Scandalous: The Senator's Secret Bride (6 page)

I spat the last two words and fumbled with the doorknob, hoping to make a dramatic exit. “Damn this fucking old, expensive house. Damn it. You need to get this shit looked at!” I kicked the bottom of the door, hard. “Oh
dammit
. Oh that hurt my toe. Oh crap.” I leaned against the wall, pain shooting up my leg. The speech I’d given him had drained the rage from my body, and all at once, laughter bubbled up from the bottom of my stomach.
 

“Are you all right, Miss Mills?” I looked at him and put my hand over my mouth, laughing again. His voice had lost that hard edge, and he raised an eyebrow at me. The edge of his lip curled into a half smile. I laughed again, the sound coming up from deep inside me.
 

“Just give me a minute,” I said, giggling as the pain began to subside from my foot. “I was about to quit and make a very dramatic exit.”
 

“I can see that, Miss Mills.” He cleared his throat, stifling his own laughter. “Oh hell Miss Mills—Sonia—sit back down.”

“No! You just accused me of
spying
. For the
Republicans
. If it were going to be for anyone, it would be poor little Maisy West, the Democrat who couldn’t.” John laughed again and gestured to the chair.
 

“Dammit, sit down, and let me apologize.” His voice rang out through the room, and I limped back over to the chair, falling back down in relief.
 

“I don’t think anything you say will convince me to stay and provide my outreach skills, Mr. Reynolds. And my skills are second to none. I’m on the trail each season, either as a manager or as a very high-level volunteer. My instincts are
perfection
, and you’re lucky that Kelly even got me to consider it. After all, my role at The Washington Foundation—”

“Is very fascinating. Yes, I know. It has all of the excitement of cardboard.” I laughed again, letting my face fall in my hands. I hadn’t even been able to quit in a dignified manner, and now it seemed like he was trying to convince me to
stay
.

“And no one who yells at me as a manner of meeting me. So I think I’ll be headed back that way this afternoon.”

“No, I was wrong. Please. I believe you,” he said. He sighed. “You met me at a very strange time, Sonia. Last night, I took comfort in your touch. I’m not sure if I should be doing this campaign at all, and I’m not sure if I can win.” I nodded. “If you stayed—and I don’t blame you if you don’t—could you help me win?” I nodded sharply.

“Kelly and I are in the business of winning elections. We have been since we met in graduate school. We’re both young, but you need a young team to reach out to the kids in this state. Your eighteen, nineteen-year-old voters... They’ll win you your election. We’re both women of color too. We know that crowd, and we can get them on your side. After this is all over with, I’m pretty sure Kelly means for you to get the presidential bid as well. 2020, 2024. She sees your Independent affiliation, and she knows our country is ready to get away from the Republican-Democrat side of things.” I rested my hands in my lap, calm returning to my body. I was perfect for this job, and Mr. Reynolds knew it. Kelly was shrewd, and I was the top pick for her team.
 

“Given the
unusual
circumstances... would you be willing to stay?” He raised an eyebrow again, and I looked into his eyes. My heart stood still for a moment, and I imagined falling off a cliff into disaster.
 

I shouldn’t. I can’t. I’m not the woman who gets wrapped up in drama. Not the kind of woman who works for a man she’s slept with.

“Yes, I’d be willing,” I said.

“Of course, there wouldn’t be any—”

“No, absolutely not. Not good for you, not good for me. Not good for anyone on the team. No need to spell it out. It was a one-time thing, like I said.” His eyes flashed again, that hurt showing inside. And for a moment, my stomach twisted in regret, again. But what we were doing here didn’t have anything to do with attraction—it had to do with winning an election. And that is what I was built to do.
 

“Certainly no need to spell it out, then. I trust Kelly’s judgment. Now, I think I hear lunch. So we should both get to that so that we can move on about the day and get ourselves prepped for Richmond tomorrow.”

“Sure,” I said, standing up and nearly tripping over my foot again. John rose and walked over, taking my arm and walking me over to the door. The warmth of his body, the notes of his scent, the touch of his hand on mine. I gasped again, and I looked up into his blue eyes. “No funny business.”

