “After you helped arrange the agreement for the homeless shelter, I told Mason you should take this one off his hands and he could retire in peace.”
“Congressman Nichols has earned it. Meanwhile, Texas has lost an incredible asset in the Senate.”
“Only to gain an even better one,” Miranda smiled and gave her another pat on the shoulder. “One that will stick around for a long time to come.”
“God willing.” Audrey cracked open the soda and sipped. She had to cut this habit, but long hours of campaigning and still performing her duties as a Congressman’s aid threw her New Year’s resolution off the priority list.
“What was Ethan Tanner doing here?” She asked after she recovered from the fizzing bubbles.
“I invited him. Wanted to show him how good you are at what you do best.”
“I couldn’t concentrate. And I doubt this negotiation will be highlighted in the article he’s trying to twist against me.”
“I think he’s sweet on you.”
Audrey snorted. “Like a snake on a mouse.”
“You’re sexier than a mouse. And twice as smart.”
“Audrey Allen.” Clayton waddled across the lobby. “Brilliant work in there.”
“Thanks, Clayton.” She shook his outstretched hand and sausage-like fingers. “Amazing how much one can accomplish if you remember where your paycheck comes from: your customers.”
“Too true,” he replied with a laugh, his belly shaking like a Jell-O mold behind his thick, southern drawl. “I’ll be telling my bosses about your work here. If you’re ever interested in the corporate world, you let me know.”
“Tempting offer,” Audrey smiled, not missing Ethan’s raised eyebrow from across the lobby. “But I have a great job already.”
“Well, in the meantime you’ve got my vote.”
“And mine.” Tommy, the bulky rancher, shook Audrey’s hand. “All us ranchers have your back, Miss Allen.”
“Thanks, Tommy. Tell Cora I’ll miss her delicious corn casserole this Thanksgiving.”
“Maybe she’ll save some for you,” Tommy laughed and pushed through the double doors. A cold blast of air burst through the lobby. When Clayton moved to follow, Miranda caught up with him.
“If you’re free this Saturday, there’s a fundraiser for the Crisis Center that we’re sponsoring…”
Miranda’s campaigning drifted outside, leaving Audrey a moment of panic in the lobby with Ethan Tanner. Alone.
The man was lean, yet toned, even under that frumpy jacket. Evidently good at more than just writing articles and shattering careers. Shattering a woman’s senses seemed a natural forte of his.
How long would a guy like that last under the covers?
Whoa! Get it together, Audrey.
“You have a gift, Audrey Allen.” His words sizzled from across the marble floor. His footsteps bounced off the walls at the same rhythm as her heartbeat. The cold air in the lobby was nothing against the urge to unbutton her jacket from the escalating heat from that man’s eyes, staring back into hers. “Blinding men by your words and three-button blazers.”
His eyes roved over her suit, slowly, lazily. Audrey moved her briefcase in front of her, shifting her weight to one leg. “I’m not surprised you can’t tell the difference between blinding someone or making them see reason. You’re too busy distorting the truth to make it fit your own need.”
“And politicians don’t? That’s a whore calling a prostitute a slut.”
“Excuse me?”
“Just a figure of speech,” his lips quirked.
“You’re a breath away from losing your interview, Mr. Tanner.”
“Lighten up.” Ethan adjusted his messenger bag strap on his shoulder. “No implication on you. On the contrary, I think you’re one of the most prudish women in politics.”
“Prudish?” Audrey couldn’t stop her raised inflection.
“Not a hint of cleavage, no skirt above the knee line…I doubt you own a single shirt or blouse that doesn’t go all the way up to your neck.”
“Perhaps because I’d rather people pay attention to my words than my body.”
Ethan’s eyes flamed and his entire face lit up. “Not possible.”
Why didn’t this creep have a dozen sexual harassment claims against him?
Is this his idea of a compliment?
Bringing him home to meet her family was a big mistake. Trusting the media was already difficult enough for her, but keeping an eye on this media man, as slippery and conniving as he was, would make it unbearable.
“Unlike you, Mr. Tanner, I love making a difference. Simplifying a problem, getting everyone on the same side, winners all around. No problem is impossible to solve. You just have to find the right foundation on which to build. The rest are just details. As long as you’re willing to listen and keep your
libido
out of it.”
Heat flushed her cheeks as her eyes drifted down and rested on his crotch, however briefly, and caught sight of the bulge against his Dockers. To which she was even more mortified when Ethan shoved his hands in his pockets and caught her wandering stare. He leaned forward, their bodies only a few inches apart. His warm breath smelled like peppermint gum, mingled with his musky cologne.
