by Sienna Snow
All of a sudden, an idea came to me. I was going to do what Kimberly suggested. I would call in a favor or two. I wasn’t the only one in the party who had issues with Edgar or Decker. Contacting these people would be risky and possibly backfire, but if I could pull it off, neither the president nor any of the Deckers would ever bother me again.
I picked up my phone to dial the person who would help me implement the first step in my plan. However, my phone rang with the tone I’d assigned to Veer. Releasing a sigh, I answered, but before I could say anything, he said, “Jaci. Are you okay?”
His raspy voice washed over me, making me miss him more than ever.
“Veer. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about. The only thing those pictures show is two people who are in love.”
I bit my lip and stared out through my window to the DC landscape. He was right—none of the images were dirty in the sense that made politicians’ careers end, but they were intimate, showing a side of our relationship we’d shared with no one but each other.
“This could be very bad for Ashur’s campaign. Aren’t you worried?”
“I’m more worried about you. Edgar is gunning for you. When you helped Tara, you became enemy number one.”
“I can handle him. This isn’t the first time someone has decided to tarnish my reputation. I’m not going to bring your name into this, but I am going to fight.”
The vision of Decker and Edgar on the golf course from the picture in the article flashed behind my eyes. Anger as I’d never felt began to surface.
Did the bastards think I would hide?
“He’s dangerous, Jaci.” His tone grew to the one that said he would step in to slay my dragons. It made me love him even more. “He will play even dirtier than he has. Right now, he is taking a hands-off approach. If he decided to get personally involved, it could be bad for you.”
“I’m a big girl. I’ve dealt with this kind of thing before.”
“This is different, and you know it. He is the damn president, and he will use his platform to destroy you. Decker’s tactics will be child’s play compared to Edgar’s.”
“I signed up for this when I decided to enter politics.”
“Dammit, Jaci. I will not let you do anything that will keep you from accomplishing your dreams.”
At that moment, Tyler and Samina rushed into my office and came to an abrupt stop. Tyler had a scowl on his face, and Samina crossed her arms while tapping her foot. I lifted my finger to my lips and gestured to the chairs on the other side of my desk.
My back-up team had just arrived. Sam and Ty would understand the path we’d have to take. I hated conducting business like this, but it was necessary.
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m linked to you. In my party’s eyes, I’ve already crossed that line.”
They tolerated my relationship with Sam because of our family’s history, but any romantic entanglement would have them questioning my agenda.
“Now it’s time to give them a taste of their own medicine,” I continued, causing Sam to lift her brow and a grin to form on her lips.
“For Christ’s sake, Jacinta, will you listen to me? You took too many risks as it is when you helped Tara.”
“We aren’t together anymore, Veer. You have no say in how I handle things.”
“As if I ever did,” he countered with a tinge of irritation.
I couldn’t go down that road. I had enough to deal with than to rehash something that wouldn’t make any difference. We’d both made our choices. Although I wasn’t the one who wanted to end us. It was him. No, that wasn’t fair. I knew what had to happen. Veer only did it before I was ready.
My face must have dropped because Sam set a hand on my arm and squeezed.
“I’ll do what is necessary, nothing more. We haven’t done anything to be ashamed of. The world will see it soon enough. Tell Ashur I’m sorry. Goodbye, Veer.”
I hung up before we continued to go around in circles.
I closed my eyes and waited a few seconds, trying to rein in my emotions. What red-blooded woman didn’t want the man she loved to fight for her or try to protect her? The problem was how much I wanted to turn to Veer when I knew I couldn’t.
Once I had all the turmoil locked down, I looked up at Tyler and Samina.
“Before either of you jump to follow through on any action running in your heads, I have a plan. One that will put not only Decker in his place but the president as well.”
Tyler folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I bet I know what it is and she doesn’t.” He pointed at Samina. “It’s a twin thing.”
“I bet I do.” Sam stuck her tongue out at Tyler. “Your twin routine has nothing on the bond between best friends.”
“Yeah, and why’s that?”
“Because there is a rule. Sisters before misters.” She nodded at me, and I couldn’t help but smile and shake my head.
“I’m her brother. Seriously, Sam, you always get your phrases wrong.”
“It’s only wrong because you’re a boy and wouldn’t understand.”
“Man.”
“What?” she scowled at him.
“I said, I’m a man.”
“Says who?”
“My date from last night.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing the two stooges routine was to ease the tension I was feeling. God, I loved these two.
“Okay, okay. Neither of you has the inside scoop on this. Especially since I only thought of it a few minutes before you arrived.”
“Well, don’t keep us waiting.” Tyler tapped his watch. “We have reporters circling for comments on your relationships with Veer and Kevin.”
“You and everyone else around us will say nothing. I am not going to respond to anything that has to do with my personal life.”
I began to write two lists and then handed a paper to each of them. “Here are the people I want you to call. I know they owe you favors. I hate to do this, but we have to play dirty.”
Samina cocked her head to the side and watched me. “Jaci, everyone on this list is someone who is teetering on the president’s ‘Budget of the Century.’” She air-quoted the last part.
