Page 42 of Battle with a Billionaire

She swallowed hard, the options mixing in her brain. “I can’t tell you what to do. You have to make the decision you’re comfortable with.”

“I’m not asking you to tell me what to do. I’m asking what you would do.”

She sucked in a breath. Having never been in this position, she wasn’t quite certain. And her decision-making of late had been questionable at best. If someone had asked her fourteen months ago if she’d marry someone for money, she would have laughed, yet here she was sitting in a billionaire’s house with a wedding ring on her finger. “I don’t know.”

She chewed her lower lip as he slouched in the chair. “But I probably wouldn’t want to admit to something I didn’t do because it makes it easier to win.”

He flicked his gaze to her, and she shrugged. “That’s just me, though. If winning this means that much to you, and this is what Kathryn is convinced will give you the best chance, then that’s the choice you have to make.”

“I’m not happy about it.”

“Enough not to do it, or enough to begrudgingly do it?”

He heaved a sigh. “I don’t know.”

She drew her legs up onto the chair. “What if you lose?”

“I’m not going to be happy about that,” he answered.

“What I mean is, what if you admit you did it and you still lose? Are you going to be happy with your choice?”

He rubbed his chin as he stared ahead. “Good point. This is why I asked you. You’re smart.”

She grinned at him. “But I still can’t tell you what to do. You have to do what you can live with.”

He heaved a sigh. “I’m not sure I can live with admitting to something I didn’t do.”

“So that leaves addressing it if it comes out–“

“Which I think it will. Probably just as voters are going to the polls.”

“Or dropping out,” she finished.

He let his head fall back against the chair as he slid his eyes closed. “Maybe I was crazy to run for Senate.”

“No, you weren’t, but maybe you were unprepared for how dirty it would really be.”

“Yeah. Maybe that’s it. I mean, I expected them to poke at my past. I did not expect them to create a new present.”

“Which then leads to the question: if this is how dirty politics are, do you really want to be involved in it?”

He shifted his gaze to her and shook his head. “Why do you always have to make so much sense?”

“It’s a talent,” she said with a soft laugh. “I’m being serious, though. Being shrewd in the boardroom is different than being shrewd in Washington. Are you sure you want to deal with that?”

“If I win,” he said.

“Right. Well, you’ve got a big decision to make.”

“Can’t you make it for me?” he asked, his voice teasing.

“No, I can’t. You’ve made plenty of big decisions in the past. I’m sure you’ll make a great one now.”

He hesitated, chewing his lower lip as though he wanted to say more before he rose. “Well, since you won’t do it for me, I guess I’d better go think about it.”

“Good luck,” she said, reaching for his hand and squeezing it.

“Thanks, Julia. For everything.”

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