“In what respect?”
“It’s all in there.”
“Make a deal with Galante.” I threw the folder of potential staff back on the desk. “Once you’re in the White House give him some extra access for his channel.”
He tapped the folder I’d just handed back. “Break it off with Pandora.”
“What are you talking about?” But I knew.
“That folder contains prospective girlfriends.”
“What the fuck, Dad? No, you’re not doing that to me again.” I flicked the file his way. “Fuck off.”
“A scandal like this…”
I pushed to my feet. “I’m not calling it off.”
“We’ve discussed this with her parents. They’re going to explain it to Pandora.”
“You don’t get to make that decision for us.”
His fist thumped the desk. “We’ve come too far to have our chances ruined now.”
“I’ll find another way.”
“Your Fairfield Project. How much do you want it?”
The air crackled with tension; his threat weaving around a punishing promise. The truth of what he’d done—and what could be undone—reflected in those dark irises.
“What are you saying?” I asked softly.
“Family comes first.”
How could it be worth it? To gain the highest office but lose your soul.
“We can’t be seen as weak, son.”
“I know that.”
“Maybe construction will resume on Fairfield.” he said with the calmness of a sociopath. “If you do the right thing.”
The right thing…
What was this? Blackmail? Yes, that’s exactly what this man was doing…to his eldest son…to the boy who’d grown into a man feeling nothing but admiration for his father.
Until now.
My mouth went dry and I couldn’t form the words to respond to his abhorrent offer.
“You have until the end of the day.” He shooed me away. “Send in Theo.”
Fetch Theo yourself.
You’re not the President yet.
I walked out of his office, my gut twisted and wrenched, fearing they had already gotten to Pandora.
Had he forgotten his key? Or maybe because of the downpour Damien didn’t have time to dig for it, I thought, listening to the insistent rapping. I rushed to the front door to let him in.
Theo was hunched beneath an umbrella and getting soaked, his voice almost drowned out by the driving rain.
“Hurry, come in,” I said, opening the door wider. “Put your umbrella there.”
He shook it outside first and then rested it in the corner.
“Let me take your coat.”
“I’m fine.” He followed me toward the kitchen. “I have a key,” he admitted. “Didn’t want to scare you.”
“It would have been fine.” I watched to see if he glanced toward the red door. At least he was polite enough to feign no interest at what went on downstairs.
“Damien’s not here.” I headed over to the coffeemaker.
“Figured.”
“Let me get you a hot cup of java. Unless you’d prefer tea?”
I reached for my phone on the countertop.
“Don’t look at that right now.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I need you to trust me. Do you think you can do that?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Can you pack a bag? I can help if you like.”
“Where are we going?”
“We have a place in the city. Damien will meet us there.”
“You still share a place with him?’
“It’s where we host meetings when we don’t want to bring people to our homes, and for times when the office is too formal and hotel lobbies are too public.”
He’d mentioned the place once. Told me something about Madeline staying there while she was buying a home. “Did he say why we have to go there?”
Theo’s frown deepened. “I don’t need coffee. Best if you turn it off, actually.”
After unplugging the coffeemaker, I tried to figure out what he wasn’t saying. “I’ll call him.” I reached for my phone again.
“We need to go, actually. Right now.”
Theo hurried me upstairs to the bedroom and watched me pack. I gathered my toiletries from the bathroom and stuffed my clothes into my bag, all the while going over a thousand different scenarios as to why we had to leave so suddenly. I longed to question Theo, but he was insistent we talk on the way there.
My heart was thundering and my hands were trembling. I’d been ushered out of places with little notice before but usually I knew why—a security threat or a last-minute meeting that meant we all had to cut our day short and hop on a plane somewhere. Once your father enters politics your day becomes fluid.
After locking up the house, Theo drove us across the city.
To my frustration, our conversation did not cover why this was happening.
By late afternoon, we arrived at Ten Ten Mass, a tall building in the heart of Washington D.C. We walked through the lobby and Theo thanked the bell boy for helping wheel my suitcase into the elevator. He told him we would continue on alone, both of us ascending rapidly to the top floor.
“How long will we be here?” I asked. “I’m cooking for us tonight. It’s a surprise.” I’d searched out a recipe and ordered the ingredients. I was excited since it would be the first time I’d done anything like this for Damien.
“Sounds nice.” Theo reached for his keys.
Pulling my suitcase along, he ushered me out of the elevator and along a swanky private hallway. We reached the front door and with a turn of his key, Theo let us in.
Once inside, I stood in the sparse living room feeling confused.
He didn’t miss a beat, just went on ahead and insisted he provide a tour of the place. “The kitchen’s nice, fully stocked. But you can order anything you want from the menus on the counter over there,” he said, pointing. “There’ll always be a security officer outside. Order food for them, too. Best way to win them over.”
“Has there been a threat?”
