Page 4 of Desire
“I know, but I wanted to see for myself.”
“Yeah, I did a little research, too. I hope they find the perfect man for you, sis. You deserve it, even if this is a little unorthodox.”
“Thank you. Having your support means a lot.”
“Mama and Daddy are gon’ kill you when they find out, and we’ll be next when they find out we knew and didn’t tell them,” Dream said.
I was worried about how my parents would react when they found out, so I didn’t plan to tell them until the day before the wedding.
“Let me worry about that. I have to go. Love y’all.”
“Love you, too,” they replied in unison before the call ended.
“The city doesn’t want their mayor to be a known whore,” my assistant Tammy said.
I chuckled. “At least I don’t have a wife I’m cheating on.”
“True, but you didn’t win the last election convincingly. This time, you’ll need to appeal to people with families and single mothers.”
“I’ve calmed down a lot this past year. The blogs and local papers have barely mentioned me.”
“That may be true, but you never know when one of your old strays will pop up trying to secure her spot.”
“Like I said, it’s been a minute since I’ve had any bad press. Even Karsyn Keeting has calmed her messy ass down. I think the ladies got love for me, single or married.”
As the first Black mayor of Onyx City, I was doing a damn good job. No one could deny it. However, the women of OC were itching to get their paws on me, which was cool as long as they understood that all I could offer them was good dick and conversation. My heart wasn’t up for grabs unless Miss Chambries was doing the grabbing. Desire Chambries. I wondered if her parents knew how desirable she’d be when they chose her name.
Tammy shook her head and rolled her eyes. “The polls say something very different. We have to do something to clean up your image, and we need to do it fast. In three weeks, you have to announce your decision.”
I’d gone back and forth with myself about my next move. I enjoyed running the city that raised me but doing it as a single father was no joke. My baby girl was my number one priority, and she demanded all of my attention when we were together. Her mother wanted nothing to do with her and signed over her rights a few days after Azaria was born. I didn’t want her mother’s absence to affect her, so I did all I could to make up for it.
“Do you have any ideas?” I asked Tammy because I sure as hell didn’t.
“Actually, I have the perfect idea.”
“I’m all ears.”
“Arranged Hearts.”
I had heard the name but wasn’t sure where. After Tammy explained it, I was weary, but not for the reasons one would think. If I got married, Miss Chambries would no longer be an option. I may have been considered a ladies’ man who hadn’t given much thought to marriage, but it was for life if I decided to take that step.
“I don’t know,” I told her.
“I think it’ll work. You only have to stay married long enough to win the election.”
“That seems kind of… unethical.”
“You’re a politician. It won’t be the first unethical thing you’ve done since you’ve been in office.”
“Don’t do that, Tammy.”
“Okay, that may be taking it too far, but this would be for a good cause. They have a very high success rate. You never know; you may be matched with the woman of your dreams.”
I mulled it over for a few minutes.
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
“Hello, Aziel. I’m Nathan Bryant, and this is my wife, Savannah.”