by Peak, Renna
Krystal took a step forward and bent her head to get a closer look at the jewelry through the mirror. “Where did you get that?”
I glanced down at the box and said nothing. I continued trying to catch the latch on the delicate chain that held the pink diamond pendant.
She took the chain from my hands and fastened it for me. “Is that what was in the box?”
I gave her a tiny, dismissive nod of acknowledgment.
“The chain is new, but not the pendant.” She shook her head in amazement. “That was his grandmother’s.”
I caught her gaze in the mirror. “What?”
She nodded, answering the question before I could even ask it. “I’m surprised he’d give that to anyone. It meant a lot to her.”
My breath caught in my throat. If it really did mean a lot, there was no way that he was using me as some angle to get to my father. At least I hoped there wasn’t.
She pressed her lips together and made a sound. “Hmm.”
My voice hushed, still unable to get a full breath. “What?” I turned to face her.
“I might have underestimated him.” She reached out to my neck and fingered the tiny pendant. “I’m surprised.” She looked up into my eyes. “And I don’t surprise easily.”
My brow furrowed. “Why? Why are you surprised?”
She let out a long breath. “Either he’s playing a different game than I thought he was playing or he really is in love with you.”
9
Krystal’s phone beeped. She pulled it from the pocket of her jacket and looked at it, grimacing. “I need to go see what this is about. Will is supposed to be here in about twenty minutes. Do you think you could meet him in the lobby without killing him?”
A smirk crossed my lips. “I’ll try.”
She motioned with her head at the phone in her hand. “Good. I’ll meet you down there as soon as I get this taken care of.” She walked over to the door and placed her hand on the knob before turning back to me. “And Jenna.” She paused, looking over at me. “I’m sorry.”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure exactly what she was sorry about.
She left the room and my own phone beeped with the time of Melissa’s arrival that evening. I put on my jacket and grabbed my things and headed for the lobby in search of some breakfast.
The lobby was largely empty except for a few people milling around near the restaurant on the other end. I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to wait for Will, so I took a seat in the large area adjacent to the front doors. There were security people milling around, as usual, but it had the effect of keeping people away from me, which I appreciated at that moment. I just needed some time to think, to process.
There were bowls of fruit on the tables and I grabbed a banana and sat down on the bench of the grand piano in the corner. I ran my fingers over the keys before peeling back the fruit and taking a bite.
“I could watch you do that all day long. That is so fucking sexy.”
I looked up, startled by the deep voice. Will. The guy was not bad looking, even with his over-large chest and biceps, that Melissa was sure were steroid-fueled. If he toned it back just a little, women would have found him irresistible with his sandy hair and green eyes.
I rolled my eyes at him. I unpeeled the banana the rest of the way and chucked the yellow peel into the nearby trash. I made a point of exaggerating the motion of breaking the thing in half before I took another large bite.
“Still sexy.” He walked over and took a seat next to me at the bench. “You play?”
I shrugged and shoved the rest of the fruit in my mouth. There was nothing sexy about a mouth overfilled with fruit.
He chuckled a little at my discomfort. “My parents made me take lessons until I was twelve. Hated playing the damned thing.”
I finished chewing and ran my tongue across my teeth, making sure there were no banana bits stuck in them. I touched my fingers across the smooth keys again. I cleared my throat before I spoke. “I loved it. I only stopped a few years ago.”
He made a sound through his nose. “Hmph.” He mirrored my action and ran his fingers across the top of the keys. “We could still be friends, you know. You and I.”
I cocked an eyebrow and looked down at the keyboard. “Doubt it.”
“We got off on the wrong foot. I’m sorry about that.”
“Yeah.” I played a quick set of triads with my right hand. Just touching the piano made me want to lose myself in some music. Playing something might help me think, work out all the emotions that were about to send me back to the loony bin.
“You seem like a nice girl. We should probably, you know, hang out or something.”
I looked up at him. “What the hell? Why are you being nice to me now?”
He cleared his throat before giving me a nervous chuckle. “I, uh…” He cleared his throat again. “I may have seen the error of my ways.”
I shook my head. “What is that supposed to mean?”
I saw the anger cross his face before he tamped it down. “It means I’m trying to be nice.”
“Oh.” I knew he heard the sarcasm dripping in my voice. I looked back down at the piano. “What about Emma?”
“What about Emma?” He asked through gritted teeth.
I shrugged and played silently, not striking the keys hard enough to make a sound. “She doesn’t seem like the type of girl that would want you making friends with me.”
He made another sound through his nose. “Well, that little soirée is over. Thank God.”
I cocked an eyebrow up again. “Oh, really?”
“Yes, really. I expect you’ll be ending your little trysts now, too.”
I tilted my head up to meet his gaze, narrowing mine. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I don’t want you fucking around with other guys when we’re supposed to be out on the campaign trail, pretending to be together.”
I looked back down at the piano, my lips pursed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit, Jenna. People saw you last night.”
I gave my shoulder a little shrug. “So?”
