I cursed under my breath at the creaking of the floorboards as I tried to enter the house quietly. I was a single man, but for the moment I had house guests in the form of my sister and her children.
“Uncle Evan,” a small voice whispered.
My eyes focused in the dark to see my niece standing before me. The small blonde girl held her teddy bear in her arms as she stood in her footie pajamas.
“Hey, Chrissy,” I whispered to the little girl. “What are you doing up?”
“I had a bad dream,” She stood shivering in my empty kitchen. “Can I sleep with you?”
“Yeah, come on.” As quiet as we could, Chrissy followed me through my house, in the direction of my bedroom.
We passed a room where the sounds of soft snores echoed. My sister and her other three children were all slumbering away.
My older sister Erica had been through a lot; from a bad divorce to drug addiction. When she got clean, I allowed her to stay with me while she rebuilt a life for herself and her kids.
I opened my bedroom door and little Chrissy bounced in until she reached my bed, where she climbed on top and snuggled herself between my blankets. I chuckled at the small girl who held her teddy bear to her chest.
“Did you have a good day while I was at work?” I asked my niece while I grabbed a clean pair of pajama pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. Chrissy nodded at my question and yawned.
I slipped out of the bedroom and into my private En suite bathroom to change out of my suit and into my pajamas. When I returned to the bedroom, Chrissy was fast asleep in my bed.
I grinned at my sweet niece, who was born addicted to heroin. One would never know and she was thriving above and beyond anyone’s expectations. I joined her in the large bed and clicked off the lamp. It seemed just as quickly as sleep had taken her, it would also take me into its abyss.
3
Kaitlyn
The flashes of the cameras blinded me as I tried my damnedest to keep my life as normal as possible. Being the President’s daughter was one thing, but getting engaged to a congressman had thrust me even deeper into the spotlight.
Media attention had seemed to grow on my morning Starbucks run once my mom was elected, and now, only the morning after her inauguration it was worse. I was hungover, and tried my best to seem as chipper and little annoyed as possible, but I was losing my patience.
I stood in line with the other patrons, but all the pointing and whispers were beginning to bug me. My head was pounding and the nausea sitting in my chest was threatening to spill over. I’d definitely had a little too much to drink at all the balls, when I knew I had to be at work bright and early.
Michael had woken me up on his way out the door. He left me with a soft kiss on the forehead before his driver brought him into DC. My driver and detail took me to my condo after a hot shower, and I changed into something for work before we were off for my morning coffee.
“Excuse me, excuse me, I’m with her,” a loud voice with a Boston accent said. I knew that voice very well as it nearly shouted over the crowd in the Starbucks before my bestie, Jessie, was at my side.
The brunette that approached me stood proudly as onlookers gawked, and many behind us groaned, at the new addition to the line.
“Oh stuff it. I do this every morning,” she yelled back to those behind us.
“Seriously, Jessie?” I groaned in embarrassment as the cameras continued to go off.
“What? I do this every morning. I stop by the newsstand outside, get my paper, and I come in here to grab coffee with my girl… Who looks like complete and total shit this morning.” She just had to note my appearance. That was Jessie though, she was brash, and truthful. I suppose that’s what you get when a girl was raised with six older brothers.
“Whatever,” I scoffed as Jessie bumped her shoulder into mine playfully. I laughed as I peered at her stack of newspapers, my mom’s face on the front of every one of them. Though one of the rag mags Jessie had also bought had my face on it with Michael. “Let me see.”
I grabbed the magazine from my friend’s hands. The photo on the cover was from mine and Michael’s vacation over the summer when we went to the Bahamas and were invited to a state dinner.
A Snake in the Garden
I scoffed and rolled my eyes at the headline. I thumbed through the magazine to find the article. I shook my head as it called Michael an opportunist. The article eluded to him using me for political clout.
“Can you believe this?” I showed her the article. “No one can forget the scandal when Congressman Ford was first elected. He was caught with another woman, which lead to he and his ex-wife’s messy divorce, which only concluded a year ago. The congressman has been known to sneak around town with other women and is likely going down the same path with Kaitlyn Marshall.”
“They’re just trying to make waves. Ignore that trash. Who the fuck believes this bullshit anyway,” Jessie spat in disgust.
“People like you who buy this trash,” I pointed out knowingly to my best friend.
“I buy it to say in the know of the gossip around DC. Sometimes the lies bring out some truth. I work for the top fixer in DC right now. I have to be on top of it because somebody will be waiting right around the corner to take my job.” Jessie did have a point and I couldn’t be mad at my best friend for her tastes in trash gossip rags.
“Michael and I are so strong together. We really belong together. He always tells me how it is so different between us than it was with his ex. I’m really happy and this ring–” I held up my hand that was now home to the incredibly large rock Michael has presented me with last night. “It’s only the beginning of something really beautiful.”
“Next,” the barista called out to myself and Jessie. There was no ordering as our drinks were ready. “A low-fat vanilla latte and a soy caramel macchiato.”
“You’re always a life saver, Gemma,” I gushed happily to the barista as I swiped my credit card.
