“Yeah, well the voters may have been willing to forgive me of that indiscretion but they won’t forgive me for lying to them about my father. Who’s going to elect the son of a convicted felon?”
Juliette brushed a stray hair away from his eyes and rested her palm against his cheek. She could already feel the stubble against her skin.
“Dean hasn’t been convicted of anything yet. Hell, he hasn’t even been charged with a crime. And if your father is as good as we know him to be, he will find a way out of this trap just like every other one that has ever been sprung on him.”
“That almost makes it worse. Not only am I the son of a criminal, but I’m the son of a criminal who never gets caught. Talk about a superiority complex. If they thought I was entitled before they are going to slaughter me now.”
“So you’re just going to withdraw from the race? Let Robertson win?”
“What other choice do I have?”
“You can run. I mean at least try, in earnest. The people of Virginia may surprise you. And you do have a kick-ass campaign team to back you up.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Winston could rig an election if he wanted to.”
“No stuffing the ballot boxes,” she nudged him lightly. “Win fair and square. You can do that much.”
“And if I lose, what then?”
“We cross that bridge when we come to it. Ty, this is your chance to beat him at his own game. If you win, we get more time to find out what Senator Reis had on him. We get closer to finding out the truth about my parents’ death. We may even live to see the day when he actually gets locked away for good.”
“If I do this, I want you by my side. I’m not letting you hide in the shadows anymore.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
He inched forward and kissed her. “You keep saying that, and I find it incredibly sexy.”
She kissed him back and they gave in to another twenty minutes of meaningless distractions.
Showered and dressed, the two of them climbed back into Ty’s SUV and headed for D.C. Juliette quickly sent a text message to her godmother, letting her know she hadn’t wanted to wake them but had decided to go back to D.C. with Tyler. She emailed them the information on the rental car, hoping they would be able to return it before she got charged for an extra day. Then she and Ty worked out a new campaign strategy.
The easy part was distancing himself from his father. Since Ty had legally changed his name, he could use that as justification that he had made a clean break from his criminal father and the dirty life that he lived. He would paint a story about how he wanted to get into politics to better protect the American people from criminals and con men like his father.
And as for his affair with Juliette, he decided to stick with a version of the truth. She would continue to use her alias, Jules Everdeen, but willingly share bits of their past wrapped in kernels of truth to keep the reporters satisfied. They would tell the story of how they had met as children and became star-crossed lovers, always bumping into each other at the wrong times. He would argue the notion that anything inappropriate ever happened while he was with Courtney. And accuse his father of working with his opponent to doctor photos out of context and mislead the public about the relationship he had with Jules.
Of course that wouldn’t work on a lot of voters, particularly women who were sensitive to the notion of a cheating lover. Juliette told Ty not to worry about it. That she had an idea that might bring more women around.
By the time they hit D.C., Juliette had interviews lined up with three evening news stations and a press conference to boot. Juliette had Ty drop her off at the Georgetown metro, where he would go unnoticed by news media.
He pulled to the curb and let her out, but not before giving her a quick kiss. “See you soon.”
She grinned back at him as she slid out of the car. “Count on it.”
Juliette waited until Tyler pulled back into traffic, then she promptly turned and headed for the metro.
Chapter 40: Creative Bargaining
Thanks to Winston’s amazing hacking skills and constant habit of tracking people with their cell phones, Juliette knew exactly where to find Courtney. She climbed off at the Dupont Circle stop and headed for the Ritz-Carlton. She waited until she was in the building and headed for the bank of elevators before dialing Courtney’s number. The phone rang as she waited.
“Hello, Jules,” Courtney greeted her.
“Hi, Courtney. Do you have a moment? I was hoping we could chat.”
Courtney sighed into the phone. “Not really. I’m on my way out, if you can believe that. I’ve been cooped up all day because of this media circus and Daddy thinks a quick trip to the spa will do me good.”
“Sure it will. I think it’s a great idea for you to de-stress while all this mess of a scandal dies down.”
