Page 44 of The Politician

He nodded. “And raring to go.”

She watched him leave, picked up her phone, and unlocked the screen. She studied Kendra’s number and hovered her finger over the call button. Damn, it was hard to not call and impossible to press the button. Urgent business only, she reminded herself, although she’d called her a couple of times when travelling and briefly talked about business as an excuse to hear her voice. Kendra was stronger than Sarah and had reminded her they were breaking the rules, taking an unnecessary risk. She put the phone down and leaned back in her chair, thumped the arm, and cursed quietly. She turned her attention to the financial document she needed to commit to memory and the numbers jumbled as she tried to read them. Her focus drew back to Kendra and their night together.

Sarah couldn’t recall the last time she’d slept so deeply. She hadn’t wanted to wake, hadn’t wanted to leave so damned early. She’d imagined Kendra taking a walk through the countryside and spending time with her family, laughing and playing games together, and how different it was from her own rather more formal lunch in the park with her parents and a camera crew close by.

She blew out her cheeks and released the air. Was it wrong to want Kendraandthe biggest job in the country? The days they spent apart were tougher to handle, and Kendra occupied her thoughts more often. The affair was negatively impacting her concentration when she should be giving the campaign her full attention. She pressed her thumb into her temple and rubbed her forehead with her fingers. Willing the headache to subside, she leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes, then jumped at the knock on her door.

The door opened before she could respond, and she sat upright. Her chest tightened as her focus narrowed to his tight jaw and sour expression. “Jeremy.”

“Sarah.”

She didn’t need to see the look on his face to know that something was up. He would never disturb her on a Sunday unless he had something of critical importance to say. “What is it?”

Jeremy placed the picture on her desk.

She inhaled deeply and shook her head as she stared at a picture of herself leaving Kendra’s flat, with Kendra stood at the doorway wearing a bath robe. “Fuck.”

“Apparently, that’s what The Daily will be saying on their front page.”

She closed her eyes, tilted her head backwards, and listened to him pace around the room. “Can you stand still? I’ve got a headache.”

“What the fuck are you playing at, Sarah?”

“I’m notplayingat anything,” she said.

“You turned up yesterday evening, and you left this morning. And Kendra, who is an out lesbian, may I remind you, is standing in her doorway in her bloody dressing gown.”

“It’s a bath robe.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck what it is. She’s not fucking dressed, and you’re leaving her house before eight a.m. Help me here. How do I explain this one away?”

Sarah opened her eyes and straightened her back. “I was tired after working late and missed the last train back, so I slept on her couch.”

He stood with his hands on his hips nodding. “Right, right. Play that one back to yourself and see how it sounds. If she wasn’t a lesbian, you might have half a chance of being believed.”

“And just because she is doesn’t mean she’s going to seduce every woman she works with.”

He shook his head. “Seduce? Is that how it was?”

“Fuck off, Jeremy. You’re making something out of nothing.”

“Then if it’s nothing we need to make it go away before the press dig any deeper and find something you don’t want them to know about.”

Sarah stood, turned her back to him, and stared out the window. “There’s nothing to find,” she said quietly.

“Like the last time?”

She turned and glared at him. He couldn’t compare the two situations. She’d met Ellie while on a weekend break walking the Irish coastline. She’d made a mistake having sex with her and had been lucky that Ellie hadn’t pushed for anything more. With Kendra, she didn’t know how it had happened, but it was a totally different situation. Her feelings had crept up on her, and she couldn’t deny their connection. Her stomach tightened. “This is nothing like that.”

“No, you’re right. It’s not. Because this time, it’s likely to destroy everything you and I have worked for.”

Sarah lowered her head and fought against the anger that would have her lose her sense of self-control. She stared at the picture and at Kendra with a half-smile and a slight frown. She should be thankful that Kendra had a more concerned expression than one that reflected the night of passion they’d just shared. “What if we tell the press the truth?”

Jeremy widened his eyes and for a moment, looked as though he’d been slapped around the face. “Nine months from an election, and you want to come out as a lesbian after being presented to the world as a family mum with a doting husband and two great children. How do you think that’s going to land with the good Christian family values funders that support you?”

“Mark would make a statement.”

“No one will give a shit what he says after you’ve destroyed your family. The opposition will be all over it. Deception. Misleading voters into believing you’re someone you’re not. What other secrets are in your closet? Come on, Sarah. You’re not thinking straight.”

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