Politically Incorrect (11 page)

Victor downed the rest of his drink. I slipped my hand from Samford’s arm, about to take my leave in order to extract the party crasher when Liam excused himself. Samford gushed about Liam after he walked off. I nodded and smiled, pretending to be engaged in the conversation, all the while I watched as Liam approached Victor and disappeared from the room.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Victor was pissed. When the opportunity presented itself, I excused myself from Samford, leaving him in Aaron’s capable hands and slinked off to help Liam defuse the situation. Liam had been smart in taking Victor out of earshot. I had to admit, the Congressman was quick-witted, which would take him far.

As inconspicuous as I could be, I slipped into the dark hallway, prepared to bring security in, if necessary. I stopped at the sound of my name being mentioned.

“This is not how you want to run your campaign, Liam,” Victor yelled. “That woman would steal blood from a dying man if it meant getting what she wanted.”

“Victor, I know you’re upset, and I don’t blame you, but Ms. McNeal has nothing to do with my decision. Your irrational behavior right now is a good example as to why I released you. This is not how I want my staff to…”

“No!” Victor hissed. “I’m not being irrational. I’m being protective. I’ve put a lot of time in creating your persona. I don’t want some snake of a woman destroying everything you’ve worked for.”

“And I appreciate your concerns, but I feel…”

“Did you know that she left her husband for that oil guy? What’s his name?” I heard the snap of fingers. “Guy Harper. Yeah. She left her husband and kid to run off with him.”

Seriously? That was the best he could do? Some made up shit? I rolled my eyes in disgust. It was obvious this guy couldn’t find sand in the Sahara. A good press secretary would’ve built his story and been ready to make it come to life. What an idiot.

There was a long pause and a heavy sigh. “This is beneath you, Victor.”

“You’re blinded by a pretty face and campaign promises.”

Everything inside me wanted to jump in and rip Victor to shreds. Not because he was tearing me apart. I thought nothing of that. People spat on my name daily. Especially if they lost a race to me. What pissed me off was the crass nature of Victor’s argument. I’d known Liam all of twenty-four hours, and in that short time, I’d come to understand that he wasn’t the type to jump into any situation without careful consideration. Victor’s accusations were that of a scorned man.

“That’s enough,” Liam growled.

Oh, how I wanted to round the corner to see Liam in action. I could imagine the stern expression on his face and his towering figure looming over Victor.

“You know me better than that, and I will not allow you to talk about a woman like that, no matter how much you dislike her policies. I find Elizabeth to be a smart, creative, and empowering woman. Her tactics are exactly what I’m going to need if I want to get that Senate seat, and believe me, I intend to get it. Now, as I told you this morning, if things don’t work out with the other press secretary, I’ll consider reinstating you, but after tonight, those chances are slim and none.”

“Liam…”

“Let me finish,” Liam commanded, his voice steady but stern.

A moment of silence surrounded me. I sucked in my bottom lip waiting to hear what he had to say next.

“I want you back in DC tonight. You will remove your belongings from my office and we will not speak another word of this again. I respect you, Victor, and I appreciate all you’ve done for me, but I will not tolerate being treated this way.”

“Fine,” Victor spat. “But you’ll regret this. Mark my words.”

Great. A threat. That never bode well in my book.

“You don’t mean that. We’re friends. That’s not changed and it won’t. But I need to do this. You understand that, right?”

“No! I don’t understand. You don’t need her and her bullshit.”

“Look, my mind is set and you can’t change it.”

As their conversation came to a close, I slinked into the kitchen. I didn’t want to take any chances Liam might see me as he returned to the party. What I’d heard would remain my little secret.

Inside my chest a little ember burned. Liam defended me. Not many people would’ve done that. They would’ve simply agreed with Victor, because he did speak the truth. I was unscrupulous when it came to winning, but what he failed to understand was Liam needed my lack of conscience in order to succeed.

Time moved slowly as I waited for Liam to have a chance to return to the party. So, I replayed the conversation over in my mind. Each word, each nuance, I analyzed. If only I’d been able to see his face when he spoke to Victor. The command in his voice and the manner in which he defended me and his campaign left a mark on my soul.

Once I was certain Liam and Victor had moved on, I slipped back into the main room, but not before I dared to glance around the corner where Liam had taken Victor. It was empty as I expected, and maybe it was my imagination, but I swore I could smell the faint scent of Liam’s cologne lingering in the air ─ a composition of spice and lavender, but most of all, Liam ─ as I walked past.

I laughed at myself for being silly and slinked back into the crowd, doing what I’d been hired to do ─ sell the idea of William Baxter as the new United States Senator from Texas.

I stretched my arms over my head. The sound of my joints popping echoed through my body. Every muscle inside me ached from being on my feet all night. My throat burned and my jaws hurt from constant smiles. The event had been a success. Now, what I wanted more than anything was to kick off my shoes and soak in a hot bath. Instead I was stuck in Harper’s den listening to two hot heads squabbling over nothing.

“That’s not how Victor and Bridget handled things before and it worked great for us,” Aaron snapped.

And there he went bringing up Bridget Malone again. Bridget had a reputation for running a “clean” campaign, which was great for a state or local election, but when it came to national, you had to be ruthless. And by my count, she’d lost nearly every national campaign she ever ran. Liam was one of her rare wins.

