Sarah Brooks
Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Brooks
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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Matthew
There is a term in the military that many people misunderstand, ‘collateral damage’, people think it means that we don’t care about others that get hurt. The truth is, you can still care about someone and hurt them. I’m living proof of that.
The moment I grabbed Kayla’s hand and pulled her up in front of the media, I knew I had ruined that little confidence she had in me. I knew the idea of having a normal relationship was gone forever. But I didn’t believe for one second that being associated with me was going to ruin her career. In fact, being associated with me was probably the best thing that could have happened to Kayla’s career; whether she knew it or not.
Politics wasn’t like it used to be and wives, girlfriends, and even women who had affairs with married men were all able to move forward from their relationships. I hated that I had to bring Kayla into the light of the cameras, but I wasn’t about to give up my plan to make her feel better. Kayla was my first piece of collateral damage.
“You are the scum of this earth, don’t hold my hand, don’t talk to me, I never want to see you again,” Kayla said as we left the airport press conference.
“Kayla, you’re overreacting. They just needed something sensational to take their minds away from the idea that I had somehow been involved in Vice President Howard’s disappearance.”
“Were you?”
“What?” I asked.
“Were you involved in his disappearance?” Kayla looked at me as if she already knew the answer, but I obliged her and gave her another one. The way she looked at me made me think she was positive I had done something to the Vice President or somehow been involved.
“No, I’ve been with you all week long. How could I have had anything to do with it?”
I smiled at Kayla and reached for her hand in an effort to calm her. She knew I had been with her the entire week, but there was doubt in her mind. That was why I liked Kayla, she was smart. She knew that me being with her all week didn’t mean a damn thing. Of course, I had something to do with his disappearance. But both Kayla and I knew there would never be a single shred of proof.
She looked at me with disappointment and for a second I actually felt bad. I didn’t feel bad for the things I had done to get to that moment, but I felt bad that her innocence had totally disappeared since she had known me. In her eyes, I could see the cynicism that almost all other Washington D.C. politicians already had. I had ruined her.
We pulled up to her apartment and I got out of the SUV to open her door. She didn’t look at me, she didn’t cry, there was an unusual void of emotion that had overcome Kayla.
“Do you want me to come up with you?” I asked.
“Do I want you to come up? I said I don’t want to do anything with you,” she screamed at me.
As Kayla tried to storm off, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward me. Her body naturally pressed up against mine and for a moment, she tried to pull away from me. I knew that a new tactic would have to be deployed if I was going to keep her around. I needed to change up my game a little bit. Kayla felt betrayed by me and I didn’t blame her at all for feeling that way.
“I care about you Kayla, that’s why I’ve been with you all week. I wanted to be with you. I didn’t think before I announced that to the press, I’m sorry. You know me; you know I wouldn’t have had anything to do with something as crazy as the Vice President’s disappearance.”
She did know me and her mind was probably screaming that I was lying to her. But women in love often forget to think with their mind and instead thought with their heart. Love was the only way I was going to keep a hold of Kayla. I needed her to love me, to stand by me, to help me finish my plan.
“I told you to stay away from me,” Kayla said as she pulled away from me and made her way into her apartment.
The apartment I had purchased for her. The apartment that I had a key for and could come in anytime I wanted to. But I wasn’t about to force myself on Kayla, she needed to learn a lesson. She wasn’t as independent and substantial as she thought she was. The politics of Washington were capable of beating anyone up, even the ethical Michaela Wilson.
I let her go without any more argument. But I did send her one last text message. One reminder of where she needed to be in the morning. She could stay mad at me if she wanted to, but she was going to help me get into the White House whether she liked it or not. I had just introduced her to the world as my girlfriend so she was going to have to just grin and deal with what needed to happen to finish the plan.
“See you in the office tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do,” I sent via text.
She did not respond.
Kayla
My hands shook because of the anger I felt building up inside of me. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to scream at him. There was no way his little press conference was a surprise. Matthew Storm had planned for those people to be there. He had planned to use me as his alibi and he had planned to undermine all my efforts and hard work by making me look like his office fling instead of the knowledgeable assistant that I really was.
My hard work didn’t matter. My abilities didn’t matter. The only thing anyone would know was that I was the first year Washington D.C. employee who had spread her legs for her boss. In exchange, they will say I was given a position that I didn’t earn or deserve.
Maybe I really had not earned a damn thing. My mind swirled with all the things that had happened in the last few months. I felt used. As much as I wanted to think that my skills and abilities had gotten me to the position I had in Matthew Storm’s office, there was no way around it. Matthew had favored me because I was sleeping with him.
My stomach churned and I felt like I was going to be sick. I really had felt like I made a difference in our office. I felt like I had worked so hard to understand and integrate myself into Washington politics. But with that one move, Matthew had undermined everything I had done.
