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“And how is Ms. Natalie Finley doing?”
“Fine.”
“Is she? Coping well with all the drama going on with her father at the moment? I know how close the two of them are. It has to be hard for them to be separated like this.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Sure. But Natalie is a smart girl. She understands that all of this is being done for her own protection, and that her father would have it no other way.”
Jared nodded. “I understand that she’s a smart young woman. So I have no doubt that she understands logically why these measures have been put into place. I guess what I’m referring to is how she’s doing emotionally and psychologically.”
I tilted my head. “She’s fine…”
“So you haven’t seen any signs of emotional distress from her end?”
“No offense sir, but if you wanted to ask questions about her emotional and psychological wellbeing, I’m sure you could have contacted her.”
Jared laughed. “Oh, I don’t want to stress her out any further. I figured I could gather what I needed from you, since you’ve been spending every waking moment with her, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Just for clarification, I do mean every waking moment. Or h
ave you been spending more than waking moments with her? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”
I froze in my seat, wondering if he was implying what I thought he was, or if I was just being paranoid.
There was no way anyone could have known that Natalie and I had…
I wracked my brain, trying to figure out how we could have possibly been caught.
Maybe you’re just jumping to conclusions, I told myself. First, find out what he really means…
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking me.”
“Really now?”
A long silence passed between us, and Jared literally started twirling his thumbs. His brow lowered and he stared at the table for a moment, as if trying to find the right words to say. “Have you been getting a bit too attached to Ms. Natalie Finley, Colt?”
“No,” I answered immediately, the lie leaping off my tongue. Fuck.
“Hmm.”
It was evident that. Jared didn’t believe me, and I had no idea what else to say. I was treading on thin ice though.
“Well,” he continued, “just to be on the safe side, I am reassigning you to Speaker Finley himself. There have been some suspicious whispers about the relationship you’ve been developing with Natalie, and I would just hate for any issues or scandals to arise while the Speaker is in consideration for Vice President. You understand, right?”
Now I paused for a long moment. “I’m sorry, but I belong with Natalie,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m not trying to be difficult, but she trusts me. I think it would be detrimental to assign someone else to her right now, for you…you know, psychological and emotional reasons.”
“Do you now?” Jared said. “And whose psychological and emotional reasons are we talking about here, yours or hers?”
I swallowed. “I…I just don’t think it’s a good idea to reassign—”
“Can you promise me that you can refrain from getting too attached to Natalie Finley?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling a knot flip in my stomach.
“Then you may eventually be reassigned to her. For now though, please report to Speaker Finley’s estate.”
* * *
