I tugged on her shoulder so she would turn and face me. “That’s horrible. That was horrible of him to do that to you. I’m sorry you had to find out that way. I’m sorry you had to find out at all.” I pulled her into my embrace and held her there for a few minutes. I still felt like I needed to address the topic as it pertained to us, though. I leaned back a bit so I could see her face while I spoke. “I never really gave having children much thought. I always figured that was something I would think about later in my life, you know?”
“Do you want to have children?”
“I’ve always said I’d like to be a father. Someday.”
“I think that’s enough to work with. It’s important to me. I just know I don’t want to be in another relationship with someone who doesn’t want a family. If I’m going to have a chance at a do-over, I’m going to do it the exact way I want to do it.”
I just smiled and kissed her. I loved her conviction and her passion for life. If only the other woman I used to say those exact same things about could appreciate what I saw in her.
Because I had a fantasy of my own. I had always hoped that Skye and my wife would end up being the best of friends someday too. I had to hold out hope that things were going to work themselves out.
Chapter Thirteen
“Are you sure you can be there? It’s at ten fifteen sharp. You can’t be late. You have to be on time. In fact, be there early. You’ll want to be there early. Can you be there early?”
“Oh my God, woman. How many cups of coffee did you have this morning?” I was driving Bailey to the office. She’d told me she had a very important press conference that morning, and she asked me to come back and be there for the event. She even made sure I wore a suit and tie.
“I’m very proud of you, baby.” I squeezed her hand while I navigated through downtown rush-hour gridlock.
“What for? You don’t even know what’s going on. I mean, you don’t, do you?” Panic crossed her face. If she wasn’t already so tense, it would’ve been a little comical.
“No. But whatever it is, it seems very important. And I’ll always be proud of you. You’ve been working day and night for the past three weeks, so whatever you’ve been doing, I’m guessing this is the culmination?”
“It is.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “And it is very important. And I’m so glad you’re going to be there.” She took a turn at the hand-squeezing action. “You look gorgeous, by the way.”
“Thank you. You look stunning, as always. That jade blouse is the best with the gray suit. Great choice.”
“Well, having a sexy ex-fashion model living under my roof helps for many reasons. This is one that I can talk about in public without blushing.”
“Yeah? Name one reason that makes you blush?” I goaded her to tell me more.
“Oh no you don’t,” she teased. “I need to keep my head in the game today. Nice try, though. Tonight, on the other hand, all bets are off. Maybe tonight, you can tell me about one of your fantasies.” She waggled her brows when I looked over at her.
“Oooooh, careful what you sign up for, girl.”
“Darn! Would you look at that! We’re here already!” Her smile was radiant as she gathered her things from behind the driver’s-side seat, easier to reach from the front passenger seat. “Remember, ten fifteen. Make sure you’re here on time. Maybe you shouldn’t leave the area. Just go park and work from your laptop at the café across the street?”
“Bailey?” I had learned to interrupt her when she got neurotic.
“Hmmm?” She looked up from stuffing papers into her bag.
“Go. I got this,” I said calmly, bestowing my Zen aura onto her.
“Sorry. I love you.” She stretched across the console, and I kissed her.
“I love you. You’re going to be awesome.”
“Yeah, I am,” she said with confidence.
Regardless of how annoying she was being, I took her advice and parked in the employee parking garage, since the SUV had a permit on it, and camped out across the street at the coffee shop. I had a bunch of invoicing to do for BBI, and it was the perfect spot to hop on free Wi-Fi and get it done.
I had moved into Bailey’s house three weeks ago, and so far, things were working out great. We’d found an easy rhythm around each other and were getting along like naturals. She’d been working on a big project at work, so she’d been putting in extra hours. I usually had dinner waiting for her when she got home, but she picked at her food like a bird. I was doing my best to get her to change her eating habits, but she was a stubborn mule when she wanted to be. Somehow, it made me love her even more.
I made my way to the common area in front of city hall, where press conferences were customarily held. Satellite trucks from local news channels were parked at the curb, with cameramen and television personalities milling about, waiting for the event to start. Folding chairs were lined up in neat rows in front of the wooden podium in the center of the roped-off common. I showed the security guard the press pass Bailey had given me that morning and made my way to the front to claim a seat.
Chairs filled up quickly as the time approached ten fifteen. I could see Bailey pacing inside the corridor of the building, waiting for the event to start. Clearly, she was going to be giving the press conference or at least be one of the main speakers. A few other people milled around with her inside, but she seemed to maintain a few feet of space between her and everyone else at all times. Surprisingly, Skye emerged from the building with a few of her coworkers that I recognized from various functions I had attended with her. One of the women gave me a quick wave when she saw me sitting there before remembering I was now on the enemy’s team and dropped her hand in embarrassment.
As the press conference got underway, the mayor made his way to the microphone, introduced himself, the chief of police, Bailey—who was the acting city manager—the city controller, and the city attorney. It was unusual to have the top brass of the city all in one place at the same time. Eight of the fifteen members of the city council were in attendance in the front row of chairs, each standing and waving to the crowd when their names were announced. Something big was about to go down, because the gang was definitely all here.
