Page 33 of The Senator

I nodded in agreement. “Okay, I’ll, uh, I’ll come out this evening. What time?”

It was the first week of December, and I had scheduled a few escort gigs and bartending a couple of holiday parties, but I’d find the time to check on him if that was what she was asking. Spence’s well-being was much more important to me than work.

“I’ll leave my car for you to drive out. I’m going to take a car service home. They’ll be here in fifteen minutes. I went to meet with my ex-boss and clean out my desk. I’m so excited for my new job.”

Twenty minutes later, my head was swimming with the quick information dump she’d given. She seemed genuinely excited about the prospects facing her. I just hoped Spencer would be as well.

CHAPTER 15

SPENCER

The first week of December, I went to my Senate suite to finish cleaning out my office and files. The space where I’d spent twelve years of my legislative life no longer felt like mine, and the realization of it brought an unsettled feeling. It seemed as if my future was becoming less and less certain, and I had no idea what to do about it.

Hell, I wasn’t even fifty yet, so retirement was out of the question. Finding another position within the government wouldn’t come easy, but I wasn’t about to dip into my inheritance. I was keeping that money for Vani and Jay in case something ever happened to me.

A government worker’s salary, no matter what anyone thought, wasn’t great, and the DMV—DC-Maryland-Virginia—area was far from a low-cost area of the country. My grandparents had left me a nest egg, and I’d invested it and added to it when I was practicing law.

It was finally something I could be proud to leave behind for those I loved, so I wasn’t about to dip into it to support Vani and me. I was perfectly able to go back to private practice, especially since she was currently out of a job. I could take care of us.

I was cleaning out the bookcase in my office when Mario barreled inside without invitation. I didn’t really care, but he’d never done it before, so why now?

“Hey, Mario. What’s up?” I paged through the various law books and copies of the Federal Register belonging to the Senate library that I’d kept in my office, ensuring I hadn’t inadvertently left any handwritten notes inside as I prepared to return them.

“I got a call from a man named Denver Wallace. He said he’s a friend of yours, and he has evidence pointing to a mole in our camp. He’s downstairs, unable to come up because of security, but he wants us to meet him across the street. I’m perplexed.”

I looked up to see Mario was, indeed, puzzled. “Did he give you any hints about who it is?”

“No, but he said not to bring anyone with us—just you and me.”

I nodded and stood from my desk, pulling on my jacket. It was nearly lunchtime anyway, so I was at a good point to take a break.

“I’m starving, and after I leave this building for the last time, I damn well won’t come back here, so can you ask someone to call over to O’Toole’s to see if we can get the private room?”

Mario rolled his eyes but grabbed his cell, speaking on the phone as I tightened my tie and checked my hair in the mirror behind the door. I glanced out the window to see it was spitting snow, so I retrieved my overcoat and turned to Mario. “You coming with me?”

He finished his conversation requesting the private room, glancing in my direction with the exasperating look I’d grown accustomed to over time. “Give me a damn minute.” He left my office and stomped through the bullpen, bringing a chuckle from me.

I scanned the room outside my office where my loyal staffers worked, having stuck with me after the scandal broke. I was grateful to each one of them.

Mitchell Flora had the desk phone receiver to his ear in his office. He was staring out of the glass wall at the young woman who sat at the desk outside his door, unhappiness evident on his face.

I glanced at her to see she was pregnant, and I didn’t remember any of my staffers being pregnant, but that was when I saw she wasn’t the same assistant Mitch had a few weeks earlier. The old one was named Lori Warren. The pregnant young woman sitting at the desk wasn’t the blonde who used to walk around the office talking to herself.

I walked out of my office and into Mario’s. “Who’s the girl at Lori’s desk?”

Mario looked out as he logged off his laptop and closed the lid. “Uh, she’s from the assistant’s pool. Lori quit just before Thanksgiving. She and Mitch had a falling out, or so the rumor mill churned out. Anyway, I got the room at O’Toole’s, so let’s go get your friend and get a move on. I need a drink.” I chuckled and followed him out of the office.

We took the elevator to the lobby and walked out into the December sunshine to find the large man leaning against a pillar at the base of the stairs, smoking a cigar. I glanced at the people walking by to see their faces screwed up in disgust.

Based on the way Denver Wallace was blowing smoke in their faces, it was quite evident he didn’t give a flying fuck if they liked it or not. I laughed, liking the guy for his “fuck you” attitude to the snobs on the Hill.

I glanced in Mario’s direction, seeing his face was screwed up into a scowl before he turned to look at me for an explanation. “He’s a new acquaintance, so don’t piss him off. I’m sure he could take the two of us apart with his bare hands,” I whispered as we approached.

When Denver saw us, he smiled and lifted his boot-clad foot, knocking off the ember from the end of the cigar. I saw him touch his thumb to the tip before depositing it into a long plastic cylinder and returning it to the pocket of his leather coat.

“Is he from the Matrix?” Mario joked as we made our way down the stairs.

“You better hope not, or he heard that and he’s going to kill us both. Play nice.” We stepped over to where the man was waiting patiently.

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