Page 39 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
The senator lifted the handset of the phone on his desk. ‘Do you have her number, Brody? The one I’ve been calling keeps telling me that it’s out of service. I assume that was your doing?’
Brody let out a hiss of air. ‘You’ve been trying to call her from here?’
If Genieve’s profession ever came out, the last thing they needed was her number showing up on Senate office phone records. He reluctantly pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialled the new number he’d programmed for Jenny. Turning away, he walked to the corner of the room.
‘Hey,’ he said quietly when she answered. He hadn’t seen her all day. He’d been doing as much work as he could from home, but he’d worked from his office today. It had just been easier with the tux and the event and the senator. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Good. I found your breadmaker.’
He frowned. He remembered getting one as a gift, but he couldn’t say he’d ever taken it out of the box.
‘I’m here with Samuel,’ he said. ‘He wants to talk to you.’
She sighed. ‘OK.’
They’d talked about this. He’d let her know his plans and what was coming. ‘Rip the bandage off.’
‘I know. I know.’
This needed to be dealt with as cleanly and quickly as possible, and then the so-called relationship between the two would be over.
And Brody could put it out of his head for ever.
He took the phone to the senator, who sought his own privacy. Brody stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked out the window. The Capitol dome was lit in all its glory. They were heading to a fundraiser in the Capitol Visitor Center, situated under the east front plaza. Tonight was Samuel’s first official night back on the ‘scene’. It needed to go well, and Brody would be lurking on the sidelines to make sure it did.
But damn if he wasn’t itching to get back across the Potomac. He never knew what he was going to find when he walked back through the doors of his own house. Yesterday, he’d discovered her doing Zumba in his workout room, wearing tight little yoga pants and a bright flowered athletic bra. He’d never paid much attention to Zumba before, but it had grabbed him where it counted. He remembered her hips rolling, her back arching, and the shimmy…
She put the zoom in Zumba, that was for sure.
He jerked his hands out of his pockets and tugged down on his tuxedo jacket. He wanted to rip that phone right out of the senator’s hand.
Fortunately, Genieve let the senator down easily but firmly. Once Brody heard the senator’s voice turn wheedling, he held out his hand.
‘Goodbye, darling,’ Samuel crooned. ‘Maybe we’ll see each other again in the future.’
‘Not going to happen,’ Brody said, retrieving his smart phone and disconnecting.
The senator straightened his bowtie. ‘Do you know where she’s staying, Brody? I’d like to send her flowers, at the very least.’
‘We’re late, Senator. We need to get moving.’ Brody turned to the door, effectively ending the conversation. She had flowers that she’d planted herself, and they were coming along better every day – even if she had to watch them from behind a window.
‘All right. Is everyone ready?’ he asked as he walked back into the office suite.
He didn’t like leaving her alone for too long. She didn’t like being cooped up with nothing to do.
Gunderson’s assistants stood up at their desks. For once, the guy with the bowtie didn’t look out of place, but he’d chosen a red tie for the night. They were all wearing their monkey suits. Brody looked at Michelle. No…Maggie. She looked very nice, too, in a full-length gown and her hair down.
‘Keep the conversation on the Capitol restoration,’ Brody instructed. It was the reason for the night’s event. ‘Keep things light and upbeat. Don’t let the discussion go too far when it comes to the break-in or the senator’s personal relationship.’
They were saving that for the eleven o’clock news.
He received nods all around. Together, they headed out. Instead of taking the long trek by foot, they rode the underground trolley to the Capitol and made their way down to the Visitor Center. Only completed in 2008, it really was an architectural achievement. Not wanting to spoil the layout of the Capitol complex, the designers had found a way to build the Center underground. Skylights let in natural light during the day when the public swarmed the place for tours. Tonight, the event was by invitation only.
As they entered, Brody broke off from the group. One by one, he looked over the other guests. Kevin Murphy, the senator’s challenger, hadn’t been on the guest list that he’d seen, but late additions weren’t unheard of. The press was relegated to outside the event, but he didn’t want anyone throwing off the sequence they had planned for tonight.
He leaned against a massive marble support column and settled in. He was in full-on fixer mode tonight, and his mood followed suit. He wasn’t here to mess around. The event was a dime a dozen, and Gunderson should be able to play the heartbroken fool without much effort. For Brody, the most important task of the evening had already been accomplished.
Genieve was no longer the senator’s escort.
