“Hmm?”
She stepped around him and moved to the middle of his office. His campaign staff was hard at work, barely noticing her presence.
“Excuse me, everyone! May I have your attention, please?”
With reluctance, his team tore themselves away from the tasks they were performing and afforded her their undivided attention.
“Thank you. Now, forgive me for being rude, but I need you all to leave.”
The looks on their faces were priceless, akin to a deer in headlights. She’d apparently rendered them speechless, but none of them moved to leave.
“What are you doing, Taylor?” Victor asked in a hushed tone.
“My job,” she said over her shoulder. “Now, please. Y’all can pick up where you left off tomorrow.”
Carlotta McGovern, his Chief Media Advisor, was the first to move. She gave Taylor a knowing smile and collected her things. Her compliance prompted the rest of his team to do the same.
Victor stood by the door, seemingly still confused by her actions. She offered goodbyes to each of them as they departed. But when Kena approached to say goodbye, Taylor grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.
“We need to get you into some comfortable clothes,” she told her.
“Huh?”
“Some sweats and a t-shirt or something like that. Can you change and come back?”
“Sss-ure,” she replied with obvious bewilderment.
“Great! See you soon.”
Kena’s perplexed expression remained as she left the office. Once they were alone, Victor turned to Taylor with a raised brow.
“What are you up to?”
Taylor grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. “I’ll explain while you get dressed. Come on.”
* * *
Within a couple of hours,the noise in their apartment had converted from campaign chatter to Frankie Beverly. Taylor was pleasantly surprised that their friends and family were willing to come when called on such notice.
“What’s going on here?” she asked Victor, referring to Donatella and Lincoln huddled together, giggling and whispering.
“I think they’re a thing.”
“Whaaat? Get outta here!”
“Yeah. I’m not sure, but I believe they’ve been seeing each other for a while.”
It wasn’t hard to believe when looking at them. They seemed very comfortable with each other. Taylor wanted to get the details, but a knock at the door prohibited her from going over there to be nosy.
She went for the door, but Victor stopped her.
“I’ll get it. Can you pour me a Scotch?”
“Sure thing, honey.” Taylor walked over to the bar where Victoria was acting as bartender. “So, you actually remember how to perform manual labor?” she teased.
“Girl, please,” Bella scoffed. “The only thing she’s poured since she’s been back there was Jack Daniels for herself.”
Victoria rolled her eyes at Bella. “Would youreallytrust a drink I made for you?”