Juliette stepped into the elevator and prayed she wouldn’t lose reception.
“What do you want?”
“I want to see you.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Really. Aren’t you staying at the Ritz? Room 1629?”
There was silence on the other end, long enough for Courtney to hear the ding of the elevator as it stopped on the 16th floor.
“How do you know that?” Courtney asked.
“Because Winston likes me more than he likes you, and I bring him baked goods on a regular basis. Let me in.”
“No,” she said. “I’m calling security.”
“The moment you call anyone at the hotel I will call the press, give them your location, and invite them for an up close and personal interview with the scorned lover of Tyler chase. Hell, maybe I’ll even do my own interview on your behalf. Tell them all about our torrid love triangle.”
The door to the hotel room snapped open and Courtney pulled Juliette inside. “What the hell do you want from me?” she snapped as the door slammed shut.
“I want you to help get Tyler Chase elected.”
“Oh please, like he stands a chance of actually winning this race.”
“Riightt….”
“Oh don’t look at me like that. Like I’m supposed to believe you two actually have feelings for each other. You’re nothing more than a dark-haired D-cup distraction. Even if he wins, he’s never going to keep a girl like you on his side.”
“You better hope he does,” Juliette said. “Because if he does anything to piss me off I just might have to leak some stories of my own, stories about your father and his investment with Covington.”
“What are you talking about?”
Juliette reached into her bag and pulled out the enlarged copies of the photos she had snapped inside Robertson’s office. Photos of newspaper clippings of Governor Anderson, Dean Covington, and Senator Reis all smiling together at the ribbon cutting for the Old Post Office Pavilion.
“This doesn’t prove anything.”
“Oh really. So I can call a reporter up right now and let them know that your father is one of a handful of elected officials doing business with Dean Covington?”
Her eyes widened at the thought but then she scrunched up her face in anger. “You’re trying to blackmail me?”
“Not trying, sweetheart. I am blackmailing you and your father both.”
“For what? What do you want from me?”
“I want you and your father to release a statement to the press. I want you to tell them that you called off the engagement, not because your fiancé was cheating on you but because you were cheating on him. Say that you fell in love with another man, and the guilt was eating you alive. You thought Tyler could take the fall when you found the surveillance photos of me and Ty, and so you lied.”
“They will never buy that.”
“Sure they will. You go on TV, you cry. You tell them that you couldn’t go on lying to the public, that Tyler is the right man for this office and you don’t want to see him punished for your mistakes.”
“What if it doesn’t
work?”
Juliette took a step closer, the humor now gone from her face. “You better hope like hell it does.”
Chapter 41: Election Day
The day of the election Juliette was a complete mess. How did people do this, year in and year out? Never had she been more terrified in her life. People invested so much time and money into winning an election and still on that fateful day in November it was out of their hands. They turned it over to fate and eight million people living in the state of Virginia.
They had done all that they could to make Tyler look like the better choice; still she was certain it was going to be close. Most people seemed to be eating up the many twists and turns of the campaign. Tyler caught the attention of every major news program in the country. One person had even approached them about book deals and movie rights. It was a juicy story; there was no doubt about that. But what if they lost? Would it all be worth it?
Juliette, Tyler, and Winston sat in a small closed-off bedroom at the Hay Adams hotel. Soon they would need to join the throng of reporters, politicians, and campaign volunteers awaiting them in the ballroom downstairs. But for now, until they had the final tally on which way the election would go, they waited in Ty’s all-too-familiar hotel suite. Winston had set up three different monitors on the small desk in the corner and was reviewing poll counts from each major news outlet. When he wasn’t looking at the screen he was on his blackberry, chatting directly with volunteers across the state. They were waiting for results in two counties. Both of them were rural and had a history of going Republican. But they had low turnout in the traditional Republican areas and Robertson hadn’t gone down without a fight. If enough people were turned off by the constant scandal that seemed to follow the Tyler Chase name, it might be enough to swing the election in Robertson’s direction.