“No.” He continued to show me around. “Down there is another bedroom. That one has a bathroom en suite. I think the main bedroom will be yours.”
“And Damien’s.”
“Right. In here’s an office. Feel free to use it. Oh, let me show you the TV controls in the sitting room—” He ushered me back that way. “We’ve set up all the channels: HBO, Netflix, and Hulu.”
“I can work it out.” Panic rose inside me as we entered the sitting room. “How long am I staying?”
“It’ll be best if Damien explains.”
“When will he be here?”
Theo glanced at his watch. “Soon.”
This isn’t right.
Everything felt wrong as I tried to peer through the rain-drenched windows, seeing only murky grayness. “Theo, tell me what’s going on.”
Theo fished his phone out of his pocket. A relieved expression crossed his face as he read a text. “Okay, good. Damien’s in the elevator.”
Oh, thank God.
“I’ll leave you two to talk.” Theo stepped forward and started to hug me, but then seemed to think better of it. “You have my number. Call me if you need anything.”
“I have to call my parents.” I reached for my phone.
“Don’t. Not yet. Not until you’ve spoken with Damien.”
“Is something wrong with my family?”
“No, trust me on this. Damien’s got it.” He gestured. “I should go.”
With the slam of the front door, I was left alone. I looked around at the masculine décor with its silver and brown tones and its minimalistic furniture.
Scurrying into the bathroom, I peed and then washed my hands, listening for Damien’s arrival. Clean towels were hung over the bathroom door and I used one to dry my hands. Two plush bathrobes hung on an ornate hook.
I already missed his house.
&n
bsp; Near the sink, I saw a selection of bottles and creams of Rare, Damien’s favorite product line for men, proving he used this place. Opening a cabinet, I peered in at the row of toiletries…and packets of condoms.
This was a fuck pad.
Damien’s voice echoed down the hall, beckoning me.
Retracing my steps, I met him in the sitting room. Damien stood there, tall and handsome in a droplet-covered raincoat. His eyes looked haunted and his face wore a conflicted expression.
The hairs on my nape prickled.
“I don’t like this place.” I took a deep breath. “Can we go home?”
He turned his attention to the blurred landscape through the murky windows.
Answers had been within my reach, if I had chosen to use the phone in my handbag. This was why I’d failed so many times—trusting others to know what was best for me. Not listening to my gut when it told me to take action. I’d always let others decide what was right for me.
“Damien, what’s going on?”
A little shrug as he failed to meet my gaze. “Nothing’s changed between us.”
Stepping back, I put some distance between us as though it would stop the pain from reaching me.
There’d been no rushing forward to embrace me. No big smile to greet me. Just a guilt-ridden expression he couldn’t hide.
My fingers scrunched my sweater as I worried over his anguish.
“I want you to stay here.” He gave a nod. “You and I will privately continue to see each other.”
“What’s happening?”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t persuade him.”
Who? His father?
It was actually happening.
The ground beneath my feet felt unsteady. Through a haze, I heard the rain striking the window as the torturous seconds seemed to drag on for an eternity.
“I’m sorry.” He looked at me, his dark eyes full of pain. “Your father’s scandal—”
“Do you know what he did?”
“I can’t stop the story from running.”
I shook my head. “What is this place?”
Damien seemed to realize my insinuation. “Theo uses it more than me.”
“When was the last time you were here?”
“Can’t remember.”
“Tell me!”
“A month, something like that.”
I pointed to the bathroom. “Are those your condoms?”
He stepped closer. “Don’t accuse me of being that man.”
“What kind of man are you? A man who always does what his father asks?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll visit you.”
“And what? You and I will never be seen in public together again?” My chest tightened as I struggled to control my emotions. “You’re breaking off our engagement?”
“You and I are still very much together.”
“You’re denying me in front of the world because of something my father did twenty years ago?”
“We have to keep our heads down until this is over.”
“It will never be over.”
“In four years—”
“Your dad will run for another term!”
“This place is temporary. They won’t look for you here.”
“You’re keeping me in your fuck pad?”
His eyes widened as though realizing what he’d done.
I’d never be anything more than a lover he couldn’t acknowledge.
He was destined to marry someone else, someone good for their image.
In the meantime, my father’s reputation would be decimated, his career in politics sabotaged by misconduct committed ages ago—a stain permanently on our name and a dynasty sacrificed so that the Godmans could rule.
What had Madeline called herself? Collateral damage.
“You expect me to stand by and let you do this to my family?” I whispered.
He sighed. “What else can you do?”
“You underestimate me.” I swallowed hard. “Did you ever love me?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Do you love me now?” My hand shot up when he moved closer. “Stay there.”
“I’ll always love you.”
“This is the first time you’ve ever said it.”
“You told me you wanted out. I was waiting to see if you changed your mind.”
