by Ewens, Tracy
He grabbed a bottle of water from the bar that was now en suite, and as he looked up from twisting off the cap, someone made Kate smile, and the air changed, just like that. Her face was warm and soft. She put her tongue to her teeth and did this little crinkle with her nose when she laughed. Genuine, so unstudied, and alive.
“Hey, you’re back,” Samantha said, slipping her arm through his.
“I am.”
“Any particular reason?” Sam noted his line of sight. “Or someone in particular?”
Grady caught on. “Actually, I came back to see you. Where’s Peter?”
“Sulking.”
“Yeah, he seemed pissed tonight. Hugely successful playwright pressures?”
Sam chuckled. “That must be it. Hey, would you mind giving me a ride home?”
“You’ve got it. I’m probably going to leave in a few minutes. I just wanted to say goodnight.”
“Uh huh,” Sam said as Grady’s gaze drifted back to Kate. “She’s very sweet.”
“Huh, not the word that comes to mind. She probably likes you, so she might be sweet with you. When she’s with me, it’s more like sour.”
“Well, you can bring that out in people.”
“Thanks, Sam.”
She patted him on the back. “I’m going to get my coat and I’ll meet you by the valet in twenty minutes?”
“Sounds good. I’ll be right down.” Grady kissed Sam on the cheek and made his way over toward the balcony, to Kate.
She was now sitting with her back to everyone. Her arms were perched on the railing as she held out a piece of paper she was reading. He didn’t even need to see her face for his stomach to do that weird flip it had started doing since she kicked him the first day they met. As he got to the balcony, someone called her name and Kate turned. Her hair fell softly around her face and she wore glasses, something new and in contrast to her flowing gown. She uncurled from the chair, noticed him, smiled, and then walked toward Mark, in bare feet.
Grady hadn’t seen this Kate yet. Sexy and completely unaware. Working, but still having fun with her job. Beauty, brains, and those glasses. He was slipping into unfamiliar territory. It was time for him to head home.
He found his father, said his goodnights, and tossed a wave to Kate as he left. He needed to keep his distance. Distance had always been his unwavering friend.
Chapter Seven
Kate left the hotel about a half hour after Grady. While unlocking the door, her heart stopped as her phone vibrated with a text telling her to get down to the Cal Medical Center. It was urgent, that was all Mark said.
She locked up, turned around and ran to her car. On the drive, she received bits and pieces of information. Grady had been in a car accident. He was fine. His friend Samantha had been injured, but she was stable. A million questions swirled through her mind as she pulled her car into the emergency room parking lot. She grabbed a pad and pen from her car, gathered her dress, and walked through the buzzing doors as quickly as she could, thankful she had found flip-flops in her car so she wasn’t going to have to run interference all night with crying feet.
Kate met with Mark and the senator’s staff in an unoccupied break room just off the ER. She collected information and was chosen to address the press that had already assembled outside. She wasn’t thrilled that she needed to meet the press in an evening gown, but there was a woman, Grady’s dear friend, in a hospital bed, lucky to be alive. Kate really had no room to complain. She had a job to do.
Kate walked through the main hospital lobby on her way out to the front entrance where the press was cordoned off, anticipating a statement. Her brother Neil was standing just inside the hospital talking with two other uniformed police officers.
“Hey, Sis.” His arm outstretched, he pulled her into a hug. “You okay?”
“Sure. I’m fine. I wasn’t in the car.”
“I know, but I heard Grady’s name on my radio and just came down to make sure you were all right.”
“Are you working tonight?” Kate asked noticing his jeans and sweatshirt.
“No. I was, well, I was close and I just wanted to check. Looks like everyone’s fine. His girlfriend is pretty banged up, and I think he needed stitches, but you probably already know all of this, big shot.” Neil bumped his shoulder into hers.
“Yup, that’s so me, big shot.” They both laughed. “I’m not feeling very tough in my princess dress here.”
“You look beautiful. How was the shindig, well, before Mr. Fancy Pants wrecked his car?”
