Poll Dancer
Page 19
Texting wouldn’t do this thing justice, so I pulled up a video chat and flipped the camera around to show the office.
“Why are you calling me from a warehouse?” Curtis asked. For the first time since we’d met, he was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, dark hair tousled. He looked fresh and well-rested, as if unemployment agreed with him.
“Good question,” I asked. “Did you by any chance know where your father was storing all the garbage he bought for his MLM?”
The color drained from Curtis’s face as realization dawned. “He didn’t.”
“I’m afraid he did.”
“So sorry, Lana,” he said. “I’ll talk to him. For now, call Scott in maintenance and ask if they’ll put everything in storage for a few days. Let them know I’ll take care of it as soon as I can.”
As his father’s former Chief of Staff, Curtis knew everything about this building and the people who worked in it. Too bad I couldn’t ask him to show me around on my first day, since I wouldn’t be here if he’d won the election. We’d become friendly, but not that friendly.
It took most of the morning to clean out my new space. The maintenance staff came to help, but even with two dollies at our disposal, it took some time. Turned out, the boxes extended beyond the welcome area into my office. Regular pole fitness classes kept me strong, but my pencil skirt wasn’t exactly designed for bending and lifting.
When we finished, Jason took a satisfied look around the inner office. “Much better! You have a reception desk! With phone and a computer. Even a chair. See how well we treat our newest senators?”
“Wow. I sure hope all this special treatment doesn’t go to my head. All this, and my own personal senator to show me around.”
“Well, that would be lovely, but I’m afraid I have to go soon,” Jason said. “We’ll talk more later, but one of the first things you should do is hire a Chief of Staff.”
“Yeah, I have an idea about that, but if you have any recommendations, I’d appreciate it.” Daniel O’Brien, the man who’d run my best friend’s campaign and her boyfriend, would probably step in and manage my staff for me if I asked him to. We’d had a couple of conversations about it. But since I was officially only filling in as State Senator until this term ended in January, he felt like he’d be more useful running my re-election campaign.
We only had a few months to convince people that the write-in candidate who’d gotten a whopping fifteen votes should get a chance to serve a full term. Assuming that I wanted to stick around.
“I’ll have my Chief of Staff email you later,” he said. “I’m sure he can make some suggestions. You’ll also need an assistant.”
That, at least, was no problem. My current assistant had been with me since I started at the law firm a few years earlier. She’d become a surrogate mother, and I wouldn’t even consider moving into a new position without her. She was spending the day packing up my old files and transferring them to the associate who’d be taking over all my cases. “Nancy will be here tomorrow.”
“Okay, great. Looks like you’re on top of things,” Jason said. “I’ve got a meeting, but IT should be here soon to get you set up in the system. Meanwhile, I brought some forms for you to fill out. Payroll and other HR stuff. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’ll be back to take you to the cafeteria for lunch.”
He’d helped me so much already, my first instinct was to point out that I could follow my nose to the cafeteria. It would be nice to eat with a friendly face, though. The thought of eating alone in a sea of strangers took me back to elementary school. My dad was in the military, so we moved around a lot. I hated being the new kid. When Dad took early retirement and settled in Albany the summer before my junior year, it was the happiest day of my life.
“Thanks.” I watched him go with a small pang and turned my attention to the mountain of paperwork that already needed my attention. As a lawyer, I couldn’t even fill out the W-9 or the Direct Deposit authorization forms without reading every word, so it might take a while.
I couldn’t believe how far in over my head I’d found myself. My first instinct was to call Mel and ask her what the Horatio she’d been thinking, asking people to write in my name on the ballot. I’d only been a lawyer for a few years. As much as I appreciated my best friend’s faith in me, and the idea of being in a position to make a difference excited me a lot more than defending worker’s compensation claims, I was terrified.
What if I failed spectacularly? What if I wound up as much as a punchline as the man who’d occupied this office before me?
Moments after his footsteps receded down the hall, my door slammed open, bouncing off the wall. I leapt to my feet as a tall woman with long, swishy red hair stormed into my space. “I need to see Senator Baker immediately.”
Jason was right. I definitely needed an assistant.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Heffernan writes fun, witty romantic comedies and more serious women’s fiction. After a few years of practicing law, she realized that she much preferred arguing with her characters rather than other people. It’s easier to win that way.
When not watching total strangers get married, drag racing queens, or cooking competitions, Laura enjoys board games, travel, board games, baking, and board games. She lives in the northeast with her husband, the world’s most active toddler, and two furry little beasts.
Laura loves connecting with readers. Find her on Facebook or on Twitter, where she spends far too much time tweeting about reality TV and Canadian chocolate. Sign up for news and updates at http://www.lauraheffernan.com/.
Also by Laura Heffernan
The Reality Star Series
America’s Next Reality Star
Sweet Reality
Reality Wedding
The Oceanic Dreams Series
Time of My Life
The Gamer Girls Series
She’s Got Game
Against the Rules
Make Your Move
Finding Tranquility
Anna’s Guide to Getting Even
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, thank you so much to my agent Michelle Richter for your unfailing patience and your tireless dedication to improving my books. Thank you to my amazing editor Jami Nord. This book is about forty thousand times better since you’ve read it. :- ) Thanks to Kirsty McManus for this beautiful cover and Morgan Wright for animating it for me.
Thank you to everyone who entered my contest to name Princess Sofia Sassypants, especially my winner, Lisa Pierce. Thank you Kerry for spending a morning discussing local politics and senate districts with me. I hope we can make it to the track soon.
Always and forever, thank you to my amazing husband for believing in me. And thank you to my readers for your support.
I hope you enjoyed this book. If so, please consider leaving an honest review on Bookbub or with your favorite retailer.