“None at all,” he whispered, leaning in to brush my cheek with his lips. A vibration of longing rang through my center, but soon we were walking out into the hall, readying ourselves for a week-long stint in Richmond.
 

He let go of my arm, and I stepped into the main room, the rich scent of Mediterranean food filling the air. I was outreach director now, in a
real
campaign. It was what I’d always wanted.
 

I looked back at him, his eyes meeting mine.
 

No funny business at all. Everything was strictly professional.

September 23, 2016

Seven Weeks until Election Day

Avoid. Avoid. Avoid
.
 

Each morning during our two-week Richmond trip, I woke up and went to the hotel gym, well aware that John Gregory Reynolds had just left the gym and was heading to the sauna. After that, I knew that he would hit the continental breakfast and take a recess in his room before the first speaking engagement of the day. I’d learned to time my work out just right so that I could hit the breakfast buffet right at 9:30 AM. By that time, all that was left were the last dregs of coffee, several nearly-stale bagels, and a few scraggly-looking pieces of bacon. But if it meant that I didn’t have to be in the room with John, I’d take my limp bacon with a side of stale bagel.
 

I had to bribe one of the young guys on the outreach team to monitor and memorize John’s schedule, but it was worth it. It was
necessary
. Because whenever I was alone in a room with John, my body started to twist up, heat coursing through my veins and reaching out to all the places he had touched. In all my years as a fully-grown woman, a man had never made me feel quite like that. I should have left then, after that trip to Richmond. I
would
have left, in fact. But it was becoming clear to me that John was one of the good ones—he had the right ideas and all of the charm necessary to win. And as any political junkie can tell you, we can’t resist the good ones.
 

So I stayed, and I made it through the week, ducking and hiding whenever John Reynolds came into sight. I had single-handedly organized all of the college outreach teams in the state, traveling during the day to meet with campus coordinators and setting up events at the major public universities. Because I was staying out of his way, I ended up out of everyone’s way, driving myself harder and harder for the sake of the campaign.
 

If I hadn’t done all that, he might not have called me aside. My scandal had its ironies. All roads led back to John, no matter how much I avoided it.

***

“Wake up dear one, it’s our last day here!” I pulled the pillow over my head, hoping that Kelly would give up and move on to chat with my outreach team. After all, I’d trained them up and had them running everything out of the hotel conference rooms. Meanwhile, I could commute across the state and make sure to avoid John Gregory Reynolds as much as humanly possible. “You have to at least come to launch this morning, Sonia.” I pulled the pillow further down over my ears, groaning. Driving across the state for the past week hadn’t given me the best or most reliable sleep pattern, and it was starting to show in the dark circles beneath my eyes. On this last morning, I had high hopes for sleeping in and missing John’s morning pep talk. I heard a click, and the door opened.
 

“Dammit Kelly!” I shouted, sitting up and pulling the covers over my body. “How in the hell did you get the room keys?”

“I have connections everywhere, darling,” Kelly said, walking over to my bed and sitting down. Her bright blue linen suit nearly blinded me, and again, I found myself wondering how exactly she had managed to put herself together before seven in the morning. “I head up the campaign. Can’t risk having any of my little chickies out of line. Not that you ever are. You’ve gotten quite a few things done, haven’t you? All without being around…” She looked at me, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow. “I’ve barely seen you. I’ve actually been wondering if you’ve gone off to meet with your mysterious lover…”

“Exactly the opposite, Kell,” I said, hopping out of bed and pulling a wrinkled skirt from my suitcase and throwing it on the bed. I stumbled toward the bathroom and turned on the water to brush my teeth, drowning Kelly out as she prattled on about the campaign. She appeared behind me, her perfect hair glowing gold-brown behind me.

“Greg has been asking about you. He’s been very impressed with the results you’re getting statewide. He’d like to discuss numbers and strategy with you.”

“Can’t hear you,” I said, turning the water up and starting to brush my teeth.
 

