Page 17 of A Man of Power

“No, I mean, he’s attractive and he knows what he wants and that’s…” I trail off because I feel stupid for saying that out loud.

Maria laughs. “Girl, don’t sweat it. I’ve been attracted to men around here too. It’s hard not to be. There’s something about power that just…hell, it’s a turn-on, and trust me, I’ve had my fair share of twentysomething-year-old sex with some pretty awesome political fuck boys. Just, be careful, the ones involving a boss, typically never end well.”

“I would never…” I stop speaking and sip my coffee, because as much as I think I would never do it, part of me wants to, and that scares me.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t. I just wanted to give you my honest opinion. Because I was once younger, attractive, still am,” she says with a wink, “and without a boyfriend, and these men around here”—she motions to our surroundings—“are like sharks circling a carcass when they see that trifecta.”

We both sip our coffee.

“I couldn’t blame you if you did. I may have a boyfriend, but I’m not blind. Sebastian is hot as fuck and gives off ‘yes, daddy’ vibes.” Maria starts giggling as she’s speaking, and now, I’m giggling.

“Oh my God! You did not just say that out loud!” I manage in between laughter.

Shrugging, she stops laughing and looks at me with a more serious face. “Just be careful, OK. Don’t get yourself in over your head. I got your back but watch yourself. You’re smart and ambitious and have a great future ahead of you. This city is not forgiving, remember that.”

“You’re right. It’s not.”

“Good. Now that I had this big sisterly chat with you, I feel better.”

I roll my eyes.

“Come on, you and I have work to do. That prickle of peckerheads can’t run itself,” she says as she tilts her head toward the Capitol building.

“Prickle of peckerheads?” I state, stifling more laughter.

She links arms with me as we walk back to the office. “Come on, I thought it was a good one.”

I smile. “Not bad. I’ll have to remember that.”

“Just remember, I trademarked it first.”

“Noted.”

* * *

My brain spendsthe next hours trying to process the events of the day. I hear Sebastian in his office, but I don’t see him again before he leaves for the day. Part of me is pissed about how he manhandled me. But his touch felt different than Leonard’s, which is a weird thing to think. I need to talk to someone, but if I tell Erin, she’ll flip out and say Sebastian is bad news and I should quit. If I tell Whitney, she’ll drag me out on a double blind date so I can take my female hormonal needs out on an unsuspecting random guy. Maybe I do just need to have sex. It’s been way too long.

I force myself to go back to the documents I was looking at the other night. There’s a lot to unpack about my obvious crush on Sebastian, his power-tripping over me, and the fact that I find that sexy. Damn, maybe I do need a therapist.

A knock at my door jars me from my thoughts.

“Check out the new ads,” Nolan says as he turns to leave. “They’re on the shared drive. I’m not sure which one we should go with. I heard he’s hiring Jay McKnight as his campaign manager.”

“Really?” I ask as I raise my eyebrows. Jay is notorious for being a badass on the campaign trail. I’ve seen him help a dozen candidates to victory.

“Yeah, guess Jay will be weighing in on the ads too, but still give them a look.”

“I will. I just gotta get this last memo done,” I reply, giving him a wave.

“You sure you don’t want to come out for happy hour?” Maria asks. She grabs her purse and gives me a questioning look.

I shake my head. “Next time. I promise. I’m really behind on these because of the meetings and my classes, and I’ll sleep better if I have them done.”

Nolan shrugs. “Suit yourself. It’s gonna be epic. It’s karaoke night.”

I giggle. “Right. I’ll catch the headlines online later.”

Maria laughs as she joins Nolan and I listen to them leave. I turn back to my laptop and finish my report. I get lost in the research and words. I don’t even know what time it is when I finally lean back in my chair and stretch.

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