And I was getting more and more turned on by the second. I struggled to keep up with Rebecca’s quick pace as we headed upstairs to Senator Grayle’s office, because the Chinese balls knocked together inside me with every step I took.
Just before we made it to the office, Rebecca stopped short in the hallway. “What’s that?”
“What’s what?”
“That ringing. Don’t you hear chimes ringing?” Rebecca looked around, her expression puzzled. “Where is it coming from?
“I don’t hear anything.”
Rebecca shrugged. “Maybe I’m hearing things.” She headed for the office front door, and I followed. Then she stopped short again. “There it is again. Don’t you hear it?”
This time, I did hear it. To my shock, I realized that the tiny chimes inside the Chinese balls were ringing. They were ringing inside my vag, and the sound could be heard outside my vag.
How the hell was I supposed to get through the day like this?
“I don’t hear anything at all,” I lied, desperate. “Maybe your ears are ringing. You shouldn’t listen to your iPod so much, it’s bad for the hearing.”
This seemed plausible to Rebecca. “I’m sure you’re right,” she said. “Senator Grayle wanted me to tell you he wants to see you as soon as you come in. He’s in his office. And he’s not in a very good mood, either.”
“I’m sure that goes without saying.” I needed to stall for time somehow. I had to get those Chinese balls under control before I did anything. I couldn’t exactly march into Senator Grayle’s office with chimes ringing out of my cunt.
“Tell Senator Grayle I’ll be right in,” I said. “I just need to make a pit stop first.”
“No problem. Take your time.”
Rebecca went inside the office, while I headed down the hall to the bathroom. I supposed
I could eat my McMuffin in there while I figured out what to do next.
I’d barely made it into the bathroom when my cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“Greetings and salutations, Jasmine Rand.” It was Rodney Doyle. “How are things?”
“Not good,” I growled through a mouthful of McMuffin. “No thanks to you.”
“Funny, I thought we had a good time last night.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, last night was fun, but today is different. These Chinese balls of yours are driving me nuts.”
“That’s odd. I thought most women tended to enjoy having orgasms all day long.”
I sighed; the man was really too much. “Ordinarily I would, Rodney. But it’s sort of interfering with my day. Do you know how hard it is to keep a straight face when your entire lower half is on fire? And I have bells ringing from inside my vag. People can hear them, and I’m running out of explanations for it.”
“You need to hold your muscles more firmly in that—ahem—area. That should put a damper on things. Exercise some control.”
“How the hell am I supposed to exercise control down there with Senator Grayle back in the office?” I shot back. “I know you’re the one who bailed him out. By the way, your timing sucks. I needed at least one more day on my own to get things settled down.”
“Jasmine, I thought you and I agreed that you would begin your undercover work today,” Rodney said. “The whole reason I bailed Grayle out was so you could do that.”
I ground my teeth. “You could have at least given me a full day to get used to having these things shoved up where the sun doesn’t shine.” I shifted from one foot to the other, searching for a position where I couldn’t feel the Chinese balls rolling around inside me. As far as I could tell, there wasn’t one. “You know, I’m just about ready to yank them out.”
“Jasmine, you can do whatever you like. I’m not forcing you to do this work, you know.”
I polished off the McMuffin and started in on the hash browns. “I know you aren’t. But I want to do it. I really do. It’s just that—well, I’m sort of nervous.”
Rodney laughed. “Is that all that’s bothering you?”
I almost choked on my hash browns. “To tell you the truth, I’m a lot nervous. I’m terrified, in fact.”
“Jasmine, it’s perfectly normal to be scared about trying something new,” Rodney said, his tone softening a bit. “But I guarantee I wouldn’t have offered you this job in the first place if I didn’t think you were perfect for it. My advice to you is just to jump in with both feet and enjoy the ride.”
I thought it over for a moment while I licked grease from my fingers. “I guess I can try it for a little while,” I said. “The only problem is, I’m not sure exactly what it is I’m supposed to be doing.”
