DK is lodged so deeply in my head that I have no idea how to get him out.
Or even if I want to.
After the meeting, Anika and I don’t speak until we’re across the lobby and through the front door. Then she stops. Her arms folded, her eyebrows raised in two high arches. “So?”
“I think I held my own despite Diablo trying to flex his experience and play hardball.”
“You did, but that isn’t what I’m asking.”
“Oh?”
“Rayne Webber,” she drawls. “Who you tryna play dumb with? Like I didn’t just watch you and that big hunk of a man eye-fuck so hard I needed a cigarette.”
I scoff, shifting the purse strap on my forearm. “You’re imagining things.”
“I read rooms. That wasn’t just politics. You drifted off like you forgot what decade you were in.”
“I lost my train of thought.”
She holds my gaze and lets the silence work.
“All right, he’s attractive,” I concede the obvious. “We’ve bumped into each other a couple of times. Maybe there’s some chemistry. But that’s it. He works for Diablo. Opposite sides. Nothing sexy about that.”
Anika rolls her eyes. “Rivals to lovers… romance movies and books thrive on that stuff. Just don’t start taking risky chances,” she warns.
“When have I ever done that?”
“Never,” she admits. “But I’m not underestimating your weakness for that particular brand of caramel chocolate.”
Chapter Fourteen
DK
Diablo’s in a funk. No question about it, Rayne had handled herself with aplomb, and he was licking his wounds.
“Let this one go, Gabriel,” I urge. “Dig your heels in for something more important.”
“Thisisimportant.” He paces the room, huffing with agitation. “If I start caving now, Rayne will think she has the advantage.”
“What advantage?” I keep the edge out of my voice. “It’s a compromise. You’re both making concessions. That’s win-win.”
He stops mid-stride and looks over at me, leaning against the wall. “I hope you’re not going easy on her because she’s an attractive woman.”
My gaze sharpens. Smoothing ruffled feathers, I’ll do. Taking shit from a candidate, I won’t.
“Your comment is out of order. I perform my job the same regardless of the opponent.” That it’s Luna—and I’m still strivingfor professional fairness—costs me more than he knows. “Don’t ever question my character again, Gabriel.”
“Low blow,” he says, looking like he means it. “Sorry about that.”
For the most part, I like him. He can sometimes be arrogant and short-sighted. Some of his views are more traditional than mine. But I believe he cares about the town and genuinely wants to do good. Now that he’s starting to see Rayne’s candidacy as more than just an inconvenience, he’s acting like a man-toddler who doesn’t want to share his toys.
“My advice is to meet Rayne halfway on the debate,” I say. “You wouldn’t want her campaign to spin it that you’re afraid of facing voters.”
That lands. He’s stubborn, not stupid. “That would be a bad look,” he concedes. “Thanks for keeping me straight.”
“It’s the right thing,” I say, but I can’t deny that I also wanted to get that townhall win for her.
I stay late at the office, overriding my six o’clock shutdown, to send the meeting notes and finalize the moderator recs. When the system warns me that it’s seven, I consider another delay, but that’s a slippery slope. I make myself log off and head home.
