“If I had people following me around all day,” Hudson says, “I’d snap too. I can barely handle the admin team.”
“Still doesn’t excuse it.”
“No,” he agrees. “But it explains it.”
He nudges the volume up again with the remote.
“I want to apologize for my actions,” the senator says. “They do not reflect my values—”
I stop listening becauseshesteps into the frame.
Madison.
But she’s not wearing slippers or a robe. She’s not flushed and yelling at me at one in the morning, either.
She’s calm and collected, with the same green eyes that pinned me in my own hallway.
She’s just a different weapon right now.
Hudson squints at the screen. “Why does she look familiar?”
I don’t answer.
“Wait. Isn’t that hot yoga girl from the ER?”
I grunt. “She’s my neighbor.”
Hudson turns his head. “Your neighbor is the hot yoga girl?”
“Yes. Her name is Madison.”
“And now she’s… running a press conference?”
“Looks that way.”
The senator steps aside, allowing Madison her place at the microphone.
“My name is Madison Callahan,” she says. “I represent Senator Reece. The senator acknowledges that his actions were inappropriate. He’s apologized privately and will step back from public appearances.”
A hand shoots up. “Will the senator resign?”
Madison doesn’t miss a beat. “No.”
“Is there an internal investigation?”
“That’s already underway.”
“Do you stand by—”
She lifts a hand. “There will be no further questions. Any statements moving forward will be issued in writing.”
She steps back before they can argue. The senator follows her offstage.
Hudson exhales. “She just shut that down.” He looks at me again, more curious. “You said her name was Madison?”
“Yes.”
He grins. “Madison is hot.”
