“And the strategy?” I asked. “If the Supreme Court gets a whiff of this, it won't end well for any of us.”
“These are small matters, Megan. Simple tax and regulatory issues. Nothing you haven't handled before. You being in that chair is a stepping stone. In a few years, we’re looking at the Supreme Court.”
“I want that in writing,” I demanded.
“You know I can't do that,” he said.
“Then you should have thought of that before you green-lit my judicial career,” I snapped. “Have your aide draft a commitment that I will be nominated to the Supreme Court within six years. Get ten senior members to sign it, and I’ll give you exactly what you need.”
“You're a hell of a negotiator.” He admitted, undoing a button on his blazer.
His stomach presses against the table. I notice the buttons are practically screaming for mercy. He calls the aide over, types something into a laptop, and turns it so I can see the information. It’s exactly what I demanded.
He instructs the aide to print it and secure ten signatures from the senators currently staying in the building. “And in return?” he asked.
“You already have your compensation. I’m making your lives easier,” I stated.
While we wait, he tries to force a conversation with an intimacy we never had, despite knowing each other for years. I don’t open up to business associates. Donald is the only exception; he was in my life long before the work, until Peter pushed him out.
“Return my phone,” I said. There’s no reason for it to stay confiscated. He stands, looking slightly bothered, and retrieves the device.
“My father used to talk about men like you,” I remarked. “He said the desperate need to cling to power is a man’s greatest weakness.”
He shifts uncomfortably in his chair. I loathe being manipulated, so I have to maintain this air of cold superiority. It’s exhausting. I’m definitely booking that spa treatment just so I can sleep.
“It’s funny to hear you talk about your father as if he were a saint,” he retorted. “He gave us many favorable rulings, but he supported the Republicans far more often than he should have.”
“In whose eyes?” I asked.
“Pardon?”
“In whose eyes shouldn't he?” I pressed. “If he supported your party, it was because his convictions aligned with yours at the time. I imagine he did the same for others. Convictions are complex, Senator. No one is ever fully aligned.”
“I don't see why you’re being so defensive, Woods. We have an agreement, a shared motivation. It’ll all work out,” he said.
I want to roll my eyes so hard they might actually pop out of my head. Instead, I offer a thin, uncomfortable smile. “I understand. I just prefer my bureaucracy to be clearly defined.”
He nods and tells the aide to hurry. Minutes later, the man returns with the document. The Senator signs it and slides it across the table.
“Business concluded then.”
I stand, take the paper, and offer a final handshake. “A pleasure doing business with you, Senator.”
The moment I’m back in the taxi, I let out a jagged sigh. I fire off a message to my therapist, confirming our video session in fifteen minutes.
#20
“I got fever running like a fire for you, I will go all the way I'm gonna take you higher" - Pussycat Dolls
Ihad to reread the same project proposal ten times before the words finally began to make sense. My mind was elsewhere, wondering if I was occupying her thoughts as much as she was mine.
Was it even possible to fall in love in just over a week? The answer was painfully clear: I’d been half in love with her since the day of her wedding.
The expansion involved the renovation of three American ports and five others globally, all designed to meet skyrocketing demand and streamline the logistics for a vast array of commodities.
One client, in particular, was using Calama to bankroll the entire construction of ports in Mexico, Benin, and Madeira. He wasa master at utilizing every square inch of our ships—but then again, so was Vanessa.
It was an art form she had perfected: hiding contraband within container shipments. It was in her blood, after all; she was a daughter of the 'Ndrangheta, sister to the heirs Felice and Giorgia.
