Page 98 of Sex Coach

Thirty-Two

Michelle

S enator Washington McCranegave me the creeps .

Capitol C creeps, too .

I'd hired a private investigator to check him in the week since Jake had told me the truth about his past, and his connection to the powerful McCrane family .

One thing my family had taught me – knowledge is power, and the investigator had come up with plenty of knowledge .

McCrane had plenty of reason to give me the creeps. There were stories about him that had been swept under the carpet, washed away by money, or tucked in dirty closets because of threats .

If I was smart, the last thing I'd do was go head to head with a man like this. But the man I cared about deserved to have his life back and that wasn't going to happen until he knew what happened that night .

McCrane had a fundraiser going on tonight, and I'd used my aunt's and mother's connections to get me a ticket inside – plus a good thirty minutes alone with the senator for a private interview. He thought he had a sympathetic ear for the current volatile state of politics, thanks to my family background. But he must not have paid much attention because if he had, he would've realized my family and the kind of politics he played were two very different fields .

But it didn't much matter. He was an egocentric ass who had heard what he wanted to hear, which I'd been counting on .

I'd left Jake a note along with a ticket, knowing he wasn't going to get here until I'd had a chance to talk with the senator, maybe even after the five-hundred-dollar-a-plate dinner had started, but once he saw the name on the ticket, he'd be here .

He had no idea what I was up to, and I knew he wasn't going to be happy with me, but I'd also known I had to do this. I wanted Jake to be free and clear .

Jake.

His name wasn't even really Jake .

He'd been born Matthew Jakes , he told me, and after everything that happened, he'd scraped together the money for a name change and moved to New York. It was supposed to be a fresh start .

Seeing McCrane must have been like a punch to the gut .

Of course, sitting across from the slimy bastard wasn't a pleasant experience right now, and I didn't have a history going back all those years with him .

I couldn't imagine what it would have been like for Jake to seen him .

He'd told me that Washington had no idea he was in New York, might not even know he was a free man, although I had to wonder why the bastard wouldn't more closely watch somebody whose life he'd ruined .

Arrogance, though, had put many people in their place .

And arrogance was something this man had in spades .

"Your mother and father must be so proud of you," Washington said, sipping his second whiskey – served neat. I'd poured him extra too. "Coming half way across the country, setting up on your own. Now you've got a new career ."

I'd pumped him full of the shy, nervous reporter routine, and he'd eaten it up .

"I'm not brand new," I said, smiling a little. "And I'm determined. After all, I got this interview with you, didn't I ?"

"You did, at that." He tossed back the rest of his drink and gestured to the bar. "Are you sure you don't want a drink ?"

"Oh, no." Giving him a look of wide-eyed innocence, I said, "I can't drink on the job. But if you want another...please do. Me, I can't hold my liquor all that well anyway ."

He laughed and patted my hand. "Live and learn, sweetheart. What kind of questions do you have for me ?"

As he rose, I pretended to study my notebook. I had scrawled down the sort of questions I'd ask the typical politician. So he didn't move things along too fast, I fired a couple at him and jotted down the pat, trite answers. Politicians probably had these questions – and their answers – memorized within a month of deciding to run for office .

"It seems it's a hostile environment out there these days," I said somberly as he dropped back down in the chair across from mine .

"Oh, sweetheart." He gave me a mournful look. "If you only knew ."

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