Jessie and I strolled outside with our coffees in hand. The chill of the January morning made me shiver so hard my teeth chattered. I sipped my coffee as the waiting reporters tried to approach and yell questions at random.
I barely had to blink before my secret service entourage was on it and forcing the reporters to keep their distance from myself and Jessie.
Oddly, I felt something. I missed a certain someone who’d ended his shift last night after taking me and Michael home. The other guards seemed to do their job just as proficiently, but there was something missing without Evan there. Fuck, I missed the way Evan’s eyes roamed over my body when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.
“Earth to Kait,” Jessie sang in my ear, which snapped me out of my daydreams of the agent that wouldn’t get out of my mind. If he stayed on the job, I was fucked for the next four years.
“Yeah,” I answered quickly as I tried to hide my embarrassment behind my hair that was still silky beautiful from the inauguration and parties.
“What do you think of the immigration bill that Johansson and Wilson are trying to get to the floor?” Jessie asked as we neared the congressional office building I worked in.
“Dead in the water,” I answered because I knew. The Dems were not having it, and there were not enough Republicans in the House, nor the Senate, to get it passed. “We’re here, guess I’m working. I hope this coffee can do away with my headache very soon.”
“Have a great one, girl. I’ll see you around lunch,” we gave one another air kisses and Jessie moved onto whatever her task was for the day.
I held my coffee cup firmly in my hand before I entered the building with the stream of others. It was an eclectic mix of Congressmen and women, Senators, aides, and other staff who stalked the halls.
A yawn escaped as I pushed through to my boss’s office. I scored with my job working for Trish Villetti the junior senator out of Maryland. My life was spent in politics and I had learned at an early age how to network and make alliances. When I’d finished sch
ool, I had had quite a few congressmen and senators after me, but who wouldn’t want the daughter of a woman who was expected to sit in the White House.
I felt the change in the air when I entered the room. I wasn’t just the Communications Director for a sitting US Senator, but the daughter of the most powerful person in the world, and in return I held a little power of my own I supposed.
Choosing to ignore the shift in mood, I said my hellos to those who’d already arrived for work, before slipping into my own small office. It was quiet as I sat down my things and took off my coat. My job honestly wouldn’t be the same again for another four years or so.
I hadn’t been at work for a few days as we prepared for my mom’s inauguration, so I knew my inbox would be overflowing with the emails my assistant flagged for me.
My fingers massaged my temples as I tried to rub the hangover headache away. The ping of my work computer’s email system only made it worse. I could have taken the day off, but I wouldn’t give anyone in the office the satisfaction of saying I was only taking it off because of who my mom was. I worked my ass off to get to my position, and I wasn’t about to forfeit it. I was powerful in my own right.
Two hard knocks echoed off my office door. I groaned at the loud noise.
“Come in,” I called as I patiently waited for my emails to finish.
The door swung open and in walked the one person I really didn’t want to see, Trish’s Chief of Staff, Natalie. She practically glared at me as she approached my desk. Natalie was thin, blonde, and a total bitch. She even had that super bitchy short Kate Gosselin haircut to match her shitty attitude.
“Why have you not answered my emails?” Natalie stood over my desk with a look that made it appear as if someone had shoved dog shit in her face.
“What emails?” I really wasn’t up for any of Natalie’s crap.
“I know you were off for a few days, but you get your emails on your phone. There is no need to ignore them just because you think you’re someone special,” she snapped.
I took a deep breath to try and calm the lion waiting to pounce. I placed both hands on my desk and slowly rose.
“First of all, yes, I do get my emails on my phone, but I was off work because I was busy. Nina has been going through my emails the entire time I’ve been gone, and only alerting me to those that were time sensitive. Your email obviously didn’t fall into the category. Second, I no longer have my original work phone. The secret service replaced it, so I still need to inform every one of the new number, as well as reinstall my email client. Third, you have my home number and you can always reach me at that. Last, yes, I am someone special. I’m the girl who worked her behind off to hold this job. I hold two degrees from Yale, and I earned both of them the old-fashioned way.” I stared at her pale ass as she tried to comprehend what I had just told her. I didn’t have time to deal with Natalie right now because I did have multiple days of work to catch up on.
“Now, if your emails are so important, we can discuss them now. If not, I have work to catch up on, including all of my emails, and I would appreciate it if I was able to do so.”
Natalie took a couple steps back from my desk. I’d rattled her cage just enough to keep her off my ass for a couple days.
“No, I–I–completely understand and we can...ummm… talk about those emails later when you’ve that time to go through them.” As she nervously spoke, she backed away in the direction of my office door.
I could hear the hushed voices outside the door. They’d heard everything. That was her problem, not mine. I’d stood my ground. I refused to be walked over and treated like trash. She had no idea the shit I had gone through to make it this far not piggybacking off of my mother’s success.
As usual, the plan was to spend lunch with Jessie, but she had to cancel. There was something about a Senator fucking his kid’s nanny, and it was a work emergency for Jessie. With the change of plans, I decided to have my assistant grab lunch for me at my favorite little spot, and I walked over to Michael’s office.
My current secret service guard was behind me at all times. I sighed as I stepped into Michael’s offices. My agent was kind enough to stay outside the door.