“So, I’d like you to stop. Please.”
I looked back at him. “Please? What happened to ‘Who I fuck is my business?’ Didn’t you just say that to me the other day?”
I saw anger flash in his eyes before he closed them and then turned his gaze to his hands. His mouth pressed into a line. “Touché. Okay? I need your help.”
“Psh.” What the hell would he need my help for?
“Did you see the poll numbers that came out yesterday?”
A smirk crossed my face and I played a few notes on the piano like they did in old movies. Something along the lines of “dun, dun, dun,” telling him I knew he was doomed.
“Not funny, Jenna.” He almost looked hurt. Almost.
I wiped my face of my amusement. I really had no idea what he was talking about. “Sorry, no. I haven’t seen the numbers. Bad?”
“Horrible. I’m down by almost ten points.”
“Hmm.” I pressed my own lips into a line. “And how, exactly, am I supposed to help you?”
“People love you. Let me ride your coattails. That’s all I’m asking. I’ll try to stop being such an asshole.”
“And how, exactly, is that going to work, Will? You hate people and you don’t even pretend that you don’t. How were you ever elected to the state congress?”
He breathed heavily through his nose. “Don’t go there.”
“Threatening me again?”
“I’m not threatening anything.” He closed his eyes, then opened them to meet my gaze. “Just don’t go there.”
“You need to be able to talk to people. Even if you don’t like them, you need to make them think you’re listening to them.”
“I listen…” He looked almost hurt.
“That woman, the other day. Remember that woman that asked you how you’d help her be able to pay for her
son’s college education?”
He rubbed his temple. “I was tired…”
“You can’t be tired. You have to listen. People want to know that you’re listening to them, even if you can’t help them. They just want to be heard. That’s your frickin’ job.”
“I hate this job.” He stared down at his hands.
“Then why are you doing it? You’re a grown man for Christ’s sake. Do what you want.”
He turned to look at me, narrowing his eyes. “Are you doing what you want?”
I made the same sound through my nose that he had made before. “Hmph.”
“That’s what I thought. So will you help me?”
I tilted my head and looked up at him again. “I don’t even like you, Will. What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know, exactly. I’m in trouble…”
Krystal’s voice thundered over him. “You’re damned right you’re in trouble. What the hell were you thinking?”
I shuddered at the hostility I could hear in her voice.
Will scrambled to his feet. “Uh, hi. Good morning, Krystal.”
“Fuck ‘good morning.’ What the hell were you thinking?” She put her hands on her hips and stared him down, almost matching his height with her sensible heels. She turned her gaze to me and lowered her voice. “What the hell was he thinking?”
I raised my eyebrows. “What are we talking about?”
Her head darted to face Will. “What are we talking about, William?” Her voice was commanding, demanding his answer.
“I… I…” He only stammered in response.
“You. You. Fuck, what is your problem?” She stamped a foot and looked back over at me. “Why didn’t you tell me, Jenna?”
I scrambled to my own feet, taking refuge behind the piano. “Tell you what?”
“That he was fucking your assistant? Do you two know who she was?”
I shook my head and watched as Will’s gaze dropped to the floor.
“You know, don’t you dumb ass?” Her eyes burned a hole into him. “Don’t you?”
“Um, she was legal,” he muttered.
“She was LEGAL? That’s your answer?” Her voice thundered through the lobby.
I was even more thankful that the lobby was mostly empty. It seemed like his actions were probably already common knowledge, but embarrassing, nonetheless.
She lowered her voice again and took another step toward him. “Damn it, you dipshit. Her father will make sure you aren’t elected. You understand that, right?”
He looked up to face her and spoke through his gritted teeth. “I didn’t know. Not until yesterday.”
“Fuck, Will. You’re already ten points down. Your campaign manager quit this morning. You knew that, at least, right?”
“Yes. I was hoping…”
“No. There is no hope for you. Don’t even waste your breath asking me. Your political career is over.” She looked over at me. “I guess we found your legitimate reason to jilt him, Jenna.”
I was frozen in place, my hands clenching the top of the piano.
“I’m not giving up yet.” Will stood up a little taller. “I won the primary. It’s my seat to lose.”
Krystal shook her head. “You idiot. You won that primary by less than half a percentage point. Did you forget?”
He shrugged, staring her down. “I earned my place on the ticket. I’ll come up with something, even if you won’t help. There has to be someone out there who will help me.”
“No one you want to be involved with.” She looked over at me. “Jenna, we need to get going.”
I somehow managed to walk around the piano toward the two of them.
Will caught my arm as I passed him. “I’m still joining you. I’m still on the invite list for this shindig.”
She shook her head again. “They’re going to crucify you.”
“I’m willing to take the risk.” He turned to face me, my elbow still in his hand. “You in, Jen?”
“Don’t call me that.” My eyes narrowed to slits. “Don’t ever call me that again.”
He dropped my elbow, his face dropping with it. “I’m sorry.”