Kate shook her head. “Look at you with that clever wit, huh? If you read the report, super cop, you know that Grady was not at fault, so while his pants may be fancy, he didn’t wreck his car all by himself.”
“Yeah, I did see that. No drugs or alcohol either.”
“Oh, and not his girlfriend. She’s a family friend.”
“Thanks for clarifying that.” Neil smiled. “So, you better get out there, the natives are getting restless.”
“You realize that phrase is a touch racist, right?”
“What?”
“The natives, Native Americans?”
Neil looked confused. “That’s ridiculous. It’s a damn expression. A saying. Everyone is so sensitive these days.” Neil wrapped his arm around her and squeezed. “Well, good to see you, even at two in the morning. Get out there and be politically correct.”
“Good to see you too, officer.” Kate lifted up and gave her big brother a kiss on the cheek.
She stepped through the automatic glass doors of the hospital and into the cool early spring air. Greeted by a dozen microphones and several blinding lights, Kate had met worse, but not without her navy blazer. It was her best friend in these face-to-face dances with the media. Kate took a breath. She told herself Super Girl was still Super Girl even without the cape, and then the battle began.
“Kate, how’s it going?” James from The Tribune shouted from somewhere in the crowd.
“I don’t make a habit of standing around hospitals at two in the morning, so considering, I’m fine, James, thanks for asking.” Kate smiled and more shouting ensued.
“Gentleman . . . and lady, hello, Carey.” Kate and Carey nodded to each other in acknowledgement that they were both in a sea of men. Kate continued, “I will make a statement, take a few questions, and that will be all for tonight. It is late. The senator and his family are tired. I ask for your respect.”
“At approximately 11:45 this evening, while returning home from a fundraiser for the senator, Mr. Grady Malendar was in a car accident with what we are being told was a 2010 pickup truck. He was in his Porsche. The accident was a result of the pickup running a red light and hitting Mr. Malendar on the passenger side as he moved through the intersection. Mr. Malendar’s light was green; the other driver was cited at the scene. Mr. Malendar and his passenger were taken by ambulance to this hospital. His passenger, Ms. Samantha Cathner, is a family friend and Mr. Malendar was escorting her home. She has suffered a minor concussion and a broken arm. Mr. Malendar, aside from a cut on his forehead and a few bruises, is unharmed. That pretty much covers it. I’ll take some questions.”
“Were alcohol or drugs involved?”
“No. Well, let me say alcohol and drugs were not involved with either Mr. Malendar or Ms. Cathner. We have no knowledge as to the state of the other driver other than he was unharmed in the accident.”
“Are Grady and this . . . Samantha Cathner, involved, are they dating?”
“No, they are not dating. They are friends, grew up in the same neighborhood.”
“Ha, that’s assuming Grady’s grown up.”
“Not necessary, Bill. If there are no more—”
“Did Grady drink at the fundraiser?”
“Were you at the fundraiser, Kate?” another reporter shouted before she could answer.
“Okay, that’s enough. Mr. Malendar did nothing wrong, period. If you all came down here looking for dirt, I’m sorry to disappoint. In fact,
I challenge any of you to find one incident where my client has ever driven under the influence of anything. I thought for a minute I was dealing with news organizations seeking information about the welfare of a U.S. senator’s son following a car accident. Clearly that’s not what’s going on. We’re done here.”
Kate turned amid several more questions about Grady, none of which she hadn’t heard before and of course the horse—the horse was still haunting her. Security began pushing back the reporters as the doors zipped closed behind her. She took a deep breath.
“Nicely done. The vultures didn’t stand a chance.”
Kate turned to see Grady leaning against the wall in the darkness of the waiting room, out of sight lines. He was a pro, she knew this, but at that moment, in the middle of the night, looking at him in the darkened corner, she felt . . . she felt something. This was not an easy world he lived in and there were vultures, as he called them, hovering, waiting to attack. It actually felt good to spare him from this onslaught, especially since he was still shaking when she had arrived.
