His Climb to Power Read online

  At least he wasn’t lying to me. It made me feel a little bit better after he’d explained about Handan. Now I just needed to be clear about what was happening to me.

  Still, things were feeling more and more complicated. When I was with Jack, I was so happy and so certain that I belonged with him, but when he was gone, I felt the huge gaps in our relationship.

  God knew that I didn’t want to start thinking of Riley right now.

  “I hope leftover spaghetti is okay,” I said as I sat a bowl in front of him. He was half naked with a towel slung around his waist, and I was dressed in his shirt that I’d found on the back of my couch. Sitting in my own chair, I pulled my feet up and stared at him.

  “Spaghetti is fine. You’re staring at me.”

  “I just can’t believe that you’re here. How long are you here for?”

  “I told everyone that there was a situation at home that I needed to take care of today and that I’d be back tomorrow, so I’ll have to leave early in the morning.” He looked up suddenly. “I should have called first to see if that was okay, but I guess I was worried that you might say no.”

  I worried my lower lip. “It’s okay.”

  “Blythe, is something wrong?”

  Guilt gripped me. What if he’d decided to surprise me at the office and saw me with Riley? Not that I’d done anything that I’d feel guilty about, but that didn’t change the fact that I hadn’t told him. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I took a deep breath. “Since you’re here, there is something that we need to talk about.”

  “Okay.”

  “Some big donors have dropped out because of everything that’s been happening.”

  Jerking up, he narrowed his eyes. “Give me their names,” he demanded.

  “I won’t do that.” I laughed softly. “Part of me wonders if it was our enemy trying to force you even farther away from me, which I actually might have a solution for. I met someone, Riley Jenson. He’s a business consultant, and he’s been working with us pro-bono. He’s had some great ideas and has been really wonderful.”

  Jack’s eyes narrowed just slightly. “Are you telling me this just so I won’t worry, or are you telling me this because Riley Jenson isn’t some older man who’s happily married with kids and grandkids?”

  “Both?” I winced. “I wanted to let you know the situation I’m in. He’s interested in me, and he thinks that I’m single because I can’t tell him otherwise. I’m playing the just-out-of-a-relationship card and trying to pretend that I’m not interested in jumping into another one…”

  “Pretending?” he asked in a low and cold voice.

  “Don’t start,” I hissed. “You’ll this gorgeous woman hanging on your arm whenever cameras are around, and I haven’t complained about it.”

  “Damn it, Blythe, that’s to protect you.” He shoved both hands through his hair. “You have no reason to pretend anything with Riley. Just tell him that you’re not interested.”

  “I did, and I’m not!” I shouted as I pushed the bowl of spaghetti away from me and stood. “Damn it, Jack, I’m doing the best I can.”

  Moving his jaw back and forth, he shook his head in disgust. “He wouldn’t be pushing if he didn’t think you weren’t attracted to him.”

  “I am attracted to him.” It was time to be honest, and I had no reason to lie about that. “He’s gorgeous and funny and smart, and I would be an idiot to not notice that. Just like you can see that Lila is a pretty woman. The difference between our situations is that she knows that it’s a publicity stunt, and Riley thinks I’m available.” I shot him a look. “Some men are stubborn when a woman says that she’s not interested.”

  “For god’s sake, Blythe, don’t compare this to the beginnings of our relationship. I can’t handle that,” he growled. I felt his anger and his hurt, and I quietly let him sort through it.

  “It’s not the same, Jack. You need to know that.”

  A few seconds of tense silence fell between us as he looked me over. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “Tell me the truth, Blythe. Do you compare me to him when you look at him? Do you see him as safe and easy to be with?”

  “Sometimes,” I whispered. When his lips tightened, I quickly walked to him, straddled him, and wrapped my arms around his neck while I rested my cheek against his chest. “I wish all the time that our circumstances are different, Jack. I wish that I could be with you and not worry about murder and corruption. I wish you could offer me what he can offer me, but I don’t wish that I was with him instead of you. Not once has that occurred to me. You have to believe that.”

  It took a little longer than I hoped before he finally wrapped his hands around my waist, holding me tight. “I want you to be happy,” he whispered.

  My heart skipped a beat, and I swallowed hard. I loved hearing the words but not the tone of his voice. The tone was the one that usually preceded heartbreak.

  “I love you, Jack. I wear your ring around my neck every day when I go to work, and it reminds me of what is waiting for me when this is over, but I won’t pretend that the days away from you aren’t hard or that it doesn’t hurt to see speculation about you and this Lila woman.”

  “Are we making a mess of things?” he whispered in my hair.

  I was on the verge of tears when what I really wanted to do was enjoy the time I had with him. “We’re not going to make a mess of today. I won’t allow it. What do you want to do?”

  “We can’t go out, Blythe.”

  He sounded so sad about it. “I know, baby. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have some fun here. How about a movie marathon and tons of junk food?”

  “As long as you promise not to put any more clothes on.”

  Laughing, I leaned up and kissed him. “I can definitely promise that.”