“Yes, they are. He needs votes, and I want to make it very difficult for him to get them. I’m going to use the same methods Edgar used against me. A hands-off approach where someone else does the work.”
“Hey, are you putting us in the same category as Decker?” Tyler sounded offended.
“No. I’m just making sure I’m squeaky clean while the budget I want to fail more than anything goes up in flames.”
“He’ll know it was you.” Sam tucked the paper into her briefcase.
“That’s the point. Edgar will see I’m not a weak peon who will hide from a scandal. And if he fucks with me, we can close bipartisan ranks again and tank anything he sends to Congress. The shit he likes to pull is coming to an end.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Jaci.” Tyler leaned forward. “It’s about fucking time you figured out you don’t need fuckheads like Edgar to win.”
I stared at him for a second and realized he hated the fact I’d focused on Edgar to garner support for a future presidential bid.
“I won’t make that mistake again. We all make alliances. It’s the only way any of us get anything done in DC. But never again will I pretend to follow the pack when I was destined to change it.”
Tyler gave me his big, beautiful smile, one that made so many a debutante flush and fan themselves. “Good, that makes it easier for me to resign from the Advisory Committee. Edgar is about to learn what happens when you mess with the Camdens.”
“Now that we got one issue managed, what about Decker?” Sam asked.
“Let’s leave that up to Kimberly. Her connections are about to come in handy.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Senator Camden. May I speak to you a moment?” I heard after I had passed through the security terminals in the United St
ates Capitol Building. The Senate was about to vote on the president’s revised spending bill.
Two weeks ago, after Tyler, Sam, and I had met in my office, we began to implement our plan. It started with my father and Tyler resigning from all presidential advisory committees, which had caused a stir with their colleagues and made it obvious the Camdens had closed ranks around me and against Edgar. This in turn had caused the president to demand an investigation into my relationship with Veer, but it was quickly squashed as a ploy to use taxpayer dollars for a personal vendetta, when a tabloid journalist released a recording of the president and Grey Decker Senior plotting the use of any means necessary to ruin my career.
And then our plan continued when Kimberly had contacted her old college roommate, Cara Decker, a big advocate for helping children and women in crisis, and garnered her support for No Bride. She was another beloved member of the Republican Party and had a lot of influence in Southern politics.
What had come as an unexpected surprise was how vehemently she had distanced herself from her father, Grey Decker Senior. Cara had told Kimberly that she couldn’t ignore the actions of the men in her family anymore. There were too many incidences to believe her father and brother were victims of a liberal conspiracy, especially when all of the accusers were members of the GOP.
The final step in our plot had gone into action a few days earlier, when every undecided congressman or woman had been contacted and swayed to vote against the president’s bill. Which forced Edgar, the self-proclaimed “president who wouldn’t compromise” to adjust his spending allocations to something that would satisfy not only the GOP, but Independents and Democrats as well.
Today’s vote would help avoid a government shutdown and show Edgar that I did not need to humiliate him or try to ruin his reputation to make a point. Unlike what he’d done to me. All I needed was the contacts I’d fostered across party lines to tank anything and everything he wanted passed.
I hated playing dirty. It wasn’t the way I operated, but when someone backed me into a corner, they’d learn I wasn’t the genteel Southern debutante they hoped I was. They would learn that if they fucked with me I would meet their challenge head-on.
No more treading carefully. It had caused me more pain than it was worth.
I picked up my briefcase from the baggage scanner and turned to find Christopher Robinson walking toward me. “Hi, Chris. What can I do for you?”
He wore a gray pinstriped suit that accentuated the body many designers had fought to clothe. He was the image of a well-tailored businessman.
He glanced at my ring, an antique five-carat diamond surrounded by sapphires that had belonged to Kevin’s grandmother, and clenched his jaw. The look in his eyes made me feel self-conscious.
“So, it’s true?” He continued to stare at my hand.
I nodded and moved down the hall leading to the Senate chamber. “I’m sure you read about it in the newspapers.”
“It’s just hard to believe the two of you are getting married, but seeing the ring…” He broke off and grasped the back of his neck.
“For the record, you could have had your chance. I wouldn’t have stood in the way. He loves you as I…” It was my turn to trail off.
Shit, I had done a good job of keeping my mind away from Veer, and now seeing Chris, everything was resurfacing.
He touched my arm gently, making me pause my stride, and whispered, “As you love the governor.”
I remained quiet, not confirming this statement. If I said anything, my voice would quiver and the resolve I’d built over the last few weeks would crumble.
After a few seconds, I said, “I wanted you two together. Kevin deserves to have happiness.”
Chris lifted his gaze to mine. There were dozens of emotions swimming in his eyes. The former model-turned-shipping magnate, in his impeccable clothes, looked as if his world had shattered.
“I wanted to make you an enemy. I wanted you to be the typical small-minded Southern politician, and then I wanted to hate you for loving Kevin and being able to give him the life I refused. He’s so loyal to you that I was jealous. I…” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I should have told my family to screw themselves and come out when he wanted to. But I didn’t, and now our lives are going in different directions.”