“All part of the job, Mr. Malendar.”
He laughed as she approached.
“Christ, you look awful,” she said and reached to move the hair off his forehead so she could see the stitches. She had brothers, it was instinct, but as soon as her hand touched him, she knew it was a mistake. She was too close and all the warning bells went off. Kate stepped back too quickly and she was certain Grady noticed her discomfort, but he seemed to let it go.
“I checked with Sam and her family. She’s stable and they have the driver of the truck in custody, so . . . ” Kate was rambling because she needed to focus on the job, her tasks, and not the touch of Grady’s face or the warmth in his tired expression. “You should probably get home, get some rest.”
“I know. I called a driver, but I want to wait and see Sam again before I leave. They’re putting her cast on now.” Their eyes held in the dim light of the waiting room.
Kate could still hear the rumbling of the press.
“Thank you,” Grady said. “Your comments, your statement. It’s nice,” he seemed to stumble a bit and Kate’s heartbeat picked up. “It’s nice that you’re on my side, it seems genuine. I mean, I’m sure it’s your job, but the way you handled it was, well, you’re good at what you do, Kate Galloway.”
“I am on your side. It is my job, but I’m a person, you’re a person.”
Grady laughed. “That we are. Thank you, Kate, for noticing.”
She felt foolish and a little lost in his eyes.
“Right,” she smiled. “Well, anyway, you are welcome. I’m glad you’re all right and Samantha is being taken care of. It’s late, so I’ll let you go. I’m going to head home. Good night.” She touched his hand, she had absolutely no idea why, but there she was touching him again.
“You, of course, checked my driving record before offering up that challenge, right?” he asked, breaking the awkward buzz, and Kate released his hand.
“Yup, even the naughty things senators’ sons do that get expunged from their records. You’re squeaky clean. I don’t feed the vultures unless I’m sure. Get some sleep Mr. Malendar.” She continued down the hall.
“Atta girl.”
Kate heard him chuckle as the wood doors of the emergency room closed behind her.
Atta girl? Did I really just get an atta girl? It was a stupid comment, but she smiled and felt that weird something again.
Chapter Eight
Grady took a break from the campaign for almost a week following the accident. He was sore, but mostly he needed to focus on some of his things for a while, ground himself in reality. He wasn’t prepared to miss Kate, but he did. Found himself Googling her because he wanted to know more about her, her life outside of work. There wasn’t much to find. He should have known someone like Kate wouldn’t flaunt her life on social media.
Grady walked through the front doors of Bracknell and found himself excited, silly he knew, but there it was, he was excited to see her.
Kate was in her office, so he smiled at her assistant and let himself in. She was reading something and looked up just briefly, and then back again. Grady caught her eyes for a moment and felt his whole body respond.
“Nice to see you, Grady. You look rested.”
“I am. Good as new,” he said walking over toward her desk and standing as close to her as he could without seeming creepy. Still no perfume, he noted, just pastry again. Grady wondered if she stopped at a coffee shop on her way in. Where did the pastry come from? Then he noticed the napkin on her desk.
“Is that Toaster Strudel?” he asked.
Kate looked up quickly, put the last bite in her mouth, and threw the napkin away.
“Yes,” she mumbled before finishing chewing and taking a sip of her coffee.
Grady got closer, leaned in. “You realize that stuff is full of preservatives, right? And it will kill you?”
Kate just stared up at him and licked her finger.
“Are you trying to throw me, Mr. Malendar? Don’t mess with my Toaster Strudel, okay? You think your rich-guy organic-foods-only intimidation routine is going to work with me?”
“Kate, I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Grady said, adjusting his orange tie, and resting one hip on the edge of her desk. Her legs were crossed under her desk and she was wearing black high heels. They were high, and Grady’s mind wandered to them wrapped around . . . Christ, he almost fell off the desk.
“Stop using my name. What’s with that? Cut it out.” Kate swatted at him with a folder. He snapped out of his lust haze and stood back up.
