Page 1 of Treason's Temptation
Chapter 1
“Come in!” I yelled, standing behind my desk.
The door opened, and my intern, Milaya, peeked her head inside.
“Miss Dorothy is callingagain.”
Dorothy ‘Dot’ Haynes always called. She was a retired postal worker, self-proclaimed neighborhood watch commander, and the unofficial mayor of the East Side. She called my office every Monday since I took the interim seat. It didn’t matter if I was at a press conference or solving an infrastructure crisis. She would leave a voicemail, and if I didn’t return her call within three business days, she’d come down in person.
“What’s the problem this time?”
“Theproblem? She gave me a list.”
I chuckled, waving Milaya in while checking my watch. I was supposed to be on my way to a pointless meeting because adults needed a babysitter to do their jobs.
“Somebody’s running a chop shop out of their garage on Wexler. She’s seen the same car in three different colors this week. Who’s in charge of those damn potholes? She hit onelast week and thought she got baptized,” Milaya mimicked Miss. Dots’ tone.
“Whenshe calls back, tell her I’ll look into it.”
Milaya nodded and dismissed herself while I gathered my iPad. I’d rather listen to Dot’s list of demands, but I took the trip to the West Wing and pushed open the door.
“Well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence,” Victor said as I walked into the chamber. “The People’sPrincehimself. I didn’t know we were at a fashion show this morning, Westbrook.”
“Funny, you have nothing to say about Winston Calloway’s Initiative that tears down another community center that would keep children off the streets. Instead, the city gets another golf course that half its citizens can’t afford to go to. Why, you ask? Because they’re being forced out of their homes to make way for more private schools. It seems to me that you have bigger problems than what I choose to wear. Especially considering I wouldn’t be here tobabysitif corruption wasn’t governing the city.”
That got a bigger laugh, mainly from the younger reps.
“I’ve dedicated decades of service to this city,” he rebutted firmly.
“You’ve been in office for decades, and the city is still bleeding.” I tossed my finger at the chair leader. “You can proceed with the meeting.”
The chamber was tense as another planning session continued. The drug game brought in so much money that now we had to decide what to do with it. Initially, they thought my proposal was insane, but in six months, they saw the light. Victor sat across from me, wearing a smug smirk while trying to manipulate every deal to fit his donor’s agenda.
“The proposal streamlines vendor approvals,” Victor said, sliding the folder across the table toward me. “We havedevelopers ready. There’s no reason this shouldn’t be greenlit today.”
“You’re cutting community vendors out of the process,” I said, still scanning my email. “How does this benefit Madison Pointe?”
“It expedites revitalization efforts in the lower blocks while providing jobs, modern infrastructure, and safer housing.”
I cut him off. “For who?”
He didn’t answer, and I didn’t need him to. Everyone knew who would benefit when Victor Jackson backed an agenda. It was never the folks living in the buildings that he was so adamant aboutrevitalizing.
“You fast-track these contracts, and it opens the door for inflated pricing and the displacement of neighborhoods, but I think you know that.”
He chuckled under his breath. “Don’t be dramatic, Treason. Sometimes you have to sacrifice the battle to win the war.”
“Every contract over half a million goes through the Equity Review Board, and last I checked, you’re not exempt.”
Victor’s jaw tightened. “We don’t have time to run everything through your new red tape.”
Another policy I’d created since stepping in. Victor hated it because it was another check to balance his bullshit.
“Make time, since you’re so eager.”
Victor leaned back, tapping his pen against the table. A grin pinned to my mouth, watching him fight to keep his composure. I was the monster Victor couldn’t slay to push his donor’s agenda. That put a target on my back, but I didn’t fold under pressure. I thrived in it.
The meeting ended, and Victor stood taking the long way around the room. He leaned in close, delivering a warning. “You’re clever, Westbrook. I’ll give you that, but clever only takes you so far.”
