Page 22 of The Illusion of Power (Passion and Politics #1)

“Because you need me, Aubrey. You’ve always needed me.

My face. My name. My melanin. I’ve lent credibility to your stances on racially charged issues like police reform.

Without me, you would be nothing more than another white man throwing buzzwords like ‘equality’ around.

I made your messaging more poignant. I’m the reason it hit home and brought in the voters who carried you in the polls, who qualified you for debates, and got you the Democratic nomination.

You wouldn’t be here without me, and if you want to make it to the Oval, you’ll do the smart thing and keep me around. ”

“She’s not wrong,” Jordan says. “After the children’s hospital appearance, you regained some of the ground you lost in the polls. Voters respond to the two of you together. They like it when you appear to be on solid ground.”

“And if we keep the act up, we can both get what we want. We couldn’t keep our vows. We don’t have AJ, but we can have the Oval, Aubrey.”

Aubrey shakes his head, and I’m not sure if he’s objecting to the entire proposal or my most recent statement. He scrubs his hand down his face. “ No. ”

There’s no reasoning with him, so I turn my attention to Jordan as I grab the manila envelope I sat down with before.

I don’t even open it before I slide it down the table to her.

It stops just short of her fingertips, and she pulls it the rest of the way, unwinding the piece of twine wrapped around the button to keep it closed.

Nothing ever spooks Jordan, so there’s no gasp of shock or horror when she pulls the pictures out, even though only the first one is familiar to her.

It’s the one that hit the press and blogs first. The one that made Aubrey come forward and admit to the affair with Sutton.

Up until this very moment, no one knew the ones underneath it existed except for me and the person who sent them to me.

There are fifteen in total, and Jordan flicks through the rest of them quickly, taking in each frame that displays all the ways Aubrey fucked Sutton throughout this very office and a wide array of discreet hotel rooms throughout the city.

“How do you even have these?” she asks, setting the photos down and sliding them over to Aubrey, who is now the color of a ripe tomato.

“Someone sent them to my office.”

What I don’t say is that the photos arrived over a week before the first one hit the press.

When the news broke, I acted just as shocked as everyone else was.

In a way, I was. I was shocked that the person who sent me the photos hadn’t chosen to share a more graphic image or publish all of the pictures at once.

Now, I’m grateful that they didn’t because it’s given me the leverage I need to navigate this moment.

Aubrey shoves the folder and the photos away, causing the images to scatter across the table. “You think this means anything? The world already knows I’m fucking her. I can’t admit to an affair twice.”

“No, but if you refuse to give me what I’m asking for, I’ll make sure you’re destroyed by it this time.

I’ll send those photos to your most critical political pundits and give a comment to every reporter who asks for one.

I’ll write a tell-all book and have it out before the election.

You know how I am, Aubrey, when I’m hyper-focused on something, I can have it done like that.

” I snap my fingers. “Jordan can tell you how many publishers are chomping at the bit to tell my story. I’ll sign the first deal that comes with an expedited release date and puts the book on the shelves before Halloween.

And do you know what happens when you put a book out, Aubrey?

Press tours. Normally, I hate the press, but I’ll make an exception for the chance to ruin you.

I’ll do interview after interview until the only thing anyone sees when they turn on the news is my tear-stained face and your poor execution of every pose in the Kama Sutra. ”

Aubrey and I stare at each other, locked in a silent battle of wills.

He’s used to me losing, but today I’m not walking away with anything less than a win.

I let that determination show on my face, let it bleed out of my pupils and drip off of my lashes.

With nothing but my eyes, I remind him that the only reason the affair didn’t end him before is because I chose not to let it.

I wanted to see him succeed, but if he refuses to give me what I want, thereby ensuring that I’ll fail to keep the promise I made in my son’s name, then I’ll make sure he fails too.

And no one, not even Jordan St. James, will be able to stop me.

Aubrey is still in denial about that fact, but Jordan? She knows. For the first time since the day we’ve met, she’s looking at me with a flicker of admiration in her gaze. She gathers the photos up and puts them back into the envelope.

“Thank you for this proposal, Selene. Aubrey and I will discuss it and get back to you.”

After I leave Aubrey and Jordan, I return to work and have the most productive day I’ve had in months, feeling lighter than I’ve in years.

That feeling is aided by the update Monique gave me during our one-on-one about how getting the product launch back on track has impacted our plan to hire the coding academy graduates.

Our initial hope was to hire them all, but the delay and the associated setbacks meant that wouldn’t be possible.

Now that we’re back on solid footing with our stakeholders, our quarter four projections indicate that we’ll be able to bring on at least 90% of them, which is a significant increase from last year, when we were only able to take on half of the cohort.

It’s not quite the full sweep I was hoping for, but it’s close enough, and today I’m allowing myself to take the small win because I know there’s a bigger one on the horizon for me.

When I arrive home that night, the win comes to me in the form of Aubrey and Jordan waiting for me inside my office. They’re gathered at the small conference table to the right of the door, so I spot them immediately and clock the stack of papers with signature tabs on the side shortly after.

Contracts.

