“I forgot how hot you are when you’re mad.”
I clench my jaw so tightly I’m surprised I don’t crack a tooth, but thankfully, he obeys.
The color drains from his face as his hand stills on a glossy photograph.
“Oh, fuck,” he breathes.
“That was my reaction too. About thirty minutes ago, right after I realized you promised me there was nothing lurking in his past.”
Grant looks up. “Madison—”
“So help me God,” I cut in, leaning even closer, “if I find out you knew, I will bury you professionally so deep they’ll use you as a cautionary tale in law school.”
“Hold up,” he says quickly. “I swear to you, I didn’t know.”
“Then congratulations,” I snap. “Now you know.”
He drags a hand down his face and looks back at the photos. “This could be nothing.”
The laugh that breaks out of me is humorless. “He fucked her in the back of his car, Grant.”
“Christ.”
“And before you try to soften it,” I continue, “it’s not a mistake or a moment. It’s not a lapse in judgment. It’s been going on for three years.”
His head snaps up. “Three years?”
“Three,” I confirm. “Same woman.”
“Fucking hell,” he mutters, dropping back into his chair.
“Not so nice being left in the dark, is it?”
He exhales hard. “Okay. Okay. We can still manage this.”
“We?”
Grant meets my eyes. “Madison, you’re the best at what you do. I need you on this.”
“I don’t protect men who lie to their wives and parade their morality as a campaign slogan.”
“You think I like this? You think I’m not furious?”
“Furious is irrelevant. Prepared is what matters. And here’s the part you don’t get to avoid: if I can find this, someone else will. A reporter. An opponent. A bored intern with an internet connection.”
Grant goes quiet.
“When he runs for higher office,” I continue, “this won’t stay buried. It will explode. And it won’t just take him down. It’ll take everyone around him with it.”
“So what?” he says finally. “You want him to confess?”
“I want him to tell the truth on his terms before it’s dragged out of him by someone who doesn’t care about collateral damage.”
“That will ruin him.”
“Maybe.” I lift one shoulder in a shrug. “Or maybe it gives him a chance to own it and step back long enough for the public to move on.”
Grant scoffs. “You really think people forgive that easily?”
