Page 58 of Capitally Engaged

“What’s eating him?” I whispered to her, wondering if we could get a hint of what we were walking into.

“That was practically a guided invitation,” Laurel whispered back. “He didn’t even swear.”

“True.” I followed Preston down the hallway into Senator Marsden’s office.

“Shut the door,” he said when we were both in the room.

“What’s going on, sir?” Preston asked, sliding into the chair next to me. Normally, I would have locked that away to make fun of him later, but the look on the senator’s face had me thinking there wasn’t much fun in my future.

“I got a heads up on an article running onTheDispatch’sfront page tomorrow. I thought you both would want to see it.”

He handed two pieces of paper to Preston, who swore softly at whatever he saw. He looked over at me, his face pained.

“Give me the paper, Preston,” I said, my tone firm. He handed it over reluctantly, his eyes on my face before going back to reading.

“Senator Marsden (RI) allows pornography author to run comms?” More vile bullshit followed, bringing in bathroom bills, women’s rights, and other typical talking points of the paper’s political leaning followed. But there, in plain, printed words, linked Jacqueline Carter to June Kennedy, my pen name.

Even worse, it linked Jacqueline Carter as the fiancée of Preston Brandt, seen engaging in “inappropriate” PDA at a congressional staffer’s softball game. My eyes flicked to the byline on the article. No surprise here. Peggy Rappencourt had finally gotten one over on me. I wished I could say I regretted tangling with her, but I vehemently disagreed with her stances and her methods, like this.

“Well, fuck,” I said.

“Well put,” Mitchell said, folding his hands on the desk. “I already tried everything in my power to get the story killed. They’re refusing. We only got a heads up on the article because I provided one of their interns with resources when his parents kicked him out of the house after they caught him with his boyfriend. The fucker has the wrong political beliefs, but I couldn’t let him freeze.”

I stared in wonder at my boss, realizing I never really knew what would come out of his mouth or go through his head.

“Okay, so, what now?” Preston said.

“Obviously, I quit and we break up,” I said, staring at the words on the page until they blurred in front of my eyes, not wanting to look at either man in the room.

“Jax.” I jumped as the senator used my nickname for the first time. “My campaign can weather this storm. It’s a chance forme to talk about female empowerment, not judging sex workers, how the other side catastrophizes everything. We may take a small hit, but ultimately, it’ll all even out. Certain people will eat this shit up. We may even gain a romance reader vote or two.”

Preston laughed thinly, but I wasn’t smiling. My eyes were only on Senator Marsden.

“And Preston?” I asked, reading the answer in his eyes already.

The senator glanced at Preston briefly, then returned his attention to me. “I have a reputation for being an asshole and taking no punches. I’m an incumbent senator with a solid lead in the polls. Preston is neither an asshole nor is he an incumbent anything. He will always have a place as my Chief of Staff for as long as he wants it.”

I nodded, understanding what he wasn’t saying. We couldn’t predict exactly how this news would impact Preston’s future career, but the chance it would be negative was real.

Unfortunately, Preston also read between the lines.

“I haven’t even announced anything yet. We could see how things go. If it is a big storm, then I stay on here for a while. We both do. The House elects every two years. What’s another 730 days?”

I threw my hands in the air, turning my body toward his. “That’s ridiculous, and you know it. You’re getting noticed. There’s buzz around you running next election. You’d be stupid to waste it because of me.”

“What if I don’t think we’re stupid,” he said quietly, looking at his hands before turning his face toward mine. I saw in the depths of his eyes how much he believed in us, in me. I felt the world around me tunneling into a focal point on Preston’s face. A roaring sounded in my ears. I couldn’t be the reason he risked his dream, a dream instilled in him by his mom. I couldn’t. Iwouldn’t.

“All right, this no longer seems like any of my concern. Jacqueline, I’m happy to have you stay, but I know you’ll make your own decision.”

Preston and I continued to look at each other, neither of us moving.

“Seriously. Get the fuck out.”

We both jolted into motion, standing and heading to the door.

I turned back as Preston exited before me, and I saw something a lot like sympathy in Senator Marsden’s eyes, before his asshole mask fell firmly back into place.

In the least surprising move of all time, Preston followed me to my desk. “We need to talk about this. I need to know you’re not going to do something rash.”

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