Sure, I was good at the meetings with other senators, but I didn’t know the first thing about the political back and forth that went on beyond those meetings. I had been guessing and doing a really good job of it, or at least I thought I was. I couldn’t tell anyone what the Senators had voted or what the most prominent issues were in the current administration, but all that would come with time I was sure of it.
I walked into my apartment, I sunk into the ground against the door and started to cry. I had been used, I had clearly been used. There was no way I could justify my position or the things I had been able to do in the short time that I had been in Washington. But what could I do about it? Was there anything I could do that would help me take control of my political future again?
My mind buzzed with ideas of how I could turn the situation into something good for me. I didn’t want to stay with Matthew, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave. My political future was unfortunately tied in with Matthews, at least for the time being.
My phone had been off from our flight and I flipped it on so I could call my mother and warn her about the news. But as I flipped my phone on I was instantly overwhelmed by the alerts that filled my screen. Phone calls, texts, Facebook messages and tweets littered my system and my phone promptly rebooted in an effort to come to terms with the massive amount of data that it was rushed with.
When I finally got the phone to reboot, I started with the voicemails. It was mostly people I knew. My mother, uncle, even my college professor; everyone calling to ask what was going on. The text messages were similar in nature. But when I got to the Facebook messages I started to see people asking me for interviews, or berating me, or calling me names; it horrible.
I
dialed the one number that I knew would answer their phone and not have judgment. I called Phillip Clifton, the previous chief of staff for Senator Matthew Storm. He had abruptly left Storm’s office right before I arrived, but he had been the one who helped me to get the job.
“I’m glad you called,” Phillip said without an ounce of sarcasm in his voice.
“Why did you leave?” I blurted out before I could say anything else.
Phillip was quiet for a minute and I let the silence fill the call. I didn’t have anything else to add. I needed to know why he had left. Something had happened for him to leave so quickly and I hadn’t thought to find out before, but I needed to know.
“It wasn’t some sordid thing. I just didn’t want to get trampled by Storm on his way up. Alex was interested in my job and I knew I could leave without a big incident.”
“Did you know anything about the girl that disappeared?”
Another silence filled our conversation. That woman who disappeared had been on my mind since I had heard about her. It was just another thing that I didn’t believe at all when Matthew told me what had happened.
“No. I don’t know what is true in that situation. But the police did clear him, so I guess we have to trust that they did their job.”
“Were you afraid of him?” I asked, afraid of what his answer might be, but still I needed to hear it.
“I wasn’t afraid that he would cause me physical harm. But politically I was afraid of him and his willingness to deliver damage. He has the ability to take out his enemies with one swift motion. I would never want to be on his bad side.”
I knew exactly what Phillip meant and I also knew that I didn’t want to be on Matthew’s bad side either. But I was in a much different position than Phillip ever could have been in. I was sleeping with Matthew and working with him.
“What should I do?” I said in a hopeless voice.
My gut said to leave him right away; leave him personally and professionally. But my mind said to wait. I needed time to process everything and see what answer would be the best for me in the long run. So, at the very least, I knew I needed to stay with him for a short while.
“You need to go with it. If you are going to fuck your boss you need to be willing to fuck him in public and in private.”
His words permeated my skin and I shivered. Everyone would know now that I had been sleeping with my boss. There was no way to hide it. There was no way to pretend anymore. People would look at me in the hallway and know that I was the girl who slept my way to the top. It made me sick to think about, but I couldn’t think of a better scenario if I left.
“No one will respect me.”
“People will respect you if you give them a reason to. Don’t sulk and hide away. Show up to work. Do your job. Make sure everyone thinks that you are perfectly fine with people knowing about your relationship. Hit him harder than he hit you,” Phillip said calmly.
“What do you mean?”
“He needs you now, Michaela. He just announced to the world that you are his only alibi and that he had broken his ethics as a Senator to sleep with a staff member. Matthew Storm needs you more than you need him. He needs you to stand by his side and support him and you’ll be able to manipulate him any way you would like.”
I hated that word ‘manipulate’, but Phillip did make a very good point. Why was I so devastated that Matthew had announced our relationship? It was true, Matthew had been with me; even though I still thought he had somehow had something to do with the Vice Presidents’ disappearance I had no proof.
“So I should just go to work? I should still date him?”
“I can’t tell you what to do. But anyone in power has made decisions on their way to that position. I don’t think that staying with Storm would be a bad decision for you. I need to get back to sleep. You can call me anytime if you need something,” Phillip said as he suddenly seemed very distracted.
“Ok. Thanks,” I said, totally not wanting to get off the phone yet.
“Kayla, you watch out for yourself, though. He’s dangerous. I can’t prove it and I can’t justify the thought; physically, emotionally and for your career. You watch out for yourself.”
“Thank you, Phillip.”
