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“She’s a very capable lawmaker.”
“Did you like working with her?”
“It’s not so much a matter of liking. A lot of times, it’s a matter of agreed common agendas.” He traced his thumb over her eyebrows, over the gentle creases that were showing on her forehead. She was so beautiful. Natural. He loved her freckles and the laugh lines.
“Didn’t she withdraw her sponsorship from several social welfare bills? Including ones that would help single parents?”
He looked at her. Was she testing him?
“You follow her career? Most people have no clue.”
She blushed. “I read about her after …”
“After you heard I worked with her?” He couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes.”
“It’s a give-and-take game there. You give your support to something to get the support you need for something else. I was tasked with getting her the votes she needed to pass a bill against pollutive industries.”
“And that bill passed.”
“You read about that, too?” He played with the strands of hair that fell over her naked shoulder.
“Yes. So, she believes in social welfare but also in cleantech, and it’s a matter of choosing what’s more important?”
“In a way.”
“Did you advise her on—”
“Not to vote for this? No. That was her decision, based on alliances she had to form on other topics.”
“I saw on the news that she’s pregnant. Maybe she’ll work harder to support working mothers now.”
He watched her. And there it was, plain as day. If Hope knew what Sharon had said on the matter, she wouldn’t despise just her, she would despise him, although he didn’t stand behind it. Just as he feared—knowing him more, she would like him less. How could he tell her about the rest? It was a catch-22.
“So, why did you leave that job?”
“I was only contracted for that one project. I prefer not to be a regular staff member, exactly for the reasons you mentioned.”
“And you took time off once that finished, and now you’re going back for the new project?”
“I wasn’t planning on taking it on, but this new project is flexible. I don’t have to be there all the time. There’s a lot of prep and infrastructure work that I can do from anywhere.” He felt like he was in a job interview, one where he wanted to kiss the interviewer and roll her under him again.
“So, you’ll be around.”
“Disappointed?” He smirked, but inside, his heart pounded hard against his ribcage. He wondered if she could feel it since her palm was right there on his chest.
“No.” She chuckled.
“So, what happened with Chris?” he asked after a beat passed.
She broke eye contact, lowering her gaze to his chest, bringing her fingertips to kill him with light caresses. “It didn’t really go anywhere. We haven’t seen much of each other outside of school … We haven’t even …” The familiar red heat rose to her cheeks.
He wasn’t a jealous man usually, and he had no right to be in this case, but fuck him if he didn’t feel a grip twisting his stomach at the thought of this man touching her. Any man.
“You haven’t even what?”
“Slept together.” Her eyes flitted back to his.