  Two action movies, a bowl of popcorn, and half a chocolate cake later, we were spooning naked on the couch. We’d had to stop the movies twice when his hands had started to roam, and my thighs were sticky. Even still, his hardening cock was rising against the cleft of my ass.

  Instead of touching me for pleasure, he slid his fingers down the chain to the ring and held it up until it glinted in the light. “When we do get married, do you want to live here or in my place?”

  The idea that he was willing to move into my small and crappy apartment made my belly warm, and I turned on my back and stared at him. “I don’t think my apartment is big enough to survive your sexual appetite.”

  “My appetite!” he said in a pretend outraged voice. “You were the one who instigated it the last time.”

  “Did not!”

  “Did too!” He tickled his fingers along my side until I giggled. “Come on. Tell me what you have in mind for us. I need something to hold on to once I leave again.”

  “All right.” Wanting to touch him, I caressed his smooth chest. “I’m going to say no to my apartment and your condo. No offense to your condo because it is gorgeous, but I’m thinking of something with a yard. I’ve always wanted to try and grow a garden.”

  He cast a deliberate gaze to my dying houseplants sitting on my bookshelf. “A garden, huh?”

  “If I had land, then I wouldn’t kill potted plants.” It made sense to me. “Besides, we need space for the dog when we get one.”

  “We’re getting a dog?”

  “We are. I have to make sure that I can keep a dog alive before we think of having kids. We can rescue a dog or five at the humane society.”

  “Five!” His laughter rumbled in his chest. “Why do I have a feeling that you wanting a dog has nothing to do with kids?”

  “I’ve always wanted one. My father was allergic, so I couldn’t have one growing up, and I can’t justify getting one and then locking it into the apartment while I work.”

  “Hmmm.” His hands moved over my hips. “I know you aren’t planning on quitting once we get married.”

  “Of course not, but I’m starting to see that I need to trust more people to help me out, so I plan to hi
re another person or two, which will give me more time to focus on other things.”

  “Like gardening and dogs?”

  “And being a good wife.” The truth was that I wasn’t entirely certain that I knew how to be a good wife, and I knew that once I married Jack, I wasn’t going to let him go.

  “Blythe, you’ll make a great wife. As long as you’re my wife. I’m pretty easy to please. I just need you naked and happy.”

  Purring, I moved against him until he was groaning. “As wonderful as that sounds, I’m pretty sure that marriage is more complicated than that. Let’s face it, we haven’t really even had much experience dating, which is usually a crucial step before the whole marriage thing.”

  “So, we’ll take some time. I’ll be more than happy to woo and court you when this is over.” His hands moved a little lower until I was the one squirming.

  “No,” I whispered as I lifted my head to kiss him. His unshaven face scratched at my cheeks and chin, but I didn’t care. I wanted and needed that mouth. “I want to marry you as soon as possible, Jack. We can figure out everything else later, but I don’t want anything else to come between us.”

  “Christ, Blythe. You drive me crazy, you know that. The day that I’m free of this, I’ll take you down the courthouse and marry you that minute.”

  “No, I want a wedding. A big one. Lots of flowers and a gorgeous dress that you can peel off of me later, and I want music and dancing and champagne.” Gasping against his questing fingers, I hooked a knee over his hips and reached for his cock. “Promise me, Jack.”

  “Nothing would make me happier. Absolutely nothing,” he swore as he entered me, and for the next hour, there was nothing but our slow burning love and our need for each other surrounding us.

  15 Jack

  It was another week before I finished up in Jacksonville and returned home. It was too late to wake Blythe, even though I wanted her in my arms, and I was too tired to make it to the office the next morning.

  The intercom from my penthouse to the guard downstairs beeped minutes of me rising from the bed. Tired and unhappy that I was waking up alone, I hit the button. “What?” I rasped and rubbed my eyes.

  “I’m sorry to wake you, sir, but the woman was insistent on seeing you.”

  Blythe? I perked up some. “Who is it?”

  “She says she’s your mother.”

  Hell. Growling, I thought about sending her away before I sighed. “It’s fine. Send her up.”

  “Yes, sir. Would you like us to add her to your visitor logs, so we don’t have to buzz you whenever she stops by?”

  “No.” I knew how callous that sounded. After all, she was my mother, and she probably would be making frequent visits soon, but when this was over, I wasn’t sure if I still wanted to see her. “You can go ahead and send her up in the elevator today though.”

  “Yes, sir. Have a good day.”

  A few minutes later, the elevator dinged, and she walked in. The bright yellow of her pants and blazer was nearly blinding, but I didn’t miss the bothered look on her face. “Jack, I’m sorry to get you up so early.” She paused, looking around. “You are here alone, aren’t you?”

  Unfortunately. “Yes, Donna.”

  “You’re unhappy about that.” Her entire face softened, and I felt her compassion. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. I know you miss her.”

  “Three months, and I’ll have her again. I assume that you’re here because something happened.”

  “Yes.” Perching on my couch, she pulled out a large envelope. “I’m afraid that we have a problem. I was hoping that someone would approach you directly, but it looks like they’re still trying to use me as a middle man. Daniel said something last night that made me suspicious, so I made some photos of the file in his briefcase when he wasn’t looking.”

