She lifted her brows. “You are.”
I didn’t answer her. I scanned the room instead. I saw Langford walking through the crowd. He shook hands, hugged women, clapped backs, and let people feel important for ten seconds at a time.
When he finally made his way over, Sienna’s smile turned sweeter. “Daddy.”
Langford kissed her cheek. “Baby girl.” Then he looked at me and held his hand out. “Tariq.”
I shook it. “Alderman.”
He glanced at my suit, then back at my face. “Thank you for coming.”
I shrugged. “I’m here.”
“That’s what matters,” he replied, still smiling. “I’m glad you’re here. You can relay a message to Sincere for me and save me the trouble.”
“What’s up?” I pressed.
“Kai tried to strengthen his moratorium.”
I groaned inwardly. “Of course that nigga did.”
“He introduced an amendment that would have widened the freeze and added new requirements,” Langford continued.
Sienna’s mouth tightened. “That man loves attention.”
Langford nodded once. “I pushed his item back on the agenda, though.”
“What does that mean for us?” I asked.
“It means he does not get to rush it through while emotions are high,” Langford explained. “It gives us time. A delay works in your favor. Kai wanted to tighten the leash. I didn’t let him.”
I nodded.
Langford’s smile grew wider as he told me, “And I moved the Cartiers’ development vote up. I spoke to a colleague who controls the calendar. I secured a friendlier lineup in the room, more people who understand the economic upside. The vote is the city’s official approval for your team to build. Once that passes, it becomes harder for Kai to stall you.”
I nodded again. “So, it puts us closer to finally breaking ground.”
Sienna’s lips curved upward, and she looked up at me with satisfaction. “Daddy’s playing chess. Your side’s up for now.”
Langford winked at her. Then he looked back at me. “Do your part. Keep your people disciplined. Keep your name clean in public. Let me handle the procedure.” He patted Sienna’s shoulder, nodded at both of us, and moved on to the next cluster of donors who were hungry for his attention.
Sienna turned toward me with bright eyes. “You see that? He’s protecting the play.”
“I see it.”
She slid her hand down my arm and held on tighter. “So maybe you can stop acting like you don’t like being seen with me.”
I looked down at her. “You be forgetting what this is.”
Her smile held, but her eyes challenged me. “Maybe you can try to forget too.”
Fuck.
Sienna was building a picture in her head and daring me to stand still long enough to get framed in it.
As she leaned into me, her fingers tightened on my arm, not hard, just firm enough to tell me she wasn’t letting go.
When this was over, she wasn’t going to disappear because I said it was done. She was going to make me fight to get rid of her, and I didn’t want that fight with an Alderman’s daughter.