“I don’t care what Victor or Bridget did before,” Scout sneered. Piled in a messy bun, her bright red hair matched the color of her temper. She was over caffeinated and running on very little sleep. Her flight had been delayed due to some extreme weather up north, so while the rest of us were dressed to impress, she was still attired in her traveling clothes of jeans and an oversized cashmere sweater that swallowed her slender body whole. “This campaign is going to be different from last time. The Republicans are expecting us to go out there with
guns a blazin’
,” she drawled, “as you Texans like to say. They won’t expect an inspirational speech from him.”

Aaron, perched next to the fireplace, shook his head with vigor. “I get that, but Liam needs to get his message out there from the start. I think it’s important he highlights his platform tomorrow. The public needs to know he means business.”

Eyes snapped shut, I rubbed my temples. Lack of sleep and the incessant squawking between Scout and Aaron caused me to feel nauseous. Though my body was tired, I couldn’t sit still. I’d shifted every which way in my seat and when I couldn’t take it any longer, I stood up and meandered to the bar where I poured myself a seltzer to ease my stomach.

“Yes. I agree. His platform’s important, but it’s too much too soon. If you want, include hints in his speech, but nothing more.”

Aaron straightened to his full height, his hands resting on his hips. For most men that stance would look feminine, but due to Aaron’s stature, it made him appear formidable. “You act like I haven’t been working on Capitol Hill for the last year!” His deep tone rumbled throughout the room. “I know how to handle constituents, lady. I do it every damn day, and I also know my brother better than you do. He’s honest. That’s why people like him.”

Scout met Aaron’s stance, which was kind of entertaining since he was three times her size. It was like watching a mouse face off against a pit bull. Only problem was, I couldn’t determine which one was the mouse and which one was the pit bull.

Scout flung her arm toward Liam who was sitting on the sofa next to Kristin. “People like him because he’s young and hot!”

Liam’s face flushed a light shade of pink. Kristin covered her mouth with the ball of her fist, snickering. Although I was a little aggravated, okay, more like pissed, by Kristin arriving to the party so late, I couldn’t deny that from the moment I met Kristin Page, I liked her. She was a tall, slender woman, with absolutely no curves. Not that I would tell her, but she reminded me of a twelve-year-old girl just about to reach puberty. Her mousy brown hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, exposing her long neck. She’d chosen a pink tulle cocktail dress for the evening, which only accentuated her little girl persona. Soft spoken, she came off as timid and shy. It was almost a treat to see her giggle at the interchange between Aaron and Scout.

“So you’re saying people only voted for him because he’s
hot
?” Aaron added air quotes.

“No. I’m not saying that’s the only reason, but it’s a good one. Your brother will capture the female voters’ hearts, young and old, and we don’t want to turn them off by him jamming his platform down their throats too quickly.”

“Yeah, because we all know women don’t like having it rammed down their throats.” Aaron wiggled his brows.

“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Scout delineated.

Irritation flashed in Aaron's eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what it means. From what I’ve heard your fly’s open more than a Google homepage.”

That was my cue to step in. I took a swig from my cup and cleared my throat. “Children, please. Don’t make me separate the two of you.”

“But…” Scout threw her hands in the air. Her green eyes burning hot with her temper.

I raised a hand, stopping her oncoming tantrum. “No. Here’s what you’re going to do and I’m not going to hear any complaining from either of you. Understand?”

Scout slunk down into the oversized armchair that Harper usually fancied. Harper’d already escaped the debacle over an hour ago. I envied him, all tucked away in his nice warm bed, while I was stuck managing the bickering children. Aaron folded in next to his brother, punching his knee, almost cocky, as if he’d won.

He hadn’t.

I circled the room, ticking off my fingers as I listed the details of what I expected Aaron and Scout to accomplish before the next day. In my trek, I noticed the distance between Kristin and Liam. They were close, but their movements were calculated. They were comfortable in each other’s presence, and while I couldn’t put my finger on it, something was off between them. He maintained a cordial stance with her, his hand always at the center of her back, directing her around the room. Rarely did he ask her to speak. And even now, they leaned into each other, but it reminded me of how I settled in with Harper. It was clear, they were not a couple.

“So,” I finalized, “all we need now is to make sure everyone is where they need to be and doing what they need to do.” I pointed to the sofa. “Kristin, you’ll be on stage next to Liam tomorrow when he makes his announcement.”

A look of terror crossed Kristin’s face. Liam bounded out of his seat. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Why not?”

Liam maneuvered around the coffee table in a fluid motion, glancing over his shoulder to Kristin. The knot of his tie had been loosened and the top button undone. Gone was the jacket that had contoured his body so well, leaving only the crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms. He adjusted the band of his watch against his wrist. “I agreed for her to be at my side during social events, but I won’t force her into the public eye more than I have to.”

Again I asked, “Why not?” challenging him.

The expression on his face caused alarms to sound off in my head. I’d struck a chord with him. He was protective of her. No man would react that way over something so trivial. He was hiding something for her and I needed to figure out what it was and fast. If she could hurt him, then we needed to find a replacement.

“Because we’re not together, and if that’s not enough, then let’s settle for I said no,” he etched out between gritted teeth.