  I immediately tensed. We agreed that she would help us, but that sounded dangerous. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “Jack, they want you to drop your campaign to clean up the water, and they’re willing to pay you a lot of money to do it.”

  “What did Daniel say, exactly?”

  “He mentioned that he knew that your father was pulling your support. He said that he knew some people who were interested in you and wanted to help, but they wanted to make sure that you were going to support their interests.”

  Most of the photos were financial statements. I’d need to get someone to analyze them, but I had a feeling that I knew what I was looking at.

  “None of these reports have business names on them.”

  “No.” She leaned forward anxiously. “Do you know what they are?”

  “Not for sure, but from the line memos, I think I’m looking at a mock-up for something like a cruise ship. Look at these categories. Entertainment. Hospitality. Restaurant. That’s similar to what you might find at a hotel, but then look at these. The staff payroll is huge, and fuel…that’s a cruise ship.”

  I flipped through the papers, frowned, and flipped back. “See these two reports? They look similar except for the new bill which would force harsher regulations on their disposal of waste and fuel. As you can see from the numbers, my proposed bill would cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

  Her eyes widened as she skimmed over it. “Does that mean that you can identify one of the members?”

  “No, but it does mean that I might be able to identify where some of their funding comes from, and it’s not just blackmail. If the president of this company isn’t a member, they’re paying an exorbitant amount of money to them to make sure that they’re getting what they want, and money is something that we can trace.”

  Still agitated, she got up and started to pace. “Jack, I’ve followed your career. I know how important this bill is to you. If you give in to their demands now, you might not ever get what you want.”

  She wasn’t wrong. I was hoping that the demands would start out small and grow bigger over time. I didn’t think that they were going to attack my bill right from the start. “It’s all about the art of compromise,” I said softly. “They can’t think that I’m just going to automatically do what they want just because they flash some money in my face. They expect me to compromise.”

  “That’s a slippery slope,” she whispered. “Jack, if you compromise your values now, what happens after that? What if you can’t stop? Corruption is a horrible thing, but it’s rampant for a reason. Seduction. Wealth. Power. You can go into it thinking that you’ll be doing something good with it, but you’re really just chipping away at your soul.”

  “I haven’t decided on anything yet, Donna. What did Daniel tell you to tell me specifically? He can’t expect you to play middleman forever. When does he want to meet me?”

  “I don’t know that he will. He might send someone else. He just wanted me to find out how you were feeling. If you were starting to panic about funding and support.”

  I raked a hand through my hair. “For god’s sake, tell him yes. We need to give the feds something to investigate. I’m still not entirely sure why we can’t just give them Daniel.”

  “Your father said—”

  “I know what my father said.” I couldn’t keep the irritation from my tone. I thought Hale would jump at the chance to see my mother’s lover behind bars, but he pointed out the obvious. If Daniel believed even for a second that he was being investigated, he could close up shop and flee, or he could decide to be a martyr for the group, and then we have nothing.

  I wasn’t doing all of this, risking my love and my career to walk away from nothing. For now, my mother’s lover could stay anonymous unless he decided to show his face.

  “Have you met with the agents again?” she asked quietly. “I’m not sure that they liked me very much. I’m worried that they’ll want to talk to me, but if I’m seen with federal agents, I really will be in trouble.”

  I looked at her sharply. Was she concerned about her safety or fishing for information? “I haven’t heard from them,” I
said shortly as I glanced down at the information again. “But if someone does approach me, I’ll probably give them a call.”

  “Are you sure we need them?”

  “Mom, I am a Congressman. I help make laws. I’m sure as hell planning on involving the ones who will enforce them.” I glanced at the clock. “You should go. I’ve got someone coming over soon.”

  She rose and grabbed her purse, but she made no move to the door. “I’ve seen pictures of you with a pretty blonde…” She pursed her lips, letting the question remain unsaid.

  “She’s nothing, Donna.”

  “So, she’s not the person you’re going to meet?”

  “No.” My heart softened toward my mother just a little. It was clear that she was on Blythe’s side and wanted things to work out between us. For that, I could respect her. “I’m meeting someone else.”

  To my surprise, she walked over to me and rested her hand on my cheek. “Jack. You have no idea how pleased I am to see that you still have such a big heart. I don’t want you to lose that.”

  Reaching up, I grabbed her wrist. I’d meant to pull her hand away, but I held it there for just a moment more and tried to pretend, in that moment, that she was just a mother who loved me.

  Our eyes connected, and she smiled as her eyes filled with tears. The moment was over, and I pulled her hand away. “Next time you want to come over, send me a quick text,” I said gruffly as I took a step back.

  Sniffing, she nodded and left.

  Blythe had the day off and promised Carl that she wouldn’t leave the apartment in the morning, so he was meeting me for a quick update. While I knew he wouldn’t give me any details, I just needed to hear from him that she was safe and that there didn’t appear to be anything wrong.

  Blythe was pulling away from me. That was the only reason I could see for her leaving my phone calls unanswered and finding reasons not to see me. It was her day off. It was my day off. I wanted it to be our day off, but when I’d brought it up, she’d said that she needed to get some paperwork done.