“Do you know how competitive politics is, Jaxson? Everyone with a sharp mind wants to be a politician, but it takes hard work to get anywhere in city hall. You’re fighting against a lot of smart men and women, and Mr. Elwood trusted you with a very important position.” He sent me a narrowed look. I kept myself standing tall, not backing down from his lecture. “If you think that you’ll be given a free ride becauseyou’reriding Mr. Elwood—”
The door opened behind me and there was a familiar chuckle that made my spine stiffen.
“Don’t bust his balls, JP. I was the reason he was late,” Vane said smoothly, his voice like melted chocolate. I both hated and loved how confident he sounded, all the time.
Jean-Paul’s eyebrows rose, and he glanced from Vane to me and then back again. “You were the reason?” He crossed his arms. “How is that possible at this time in the morning?”
“He spent the night at my place.” Vane touched my shoulder, and I glanced up at him when he stepped to my side. He’d insisted on me going to work with him in his car, and I couldn’t argue, with how late I’d been already. I’d asked him to wait five minutes before entering city hall, though, and while I didn’t expect him to humor me, he had.
“Your place?” Jean-Paul’s mouth parted, and he turned a surprised stare on me, his gaze wandering down my body and up again like I was a puzzle that needed to be solved. I knew he couldn’t be shocked at us sleeping together, which left me staying at Vane’s apartment the option that baffled him. “Oh.”
“Give him a break. He worked hard yesterday.” Vane patted me on the shoulder and winked before he strode past both of us into his office. He didn’t bother to close the door behind him, so I assumed that meant he wanted us in there.
Jean-Paul clicked his mouth closed and waved to the room, and I nodded in thanks as I walked past him. He followed me into the office and closed the door behind us.
Vane slid his jacket off his shoulders and laid it over the back of his chair before he took a seat, staring at us carefully as we moved to stand in front of his desk. “Do we have any updates on the police situation? I promised Ross I’d handle it personally.”
Jean-Paul cleared his throat and pulled his phone out of the inside of his own jacket. He clicked a few times on the screen before he handed it to Vane. “The drama has quieted down, but one of the reporters isn’t letting it go. Roberts is being a pain in the ass and claiming Mayor Midberry isn’t fixing the issue with the cops and is only flexing for the cameras.”
Vane pinched the bridge of his nose. “Christ. Roberts is a fuckhead.” He pointed at Jean-Paul and handed back his phone. “Call Roberts and tell him I want to speak to him personally. We need to get ahead of this. He has a history of stirring the pot.”
“Yes, sir.” Jean-Paul shot Vane a dazzling smile and was already typing into the schedule on his screen.
Vane turned his pointed finger to me. “I want you to visit the police stations today, talk to the captains and find out how the officers are responding to the retraining they’re receiving. The last thing I want is for someone to act out. Knowing Roberts, he’s already got an informant or is searching for one, and that’s the last thing we need right now.”
I nodded quickly. “Okay.”
“Go.”
Jean-Paul and I were already turning and heading out, but I didn’t get far because he grabbed my arm as soon as Vane’s office door closed. He stared hard, and I didn’t know what was coming, but I gritted my teeth to get ready for another lecture.
“You spent the night with Vane?” His voice was gentler than I’d expected, and his face was soft and kind, not twisted in the scowl he sometimes wore when he was annoyed.
“I did.” My gaze fell to his hold on my upper arm, but he didn’t release his grip.
“At his apartment?”
“That’s what we said, didn’t we?” I frowned at him.
He sighed and finally let me go, but he didn’t move, and neither did I. It looked like he had more to say, and I was curious what it could be. “Vane is a good boss, an even better man. I’ve never seen him with another person. I mean, not in the relationship type of way.”
“We’re not in a relationsh—”
“Being with you is a risk for him, Jaxson,” he continued, as though I hadn’t said a word. “If it gets out that he’s dating a staff member who works under him, his reputation and career could be endangered. So can yours. He’s too good at his job for us to lose him.” He poked me on the chest, and I winced. “Don’t fuck this up for him. If you’re going to be in a relationship, be smart about it. If this is serious, get a transfer to another boss. He has enough scandals to deal with without this as well.”
I winced because this was a reminder that I needed to do something about Kalinski.Fuck, I hated that guy. I didn’t know what I was going to do about him, but I couldn’t avoid him forever, especially with the threat of exposing us.
“You’re right. Listen, I forgot something in the car I need to get before I head to the police stations. Can I go grab it?”
He pursed his lips and tilted his head as if perplexed but sighed and waved his hand.
“Thanks!” I turned on my heel and rushed out of the glass doors and toward the elevator again. It wasn’t difficult to find Kalinski. He was always close to someone important, ready to kiss ass. This time he was following close behind one of the city council members on their way to a meeting, as though he was about to approach her.
I intercepted him and ignored his, “What the…?” as I dragged him toward the bathrooms. When I had him inside and the last guy taking a piss had left, I locked the door and spun on Kalinski, who was busy glancing around with a disgusted frown. His gaze stuck on the less-than-spotless urinals, and he looked like he was getting ready to gag. He wore a beige suit today and it was fucking ugly. The color didn’t complement his skin tone, but I wasn’t in a nice enough mood to tell him that.
He crossed his arms at me and ran a hand over his dark hair, messing up the part. “What do you want, Bell?”
“Have you thought about what I said?” I leaned back against the door, blocking his exit. Kalinski didn’t look like he was trying to escape, though.