“Right now, all you need to do is get control of those Chinese Enlightened Pathway Balls,” Rodney explained. “It’s a kind of physical and mental conditioning that will prepare you for what’s ahead. While you’re doing that, just go about your business as usual today. I’ll give you a call again this afternoon to see how you’re doing.”
“But—“
Before I could get another word out, Rodney hung up.
This was really irritating. Here I was, potentially putting my entire career on the line for a crazy undercover job working for a man I only knew because I had out-of-this-world sex with him last night—and I didn’t even know what that crazy undercover job entailed. I had priceless Chinese antiques shoved up my genitals, and I was fighting to control myself while those priceless Chinese antiques sent my body out into the far reaches of the sexual solar system. My surely very angry boss had just been busted out of jail by a sleazy tabloid publisher and was probably waiting in his office to kill me with his bare hands.
And to top it all off, I wasn’t wearing any underwear.
Had I completely lost my mind?
Chapter 8
Senator Grayle sat across from me behind his massive teak desk, his bushy gray brows knitting. “I don’t suppose you got any bright ideas that might get the goddamn media off my back, Jasmine. I swear, I think I’m up shit creek with this one.”
I coughed to keep from laughing. “It is a very—difficult situation, sir.”
Senator Grayle took a glass paperweight shaped like a stalk of wheat off his desk and tossed it from hand to hand. “I hope you don’t think I’m some kind of pervert after what’s happened, Jasmine. Because I ain’t. I’m still a decent, stand-up North Dakota fella.”
“Of course you are, sir.” I crossed my legs, and chimes rang out.
Senator Grayle looked up, startled. “What the hell was that? Where’s that ringing noise coming from?”
I gave him a blank look. “What ringing noise, sir?” I uncrossed my legs, and the chimes rang again.
“That ringing noise. You didn’t hear that?” Senator Grayle picked a paperclip out of a tray on his desk, and began to unfold it.
“No sir, I didn’t hear anything.” I clamped down on my vaginal muscles with a vengeance.I couldn’t have any Chinese funny business going on in Senator Grayle’s office. No way.
“My ears must be ringing,” the senator drawled. “I swear, the noise going on in that jail was so loud last night, it near to split my eardrums. People were yelling and carrying on in there like it was some kind of madhouse.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, sir,” I said. “But you’re out of jail now, so it’s time to start damage control with the press. I’ve already written up a list of talking points—“
Senator Grayle cut me off. “I don’t want to hear about any phoney-baloney talking points right now. First things first. Jasmine, I am not gay.”
I coughed again. “I never said you were, sir.”
“Maybe not, but everyone in the goddamn media is saying that I am. My wife even ran out on me because of it. We need to do something about that, pronto.”
“You do realize, sir, that you were caught in a rather—ahem—unsavory position in Rock Creek Park the other night. Some people were bound to draw certain. . .conclusions.”
Senator Grayle pursed his lips and l
ooked at the floor.He tugged on his tie, which was printed with tiny drawings of bison and wheat stalks—two symbols of North Dakota. The lines on his face had deepened since I’d seen him last; it seemed he had aged ten years in the past two days. “My career’s over, Jasmine. You know it, I know it. Let’s just try to bow out gracefully, shall we?”
My heart sank. I knew this was the inevitable conclusion of Senator Grayle’s latest gaffe, but I hadn’t expected that admission to come direct from him. Maybe that meant I wouldn’t have to betray him—or Rebecca—after all. “If that’s really what you want, sir. Does that mean you’ll be dropping out of the election?”
Senator Grayle picked at his cuticles. “Naw. Election’s only a month away, we’ve got way too much invested in it to drop out now. We’ll just lose, is all. That’ll be it.”
My boss looked sad and defeated. He picked up his coffee cup, swirled around the dregs inside it, set it back down. He didn’t seem much in the mood for work at all, let alone a futile attempt to revive his political career. “I don’t suppose you wanted to respond to any of the allegations that are swirling in the press personally?” I asked, timid. “The Post says you’ve been charged with solicitation and public indecency.”
