The Romance Vote

by Ali Vali

  “Actually Daddy reminded me that tonight is our weekly dinner night.”

  “I’d invite you both over since Dale loves a crowd, but that’d go over like a dish of raw chicken. One night won’t kill us, I guess. It might even make the heart grow fonder, like they say.”

  “I’m pretty fond of you already, but I’m bummed I won’t get to see you tonight. You could always come over when you’re done with Dale.” Sam moved her hands up so she could put them behind Chili’s neck. “Unless you need the night off.”

  “Do you fish?”

  Strange change of subject, but Chili didn’t seem upset or setting her up for anything. “I haven’t in years. The only time I remember doing that was when I was little and Daddy took me to some rodeo he was involved with.”

  “Dale and I go every year. Since he cooks for me I treat him to a couple of trips, and that’s what he always picks. One of them is coming up, and if you don’t get seasick I thought you might want to come so you two can get to know each other.”

  “I don’t want to intrude,” she said, and held her breath when Chili lifted her up a little so she could put her knee between her legs.

  “Let’s talk about it tonight.” Chili kissed her again and let her go, thankfully before she begged to be touched in a way that wasn’t appropriate for where they were.

  They walked in together and no one looked up or seemed surprised, so Sam followed Chili into her office and sat in the seat closest to her desk. “Daddy wants to come down for the staff meeting.”

  “Good. I miss him every so often when he’s in his hermit moods.”

  “You really do like him, don’t you?” Sam crossed her legs and let her shoe drop off, enjoying Chili’s expression.

  “I really do, and if you don’t want him to know how much I like you, put your shoes back on.”

  Sam laughed and left Chili to prepare. Paul went in after her and she saw him taking plenty of notes, so she figured it’d be a busy day to make up for the lost time from the day before. When the meeting started she sat next to her father and made a list of everything Chili needed done. It’d be a late night, especially if she had to have dinner with her father.

  By the time they finished, it was almost noon, and Sam wondered if Chili was trying to avoid lunch with Maria. “Get going, and don’t skip getting something to eat. Since Virgil’s counting on us to get all this done we’ll be here a while tonight, so call home and make your excuses. If you want, you can blame the bitch you work for,” Chili said, making everyone laugh.

  Sam’s phone pinged with a message from Maria, and from what she read she was already on her way to lunch at one of her favorite locations. “Problem?” Huey asked.

  “Maria wants to have lunch so she can get her quote about Chili leaving for bigger and better things.”

  “Chili, you got plans for lunch?” Huey asked.

  “I was going by Dale’s since I’ll be working late tonight. Why? You trying to wrangle an invitation?” Chili put her coat back on and appeared ready to go.

  “No, but Maria called last night about you leaving the firm and wouldn’t let it go, so she’s expecting a statement from Sam at lunch. Tag along and make sure she knows you’re not going anywhere. We don’t need this kind of rumor right before some of these major races are deciding which firm to hire.”

  “I’m sure you and Sam can handle it,” Chili said, and Sam scrunched her forehead in confusion over the answer. Her father was giving them the go-ahead to have lunch together, and Chili was trying to talk him out of it.

  “I’m sure we could, but it would look like we’re trying to hide something,” Huey said, sounding peeved.

  “Okay, fine, but if you insist on me going, call her and tell her to meet us at Dale’s place. I might as well enjoy the meal if I have to spend my time with a reporter when it’s not my idea.” Chili grabbed her keys and stopped at the doorway. “I’m taking the stairs so meet me downstairs.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she said, and saluted. When Chili left she looked at her father and blew out a long breath. “You think I’d be interested in that?”

  Huey gazed at her and seemed the most relaxed she’d seen him in weeks as he strolled to the elevator.

  “Enjoy it while you can, Daddy. Enjoy it while you can.”

  *

  “Can I tell you something?” Sam asked when they were in Chili’s car headed to lunch.

  “I could tease you over that question, but I’ll pass. What’s on your mind?” Chili turned out of the parking lot and headed toward the Quarter but took a turn into the driveway of an abandoned building three blocks away. Once they’d stopped moving she turned to face Sam. “Can I go first again?”

  “Sure.” Sam put her hand out, and Chili took it and kissed her fingertips.

  “Don’t think because I can tell tales when it’s called for, that I’ll use those talents to get something over on you.”

  “You’re like a mind reader. At first I thought you were trying to ditch me, but you played Daddy like a pro back there. We’re not only going to lunch, but it was at his insistence.” Sam traced Chili’s lips with her index finger. “I don’t want to get all crazy on you, but the thought of you with someone else makes me insane.”

  “Don’t think of me with someone else, and keep your sanity. I won’t lie to you. Up to now I’ve had plenty of women in my life, but they haven’t really been in my life. More like plenty of women have been in some of the hours or days of my life, but no one that has meant enough for me to want to extend our time together.” She kissed Sam and waited until she opened her eyes. “That in no way describes you.”

  Sam replaced her finger with her lips and kissed her. “Thank you for the therapy session, but let’s get going before Maria teases me any more than she’s going to already.”