As he hung up the phone, I felt afraid. I looked around the apartment Matthew had purchased for me and I felt afraid. I suddenly thought that he might have bugged the apartment or even installed cameras. I wondered just how far Matthew was willing to go to get what he wanted and what was it that he really wanted?
Matthew Storm was dangerous; at the very least he was dangerous to my heart. At the most, Matthew could be dangerous to my safety. But I knew for sure Phillip was right about one thing, Matthew needed me to stand by his side. He needed me to show my face and make everything seem perfect between us.
When I finally fell asleep that night, it was out of pure physical and emotional exhaustion. I couldn’t think about Matthew anymore and I couldn’t try to decipher what the best next move was. All I knew was that I needed to show up to work the next day and I was going to shock everyone.
***
I smiled as my hi-heels clicked along the floor on the way to the office. Matthew had told me to show up at work, but I doubted he was prepared for the woman I would be when I arrived. I wanted my own career in Washington and I wasn’t about to let him throw me beneath him as some slut who just slept with him to get a new position.
“Kayla,” Steven stared at me as I walked into the office, “Hi, um…it’s good to see you.”
The shock on his face was nothing compared to what was going to happen when Matthew arrived at work. I don’t know if he was just shocked that I had the guts to show up to work or if he was shocked at my business suit; but Steven could hardly close his mouth, he was so shocked.
“Good morning Steven, I need a list of Matthew’s appointments for the week. I also need to know what bills are on the docket coming up. Thank you.”
I was firm, yet kind in my conversation. I maintained eye contact and did not look away. It probably helped that I was wearing a kick-ass pants suit and had my hair expertly placed in an upsweep. I looked like one of the female Senators and that was exactly what I was going for. If Matthew wanted a partner, then I was going to look the part.
I arrived early to ensure I could miss any potential media that would want to talk to me. But also, I wanted to arrive early so I could get some work done. If I was going to be so obvious about my relationship with Matthew, then I needed to be a really damn good head of his staff, for the moment. But I didn’t intent to lead his staff for much longer.
The morning flew by and I familiarized myself with Matthew’s schedule, including his meetings and personal commitments that were on his calendar. When Matthew finished with his morning meetings and arrived at the office, he found me at the conference table in his office; working hard.
“Good afternoon Matthew, I hope your meetings went well,” I said as I glanced up.
“How are you?” Matthew asked with trepidation on his face.
“I’m great. You have an afternoon meeting with Senator Edwards. I think you should talk to him about some of the turmoil going on and confide in him. You need him to like you so take your time in the meeting.”
“Um, alright. But..”
“Oh, and you need to talk with Masson. The tension between you two has to subside if you want to stay out of the limelight when his Senate Arms Committee goes south. You don’t want everyone coming to you and asking your opinion, but you also don’t want them coming to you thinking you are going to throw him under the bus.”
“Yes, I’ll make a meeting.”
“It’s alright, I already set one up for you with him this afternoon. It’s at four o’clock so that should give you time to meet with Edwards and then get over to Masson’s office to meet with him right after.”
“Kayla, are you alright? I mean after yesterday…”
I didn’t give him time to finish his statement. Frankly, b
ecause I no longer cared at all what he had to say. I had my own plans and I was going to make sure they happened and Matthew Storm was just going to have to deal with it. I didn’t answer him.
“The President is going to need to appoint a new VP. If Masson is caught up in the investigation you are a high contender on the list for the job, but you aren’t the only one. There can be no mistakes at all now.”
“Kayla, are we going to talk about this?”
“We are talking about it. You need to get a message to the President that you’d be willing to step in at any time, but you don’t want to come out and say that. I don’t know what your conversations have been this far but stay away from the President for the time being. You need to throw yourself into your work.”
“I’m sorry,” Matthew said as he continued to look at me and wait for the explosion.
He was right to think I might explode at any moment. I was angry. I was horribly angry at him. But I had made the decision to funnel that anger into something much more productive. No woman who made it to a position of power could ever show emotions. Emotions were considered to be weak so I had to learn to control them.
“At eight o’clock come pick me up and we will go to dinner. There will be paparazzi around so dress nice and smile.”
“We are going on a date?” Matthew asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“Yes Matthew, you made this public so we are going public. Pick me up at eight, hold my hand, kiss me for the cameras. They will love it.”
His silence was exactly what I had hoped for. There wasn’t room in Washington politics for a woman who played the victim and I was certainly not going to try and push my way through as the first victim to make it. Politics required a thick skin and Matthew had just helped me develop my first layer.
The problem I had was that I still felt this electricity between us that I couldn’t stop. Even as I tried to shut down every emotion I had for Matthew, as he stood next to me, I felt the vibrations between us. I felt an urge to kiss him, just like I always felt. Even all the anger I had built up, around his little media event, couldn’t keep me from wanting him.
Billionaire Romance Box Set: The Storm Romance Series Part 1-10: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Page 22
