Page 6 of The Senator's Secret
“Me too. And Aunt Mable.”
Jules smiles at that. “She was always worse than the three of us.”
“I hear nothing’s changed on that front.”
“Here you go, ladies,” Anthony says as he places a cold martini glass in front of each of us and a wooden carving board of breads, cheeses, and fruits between us.
“Thank you,” I say on a smile as I reach for my glass.
Jules, again, turns her attention back to me as he walks away, and my sip turns into a gulp. I know her inquisition is coming; I just don’t want to answer right now.
“So, now, what’s really going on?” she asks me.
“Why would you think anything is going on?” I counter her question with one of my own.
“Because you are evading my question, and you never do that unless something is bothering you, so you might as well just spit it out. I’m going to find out anyway.”
“That’s true,” I say on a sigh.
“So, what is it?” Jules asks as she serves up bread and cheese on two small plates before passing me one.
“My Open Arms project is dead in the water,” I admit before stuffing a giant bite of bread in my mouth. Sometimes you just have to admit to yourself that life kind of sucks in the moment and then eat your feelings. I’m okay with accepting that now is my moment.
“Why would you say that?”
“Last night, I went to the gala for Purple Paws, and Senator Chancellor was there,” I begin to explain.
“And how is the man of the hour?” she asks. “I hear his campaign is off and running.”
“Ruining my life,” I snap a little too harshly before regretting my misplaced emotion in a public setting. I reach for my glass again and take another huge sip.
“Easy there, killer.” She smirks. “So how is Bachelor of the Year ruining your life? Tell Auntie Julia, so she can fix it and make the mean man pay.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I say as I take my time spreading a soft cheese over a piece of bread. “Every single person I talked to about backing my project said they would only commit if Chancellor was connected.”
“Every single one? That seems a bit excessive.”
“It was. Everyone wants him or access to him,” I whine.
“Heisrunning for President of the United States,” she says softly before sipping her cocktail. “I can understand why people are interested.”
“But my project?” I ask. “I don’t need him.”
“One could argue at this juncture that you do,” she tells me quietly just before Anthony comes back to take our dinner order and deliver another martini to me.
“Don’t remind me!” I practically whine. God, I hate who he makes me be. I am not this whiny person. I don’t need him to clear the path for me, dammit. I will clear it on my own.
“What can I get you ladies?” Anthony asks.
“The steak, medium, baked potato, and a salad,” she orders.
“Very good,” he says before turning to me. “And for you?”
By now, I’m a fair amount of vodka and not a lot of food deep, something I never do, so I follow Jules’s lead and load up. “The same for me please.”
“Now tell me why we don’t like the sexy senator again?” she says.
“He’s just so… so…” I stammer. There is too much vodka swirling around in my brain to avoid words like sexy or tantalizing. How can I explain that I can’t be near him without falling onto his penis which is, no doubt, always ready, and I also can’t stand to watch other women receive the pleasure of his company. And I’m sure there is plenty of pleasure to go around where Jake Chancellor is concerned.