Juliette wanted to drop to her knees and pray. She couldn’t remember doing so in the past, at least not since her parents died and left her an orphan. But now, here she was, pacing the room with Ty, practically begging for some sort of divine intervention.
Winston froze. “Guys.” He started just as the phone on the nightstand began to ring. “I think we just won the election.”
Chapter 42: Deal with the Devil
The days following the election were a blur, filled with speeches, interviews, and parties galore. Tyler and Juliette had officially come out in their relationship and were suddenly one of the hottest couples in town. Rather than ruin his campaign, the entire scandal seemed to make them ripe for any media coverage they could have dreamed of. And being in the spotlight suited them both.
Juliette curled up beneath the covers and draped a hand across Ty’s chest.
“What’s on the menu for today?”
“I was thinking about playing a little hooky.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.
“I think it’s a little early to start calling in sick. You haven’t even been sworn in yet.”
“Exactly.”
Both of their cell phones began to vibrate on the nightstand. Ty ignored his and reached after Juliette when she spun to grab her own.
“Ignore it,” Ty said.
She looked at the message. “It’s Winston. We should answer it. It might be important.”
“Whatever it is, I promise it can wait ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes? Is that all I’m worth now?”
He smacked her ass. “Damn straight.”
Juliette ignored him and dialed Winston’s number. He answered after the first ring. “What’s up?”
“Is Ty with you?”
“Of course he is.”
“Good. Put me on speakerphone.”
“All right, but I can’t guarantee he’ll listen. He seems to be in an ornery mood this morning.”
“He will want to hear this,” Winston said and Juliette stiffened.
Ty’s hand stopped caressing the curve of her thigh. “What is it?”
Juliette put Winston on speakerphone and set the phone between them.
“I just hired your new chief of staff.”
“Excuse me?” Ty said.
“Wait, I thought you were his chief of staff.”
“Nah, it’s not a job I want. My goal was to get him elected. I did that. But I don’t want to be tied down. I work better off the field, under the radar, so to speak.”
“So then who did you hire?” she asked. Juliette had never given it much thought. Winston had always seemed the perfect choice.
“Courtney Anderson.”
“What?” Juliette and Ty exclaimed at the same time. Winston waited as they hurled a flurry of questions and curses his way. Tyler had jumped out of the bed and was stalking around the room half naked as he argued with an invisible Winston. Finally, Juliette picked up the phone and cut Ty’s rant off.
“Why?”
“Because we owe her. And she’ll be good at the job. And did I mention we owe her?”
“What makes you think she’ll even take the job?”
“She already told me yes.”
“You asked her without even consulting me! You can’t fucking do that!”
“Jules,” Winston pleaded softly on the other end of the line.
“Relax. I’ll work on Ty, if you really think this is the right decision to make.”
“I do. We owe her,” he said again. Juliette nodded though no one was in the room to see her. Ty had stomped into the bathroom and she could already hear the shower running. Winston hung up and Juliette clutched the phone to her chest as she fell back into the pillows.
What in the world had he gotten them into?
To Be Continued…
Thank you fore reading Dirty Little Liars. If you enjoyed this book please consider taking a moment to rate or review the book on Amazon.com, BN.com or iTunes.
Subscribe to the official Missy Lynn Ryan Newsletter and receive a FREE short story featuring Tyler and Juliette. Click here to subscribe now.
About the Author
Missy Lynn Ryan is the author of the contemporary romance series Dirty Little Liars. A lover of whimsy and magic she has been telling stories (mostly ones of fiction) since she was able to string together her first sentences. Missy currently lives in the Midwest and is a current graduate student in the Seton Hill Writing Popular Fiction Program. She looks forward to the day when she can relocate to the sunny beaches of the south and spend her days writing in the sand.
Visit Missy Lynn’s website at:
http://missylynnryan.webs.com
Join Missy Lynn on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/missylynnryan
Follow Missy Lynn on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/missylynnryan
Sign up for Missy Lynn’s newsletter at:
SUBSCRIBE
Dirty Little Liars Page 15
