Page 75 of Pride and Protest

Park

“I’m going to tell it to you straight. You need to shit or get off the pot with this Netherfield deal.” Senator De Berg squinted at the copy ofMaking Marriage Workhe had been flipping through, then turned to Dorsey.

Dorsey was once again in a DC municipal building, getting a lecture about how he should handle this situation.

“We’re hungry for new development. You can’t allow thesepermit tricks to stall you. The Alexandria council welcomes you with open arms, and you don’t seem to want to make a move,” the senator said.

“Do we know anything about the communities that we’re bulldozing?” Dorsey asked.

“What communities? These are mostly abandoned homes. If people cared about them, they wouldn’t be abandoned. It really is simple. Don’t let those people get under your skin.”

“No one’sunder my skin. I just don’t understand why this isn’t going the way these things usually go.”

“You can get away with a lot of stuff in Philly that won’t fly in DC. Everything is linked here. If you screw up in DC, you can kiss the federal government, Maryland, and Virginia goodbye.”

“I am aware of the stakes, Senator.” Dorsey pulled up the knees to his pants and sat.

“If you are aware of the stakes, what were you doing making goo-goo eyes at that Bennett girl at your company’s event?”

“Her grandmother won a contest fair and square.” It seemed like every step was a misstep where Liza was concerned.

“You can sell that horseshit someplace else. I’ve been young and rich before. She’s a pretty girl who’s got the balls to tell you no and doesn’t give a damn about your money.” The senator turned his attention back to the workbook. “It makes your dick hard and your head soft.”

“Senator, I don’t appreciate being told how to interact with someone like I’m a child. This is a complex situation that calls for a complex solution, not a whitewashing. I need the room to do that.”

“Can I give you a piece of advice, kid? You got a stick up your ass about something. Everybody sees it. I’m rooting for you, butyour board, you should know, isnot. But I’d rather work with you than some new asshole.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I can handle my board myself.”

“Sure, sure.” The senator held up his hands. “Look, I have a little friend in that district making a lot of things happen, Colin Gruthers. Why don’t you have dinner with us a couple of nights next week? They also want to bring over that Bennett woman from the memes. Apparently, they’re friends or related, but not really?”

“Play cousins,” Dorsey mumbled.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“I want you two to hash things out so we can get moving. It will also help you see that she’s a pain in the ass.”

Lizawasa pain in the ass, mostly because she wouldn’t get out of his head. Whenever he got out of the shower. Any time he touched his zipper, he thought of the cool metal chain from Liza’s back, and how he wanted to push her against the hard length of him and pound and suck and squeeze until his heart gave out. He thought of how neatly she had fit the hard planes of his body. This woman had been driving him insane. He had never been inclined to have dinner with this politician before, but suddenly his invitations were welcomed.

“What do you like to eat? Maybe my wife, Anne, can make a dish for you?”

“Oh, there’s no need for that.” Dorsey did not want to overcommit himself. Say yes one time, and he’d be on the calendar for a month.

“How about some Russian food, in honor of your departed brother?”

“My brother was from Slovenia. We’ve never been to Russia. Don’t know much about the cuisine.”

“It’s settled, then. A night in Moscow with the De Bergs.”

Dorsey shuffled his feet.

“A different country each night, and on the last night, the Philippines.”

“There’s really no need.”

“Oh, Anne’ll love it.”