“You’ve been avoiding him,” she said. I spat out a mouthful of toothpaste and then rinsed. Ignoring Kelly, I splashed water on my face, trying to wake myself up from the creeping, pervasive exhaustion that had taken me over in the past few days. “And I want to know why. I
must
know why. It’s clear that you’re interested in helping him win, but you won’t even enter the same room if he’s there.”

“He’s imagining things, Kelly. You’re imagining things. I’m working my ass off to make sure that he’s got a support base among our eighteen to twenty-four year-old voters.”
 

“And you’re doing splendidly, darling. But I remember how you were with that mayoral election. You wouldn’t get out of that poor man’s face. Any result you got, you were letting him know that instant. You’re being—”

“I’m not being anything,” I said, stomping out of the bathroom and pulling on the skirt. The exhaustion threatened to creep back into my bones, and I was so bloated from the food on the road that the skirt would barely button. “I’m just tired, and I want to be back home for a week before we go off into the middle of nowhere, Virginia. Labor Day is on the horizon, and after that, everything is going to kick up ten notches.”

“Right you are, Sonia, but there’s still something going on with you.” I shrugged into my last clean blouse and buttoned it up before tucking it into my too-tight skirt. I stepped into my flats and hoisted my laptop bag over my shoulder, avoiding Kelly’s eyes. The back of my neck grew hot, and I kicked at my suitcase.

“There’s nothing going on with me. Now, let’s go to launch and we’ll be back in the city by the end of the day. And none too soon.”
 

“Mr. Reynolds
does
want to see you after launch. And you
will
go talk with him. I’m going with you. We’ve got strategy to discuss.”

“I’ve got it. Now, please don’t come into my room without my permission again.” I grabbed Kelly’s arm and pulled her across the room, opening the door and shoving her out before me.
 

“Okay, okay, fine. Just please stop acting so strange. We have to pump up some PR stuff for the Senator Hopeful, and I’m hoping you’ll have a few ideas to help.” We stepped into the elevator and sank to the bottom floor, stepping out just in time to see John Reynolds himself. I’d made eye contact with him less than five times since we’d gotten to Richmond, and each time had been fleeting. But there he was, right before me, his midnight blue eyes locking on mine. The world around me seemed to come to a halt, and my lips parted for a moment as he looked at me.
 

“Sonia. I don’t think I’ve seen you in… ten days.”
 

“Keeping track?”
 

“Keeping track of all the good you’ve been doing. Certainly.” John smiled. “I’m looking forward to whatever PR stunt Kelly’s got going, too. It seems like you ladies are here to keep me on my toes.” His eyes remained on mine. My pulse quickened, my stomach dropping for just a moment. I turned toward Kelly and tugged on her arm.
 

“We’ve got to get going. I need something in my stomach.” John turned and walked toward the conference room, looking back at me for one moment. I swallowed, and Kelly pulled me along behind her. I kept my eyes on the floor, following the hem of John’s trousers and his footfalls on the hotel carpet. I walked into the conference room, surprised to see a hefty crowd of supporters. Kelly moved next to John, detaching from my arm. As soon as she was at the front of the room, I stepped back into the hall, pressing my back to the wall and breathing deeply. With a quick shake of my head, I walked back to the lobby to grab my daily bagel and coffee. I could slip back into the conference room, unseen, and avoid hearing John’s voice for several minutes. I chewed on the bagel and waited until I thought John’s launch for the day was over, slipping back into the room. I had hoped Kelly wouldn’t see me, but I swear that woman had eyes in the back of her head.

“And where were you, Sonia?”

“Just grabbing a bagel, Kell.” She cut her eyes at me again.
 

“Fine, well, let’s get to Mr. Reynolds’ office. We’ve got to discuss some strategy. I know this isn’t the type of PR stuff that you like, but it’s going to be important. We’re working on painting Reynolds as a movie star, and we’ve got to invest in his image.” I glanced over at John. He was shaking hands and talking with the volunteers. And they had come in droves this morning. He moved through the crowd with charm, laughing easily and often. Another pang struck me, and I wondered what in the hell I was doing in this situation. Kelly and I walked to the small conference room John had adopted as his mobile office. I leaned against the wall of the tiny room, and Kelly grabbed one of the office chairs.