Page 55 of Accidentally, Scandalously Yours

My phone sounds with a text as I think about this.

Cecelia: I take it Hayden has contacted you regarding my email to him today.

Fuck.

I look at Charlize. “You woke the dragon from her slumber and now I have to make a call.”

“Should I order you a whiskey?”

I stand. “You should order two.” I’m going to need both in quick succession after this call.

My phone is to my ear by the time I exit the restaurant. “What’s going on, Cecelia? I thought we’d finalized everything.”

“Yes, as usual you think that what you say goes, Bradford. It doesn’t.”

I rake my fingers through my hair as frustration courses through my veins. “Care to explain what that means because I haven’t a fucking clue.”

“There are a lot of things you don’t have a fucking clue about. This particular one involves our social calendar. Perhaps if you’d bothered to read the email that I’m sure Hayden forwarded you, you’d know this.”

“Jesus. I’m away with friends, which you know. I haven’t had a chance yet. Perhaps if you’d bothered talking with me first, we could have avoided this conversation.”

“That would have been possible if you actually talked to me. Since you prefer to avoid me, having conversations proves difficult. Going through your lawyer works wonders at getting your attention.”

I should have said no when my father presented Cecelia Aniston as the perfect candidate for a wife. I knew it at the time, but I allowed my ambitions to get in the way, particularly when he pointed out the benefits to our family if we joined the Blacks with the Anistons.The power couple of this generation, he’d said. I’ve no interest in being part of a power couple, but I am interested in political power. I was blinded by that and now I’m paying the price. I can only hope it’s a price worth paying.

“Okay, so talk to me now. What do you want?”

“I want a guarantee that you’ll commit to a social calendar that includes multiple functions every weekend.”

“Marrying for convenience is all about being seen socially, Cecelia. That’s a given as far as I’m concerned.”

“I don’t think it is. You certainly haven’t committed in the way I would have preferred during our engagement.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“It’s not, and please don’t use that kind of language with me. You know I don’t care for it.”

I inhale a long breath.

Dealing with Cecelia requires every ounce of patience I possess. She’s spent the last nine months doing her best to steal every last speck of it with her demands for us to socialize, to give interviews together, and to act in ways that are acceptable to her.

Finally, I say, “I’ve set down what I see as a reasonable social schedule for us going forward. I’ve agreed to certain conditions for interviews, and I’ve committed to an annual joint vacation. Anything beyond those things is not required to reach our goal.”

“You’re underestimating what’s required then, Bradford. Becoming president of the United States is going to take everything you have to give and then some. We need to revisit the contract. I want it stipulated that you agree to every weekend, both days, because as it stands, you haven’t. You’ve been very vague as to what you intend. Oh, and we need to have two children, not one.”

I should have had Charlize order me three whiskeys. Or better yet, a never-ending fucking supply.

At this point, the only thing going for me is the fact Cecelia isn’t into men. Otherwise, I’m convinced our marriage contract would also make demands for me to fuck her on a schedule.

“I’ll read over the email from Hayden and spend the weekend considering your requests. You’ll hear back from us on Monday.”

“Make it first thing Monday. I want this resolved by close of business that day. And don’t forget we have dinner with my parents on Monday. Do not be late.”

Whoever said power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely was dead on the money. Cecelia knows the power she holds over me with this marriage and I have no doubt that power will corrupt her over time.

She wants me to consider her new requests this weekend. I realize now that what I’ll actually be considering is whether I’m willing to hand any of that power over to her after all.

26

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