I pulled my arm across my chest. “It’s Jenna to you. Only Jenna. And you can come to this luncheon with me, only because you were invited. But I’m not standing up for you. I’m not condoning your actions or your candidacy. And don’t ever ask me to help you again.”
He gave me a brisk nod. “Okay. Thank you. And I promise, I’ll figure this out.”
I gave my head a slow shake. “I don’t care what you figure out, Will. I’m here until August when the straw poll is over. Then I’m out. I don’t care if I ever see you again.”
“That’s fair. That gives us six weeks…”
I interrupted. “It doesn’t give us anything. This isn’t up to me.”
Krystal cut in. “She’s right. This will be up to Senator Davis. I doubt he’ll want Jenna seen with you. You have today to make an impression with her at the table. I’d wager money that you’ll never be at the same event again.”
“I’ll have to make one hell of an impression, then, won’t I?” He held out his hand to me.
I shook my head at him and stepped toward Krystal, refusing to take his hand. “You’ll have to do a lot more than that, Will.”
10
We arrived at the function just as it was beginning. Our table near the front wasn’t the table of honor, and I was somewhat relieved when I realized that this would be more of a meet-and-greet for me than a speech giving event. The banquet hall was huge; there were hundreds of people in attendance. I still wasn’t quite used to giving speeches to this large of a crowd and I was glad I wouldn’t have to today.
I was still pretty stunned at what had just happened at the hotel, though I couldn’t say I was surprised. Will’s behavior disgusted me on one level, but I almost felt sorry for him on another. Part of me wondered if there wasn’t a small part of him that was trying to rebel against what had come to be expected of him by his family. I hadn’t seen it before that day, but there were a lot of ways that we were alike, and even I had to admit that it included the almost slutty behavior we both had demonstrated. Maybe I was secretly hoping I’d be caught with Brandon to get out of my family’s expectations. Maybe that was why I was willing to put up with all the lies and the secrecy.
I received the looks of pity from around the room with a nod or a small smile. I was pretty sure people had assumed we were together, even though there had never been a formal announcement.
I pushed the dry meat and defrosted vegetables they served me at lunch around my plate. I was mostly just trying to look interested in what the speakers were saying to the crowded banquet room. Krystal had taken off to parts unknown and Will was invited to say a few words to the audience after his opponent, a congresswoman who appeared to be in her late thirties.
He took the microphone from a man near the front of the room, making every effort to appear as gracious as possible. I knew from our previous events over the past few weeks that he preferred giving speeches to speaking with people one-on-one. His were almost exactly the opposite of my preferences.
He walked to the front of the room, centering himself in front of the audience. “Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Will Howard, State Rep from the 107th district.” He paused for a moment, it seemed like he was waiting for applause that never came. He cleared his throat. “I, uh, wanted to take a moment to thank you for having me here today to meet the business leaders of Iowa. Please trust that I’ll make your priorities my most important when you elect me to the United States Senate.”
The room was dead silent. Someone coughed from the back of the room and heads turned, it was that quiet. Will’s face flushed and he continued. “We all make mistakes in life, and I want you all to know that I’ve learned and grown from mine.” The rhythm of his speech sped up. “Thank you for giving me and my opponent the opportunity to speak with you all today.” He smiled and nodded at the audience. “
Thank you.” He turned to give the microphone back to the emcee of the event then returned to our table.
There was some polite applause, but otherwise nothing but silent stares directed at our table. Thankfully, the emcee told the room that the speeches were over and encouraged everyone to socialize. Will tried to engage me, but I stood up and headed over to another corner of the room, not wanting anything to do with him at that moment.
I looked around for Krystal. I suppose I was wanting to get permission to leave. I had never been so uncomfortable in my life and I just wanted to go back to my room and hide under the covers until Melissa arrived.
I nodded at a few people who seemed to recognize me, forcing a smile to my face, but mostly just trying to duck away from any conversations. I found a quiet corner and turned away from the crowd to check my phone. Nothing.
A woman, who I recognized to be Will’s opponent in the senate race, approached me, touching my shoulder and walking around me to face me. She extended her hand to me. “You’re Jenna Davis. I’m Diana Martinez.”
I shook her hand and gave her a small smile. “Good to meet you. I’ve heard you’re doing some fine work up on Capitol Hill.”
She waved her hand. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I have had some very nice interactions with your father, though. He’s always so willing to reach across the aisle. I wish nothing but the best for him on his campaign.” Her smile appeared to be genuine.
“Thank you.” I returned a much more genuine smile to her.
She motioned me with her head to follow her further into the corner. Her voice dropped to a hushed whisper. “So I heard you were seeing Brandon Richardson.” She cocked an eyebrow high onto her forehead.
I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. I wasn’t even sure how to respond. “Oh?”
She nodded. “I have friends in San Francisco. They said they saw you with him.”
I nodded and my voice lowered a notch. “Oh.”
She raised another eyebrow, almost with amusement. “So you are seeing him. God, he’s fantastic, isn’t he?”