“Congratulations!” cheered Nancy, Michael’s Chief of Staff, who stood from her desk and came directly to me. She pulled me into an excited hug, “We are so excited for the wedding. Let me see your ring.”
I never got a chance to show her my ring before she’d snatched my hand and was ogling at my rock.
“It’s huge!” she gushed!
“Yes, huge,” I groaned as I snatched my hand away. “Is Michael in?”
“He is. Just let me call,” she insisted, which I thought was strange. She was so persistent too, even putting her arm to block me from getting too close to his office door.
“Yeah, whatever. That’s fine, call.” I rolled my eyes as I waited for her to call him.
“Hello, Michael… Kaitlyn is here… Yes, okay… I will tell her.” She spoke to him before hanging up the phone and giving me one of her large, very fake smiles I was used to. “He says it will be just a moment. He’s in a meeting.”
“Okay,” I was getting beyond irritated.
“Do you have a color scheme in mind for the wedding?” she was anxious.
“No, I haven’t even been engaged for twenty-four hours yet,” I commented as I tapped my foot, impatient for Michael to end his meeting.
“Dresses. I bet you have a dream dress, though.” Chick was reaching and I sure as hell wasn’t there to chat with her.
Luckily for her, the door to Michael’s office opened. A tall, vivacious blonde excited, and gave Michael a sultry smile before she turned to leave the office, her hips swaying seductively. I didn’t know who she was, but I did know I didn’t like her immediately.
“Hey, baby,” Michael said as they approached me.
He bent to me as I stood on the tips of my toes for him peck me on my lips. The scent radiating from him smelled much too floral for him. I knew he spent much of his time in meetings, and any women he came across could have overdone it on the perfume. There was no use starting a fight over something juvenile.
“I brought you lunch,” I cooed sweetly to my handsome fiancé.
“Perfect, I’m starving. Come in.” I followed Michael into his office. He closed the door behind us as I strolled to his desk and sat the bag down.
Before I could do anything else, though, he was behind me. His plump lips were on the skin of my neck, and I inhaled his usual warm scent, along with the mixture of flowers. There was also a musk in the air.
“You need you air out your office. It smells musky,” but he ignored me and continued to plant kisses on my neck before slipping one hand around my belly and the other under my skin. “Mmm, baby. I don’t have long and I’m starving. Wasn’t last night enough for you?”
“You’re never enough, Kait,” he hummed. The vibrations of his voice sent shivers down my spine. Those same shivers reminded me of how I felt when Evan looked at me.
My eyes shut. I couldn’t keep Evan off my mind, even when I was being felt up by the fine piece of chocolate that was my fiancé. Instead of Michael, I could only imagine Evan’s intense eyes, his soft looking lips, and his barely there facial hair I wanted to run my fingers across.
“You okay?” Michael sounded concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine. So much on my mind, you know?”
Michael moved away and I instantly regretted his missing touch. He took my hand with his and pulled me along to his chair. He sat and placed me on his lap. I snuggled into his arms.
“What’s on your mind?” he prodded.
“The press is driving me nuts. They are making a mockery of our engagement. The nasty things they are saying about you breaks my heart. They make you about to be a player who is only using me for political clout, and cheating on me.” I hated repeating everything the papers said.
I knew I shouldn’t let it get to me. I’d grown up in the spotlight. I kn
ew the crap the press and others could spout. My mother’s political life and more recently her presidential campaign had been brutal, and I’d thought I had a thick skin.
My fingers wiped away the tears that escaped my eyes, and I chuckled. It was hard to believe I was actually crying over that mess. Worse had been said.
“I’m a basket case today,” I laughed at myself. “My period started this morning. Maybe that’s why I’m being so irrational and emotional. God, I feel like a loser.”
“Don’t worry. Big Daddy will make it all better,” Michael murmured in my ear. I grinned as I learned over to his desk and grabbed the bag of food. “Tonight, have your driver bring you to my house. I’ll have a hot bath waiting, chocolate, and afterwards a back and foot rub.”
“Perfection. You know me so well,” I hummed sweetly before pecking at his lips with a quick kiss before digging into my food.
“It’s ‘cause I love you, baby.” That’s all I needed. Those words from him meant the world to me. Politics and DC wasn’t all bad. Some of it lead to moments like mine with Michael, beautiful.
“This wedding,” I started between bites of my food.
“What about it?” Michael caressed my thigh gently. I always adored the way he touched me. His hands were always on me in some form. I was his, he’d made no secret of it from day one.
“When do you think we should do it? I’d love the fall.” Honestly, I had thought about when I’d like to get married, and I’d always known fall would be the perfect time for me.
“Fall won’t work for us. There are elections, and you know I’m gearing up for my reelection. I want to focus on that before focusing on a wedding,” Michael explained. My heart fell into my stomach. I thought he’d be just as anxious to marry quickly.
“Okay, if not this fall and next won’t work either because of your reelection. I can do another season. What about the following spring or summer?” I was anxious for the moment I was Mrs. Michael Ford, the wife of a congressman.
Seduction in a Suit: An Office Romance Collection Page 57