“That’s right,” Grayle sighed. “My lawyers told me to plead no contest. They said that would be the fastest way to make everything go away. I’ll get off with a fine and time served.”
“The people of North Dakota have been very loyal to you over the years,” I offered. “And they don’t like Democrats, either. You might still win re-election despite all of this.”
Senator Grayle laughed despite himself. “Now don’t be jetting yourself off to fairyland, Jasmine. We both know that ain’t gonna happen.”
“We can always hope,” I said, though I knew it was hopeless. “You do have several requests for interviews with all the major media. My cell phone has been ringing off the hook with them since yesterday afternoon.”
“I’m not doing any more interviews, Jasmine,” Grayle snapped. “You’ll just have to handle the press yourself. From here on out, I’m a lame duck, and I’m going on vacation.” He stood up and took his coat from a hook on the wall. I noticed he had a suitcase already packed, too. “I’ll be staying on the ranch back home until the end of the year. And I won’t be taking calls while I’m gone, either.”
My eyes flew wide. “But—but you can’t just leave in the middle of your term!” I stammered. “You’re due on the Senate floor in twenty minutes for a vote!”
“Only place I’m due to be right now is on a plane the hell out of Washington,” Grayle retorted, and stormed out.
I slumped in my chair, stunned. What was I supposed to do now? My career as a PR staffer was over before I’d even had a chance to do any undercover work for Rodney Doyle. So much for my future as an investigative reporter. I figured I might as well hop on the same flight Senator Grayle was taking back to North Dakota and call it a day.
Rebecca rushed in, her face a pale white slate from shock. “What happened? Senator Grayle just left and he wouldn’t tell me where he was going!”
“He said he was leaving Washington for good and heading back to the ranch,” I said. “He said he needed a vacation.”
Rebecca sucked in her breath. “What?”
“It’s over, Rebecca. Senator Grayle won’t do any interviews, he won’t even campaign for re-election. He’s pleading ‘no contest’ to the criminal charges. As far as I can tell, he’s giving up.”
Rebecca sank into a chair. “I guess I’ll need to start polishing off my resume.”
“We both will,” I said. “Excuse me for a few minutes, Rebecca. I’ll need to make some calls.” I headed for the door, but Rebecca stopped me.
“Go ahead and use Senator Grayle’s private office if you need to,” she said. “It’s pretty clear he’s not going to need it anymore.” Rebecca headed back to her cubicle, dragging her feet with every step.
I shut the door behind her and made for Senator Grayle’s private land line. As a senator, he was guaranteed the privilege of a high-integrity fiber-optic line that was practically impossible to wiretap. I needed to make a very important call, and didn’t want to risk it on my cell. With the press swarming like vultures around Senator Grayle’s office and law enforcement probably watching him closely as well, I didn’t want to take any chances.
I sat behind the senator’s giant teak desk, and instantly felt powerful. I picked up the receiver and dialed Rodney Doyle’s number. His assistant answered. “Rodney Doyle’s office, this is Marie speaking.”
I remembered Marie, the tiny trophy-wife type poured into a Prada suit. “This is Jasmine Rand of Senator Grayle’s office,” I barked at her, trying to sound authoritative. “I need to speak with Rodney Doyle immediately.”
A pause. “I’m sorry, Ms. Rand, but Mr. Doyle does not take calls from persons he doesn’t know.”
I swore under my breath. “Mr. Doyle knows me very well, I assure you.” As in, the Biblical sense.
“Hold just a moment, Ms. Rand,” Marie sang, her tone more than a little snobbish. “I’ll have to verify that first.”
“That’s fine,” I said, but the hold music had already come on by then, an annoying instrumental version of “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head.”
Rodney’s assistant came back on the line. “Rodney Doyle was expecting your call, Ms. Rand.” Marie sounded surprised. “I’ll connect you now.”
“Hello, Jasmine,” Rodney’s smooth baritone boomed on the line. “What can I do for you?”
