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A joke from Pietro? If he didn’t watch out, having Jane as a girlfriend was going to turn him into a normal person.
Jane laughed. “I’m not sure it was quite so dramatic,” she said.
“You were still a state senator then, if I’m not mistaken?” Nick asked.
Pietro smiled broadly. “Right up until the now former Congressman Dale Grubbs was caught taking kickbacks.”
“I couldn’t have possibly won the special election to replace him without your help and support,” she told Pietro, voice warm with affection, then gave me a smile. “And as much as I regret missing out on nutria jambalaya,” she shuddered, “I’m off to New York this afternoon for a few engagements before The Child Find League Fundraiser Saturday, then back to DC. Committee meetings, staff meetings, and more meetings.” She shuddered once again.
“You’re on the House Judiciary Committee, right?” Nick asked, in a way that made it clear he already knew the answer. At Jane’s nod he continued with a smile, “Congratulations on that. Impressive feat for a freshman Congresswoman to score a spot on such an influential committee, but I suppose having doctorates in Political Science and Law helped considerably.”
I tried not to look as surprised as I was at the two doctorates thing. And here I’d assumed she was a medical doctor. Duh.
Jane chuckled. “It certainly didn’t hurt, though I’m still getting used to the maneuverings and behind-the-scene deals that aren’t taught in the classroom.”
Nick gave a knowing nod. “Your detractors who are complaining that you’re not doing enough to secure a defense contract for Saberton don’t understand how the system works.”
An expression of true regret swept over her face. “I would love to wave a magic wand and reopen the factory so that all those people could be rehired,” she said, referring to the employees laid off after Saberton bought a farm machinery company and then failed to obtain a hoped-for defense contract. “But the sad and brutal truth is that in order to ensure Saberton lands that contract, I would have to expend every bit of political capital I’ve acquired in the past few months, and owe quite a few favors besides.” She sighed. “I can’t afford to ‘blow my wad’ on the Saberton contract.”
Nick nodded again. “Not when there are bills coming up for programs and funding that have far more impact on this area,” he said. “Wetlands, drilling rights, flood control. It would be a short term fix with long term issues.”
I glanced over at Nick, probably with my mouth hanging open, impressed and surprised that he had a clue. Hell, more than a clue. I caug
ht the gist of what they were talking about, and as much as I wanted to see those factory jobs come back, I had a hard time getting behind anything that helped Saberton Corporation in any way. I figured Pietro couldn’t either, not with their track record of fuck-y’all exploitation of both zombies and regular people. Yet Jane’s reasoning seemed logical and sound, and not at all based on an “I Hate Saberton” point of view. Then again, as far as I knew, Jane still knew nothing about the zombies. I had no idea if or when Pietro planned to tell her, but that sort of thing was waaay into the sort of none-of-my-business that I actually abided by.
Jane smiled at Nick, genuine and appreciative. “You know my pain. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I’m going to have to find other solutions for the unemployment situation.” She sighed. “It’s a frustrating dance.”
Pietro leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “One you do with poise and grace, my dear.”
Jane gave Pietro a warm smile accompanied by a soft-eyed look that left no doubt how she felt about him.
Time for Nick and me to leave the lovebirds to do their thing. “We should get going,” I said. “It was great running into you two.”
Jane reached and touched my arm. “It was wonderful to see you, Angel, and a pleasure to meet you, Nick.”
We made our goodbyes and headed to the counter. I picked up the box with pastries and glanced over at Nick. “How did you know so much about that stuff?”
“I read a lot,” he said with a shrug as he collected the carrier with the drinks. “And this is a hot topic, locally.”
“I’m saving up for a computer,” I said as we headed to the door. “Maybe I can watch news videos or something.” A gust of wind sent leaves scuttling along the sidewalk as we stepped out.
“It’s important to keep up with what’s going on,” he replied with a knowing nod.
“By the way, thanks for asking me to come with you. I needed the distraction.”
He shot me a smug look. “I know.”
Laughing, I punched him in the arm, hard enough for him to feel it, but not hard enough to spill the coffee and chocolate he carried. I had my priorities.
He made a show of rubbing his arm, but we were both smiling when we returned to the office.
Chapter 3
The living room was empty when I walked through my front door, but I heard the shower—our only shower—running. Crap.
“Hey, dad,” I yelled through the bathroom door. “You gonna be much longer?”
“Be a coupla minutes,” he hollered back. “I just got in.”