“Chris, why are you telling me this? You’re engaged to Kathy. She’s a wonderful person, who doesn’t deserve to be hurt by this. You made a choice. Now you have to accept the consequences.”
“She does deserve better. That’s why we called it off.”
“Say that again?” I’d received a Save the Date for Christopher and Kathy’s wedding only a week earlier.
It had come during a visit by Kevin. He hadn’t taken it well, but this time he hadn’t drunk himself into a stupor. Instead, he’d wanted to call a bunch of our friends and go dancing. The both of us had had more fun than we’d anticipated and had ended up pictured in a few tabloids as the up-and-coming “it” couple in DC.
“Kathy and I decided it was better to end our engagement. Just like you, she’s always known about my sexuality. She agreed to our arrangement for reasons I won’t go into, but in the end, we both realized neither of us would be truly happy together. Our friendship was a hell of a lot more important than family image and expectation.”
Holy shit. I’d completely misinterpreted what Kathy knew about Kevin and Chris all along.
I studied Chris. He inhaled deep, as if he was trying to form the right words without offending me. I had a feeling I knew what he was trying to tell me.
Instead of waiting for him to speak, I asked, “Does this mean you want to get back together with Kevin?”
He pinched his lips together, then nodded.
“If Kevin wants you, I’ll step aside in a second.”
Chris sighed and then closed his eyes, shaking his head. “I tried to call him, but he refused to speak with me. I’ve left at least thirty messages. I’m desperate and hoped you’d help me.”
Refusal was on my lips. However, I held it. Instead, I said, “You ripped Kevin’s heart to shreds. He was willing to sacrifice his whole future for you.”
At that moment a group of House representatives passed us. We waited until they were at a distance before resuming our conversation.
“I won’t let him down again.” The determination in his voice made me soften toward him. He genuinely meant what he said.
However, I wasn’t going to help him until I knew what lengths he was willing to go for Kevin.
“I won’t let you hurt him again. He deserves someone who will sacrifice as much as he does.”
“I told my family.”
I cocked my head to the side. “What, exactly, do they know?”
“They know I’m gay. There was no point in mentioning Kevin unless he was willing to…” He paused, gathering his thoughts and then spoke again. “Please help me, Jacinta.”
I released a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll talk to him tonight after the No Bride fundraiser. His flight doesn’t get in until a little before we are to meet, so I can’t do it any earlier.”
Relief washed over his handsome face. “Thank you.”
“But there are no guarantees anything that I have to say will make a difference. Kev is as stubborn as they come.”
“Believe me, I know.” A halfhearted smile touched his lips. “I want to apologize for what this will cost you if he agrees to take me back.”
“It’s not as much as you think.” My phone beeped, and I checked my watch. “Chris, I have to go. I’m due in the Senate chamber within the next ten minutes.”
“Thank you again.”
I nodded and moved toward the room I’d spend the next few hours in wishing for a drink.
Chapter Twenty
Kevin and I walked into the ballroom of Invictus DC a little after eight o’clock in the evening. Deep amber fabric draped the walls of the room, backlit with soft lights. Somehow the bold colors looked elegant and understated
instead of gaudy.
Politicians and A-list celebrities clamored around, trying to get the right person’s attention, and the approved media were conducting interviews in discreet corners of the room. The bipartisan and public popularity of the No Bride Initiative had made the fundraiser event one of the most coveted invitations to receive. People dressed in their best formal wear, ranging from high-fashion to traditional.
I wore a one-shoulder sapphire gown designed by Shawna Martinez. It was edgy enough to fit with the fashion-conscious Hollywood crowd but conservative enough not to scandalize the stodgiest of politicians.
I glanced over at Kevin, who looked like he’d just stepped off the runway in his Lanvin shawl-lapel tuxedo. His blond hair was slicked back, giving it a darker hue, and he’d left a light grazing of stubble on his jaw, adding the same fashion edge I was aiming to achieve.
“Kevin, your hotels are better than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“This hotel is my baby. I have to make it the best of all my properties.” He grinned with pride.
I could understand his fondness for the place. It was the first project Kevin had invested in that had nothing to do with his family or their money.
“Too bad I have a townhouse in DC, otherwise I’d live in this hotel. But then again, I’d get spoiled by all the pampering.”
“That’s true, and you already are a handful without adding brat to the mix.”
“Hey—” I gave him a light shove, “—not nice.”
We walked farther into the room, and I came to an abrupt stop.
Veer stood next to Ashur and Tara, surrounded by people. He was laughing and oozing charm.
I released a deep breath and tried to steady my emotions. Seeing Veer like this, as a candidate for the vice-presidency, made my throat burn. He was a natural, and it was all because he didn’t try. My original fear that Veer’s non-political, outspoken ways would alienate him from the voters was proven wrong. In fact, Veer’s candid nature had made his popularity soar, even with the ultraconservatives of Texas. They saw him as a man who followed up his words with actions, especially since he’d implemented everything he’d promised during the gubernatorial election campaign.