“How about you put a bullet through my head?”
Rodney cleared his throat. “I’d really prefer not to. I’m told they put people in jail for that nowadays.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m serious, Rodney. My career is over. Really over. Senator Grayle just flew the coop. He’s heading back to North Dakota. Rather than deal with the sex scandal head-on he’s just walking out on the rest of his senate term and giving up. So I’m afraid that not only am I out of a PR job, I don’t have anyone I can snoop on for you undercover, either.”
“I see,” Rodney said. “Well, that’s a problem.”
“It’s more than a problem. It’s a disaster.”
I could hear the creak of Rodney’s leather desk chair as he leaned back in it. “Tell me something, Jasmine. When did Senator Grayle leave?”
I glanced at the clock. “About five minutes ago.”
“And where did he say he was going?”
“To the airport, I assume.”
“You assume?” Rodney asked. “Why?”
I drummed my fingers on the desktop, irritated. “He said he had a plane to catch back to North Dakota. Where else would he be going?”
“Jasmine, I know for a fact there’s only one flight out of Washington National to North Dakota per day this time of year, and it doesn’t depart until six-thirty this evening. That’s ten hours from now.”
“What are you, a travel agent?”
Rodney laughed. “No, I’m a rich, sleazy tabloid publisher, and I pay people to keep track of flight schedules for me, that’s all. That kind of knowledge can come in handy in my line of work, you see.”
“Sorry, I’m not following.”
Rodney lowered his voice slightly. “Jasmine, if his past patterns of behavior are any example, I have a feeling that Senator Grayle planned to make a pit stop before he headed out to the airport. I’m going to give you an address for a place in Columbia Heights. It’ll look like an ordinary townhouse, but it’s actually a private club. I want you to head over there now. I’m acquainted with the owners of the club and I’ll give them a heads-up that you’re coming. I’ll also make some other. . .arrangements with them that will assist you in your undercover work.”
I was bewildered. “Why would Senator Grayle want to go to a private social club at seven-thirty in the morning?”
“This is no ordinary social club, believe me. It’s very exclusive. The club is located at 73 Brentwood
Way. It’s a three-story graystone townhouse with a black door. Very ordinary-looking from the outside, but that’s only to keep what goes on inside a secret.”
“What exactly goes on inside?” I asked, though I already had some idea.
“It’s a sex club,” Rodney said. “Senator Grayle has been going there for years. And you’ll need to head over there right now if you’re going to catch him in the act.”
I bit my lip. “I’m not sure if I want to do this, Rodney. It sounds—well, risky.”
“You’ll be perfectly safe, don’t worry. And if there’s ever a time you start to feel uncomfortable, you can just leave. The staff at the club are very understanding and supportive of first-timers.”
I jotted the address down on a slip of paper. “How do you know all of this?”
“I’m a regular customer,” Rodney said. “When you get there, ask for someone named Daisy. Daisy works undercover for me, too. She’ll tell exactly you what you need to do.”
“But—“
“Jasmine, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get to an important meeting now. I’ll check in with you later in the day.” With that, Rodney hung up.
I sighed and rubbed my temples. I was in way over my head. Still, it wasn’t as if I had anything to lose at this point. I gathered up my things and headed out.
I stopped by Rebecca’s cubicle before I left. “Rebecca, I have to go out and—well, I’m going to go see if I can find Senator Grayle and convince him not to leave.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it wasn’t exactly a lie, either. And I really wasn’t comfortable lying to Rebecca.
Rebecca brightened. “Good. If anyone can do that, Jasmine, it’s you. Shall I hold your calls or transfer them to your cell?”
“Hold them, please. I’ll try to return some of the press calls myself from my cell while I’m out, too. I know you’re getting buried with them.”
“Thanks,” Rebecca said. “But what should I do if the press starts swarming the office again while you’re out?”
I sighed. “Pretend you aren’t here.”
I dashed out of the office before Rebecca could protest.
Knights and Kink Romance Boxed Set Page 7
