Unfortunately, like a demon from hell, we’d spoken Slittery’s name out loud the required number of times to summon him. His gaze jerked right over to us. A predatory smile curved his mouth. He grabbed Senator McBuck and Sarah and strode over.
“Uh-oh,” said Cody, who also had a gift for understatement.
“If it isn’t my vanquished foes.” Malicious humor oozed in Slittery’s voice. He turned to his companions. “Sarah, Senator, do you know Ben Laderman, from the governor’s office? And these women are from a cute little outfit in town called Lise Motors.”
“They’re not a cute little outfit,” George said hotly. “You listen here—”
But Senator McBuck cut him off, narrowing his eyes at Ben. “Oh, I’m quite familiar with Mr. Laderman.” Like Slittery, McBuck was an old man who, if only he’d kept his mouth shut, could’ve been mistaken for someone’s kindly grandpa. He actually looked a lot like Santa Claus, which caused a lot of confusion for me internally, as I battled my natural instincts to smile like a good girl and maybe even rub his belly. “He gave the restaurants in my district quite a headache with his dangerous minimum wage proposal.”
“Just think how much your other, less advantaged constituents will appreciate you,” Ben said smoothly. “You’re a champion for the working class.”
“Ben Laderman—slick as usual,” Sarah interjected, taking quick notice of the foot of space between Ben and me. “Some might say you’re pretty good at blowing smoke up people’s asses, telling them what they want to hear, just so you can get what you want.”
Holy subtext, Batman. My finely honed ability to read between the lines was telling me Sarah might have caught Ben’s hand stroking my back.
“I was under the impression blowing smoke up people’s asses to get what you wanted was the lobbyist’s manifesto,” Wendy said coolly. And thank God, because the strange, inconvenient guilt I felt toward Sarah rendered me defenseless against her, and I could see Ben squirming, too.
“Well, who cares what the working class thinks?” said McBuck, adjusting his little Santa Claus wire-rimmed spectacles. “The working class doesn’t vote. Fast-food tycoons, on the other hand, write big checks.”
“Not everything in politics is about the money,” I said, finally finding my voice. Except my contribution made everyone stop for a second, then collectively shake their heads and move on.
“The reason I came over,” Slittery said, “is to see whether you’re going to accept my proposal, Ben.”
I shot Ben a look. What the hell was he talking about?
“I’m sure we can talk about it later,” Ben said.
“No, hear me out. I’m sure the good governor has an idea up his sleeve. Something he could offer.” Slittery gestured at McBuck. “To both of us, of course.” He patted Sarah on the shoulder. “My adviser suggests it could be beneficial to parley.”
Ben froze. Dread filled me as the implications sank in.
Slittery smiled at Wendy and me with paternal beneficence. “Best to leave the tough negotiations to the men, right? That way, we can get down to brass tacks. Talk straight without having to worry about ruffling anyone’s feathers.” He chuckled, cuffing Ben’s shoulder. “Have your people set up the meeting with my secretary. Just you and me, like I said.”
Just you and me.
“And tell your boss the party’s nice this year,” Slittery added, and then he and McBuck walked away. But Sarah lingered, fists clenched, ignoring the radioactive silence that had fallen over our group.
“Tell me the truth,” she said to Ben. There was a daring quality to her voice. “Did you really end things because we aren’t right together?” She glanced at me. “Or is it because you’re still into your ex?”
Oh, Sarah, now wasnot the time. I spun to Wendy, Cody and George, who were, as I’d feared, tracking Sarah’s every word. But Wendy wasn’t lunging to throttle me—in fact, she was watching Sarah and Ben’s exchange like it was a real-life soap opera, starring interesting but ultimately tangential colleagues... Oh, right, because shedidn’t knowI was the ex in question. Ben and I had lied about not knowing each other from the very start, and that lie was now saving me from getting outed. Whoever said two wrongs didn’t make a right was a fool, obviously, but that wasn’t the pressing issue at the moment.
The pressing issue was, Ben needed to assure Sarah their breakup had nothing to do with me. Then Sarah would disappear soIcould confront him and find out if the terrible thing I suspected he’d done was true. I could barely contain myself; the question was burning in me.
But Ben took a different tack. He locked eyes with Sarah, his gaze softening. When he spoke, his voice was gentle. “It was for both reasons.”
Cody, who’d clearly become too invested, gave a small gasp.
Sarah’s eyes glittered in the dim lights, and she blinked quickly. But she wasn’t down for long—the next moment, her spine straightened and she lifted her chin. “I see. Well, I hope you know this means I’m going after you and your bill now. No more advising Slittery to parley. No more protections.” She turned to me and, to my surprise, drew close, her voice a whisper in my ear. “Two years together, and he left me just like that. There’s a part of him you’ll never touch, you know. In the end, he may love you, but he’ll always put himself first.” She flicked me a final look of warning and walked away.
I stood in the aftermath of Sarah’s words—words that zeroed in on my greatest fear—and let them seep under my skin. I shouldn’t care if Ben could never fully be mine, because I wasn’t asking for that. We weren’t in a relationship. What we had was physical—no feelings.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t still betray me. I gathered myself, taking a deep breath, and turned to Ben, forcing my voice to come out low and measured. I would not cause a scene at my first Governor’s Ball. “Slittery tried to set up a secret meeting with you. When?”
“Not secret. I only didn’t tell you because—”
“Answer the question.” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see even Wendy’s spine straighten at the ice in my voice.
“Fine,” Ben said, and I could tell from the zipped-up quality of his expression that he was trying as hard as I was to stay calm. “He tried to set up a meeting a week ago. I guess Sarah talked him into it.”
