“Because your family is rich.” He stared at me incredulously. “The only reason you got an internship is because of who they are and the money they donate.”
I shrugged. “Probably. Why does it matter?”
He scoffed and shook his head. “It matters because some of us have to fight tooth and nail to get what we want. Our families can’t afford to stuff the pockets of politicians to get us an important position.”
“So… you let those politicians stuff you with something else?” It was a serious question, but I didn’t miss the noise JP made as he closed in on us, like he expected this to end in a fight. That would never happen. I hated any kind of public confrontation.
Jaxson bit his bottom lip and humor flashed over his face. “Something like that. Only one politician will be stuffing me from now on.”
“Well, at least you got a good-looking one,” I said with a grin. “He’s not one of those sleazy guys.”
Jaxson laughed. “No, he’s not. I really did get a winner.” His gaze strayed back to the podium where Mr. Elwood was finishing his speech and his eyes softened. It all seemed very romantic, and I couldn’t help but feel happy for them, even though I was insanely jealous of their easy relationship.
JP touched my shoulder, and I leaned into him. All the reporters were focused on Mr. Elwood, and even if they weren’t, JP’s hold on me was no different to one that a mentor would give to his student, which is what we basically were. He was my boss, just like Mr. Elwood.
“You did good, boy,” he whispered in my ear, and I shivered at the praise.
“Thank you.” I didn’t call him Daddy because I wasn’t sure what we were right now. He’d promised we’d talk later, though, and I was looking forward to it a lot. I wanted everything out in the open, to figure out what we both really wanted and where we were going from here.
He’d spanked me, pulled my pants to my thighs, and slapped his hand across my bare ass. That meant something, right?
As soon as the conference was done, the reporters started to pack up their equipment. I heard some murmurings, asking about Midberry. Some even whispered that Mr. Elwood would make a better mayor, and I didn’t disagree. I’d barely seen Mayor Midberry around city hall. The few times he visited Mr. Elwood, it looked like he’d had a rough night, even though his suit was pressed to perfection and everything about him was neat and tidy. The dark circles under his eyes told another story. He barely did press conferences, and the only times I’d seen him at important events were the ones that would help him get reelected. I didn’t see what Mom liked about him.
Mr. Elwood came toward us after he was finished having a few private conversations with some reporters and kissed Jaxson firmly on the mouth. I couldn’t break my gaze from the way he ate at his fiancé, completely unembarrassed by the people around him.Fuck, I want that.
When they were done with their short but passionate make-out session, Mr. Elwood finally turned his attention to me. “You’re not fired.”
I glanced at JP in time to see him shake his head. “He knows that, Vane.”
“Right.” Mr. Elwood pressed his lips together and pulled at his suit before he held out his hand to me. “I’m sorry for what happened earlier today. I should have come out to help.”
I hesitated, glancing at his palm, the same one that had been touching other people not more than five minutes ago when he’d shaken their hands.
JP squeezed my shoulder, and I knew what I had to do. I wrung my hands together and sighed. “I can’t shake with you.”
Mr. Elwood raised his eyebrows. “Really? I said I was sorry, you won’t get another apology out of me, Kalinski. You’re lucky to have received that one. I do not apologize to people.”
“Let him talk,” JP said sharply, earning him a soft glare from Mr. Elwood, one he only seemed to reserve for JP.
“No, I don’t want more from you.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I can’t shake your hand because… I have OCD, I think. JP says it’s OCD, but I haven’t been diagnosed. I don’t like dirt and I’mnota germaphobe, but I like clean, and you’ve been shaking other people’s hands. That’s not clean.”
Jaxson’s eyes widened, and then he smiled in a way I hadn’t seen from him yet. “That explains things.”
“Yeah,” I said simply, my cheeks growing hot.
Mr. Elwood’s angry expression relaxed and he nodded. He didn’t smile like Jaxson, but he didn’t look at me like he wanted to squish me beneath his expensive shoes anymore.
“But… I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have blackmailed you or Jaxson, and I shouldn’t… have gone to the newspaper about your relationship.” I raised my chin. That’s all I could give them.
“Fine.” Mr. Elwood curled his arm around Jaxson’s waist and dragged him closer. He laid his other hand on Jaxson’s stomach, and Jaxson sighed into his touch. “We’re even. Let’s get out of here. This is already uncomfortable.”
“So I can come back to work tomorrow?” I asked, quieter than I’d meant to.
He nodded curtly. “Tomorrow.” He didn’t give me a chance to respond before he was dragging Jaxson toward the door. I watched them go, admiring the way Mr. Elwood held Jaxson like a man truly in love.
“Come on, boy, it’s time for us to go home, too. We need to talk,” JP said, only loud enough for me to hear, and he touched my lower back with enough pressure that I shot a look at him. I wanted to ask him which home he meant—we didn’t live with each other anymore—but all I did was follow him because I enjoyed listening to his orders.
We grabbed our coats, scarves, and gloves from the security desk on the way out of city hall and put them on before we exited into the parking lot. As soon as we stepped into the snow, JP curled his arm around my shoulders and dragged me closer. I didn’t question him, instead burying myself deeper into his side as we walked our way toward JP’s SUV.
