“Excellent.” Governor Mane stood up, adjusting his bolo tie. “I want you and Lee to work together to figure out how to convince each of them, and then I want you to execute.”
What in the—Campaign withBen? No, absolutely not. This was just supposed to be one meeting—get Ben’s blessing, then go off and do the work myself. A short, tidy epilogue wrapping up our story. Panic gripped me.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I blurted.
Every head around the table swiveled to me. Wendy shot me a death glare.
Governor Mane squinted. “Why not? I thought you wanted to get your hands dirty. With your subject matter expertise and Ben’s political savvy, you’ll make a dream team.” He looked at Dakota. “It’s a bit of a lift for one person, so if Lee can’t do it, I guess we can wait until I find someone el—”
“Oh, Leewill do it,” Wendy said, and I actually gulped.
I looked at Ben, whose expression was still coolly neutral, except for the hint of a smirk at the corners of his mouth.
Oh,hellno. Hewantedme to refuse to work with him and embarrass myself in front of everyone. I was walking right into his trap.
“Of course I will,” I revised quickly. “I was only concerned about Ben, actually. He reads very California, and I’m not sure how that will play with our senators.”
Ben flushed.Ha.
“Good point,” the governor said. “Ben, buy yourself some boots and a ten-gallon hat. And for the love of God, don’t mention you’re a Democrat.”
Ben was still a Democrat? I hadn’t thought about it consciously, but as soon as the governor said it, my shoulders sank with relief, unloading an anxiety I hadn’t known I was carrying. I realized I’d assumed working for Governor Mane meant Ben had gone over to the dark side. But he hadn’t.
“Please,” Ben muttered. “I know that much.”
Wendy raised an eyebrow. “Employing across party lines. How out of the box, Governor.”
Governor Mane waved his hand and walked to the door, followed by his small entourage, who scurried from their seats. “Cowboy on the outside, stone-cold tactician on the inside. Anything to win.” He pointed at Ben. “Get yourself a hat.” And then he was off to his lunch.
My panic climbed as Dakota and Wendy rose to follow him out. Dakota squeezed my shoulders, giving Ben a bright smile. “We’ll leave the two of you to talk details. We’re so excited to have you on board, Ben.”
Ben blinked, caught for a second by Dakota-dazzle, then smiled back. “And I’m excited to be here.”
As Wendy and Dakota slipped out of the door, I resisted the urge to throw myself at them, begging them not to leave me alone in this conference room.
But they shut the door with a resounding thud. Taking my restraint with them.
I whipped around to face Ben. “Scratch that. We arenotexcited to have you on board. What the hell, Laderman? What are you doing here—actively trying to fuck up my life?”
He shook his head slowly, grinning like a goddamn movie villain circling the wounded hero. “Stoner, Stoner, Stoner. Just the height of professionalism. You still go by Stoner, right?”
I hissed. “Don’t call me that here.”
Ben put his hands on the conference table and leaned over it. “Given what I recall about your lifestyle, I’m surprised you even remember me.”
“Not remember the guy who moved to California because we broke up?” I scoffed. “Yeah, right. That dramatic exit is burned into my memory.”
“I didn’t move because we broke up, you giant narcissist.” Ben narrowed his eyes. “But I won’t say knowing you were working on the Green Machine bill wasn’t an incentive to move back.”
There he was: the old, competitive Ben I remembered. The supercilious mask he’d worn for the governor had dropped away.
I rose and planted my own hands on the conference table, mirroring him. “So youareback to take revenge. Ha! Just like I suspected. You want to ruin my life just because I ruined yours.”
“I couldn’t care less about ruining your life. I’m back because I want to turn my home state blue, working from the inside.”
I blinked. That’s whatIwanted to do.
“Governor Mane is the best shot in decades. I came back for a once-in-a-million job. The kind of job I went to law school for in the first place, no help from you.”
