Page 67 of Power Games

"Sugarplum."

"Dude, just no."

Charles laughed softly. "I do not answer to ‘dude’, Vanessa."

"I've lived in California for over half a decade. Everyone is dude. Male, female, pets. Even multiple people are dude."

Tonight, Vanessa had decided that they should find terms of endearment for each other. He called her Vanessa, and she called him Charles. It had worked for him. He loved the way her tongue wrapped around his name, and Vanessa had long ago started to mean ‘sweetheart.’

Still, he was indulging her, if only to hear her chat away.

It had been four months since Izzy's death; four long, painful months, three of which had also been lonely and full of yearning as well as impatience.

Things were back to normal. Better, perhaps. Charles owned sixty-seven percent of Jacobs Enterprises now, and when their shares had flown back up, weeks after the event that had derailed his life, his fortune had increased exponentially. It was August, one year and four months before the election. Tristan had announced he’d seek his party's nomination in June. Wright, Junior had put his hand forward for the Republicans. Charles would confirm his intention to run for president in a matter of weeks now. They'd put it back because of Izzy's death, but Aiden believed it was time. Charles agreed, for different reasons. He wanted things in motion becauseshewould come to stand by his side through it.

"I know. I'll call you ‘handsome.’ Perhaps a little obvious, but if the shoe fits. How do you like it?"

"It'll do."

"Now you have to find one for me."

"I don't," he replied. "No need to pout."

"You can't tell I'm pouting."

"I can. I don't need to find a nickname because I already have one."

"Well, what is it?" she asked eagerly.

"You'll see."

He would have bet she went back to pouting.

"Not fair."

He chuckled. In the background, Charles heard a now-familiar voice calling her attention.

"Is that Kaia?"

"Yeah, she's also singing tonight. Venues just love to get us at the same time if they can. They want a catfight."

"And you won't disappoint, no doubt."

"We never do. I'd better go. Call me when it's over?"

"I will," he lied, hanging up, before stepping out of the car, and into the nightclub where she was performing in West Hollywood.

27

Magnetic

Performing in a club that had seen so many iconic stars on stage was equal parts exhilarating and humbling. Elton John, Neil Diamond, the Eagles, and so many other titans had stood on this very stage.

Vanessa didn't remember ever being quite so nervous; it was her first concert all over again. The fact that she was debuting her newest song wasn't helping matters. It was such a departure from the rest of her work; what if people hated it?

She bit her lip.

Thankfully, Kaia, the unflappable kick-ass rock star, went first. She was all about the epic guitar solos, and her voice pushed to an all-time high as she yelled out her pleas to the world. Her songs were about begging the world to care and people to stop destroying each other for no reason, but her listeners liked to interpret them as silly, self-centered break-up songs begging a guy to come back, for some reason. Vanessa directly went for the silly, self-centered stuff so she didn't have to thump her head on a desk when her hard work was reduced to gossip trash material.

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