  Maria was waiting for them, and when they joined her, Dale came out of the kitchen and sat with them during the appetizers and had them all laughing until he excused himself and Chili followed him back. She figured she’d give Maria the freedom to talk about her to Sam, and she could be totally honest.

  “That girl is smitten with you, Chili,” Dale said when the kitchen door swung closed. “Hurt her and I’m going to feed you something disgusting without your knowledge, but I’ll be happy to tell you about it a few weeks later.”

  “Are you going out there and tell her the same thing?” She accepted a piece of coconut cream pie from one of the workers, even though lunch was still coming.

  “Did you not hear when I said she was smitten with you? I mean, how many times in your life do you get to use the word ‘smitten’? Hearing it now should stick in your head like ‘Oh, my God, I just ate a rat burger.’”

  “Got it—smitten,” she said, and laughed. “Think they’re done talking about me?”

  “They still have their heads together and your date keeps looking in this direction,” the woman who’d given her the pie said.

  “She’s not packing up to leave, is she?” Chili asked, and stayed glued to the stool she’d picked instead of going to sneak a peek herself.

  “It’s more like they’re planning the rest of your life and what color nose ring will look best on you.”

  “Okay, time to get back, and whoever lets my brother feed me rat for any reason is in for an ass-whooping. Don’t say I didn’t warn all of you.”

  *

  “How was she?” Maria asked, the second Chili left the table. “Does it live up to all the hype?”

  “I’m not giving you anything on that, so change the subject.” Sam took a sip of her wine and glanced at the door where Chili had disappeared, wondering what Dale was saying about her.

  “No need. You look so relaxed the quality of the orgasm is written all over you,” Maria said with a smug smile. “My suggestion now is to buy her one of those sturdy choke collars with a matching leash to keep her under control.”

  “Is that the secret to your relationship?”

  “Yes, and Danielle knows better th
an to take it off too. She was a lot like Chili when we met, but a few dates later I had her eating out of my hand. It’s all in the execution.”

  Sam laughed and shook her head. “More like you threatened execution and thankfully Danielle fell in line. Never mind that she loves you more than anyone else in the world, including your mother.”

  “Please, my mother wouldn’t know love if it came up and chewed her leg off.”

  “Okay, bad example,” she said as she watched Chili appear through the door again. “And please, don’t embarrass me before dessert.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Maria said, her smug expression back.

  “Should I come back later?” Chili asked when she sat down.

  “Why’d you quit?” Maria asked.

  “I took the day off, Ms. Poplin, and this is the angle you’re taking to make me say otherwise?” Chili asked as Sam took her hand under the table. “Slow news day?”

  “Sam called me and told me you quit. You calling Sam a liar?”

  Chili gazed at her before turning her attention back to Maria. “Well, if Sam said it, it must be true, only I’d beg a favor and ask you not to report anything on the subject. Only I know Sam didn’t call you and tell you that. I’m happy at the firm, and I’m even happier with people I work with, so I’m not going anywhere. If there was ever anything wrong, it’s like in most families. Stuff comes up and it’s handled.”

  “Okay, I’ll take your word for it if you promise me something in return.”

  “Name it,” Chili said as the servers put their lunch down.

  “Don’t make Sam sorry for anything at any time.”

  “I know you two are friends, and I could just tell you something to shut you up,” Chili said, and Sam squeezed her fingers.

  “But you’re not,” Maria said.

  “But I’m not is right. On the record that counts with you, Sam is safe with me. I know the difference between someone like Sam and Paula.”

  “You’ve kicked that trash to the curb, I hope?” Maria asked.

  “A long time ago, so don’t worry about your best friend. Besides, my brother threatened some kind of rat dish if I don’t behave and treat Sam right.” They all glanced down at their plates and shivered before laughing.

  The rest of lunch was filled with more humorous banter than probing questions, and Sam enjoyed herself with two of her favorite people. It was a relief that Maria liked Chili and vice versa. And that Dale approved of them as well was a good sign for their future.

  As they were leaving, Maria asked both of them out to dinner one night when they could both attend so Chili could meet Danielle. On their way back to the office Chili took a detour and stopped at Sam’s place and turned the ignition off.

  “You can say no, but we’re working late tonight and after that you’re having dinner with your father,” Chili said, to start whatever she was after.

  “So a quickie after lunch?”

  “Maybe later, when I don’t want to take the long scenic road,” Chili said as she removed her keys from the ignition. “But between then and now, I want to kiss you so you’ll know how much I’m going to miss you.”

  “You think I’m turning that down?” Sam didn’t wait for Chili to open her door like she usually did and headed upstairs.

  They never made it past the front door since Chili pressed her up against it and, true to her word, kissed her until she wanted to beg for more. “Come on,” Chili whispered in her ear as she held her. “We need to get back.”

  “You want to leave now?”

  “No, but it’s going to be hard to explain why we were gone for lunch all day.” Chili held her tight enough that her feet left the ground.

  “I only thought this was going to be a long day when you handed out assignments today,” she said as she kissed Chili’s cheek. “It’s going to be torturous now.”

