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This time, she smiled. “It would surprise you how many people understand that and still can’t help themselves.”
Grayson liked to think he differed from all the others, that he had more discipline. But trying to convince Anastasia of that was pointless. “What will I have to do with the vets?”
She pointed a crimson-tipped finger at the paperwork in front of him. “There are a few different organizations in there. Read through their mission statements and volunteer opportunities. Tell me which you like best. I’m thinking soup kitchens, meet-and-greets, maybe something with disabled vets.”
“I have some friends in the tech industry. We can give a couple vets a new leg or something.”
Anastasia bobbed her head up and down. “Perfect. I like that. Give me some company names by the end of the day. I’ll see which one fits our image best.”
He hated the way she talked about his image that way. Sure, she’d catapulted him from a nobody to a national sensation within a matter of a couple of years, but it was still his face on everything. His voice. His policies.
It made him feel a little better that Anastasia was just a cog in the machine, too. She didn’t have any actual power. Her power came from the company she worked for, Apex Publicity, the real p
uppet masters.
But in order to keep them happy, he had to keep Anastasia happy.
“No problem. Anything else?” he asked.
Anastasia didn’t answer for a moment. She swiped her finger across the tablet’s screen a few more times, then placed it on the seat beside her. Grayson sat up. She rarely let go of that thing.
“Your son.”
Grayson deflated. If there was one thing he couldn’t control, one thing he couldn’t keep locked down and out of the public eye, it was his son. “What did he do now?”
“Nothing. Which makes me think we’re due for another incident.”
The last thing Grayson wanted to do was admit she was right, but when it came to Connor, he couldn’t deny the truth. “What do you propose?”
“Are you still going to family counseling?”
“Yes, but I can’t force him to go. And we’ve had to cancel the last two because of Mary’s hospital visits.”
“How is she doing?”
The question sounded robotic. It was like when someone asks how you are, and you’re forced to return the inquiry even if you couldn’t give two shits about the answer.
“She’s doing better.” Grayson leaned forward. “Look, I’ve done everything I can to handle Connor. I’m out of ideas.”
“Ideas are our business.” She tapped one of her crimson fingernails against her chin. “Let’s see, he’s nineteen. Good looking. Going to school for computer science. A bit of a nerd but has a rebellious streak. He’s still doing drugs?”
“Yes.” The word came out through gritted teeth. He hated how she knew his son as well as he did. Maybe better.
She snapped her fingers. “A girlfriend.”
“He has one of those.”
She laughed. “We’ll set something up. Get him to dump her. No, she’ll dump him. Break his heart for a while. Then we’ll introduce him to one of our girls. Someone who makes him feel like he’s still rebelling, but who can keep him in line. A man in love is easier to control.”
Grayson wasn’t sure what to say. On the one hand, he knew there were relationships of convenience out there. In his line of business, compatibility and common goals were more important than romance. Sometimes it was easier to get to the top as a power couple. And if you didn’t care about the sanctity of marriage, it was the perfect solution.
Senator Grayson loved his wife. From the moment he met her, he knew they’d get married. He’d always had political aspirations, and while she had been content as a kindergarten teacher, she’d given it up to become a politician’s wife. Their marriage wasn’t always perfect, but it was real.
Was he capable of manipulating his son like that? Was having a shot at the presidency worth allowing Apex to play his son like a fiddle?
Anastasia must’ve seen the gears turning in his mind. “It wasn’t a request, Senator.”
He swallowed the bile that had crept up his throat. “I’m aware, Ms. Bolton. I was momentarily considering the consequences, should any of this come to light.”