“You don’t like your name?” Grady asked, feigning confusion.
“Very cute. I don’t like you saying my name all the time. It’s . . . odd, like you’re trying to remember my name so you keep saying it, or like you’re making a presentation. Stop.”
“I was raised that you use a person’s name. It makes things personal, puts them at ease.”
“I’m at ease, you can drop it now.”
“Really? This is at ease? Hmm . . . ”
“Yeah, well as at ease as I’m going to get while I’ve got your file in my office. Please sit so we can go over the revised schedule and some of my research.” Grady came around her desk, leaned on the corner closest to her this time, and looked over at the file. She looked right up at him, and he noticed her eyes, while blue, had flecks of green. What was wrong with him that he kept getting this close to her? He was like a stupid moth and she was certainly a flame.
“Do you have a problem with personal boundaries?” Kate asked.
“What? You want to show me what you’ve dug up on me and I’m simply showing an interest.”
“Can’t you show interest on the other side of the desk?”
“Do I make you uncomfortable, Kate?”
She laughed. “Seriously?” Kate stood and brushed right up the front of him, not budging. “No, Grady you don’t make me uncomfortable.”
His breath caught. She smiled and then looked down as she moved past him. Apparently two could play at this game, Grady thought.
“I like my space. Let’s move to the table.” Kate suggested as those damn heels clicked past him.
They both sat at the small round table in her office.
“Okay, here is the new schedule for this week. Blue represents your father’s activities and your commitments are in green.” Kate slid two copies of the schedule across the table to Grady. “Any questions?”
Grady shook his head while he read what his week would look like, and then set it aside. “Nope, looks pretty standard.”
“Okay, I have another goal for us this morning.”
Grady put on what Samantha always called his Happy Camper smile.
Kate ignored him. “Mark wants us to put together an ad featuring you, so I need to figure out what that’s going to look like. Tell me about your daily schedule.”
“My daily schedule?” Grady found the novelty of any type of
commercial about his life humorous and relied on his sarcasm once again. “Um, okay, well let’s see. I start each morning with a cup of coffee and a quick count of my pile of money.”
Kate looked up from her notes.
“Then I shower, meet some of my entitled friends for a morning of tennis. We retire to some bar or restaurant for food, booze, and loose women. Then—”
Kate was fighting a smile, he could see it, so he finished strong. “We all usually get lucky because after all, we’re so good-looking and loaded. So that leads to dinner, dancing, a quick trip to the jewelry store to buy my soul mate a bauble, and then back to my place for an endless night of passion.” Grady kept a straight face, sipped his water. “That about covers it, now where did you want to schedule in some super-senator’s son time?”
Kate sipped her own water and looked down at her notes, but he saw the corners of her mouth give her away. “Well, that seems like quite a life. I’m just wondering when in all of that gluttony and debauchery you find time to deliver groceries to the Dante House and,” she lifted his left hand, the one that Grady was trying to keep out of sight, “color eggs with the kids that live there?”
“What?” Grady said pulling his hand from hers. Damn egg dye. What the hell was with that stuff? It was like being branded, he thought. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. This?” He held up his hand. “This is from my pool.” Grady knew it was weak, but how the hell did she know about the Dante House? Were they having him followed?
“Your pool?” This time Kate let a laugh go.
“Yeah, some kind of reaction to the chemicals. I was testing them yesterday and, yeah I don’t know what happened.”
“Rainbow reaction? Just on your fingertips? That sure is strange.” Kate was still laughing, and pretending to take notes. She put her pen down, folded her hands. Grady knew the jig was up.
“Seriously, this isn’t a joke. I have a job to do here and with all due respect, you’re being ridiculous.”
Grady finished his water and refilled, buying time while he tried to think of something to say. Her gorgeous, full-throated laugh was not helping. Who knew that was in there? It was sexy, and her mouth, sweet Jesus, that mouth. Focus you idiot!