“At this time, I’d like to turn the microphone over to the acting city manager, Bailey Hardin, who will present the State of the City address in her late husband’s stead.” The well-groomed man hugged Bailey when she approached, and Skye physically turned in her seat to give me an “I told you so” glare and then turned back to face forward. It was the most immature thing I’d ever seen her do in our entire friendship, and I felt both embarrassed and ashamed for her at the same time. Her jealousy and lust for power were turning her into an awful person. There was nothing remotely inappropriate about the public greeting that was exchanged between the two colleagues.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, my fellow Angelinos, city officials, family members, and friends. We are gathered here this morning, under the beautiful California sun that we are so fortunate to claim as our home, under false pretenses. I’m sorry to have misled you all into thinking we came here for the State of the City address, but it was necessary to gather the officials needed to hear the charges that are about to be brought against the sitting mayor of Los Angeles and have him immediately dismissed as the leader of our fine city.”
Immediately, murmurs spread through the people in attendance, and a few even shot to their feet and beelined toward the building. Bailey seemed to make eye contact with a few of the uniformed police officers stationed at the entrances before continuing with her speech. The crowd settled down quickly to hear what she would say next.
“These circumstances are unusual, indeed, and legal proceedings will take place justly, and swiftly, but behind closed doors. It was important, to me and the other officials involved, that the public know and understand the misuse of power and wrongdoing going on in city hall during Mayor Roberts’s tenure.
“My husband was a
corrupt man. He fit in well in this administration, and it wasn’t until his untimely death that I began to uncover such wrongdoings that I just couldn’t sit back, in good conscience as a citizen of this city, and watch go on. When I began investigating in the capacity of my former position in the city’s financial office, I quickly uncovered alleged misappropriation of campaign funds, bribery, and gambling. We have evidence that also gives cause to investigate accusations of sexual misconduct, drug abuse, corruption of a minor, sex with a minor, and prostitution.
“Again, all accusations are alleged at this time, and the city’s district attorney’s office will have their work cut out for them in the upcoming months. I worked with other officials in the mayor’s office, those who you see here today”—she motioned to the people sitting in the front row, on the side of the podium opposite Skye—“that hold either appointed positions or elected offices, to gather evidence to have the mayor and several other officials relieved of their duties.
“The police chief and his officers are here today to see that no person who is being charged with a crime, whether it be felony or misdemeanor, leaves the premise before being duly processed. All of the exits are being monitored, and we appreciate everyone just staying in their seats while the police chief and his department take care of their duties. I thank you for coming out today. We won’t be answering questions at this time. Thank you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she sought my face in the crowd. When our eyes met, she beamed, and I had never been so proud of another person in my entire life. She had been working so hard on this, and I knew it was something very important to her, but I’d had no idea the gravity of the situation. She was a true hero for our city. Whatever she had discovered in her husband’s affairs, she had chosen not to bury it. Instead of protecting his rotten name, she had decided to bring corrupt people to justice.
A decent amount of chaos ensued. The mayor was not interested in cooperating, nor were many of the others who had just been implicated on live social media and mainstream news coverage. However, Bailey and her team had a good plan in place, and even those who escaped into the building were detained at locked exits inside. No one got out without showing proper identification and being cleared by the law enforcement officials who were stationed at every exit. Over the course of the following three hours, all but four of the accused were taken into custody. Of the missing four, two were said to still be in the building, trying to tie up loose ends in their offices, and the other two were simply unaccounted for.
As for Mayor Roberts, he was seeking private council with his attorney in the holding room of the county jail.
Leaning against the wall outside Bailey’s office, I heard her hang up the phone, for what I hoped was the last time. I peeked my head around the doorjamb. “I’m taking you home. Kicking and screaming if I have to.”
“I’m so ready. I’m exhausted.”
“You were amazing today.” I beamed, crossing the room to where she leaned against her desk.
“Thank you, Oliver.” She kissed me, and I quickly grabbed her waist and pulled her closer.
“You could’ve told me this was going on. I could’ve helped. I don’t know, done something…” I brushed a stray hair back behind her ear.
“I had to do it myself. I hope you understand. The more I dug, the more I found out. My heart broke every day. I don’t know when it all fell apart for William. We’d planned a lot of things, but being corrupt wasn’t part of those dreams. We were young and idealistic. Somewhere that turned into taking bribes, doing drugs.” She shook her head, her voice cracking and then trailing off. “He was renting hookers and hotel rooms on a weekly basis, Oliver. Using taxpayer money to have sex with girls barely old enough to vote.”
All I could do was hold her in my arms. What could I say in response? He was an asshole. A lying, cheating scoundrel. Skye always knew it. She told me repeatedly that he was a piece of shit. She was just biding her time until he got caught or the next election cycle passed and hoped he would be replaced.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, with you, for starters. This job. The mayor. There’s going to be a lot of upheaval around here. Especially in the coming weeks.”