“I’m looking forward to this weekend, Audrey.” He smirked. “Should be a lot of fun.” He lingered a moment longer, his mouth parted and waiting. When Audrey couldn’t move, he stepped back and opened the door, the wind rushing in and slapping her in the face.
That’s what I’m afraid of.
Chapter Four
Audrey shook her head at the press release in the
Dallas Morning Journal
about the fundraiser. The Crisis Center’s logo was supposed to be next to the article, but instead the editors published her headshot. Though black and white, she hated that her skin appeared splotchy and her freckles could never be erased, no matter how much makeup they used. But what she hated more was taking attention away from the Crisis Center.
Miranda had told her not to fuss over it. Either way, it was good publicity for both her election and the Crisis Center. Besides, she had a much bigger article to prepare for. Audrey tossed the paper in the trash and grabbed her brush from the bathroom sink. The hot shower hadn’t released the tension in her shoulders, so chamomile tea was next. Most of her day had been a whirlwind of interviews and glad-handing voters on her platforms. Relaxing in pajamas alone in her apartment felt like a gift. Elections were only the precursor to life as a senator.
If only.
After she brushed out the damp strands of hair along her neck, she strolled into the kitchen and poured the steaming water from the stove into a coffee mug. Papers lay scattered across the dining room table behind her, waiting to be reviewed as her tea brewed.
Legislative agendas, letters from campaign supporters, and cost estimates for the Crisis Center building all blurred together in a white flood of responsibility. Audrey pulled the edges of her purple bathrobe tighter across her chest. She knew how to handle a room. Her internship provided her the perfect means to study what tactics worked best in negotiations, how a simple hand gesture or body movement signaled resistance or defeat on a bill. Getting people to air their hesitations and secret motivations is why the media coined her notable nickname: The Peacemaker.
Audrey never saw it that way. It was all about getting people to find common ground and build from there. Though common ground was harder for politicians, Audrey had a knack for making the greater good come to light. Those ten years with her mentor, Congressman Mason Nichols, taught her everything she needed to know about Texas politics.
Despite her depression.
In the end, it was only about the people. The battered women, the innocent kids clinging to their mothers’ arms and the helpless looks on their faces as they held Audrey’s hand. She overcame her depression by focusing on the people, depending on her strength to do what was best. If only she could use that strength to let go of her dread about this weekend.
Ethan Tanner would be nothing but trouble. And she’d be hurt all over again. Only this time, splattered across every newspaper in Texas. Audrey turned away from the table and carried her tea to the sofa. Curling up on the cream suede cushion, she grabbed her sketchbook, which always sat on the windowsill behind the couch. Gliding the pencil over the thick paper, she created soft lines of the familiar hill next to a small pond lined with tall grass while the same thought drifted in her mind. This weekend was a mistake.
Home for the first time in ten years.
The thought sent shivers through her nerves. The pressure between her shoulders grew, along with the weight. Toting a vicious journalist with her would only make it more difficult. Why hadn’t she insisted to Miranda this was a bad idea? She needed to do this alone.
A sip from her tea filtered warmth down her throat, and her mind lingered on Ethan’s face. Turning a new page in her sketchbook, her pencil went to work. Ethan’s tongue was too sharp to have such clean lines angling his chin and cheekbones. At first glance his face was perfectly symmetrical: eyes, ears, and nothing lopsided about his mouth. But his hairline dipped a sliver lower on the right of his forehead. When he smiled, the dimple on his left was a smidge higher than the right.
If she used colored pencils, she might be able to fill in the exact color of his light pewter eyes, with a touch of cobalt by his pupils. But the pencil would capture the shadows between the layers in his irises. If anyone dared look through her sketchbook, she’d be embarrassed that she thought enough of a newsman to render his face. But it was one of several things Audrey kept hidden, along with a few things in her heart.
Not that there was anything malicious. Privacy was important to her. Everyone had the right to reflect on mistakes in peace. Granted, politics eroded that privacy a bit, but it wasn’t just her life she needed to live. It was the lives of all the people who voted for her.
One in particular.
Her fingers caught the cynicism in Ethan’s face, almost as if he whispered
liar
from the paper. She closed her sketchbook and placed it back on the sill.
Tea. More tea.
The mug was empty in less than a minute. Sleep would make things seem better in the morning.
Fresh perspective, fresh start
. Her mother’s words echoed in her mind. The bedroom was small, but homey with a few splashes of bold colors in the furniture. Other than the full bed with its lavender comforter, the bookcase against the far wall was the largest item in the room. She ran her fingers across the volumes and chose her favorite,
Emma
by Jane Austen.