The sight of them makes me smile, and the sight of my smile sets Aubrey’s teeth on edge. He hides the grimace curling his lips behind the rim of the tumbler of whiskey in his hand, taking a long, deep gulp as I sit down across from him.

“Didn’t take you long to convince him this is the best option,” I say to Jordan, dipping my chin in acknowledgment of the feat she accomplished in such a short time. I’d expected it to take at least a day for her to get Aubrey back to the table.

Her smile is thin and tight as she cuts straight to the chase. “We’ve reviewed your offer, and Aubrey accepts your terms.” She picks the first set of pages up off the stack in front of her and slides it over to me. “But we have some stipulations.”

I flip through the pages, scanning the lines and absorbing their meaning. “Stipulations?”

“Just caveats that will help protect the truth of your new dynamic,” Jordan assures me.

“You’re required to attend all campaign-related events, including photo shoots, interviews, trips, etc.

; you have to continue living in the residence and wearing your wedding ring.

You’re also required to continue the utilization of the Secret Service detail to maintain appearances, and you must not… ”

Jordan continues reciting the clauses, but I tune her out so I can fully absorb the words in front of me.

For the most part, the demands are reasonable, and they will go a long way towards protecting the image I want to help Aubrey sell.

I’m not even mad at the clause forbidding me from speaking publicly about any political beliefs that contradict Aubrey’s because we’re in alignment on everything that matters.

What does give me pause, though, is the last bullet point. My eyes move over the words just as my brain begins to acknowledge the sound of Jordan’s voice again.

“Lastly, you are prohibited from engaging in any physical or emotional relationships outside of your marriage.”

My jaw drops, and my eyes leave the contract to find a smug grin on Aubrey’s face as he tosses back the last of the whiskey in his glass. Starting a relationship with anyone is the furthest thing from my mind right now, but I still feel a fresh wave of annoyance roll down my spine at the inclusion.

“Are you serious right now?” I hiss at him, rolling my eyes when he chuckles and nods.

“As a heart attack,” he tosses back nastily, making me wish, for just a second, that a cardiac event would strike him down, so I don’t have to.

“You cheated, Aubrey. You’re still cheating, and you have the nerve to add this in like I’m the one who got caught with my pants down.”

“Selene,” Jordan calls in a calm but demanding tone. “Everything that applies to you applies to Aubrey.”

This subtle appeal to my strong sense of justice works just as she intended. My shoulders relax, and I study Aubrey, realizing that his shitty mood has less to do with me and more to do with having to break up with his mistress for real this time.

“So you’re done with Sutton?”

Jordan doesn’t even give him time to answer. “For good. She is no longer affiliated with the campaign in any fashion and is currently aboard a flight to Kentucky, where she plans to quietly rebuild her life.”

“I’m sure the large check you gave her will make that a lot easier.”

Aubrey doesn’t appreciate my musing or the irony behind it. Just this morning, he was accusing me of wanting his money, but in the end, it was his little girlfriend who made off with it.

“Just sign the damn contract,” Aubrey growls, rising from his seat to pour himself another drink.

“There’s also an NDA,” Jordan adds, sliding the last stack of papers in front of me. “It just ensures that you won’t disclose the true nature of your relationship to anyone, including, but not limited to, the media, your family, friends, or colleagues.”

I gather both sets of documents and place them side by side. “And how do you plan to enforce these contracts? There are no penalty clauses here.”

Aubrey snorts as he returns to the table. “Because no one is stupid enough to write down threats.”

My brows rise in surprise as I look between the two of them. “Threats? What exactly do you think you know about me that you could use to threaten me?”

“We don’t have to know anything,” Jordan says, leaning back in her chair.

“That’s the amazing thing about power and influence, Selene.

You can say anything, and all of a sudden—” she holds up her hands, using her fingers to mimic an explosion “—it just is. I can make anything, even the most outlandish lie, seem like a fact, and when you’re talking about things people don’t understand, like the inner workings of a tech firm, it’s easy to create panic and distrust. I have an entire folder of stories ready to run about Culture Code, complete with media placements and witnesses who’ll corroborate any story I want them to tell. ”

Aubrey grins, clearly enjoying this little shake down. “My favorite is the one about your company mining and selling American user data to China.”

“China, seriously?”

“Or Russia.” Jordan shrugs. “Whatever country Americans are most afraid of that week is who you’ll be in bed with. We’ll plant the seed, and misinformation and fear will do the rest.”

Sadly, I know that she’s telling the truth.

The years I spent at the side of a political animal like Aubrey have shown me just how easily politicians can use the media to manipulate the public.

They could destroy my business whenever and however they want, and there wouldn’t be much I could do about it.

That thought should scare me.

And the fact that the two contracts in front of me all but guarantee the loss of the leverage that got us to the negotiating table should make me want to back down, but as I pull a pen from my purse, there’s no fear or desire to retreat.

There’s only the exultant rush of achievement stemming from securing the necessary support to honor my son’s memory and the heady knowledge that I won’t ever be in danger of breaking this contract.

I have no reason to.

Aubrey’s campaign is already dictating my schedule.

I never had any intention of leaving the house I made a home.

And most importantly, there isn’t a single man in this world with whom I want an emotional or physical connection.