“Tell me when you last fucked a woman here.”
“Don’t.”
“I want to know.” Needed to know.
He ran a hand through his hair. “We’re not having this discussion.”
“Last week?”
“I haven’t slept with anyone since you and I were thrown into a fake relationship.” He shook his head. “It wouldn’t have looked good.”
I reached for my handbag, my fingers fumbling for my phone. “I need to know what they’re saying about me.”
“The news isn’t out yet. Just speculation. My father is working on damage control.”
“I’m a liability?”
All of this was being done in backroom negotiations. This was why Theo didn’t want me looking at my phone. My parents would demand my return home.
“Have you talked with my dad?” I asked.
“It will happen tonight.”
“With me?”
“No, just your parents and me. A meeting at their place.”
“A meeting? I should be there.”
“Let me handle this.”
“What about what I want?”
“I have to prove to them I’m worthy of you. Give me the chance to show them I’m willing to fight for you.”
Shaking my head, I tried to fathom how our paradise had turned into a personal hell. “It’s decided then.”
“This is a machine, Pandora. It’s bigger than both of us. The stakes are incredibly high. We’re talking human rights. The environment. Health care for all. Freeing those wrongly imprisoned. We’re talking about millions of lives affected for the better if my father gets elected.”
“My father has so much to offer, too.”
“I don’t disagree.”
“I have to think of who else might benefit…” My eyes widened at a sudden realization. “He promised you the Fairfield Project would resume if you ended us.”
“Yes, but—”
“You get what you wanted. You all get what you want.”
Except me.
“Lay low. That’s all I am asking of you. Until I figure this out.”
“I will not stand by while my family is destroyed.”
“This is why our families have never agreed in the past. Only one can rule.”
I grabbed my bag and ran for the door.
He caught me by my wrist and walked me backwards until I hit the wall, my bag dropping to the floor. He towered over me, his lips hovering dangerously close to mine.
I peered up at him. “Are we really over?”
“I will find a way. I need you to believe me.”
“After the media has thrown us to the wolves, my life will be over.”
He pulled me into a hug. “Listen to me, I will not give up on us. Not now, not ever. Stay here. Don’t go home. They’ll send you to Switzerland. Or somewhere I’ll never find you.” He pressed his lips to my forehead, his kiss firm and unrelenting.
Our powerful families had thrust us together for one purpose only. They’d succeeded in bringing us together because that is what they did—they always got their way.
Those same dark forces were now trying to rip us apart.
“No one will know you’re here.” He lifted my chin. “Unless you tell someone.”
“They can’t make me leave the country.”
“Who knows what they’re capable of doing. I need you to promise me you’ll stay here.”
The chasm of love between us kept widening.
“I don’t need protecting.”
“We do what they want for now. After the election, we’ll find a way to be together.”
I
was now simply a Plaything of Power.
My future was set; marrying Damien was never going to happen. I could only be his lover.
Our chance at a real relationship had been an illusion all along. A battle that could never be won.
Rallying my courage, I felt my steely nature returning. I, too, could throw in a chip to bargain with. “I’ll stay here on one condition.”
“Say it and it’s yours.”
Theo drove us across town in his Tesla.
We couldn’t travel in one of the official cars or have security escort us as this evening had to be kept a secret. Damien wanted it to be Theo who took us to Vanguard since he was a trusted friend. With Theo being a member, too, there’d be no questions about our time at the club.
This had been my one condition to stay at Ten.
I’d have stayed anyway, but it was fun to negotiate with the master negotiator himself, my former fiancé. I was still wearing his ring, so there was that, at least.
Though wearing panties, I’d been stripped of my bra before we left, the kinkiness having begun before we’d even departed. Damien had purchased me an expensive black bobbed wig to wear. I looked super cute, like a Charleston flapper girl. It was fun to be someone else for the night. I peered out at the passing view, my fingers nervously trailing over my key pendant.
This necklace had brought me so far.
Theo wore a hoodie pulled over his face, his casual clothes a contrast to ours. We’d dressed according to the code—cocktail dresses for women and tuxedos for the men.
“You Say” by Lauren Daigle piped out of the speakers, providing an emotional backdrop to us spending precious time together. The world might be trying to rip us apart, but they couldn’t steal our memories. We would always have those.
Damien and I sat close together holding hands, his fingers interwoven with mine as though claiming me. It was a protective gesture that I appreciated—the anticipation swirling inside me was almost unbearable.
But I wanted this, wanted tonight to happen more than anything. Being this daring, this reckless, made me feel like I was spreading my wings to the fullest.
We stared out of our respective windows, Damien dressed in black-tie and looking incredibly suave and me feeling feminine in my silver Stella McCartney halter-neck mini dress and these Jimmy Choo glitter sandals. With the small key pendant marking my right to be here.
Pandora's Pleasure: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance Page 23
