Page 13 of Where There's Smoke

That much I believed. The photos all over the Internet commemorated the timeline of his life from his very public childhood to the present day. During his late teen years and into college, the signs were there: gauntness in his cheeks during the cocaine years, redness in his eyes during the weed-and-booze days. During the summer after his sophomore year, he all but disappeared from the public eye, and when he reemerged that fall, he was a different person altogether. Healthy. Clear-eyed. Lucid. Hot as fuck.

Not that I’d been looking.

So I believed him, both about the drug habits and their eventual demises. What bothered me, though, was that the more he told me, the more I was certain he was holding something else back. He quickly and unflinchingly admitted to substance abuse, screwing off in school, casual sex. But he was hiding something, and the longer he kept that back, the more he unnerved me. When a politician held cards to his vest, the tighter he held them, the more disastrous they were when they were finally played.

“Anything else?” I asked.

Jesse pursed his lips. After a moment, he shook his head. “No, I think that’s it.”

Oh no it isn’t.

He held my gaze. I held his. With each passing second, his expression hardened almost imperceptibly, his jaw tightening and his eyes narrowing slightly.

I forced out a breath and suddenly needed a fucking smoke. Whatever Jesse was hiding, he wasn’t letting go of it yet. No point in continuing to dig. I’d get it out of him sooner or later.

Sooner, if he knew what was good for him.

Resisting the urge to go out for a cigarette right fucking now, I said, “I need to know about Simone too.”

Jesse’s posture tensed even more. “What kind of things do you need to know about her?”

“Anything. Someone digs up something as innocuous as seeing her take a friend into an abortion clinic a decade ago to pick up birth control pills, itcould derail your entire campaign. If she’s ever taken a pill that was prescribed to someone else, if she’s cheated on you, her taxes, or a pop quiz in fucking kindergarten. Anything.”

The front of his throat rippled. He looked into his glass and took a deep breath but didn’t speak.

“Don’t make me pry it out of you,” I said. “You’ve already put your marriage front and center. Like it or not, the spotlight will be on both you and Simone. The public wants to trust her as much as they trust you, and people already adore her. They just need to know she’s not in some ivory tower above them. For that matter, as much as her schedule allows, she needs to be on the road with you. She’ll have a schedule of appearances on her own. She’ll connect with voters, which will connect them to you.”

Jesse’s eyes darted toward Roger, and I was sure a little color left his face.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“What?” Jesse coughed. “No, no. I’m just… She’s just about to start promoting her new film. She needs a break between—”

“She’s married to a campaigning politician. She can take a break when the election’s over.”

Jesse’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t entirely negotiable.”

“You’re right, it’s not. The happy marriage card is on the table. That was your decision, not mine, so if you want to win this election? She’s going to have to take a proactive role.”

“And if it’s detrim—”

“Simone will handle itjustfine,” Roger said. “You worry too much about her, son.”

Jesse exhaled. “I know her. I don’t want this to stress her out more than it already has.”

“She’s a grown woman.” His uncle waved a hand. “And besides, she’s used to red carpet events, meeting fans, all of that. This won’t be much different.”

“Well.” I cleared my throat. “You know that’s not entirely accurate. Similar in concept, but not completely in practice.” I looked at Jesse. “Is there anything I need to know about her? I mean, I know there’s an eating disorder involved here, so I need you to tell me honestly:canshe handle this?”

Jesse’s eyes darted toward Roger. Something unspoken passed between them, and the subtle drop of Jesse’s shoulders screamed resignation, not relaxation. “She’ll be all right.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Will she?”

He lowered his gaze, but not quite enough to mask another quick flick of his eyes toward his uncle. Then he looked at me. “She’ll be fine. Roger’s right. I just worry about her too much.” He offered what was probably supposed to be a reassuring smile.

Can’t imagine why you couldn’t cut it as an actor, kid.

There was more at stake than Oscars in this business, though, so I wasn’t letting him off that easy. I looked him in the eye. “Now’s the time to tell me this shit, Jesse. If either of you know anything about Simone that could cause problems during the campaign, I can’t emphasize this enough: Ineedto know.”

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