“That’s putting it mildly. The members of the city council have been working very closely with the police chief and the district attorney, trying to figure out who will be removed from office and who will be left standing. Obviously, because of his level of involvement, the mayor will be relieved. The election is now a month out. The city council will probably hold down the fort—so to speak—until then. They may have their chairman stand in as acting mayor, because it certainly won’t be me.
“The only reason I accepted the appointment from the mayor in the first place was so I could get on the inside and finish getting the evidence I needed to put them all away. I’ve never had political aspirations of my own. I know that was hard for others around here to believe, but it’s the truth.
“And as far as Skye is concerned, I was trying to save her from being associated with a scandal like this. If her name was tarnished this early in her political career, she may as well have found a new career path altogether. So, whether she ever believes it or not, I was trying to help her, not sabotage her. The minute I realized what was going on, I switched my strategy from helping get her appointed to getting myself appointed instead.” Her eyes searched mine while she spoke.
“And I will never be able to repay you.”
We both turned abruptly toward the open doorway of Bailey’s office, where my former best friend stood, clutching a stack of folders against her chest.
“Skye. How long have you been standing there?” Bailey asked, pulling out of my arms and standing up straight.
“Long enough. I came to give my resignation, figuring you would be appointed the mayor pro tem at minimum. Although I don’t think we’ve had an MPT in years.” She smiled. An actual smile. Looking once again like the beautiful woman I loved with all my heart.
“Maybe I should leave you two alone?” Bailey started toward the door, and Skye objected first, before I had a chance to do the same.
“No, please stay. I need to talk with both of you. Although I would like to do it privately, so would either of you mind if I close the door?” Contrite Skye was definitely not the girl I was used to seeing very often.
Bailey and I both shook our heads, and she came back and stood beside me. “Let’s sit down.” She motioned to the grouping of chairs just beyond her desk.
Once we all were situated, Skye cleared her throat, and looked directly at me. “I think I was instructed to start off with ‘Oliver, I owe you an apology.’” She smiled timidly, testing the waters, and when I smiled too, she reached for my hand. I held hers in mine, and she went on. “I was a horrible, horrible bitch and an even worse friend. I’m lucky you will even be in the same room with me at this point, let alone hold my hand in what I hope is forgiveness. I was mean and judgmental and unfair, and I hope you can forgive me for the things I said and the way I treated you. I was wrong, and I’m ashamed and embarrassed for the way I behaved. I put all the wrong things in front of our friendship, and I will never do that again. I love you.” Tears were rolling down both our cheeks by the time she finished.
“I love you too, Skye Blue. I’m sorry for the things I said too. Most of them, at least.” I winked, and she giggled. “I hope we never fight like that again.” We shared a quick chair hug before she took a deep breath and started again.
“Bailey. I don’t know where to begin.” She angled her body in the chair to face my beautiful girlfriend fully. “So many things happened when Oliver started seeing you. My life literally fell apart. In one quick turn of events, I lost my best friend and the career I’d been working toward for years. I put the crosshairs on your back because it was the logical place to aim. I’m sorry for the petty, hateful things I said behind your back. I fell into the trappings of office go
ssip and game playing, and now”—she thumbed over her shoulder toward the door—“I just heard you say you did it to help me. Obviously, that was one of many reasons, I understand that, but why not just say something? Let me in on the plan and let me be part of the solution?”
“You have to understand, Skye,” Bailey responded. “Even though people think they have a great poker face and they can react in a natural way, nothing replaces the organic process. And unfortunately, that’s what we needed to happen in this entire situation. And it wasn’t just up to me to decide. All the players in this game agreed it was in everyone’s best interest to let things play out as they naturally would have if Mayor Roberts put me in the city manager position and all the interoffice politics played out as they had.
“If you had taken that position, so much evidence would have been altered or destroyed all together. By me taking the position and giving Roberts the impression I was already privy to everything William had been up to, he was lazy and didn’t bother covering his tracks or changing his behavior at all. The hardest part was coming to work every day and watching his disgusting antics go on right under everyone’s noses.”
Skye shook her head in agreement. “It makes sense. And I can’t thank you enough for saving my career. When all the dust settles, that’s what it boils down to. You saved my political life. If I had been appointed by Roberts, I’d be in lockup right now, because no doubt, my signature would have been on something over these past few weeks, and then I’d be under investigation too. My career would be over before it even got started. All because I think I know better than everyone else. So, I thank you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Oliver is a very lucky man to have you in his life.”
Skye looked at me and smiled, and continued, “But I have to say, you are a very lucky woman to have him in yours. He is an amazing, kind, loving, and giving soul. He has the capacity to love way beyond himself, and if you are the very lucky person he decides to bestow that upon, you should consider yourself one of the luckiest humans that ever existed. All the rotten, deceitful things William did to lose your faith in men? This one will make you forget in the blink of an eye. Please cherish him. Take care of him. Love him with all that you have in your heart. He deserves nothing less.” She wiped more tears from her cheeks when she finished.
Misadventures with a Book Boyfriend Page 17
