Page 36 of Hurry Up And Wait

“Do you think he’d go further than that?” I didn’t really need an answer from her. I just wanted to know how naive she was about the situation. I didn’t want her to be blindsided when he lost control.

“I think you already know the answer to that.”

I did, and I was glad to see she didn’t have blinders on when it came to him. “You know this is going to be complicated.”

She nodded. “Just be honest with me and things will be fine.”

“Then you should know I have to work out of town for a while. I won’t be around.”

“Will you call?”

“When I can. Are you okay with that?”

“I’m a big girl, Kavanaugh. I’ve never relied on any man to take care of me.”

I slid my hand over her hip and pressed my lips to hers. “I hope that’s not true about all things.”

I lefther on the floor early in the morning, rushing out the door to catch my plane. The last thing I wanted to do after worshiping her body all night long was spend any time at all with the man I used to call my father. But this was part of the job and as long as I remembered that, I would be fine.

I studied everything about the senator’s campaign on the flight. By the time I landed, I was ready to scrub my eyeballs clean with all the crap he crammed into his town hall meetings. He lied so easily to his constituents, and my mother didn’t seem to care at all. She smiled the whole time, wearing those wholesome clothes that made her look like a throwback to Jackie O.

As promised, a car was waiting for me at the airport. I would have gladly taken a cab, but apparently, his son wasn’t allowed to arrive in public transportation. I wasn’t sure how he was supposed to win over anyone with that attitude, but it wasn’t for me to tell him how to run his campaign.

I stepped onto the curb in front of the glass tower where he ran his campaign. I checked in at the front desk and was given a badge to the third floor. As the elevator doors closed behind me, I tried to remember that the sooner I got this over with, the quicker I could get back to my life. I didn’t need to spend every hour here—just longenough that I could help the senator and gain the information I needed.

The moment the doors slid open, a weight pressed down on my chest and acid burned my throat. I swore I would never be part of his world again, yet here I was.

“Bradford!” A man in dress pants and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up raised his hand, then rushed over with a smile on his face. He was young, maybe late twenties, and looked like all he did with his time was run errands around this building.

He held his hand out to me, grinning the whole time. “Hey, I’m Jim. Your father told me you were coming today. I recognize you from the pictures. It is such an honor to meet you.”

What a fucking suckup. “Why?”

He fumbled over his words, clearly thinking that all he had to do was kiss my ass and I’d like him. “Because of your father.”

I nodded slightly, leaning in closer. “If you think that kissing my ass is going to help you get ahead, you’re fucking wrong. I’m only here because I have to be.”

The kid actually paled as he looked up at me. All the admiration he felt moments before was replaced by shock. Yes, the son of the senator had no desire to be here. He would find out eventually that every word his hero said was a lie. I knew better. I’d grown up in the same house as him. I’d seen the way he manipulated people to get what he wanted.

“Um…the senator will see you,” he said, turning and hastily walking down the hall to the office at the back.

Of course, it was the largest office on the floor, with a fucking minibar in the corner and a door that looked like it led into a private bathroom. The senator was behind his desk, talking over something with another man. As soon as I entered, his face lit up and he came charging around the desk with his arms spread wide like he was going to give me a hug.

I immediately cut off any hope of showing off for his staff. I drew the line at that. I dropped my bag in front of me, making it impossible for him to come any closer. He dropped his arms and his smile dimmed slightly.

“Son.”

“Senator.”

He didn’t care for my tone of voice, but I didn’t care for any of this, so I didn’t give a fuck. “I can see you’ve already met Jim. The office wouldn’t run without him.”

With a quick look in Jim’s direction, I could see why he was sucking up to me. This kid thrived on praise.

“This is my chief of staff, Edward,” The senator stepped aside and motioned to the man at the desk, who stood, buttoning his jacket. He cast a careful look over me, clearly disapproving of my choice of clothing.

“We’ll have to do some work to get him ready.”

“Oh, no need. I’ve got everything in my bag.” I kicked it just to add insult to injury.