Paloma raised a hand, halting him once again.
“I really do not need to know the details of how you’ve come to know that.”
“Victoria said?—”
Paloma sighed.
“Of course, Victoria would know what kind of condom this man is.”
He shrugged.
“If it helps, her knowledge is anecdotal. Probably. I mean, it’s Victoria. So who knows?”
They shared a knowing look, then he went on with renewed fervor.
“He is not important. He’s nothing compared to you. Nothing. You? You are…” He looked heavenward. Paloma frowned. He got the hint again. “As special as you are, he’s the one being spoken of as if he’s a shoo-in. And that is mostly because he’s a local.”
“Yes, he is.”
She hated how bitter she sounded.
“I have a solution for your so-called ‘local’ problem.” The voice got gentler. This conversation could go a thousand different ways. Since they met five minutes ago, Paloma couldn’t have predicted anything he said, and the words that came out next stumped her yet again. “You need to stop playing by their rules, Ms. Allende. It’s a rigged game. You’re smart. You’re talented. You’re the best at so many things. You are Paloma Allende. Either make your own rules or learn their weaknesses and win. Now, can I sign the employment contract so that we can go over the details of my job as your PA?”
She looked him up and down again. “An NDA first. Then you tell me this plan of yours. Afterwards, we will see about that contract.”
He patted his chest.
“Be still, my beating heart. This is just so…hot, for lack of a better word. My own Ice Queen for a boss.”
“I haven’t hired you yet. I don’t even know your name.” Paloma shook her head and slowly made her way back to the pier where her car was parked. Behind her, it only took the giant two annoyingly long steps to catch up with her.
“Lachlan Vesely, PA extraordinaire, at your service. Any service. Just ask Rhiannon.”
“Why would I? Her entire life went up in smoke while you were supposedly running it. What does that tell me?”
“That I’ll at least make yours interesting?”
She gave him a long look and walked away, with him following on her heels like the big, fluffy dog she had imagined him to be earlier.
Later that night,in her suite, Paloma re-read theCawarticle that Lachlan had made the centerpiece of his pitch.
Yes, she had hired him. He had signed the NDA. Two separate ones she had her attorney draft ad hoc. One for her campaign. One for her private and professional life. She got word from Rhiannon, who spoke very highly of him. She even called Victoria, who called him her honorary nephew.
Then, when all the proper checks had been performed, Paloma allowed him to explain his idea. And, damn him, it was not a stupid one. She could see how he got to it.
Local boy…
Beloved town celebrity…
Paloma understood the advantages he ascribed to this plan of his. She knew that what Lachlan was proposing could work, as much as it pained her. In fact, she hated the very fact that it was something she should even be considering. But it would totally flip the script on Moss. Moss, who was currently polling just a point or two behind her. Basically, polling inside the margin by doing absolutely nothing at all. As infuriating as it was, American politics kept proving again and again that this was a woman’s reality. All that asshat had to do was make a few appearances, say a bunch of nonsense sound bites, and smile for the town ladies. And there he was, meteorically rising in the polls.
She sighed. Lachlan’s plan was so outlandish that even the books she read rarely chose this particular plot device. Yet here Paloma sat, on her comfortable couch, considering it.
“The worst trope in the whole of the romance genre…”
Paloma put her phone down and picked up the well-loved, well-read copy ofPride and Prejudice. No fake romance there. No, just the sensitive and broody hero and the cheerful, intelligent heroine and their dance around each other.
She stared at the page, but the words were running away from her, and her own thoughts were unhelpful in containing the memories she was trying to hide.