  “I’ll let you deal with your father’s duck-hunting trip and who to invite as a way to get your mind off how cruel I’m being by making you go back to work.”

  “I thought he made all those arrangements.”

  Chili laughed as she let her go. “After one election you’ll realize that your father likes to enjoy some of the events with as little personal input as possible. Just think, though, that if you plan it, you get to pick who you hunt with, if you decide to go.”

  “Daddy says you always hunt alone and that you must concentrate on ducks the whole time, since you win every year. What the hell do you do with all those ducks, since you don’t cook?”

  “I give them away to families who live close to where your dad’s land is.”

  “If you’re going to be concentrating on that, I might stay home and wait until you get all that out of your system.” She headed to the bathroom in her bedroom and smiled when Chili followed her and sat on the bed.

  “You’re new, so let me explain something to you,” Chili said loud enough for her to hear. “If you work for Huey, this thing is not a choice. You’re going, and you’re going to have a smile on your face the whole time like you’re excited to be there.”

  “I’m sure if I ask him real nice he’ll let me slide.” She finished in the bathroom and came out to sit on Chili’s lap.

  “You can try it, but don’t get mad when he shoots you down faster than one of those ducks flying around out there.” Chili laughed in a way that made her believe her dad wouldn’t let her out of something she really wasn’t looking forward to.

  “Can I hunt with you?”

  “Can you keep my secrets?”

  “What, you have a special duck call or something?” Sam asked as she sandwiched Chili’s face between her hands.

  “You’ll have to wait and see,” Chili said as she stood with her cradled in her arms.

  “I’ll think of something to wheedle it out of you.”

  “I’m not that easy.”

  When Chili kissed her for the last time before opening the door to leave, she wanted to say she was that easy, but duty called. “We’ll see.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  They ended up working late every night until Election Day. While most of the office was out making sure people were getting to the polls, Sam stayed and helped Chili at Virgil’s headquarters. The only time they left was to follow Virgil to his precinct to control the media that had hooked on to the election for no other reason than nothing else was going on.

  “You want to take the precinct a mile from here?” Chili asked Sam as the polls closed. The results would be posted at each place in less than an hour.

  Sam was waiting for a more personal celebration since they hadn’t had much time alone since their first night together. “No problem. Want me to grab the one about five miles from that?”

  “No. I just need you to get the numbers from that one, then come back.” Chili never looked up from her screen as she spoke, which made Sam want to kiss her to get her attention. She would’ve, but today wasn’t the moment to freak out the staff.

  “You need anything while I’m out?”

  “Just come back, since no one here comes close to having as cute an ass as you do,” Chili said, finally glancing up and winking at her. “Be careful and take Paul with you so you don’t have to park too far away. If you get mugged we’ll have to delay our evening.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll have to come down and bail me out of jail when I kill Paul for letting that happen.”

  Sam laughed. “I’ll be fine, and I’m sure Paul has better things to do than to babysit me.”

  “He can either go with you or babysit me. You want to ask him which he prefers?”

  She ran her hand along Chili’s back as she left, and Paul watched her do it but didn’t say anything until they were on the way back with the good news that Virgil had won the area closest to his house by a four-to-one margin.

  “I’m happy for you,” Paul said.

  “With the results we just got, I’m happy too.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking a
bout. She’s changed since you’ve been around, but it’s a good change, so I’m happy for both of you. Please take care of her. She’s an incredibly special person.”

  “Thanks, and I promise not to let you down since you’ll follow her out the door if I mess up.” She turned the corner and was surprised by the crowd that had shown up while they were out. They’d parked close to the precinct, but here, they had to find a spot three businesses down. Thankfully they were all closed and she wouldn’t get towed.

  “Don’t worry. Chili’s not going anywhere.”

  Sam wrote their numbers on the big board Chili had erected close to Virgil’s office, and theirs was the only one that was so lopsided. The rest were incredibly close, but once everyone had come back from their results, Virgil had won by five votes. It was so close that Chili sent them out again to recheck their numbers, but it added up to the same thing again, and it was the lead story that night on the news.

  Virgil had taken on a career politician and won. Granted, it was by a razor-thin margin, but Chili had told him that one vote more than the other guy when only two people were in the race meant that you won. “We need to claim victory, so you ready to go?” Chili asked Virgil as they sat in the office watching the numbers scroll at the bottom of the screen during the primetime show on right before the news. Sam sat by the phone and nodded at what Chili was saying.

  “I’m thinking of giving you whatever car you want off my lot for this,” Virgil said as he slapped his hands together. “I’m just kidding, but hell if you didn’t get this done. When we met I had my doubts because you made me over like a woman on one of those shows, but you were right.”

  “All you have to do now is keep your word and wear that orange tie sparingly. When all those guys at the capital start kissing your ass, remember our first conversation when I asked you why you were running.” Chili shook his hand and smiled her attention in the other room. When Sam looked in the same direction Chili was, she saw Virgil’s mother in an outfit she was sure the cameramen coming would put on the air.

  “You got it, and you have a job for life when it comes to any other office I decide to run for.”