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Everett changed his tactics when he noticed the dangerous glitter in Trevor’s eyes. If there was anything Trevor Daniels enjoyed, it was a challenge.
“Look, Daniels, you’ve come too far too fast to throw it all away now. Forget what happened in the past, forget the accident, and the bribery scandal last summer, and, for God’s sake, leave Stephens Timber alone!” Everett’s expression was pleading. “Concentrate on the election in November.”
“It’s not that easy,” Trevor admitted, rubbing his hand over the irritating pain in his abdomen.
“Rise above it.”
Trevor’s muscles flexed. “That’s a little too much to ask, don’t you think?”
Everett rolled his eyes upward and let out a frustrated sigh. “What I think is that you should quit brooding about false bribery charges and the accident,” Everett explained with a lift of his shoulders. “Besides which, we have to make up for lost time. The days you spent in the hospital are gone; you missed a couple of very important meetings.” “They can be rescheduled,” Trevor thought aloud. “Right now I have other things on my mind.”
“You should be concentrating on the opposition.”
“I am.”
“Stephens Timber,” Everett guessed, shaking his balding head despondently. “You’re going to have to ease up on them.”
“And play into Claud’s greedy hands? No way.”
“If you want to win the election—”
Trevor stopped dead in his tracks and wheeled around to confront his friend. Anger flared in his eyes. “I’m not even sure about that anymore. I had a lot of time to think while I was lying in that hospital. I’m not really sure that being a United States senator is all that it’s cracked up to be. It certainly can’t be worth the price.”
“You’re tired—”
“You bet I am!”
Evere
tt held up his soft palms as if to ward off a blow, hoping that the gesture would calm Trevor. It didn’t. Trevor had good reason to be upset, but Everett had hoped that the politician in Trevor Daniels would overcome the anger. “You’ve got to think about your career, Trevor, and you can’t afford to take any time off right now. Think of all the hard work you’ve put into this campaign before you go mouthing off to the press about all of this nonsense concerning the accident. The last thing we need right now is another scandal!”
“Is that all you ever think about?”
“It’s what you pay me to think about,” Everett reminded his employer before draining the remainder of his warm drink. “My only concern is to get you into that vacant senatorial seat this fall.”
“Even if it kills me?” Trevor asked with a sarcastic frown.
“Don’t be ridiculous—”
“Then don’t ridicule me!”
Everett’s light eyes were steady when they clashed with Trevor’s angry blue gaze. “I’m the guy who takes care of your security, remember? If I thought, I mean really thought that someone was out to get you, then I’d be the first one to suggest that you pull out of the race. But face it, if someone wanted to nail you, they would have done it before now. And, believe me, it wouldn’t be some two-bit job on your car. Even the police didn’t buy that one. For Christ’s sake, don’t turn paranoid on me now!” Everett muttered.
The words sunk into Trevor’s weary mind. He let out his breath and his broad shoulders sagged. “Maybe you’re right,” he conceded, though his voice still sounded skeptical.
“Of course I am.”
A crooked smile tugged at the hard corners of Trevor’s rigid mouth. “I can think of a few times when you’ve been wrong.”
“All in the past,” Everett assured him with a knowing grin. “I don’t claim to be infallible . . . just the nearest thing to it.” The rotund campaign manager walked across the room and poured three stiff fingers of bourbon from a bottle sitting on the bar in the corner of the room. “Here, have a drink,” he offered. “We both could use one.”
After Trevor took the glass and swallowed some of the bourbon, Everett continued with his never-ending advice. “Now, whatever you do, try to forget about the accident and the scandal. Avoid the press at all costs until some of the noise dies down.
“Don’t go spouting off about your car being sabotaged or you’ll end up on the front page of the Morning Surveyor all over again. The last time was bad enough. Publicity from that rag, we don’t need.” Everett took a calming sip of liquor. He was somewhat satisfied that he had finally gotten through to Trevor, though it had taken a hell of a lot of talking. Trevor Daniels had a good chance of winning the primary in May, not to mention the election in November, if he didn’t blow it by letting his hot temper control him. It was Everett’s job to protect and mollify the would-be senator. That task might prove difficult if Trevor was hell-bent on seeing Ashley Stephens again.
Trevor set his empty glass on the bureau. He had tossed the campaign manager’s words over in his mind, but despite Everett’s warnings, the gleam of determination resurfaced in Trevor’s hard gaze. Trevor wasn’t the kind of man to take things lying down, and never had been. His roguish charm and country-boy smile had won him many votes in the past, but it was his fierce determination that had brought him to the forefront of the political race for senator. Everett Woodward knew it as well as anyone. No amount of logic or smooth talk from Everett would change Trevor’s mind once it was set.
“I want you to cancel all of my appointments for the next couple of days,” Trevor said.
