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She sweeps her gaze over me, pursing her lips. It’s the most expressive reaction I’ve witnessed since that night in the coat closet at the benefit dinner.
“Come inside.” Without waiting, Vivian turns and walks deeper in the house.
I follow, unable to shake the uneasiness clinging to me. “Is he here, or…?”
“No. Left early and wouldn’t say where he was going.” She stops and turns on her heel when we reach the kitchen. “You can wait here for him. Would you like some tea?”
“Okay.” I take a tentative seat at the island. “Thank you.”
She smiles without moving the upper half of her face. It’s disconcerting. “Be right back.”
I’m not waiting long before she returns with a manila folder. She must be working from home. She paces on the other side of the island.
“Sorry again for interrupting.” I gesture at the folder she’s flipping through. “I haven’t heard from Connor in a few days, so I was worried and wanted to stop by to see if he wanted to go to the holiday market downtown.”
Vivian lifts a brow with her attention on the contents in the folder, but doesn’t answer.
“I’m going to make you an offer,” she announces after a stretch of awkward silence.
“I’m sorry?” I lick my lips nervously.
Snapping the folder shut, she plays with it as she studies me with a tight expression. “You’ve worn out your usefulness for the campaign’s family-centered message. Leave my son. Stop seeing him. Don’t call or text him.”
“What?” The air sucks from the room as I grip the edge of the counter. “Why would I do that? Connor and I—” I close my mouth. It sounds stupid and cliche saying we love each other to his mom while she’s trying to drive me away. “I won’t do it.”
She sighs like I’m a big inconvenience. “How much do you want?”
“You can’t pay me to stop dating Connor.” I gape at her. “That’s horrible.”
Vivian coos at me, the sound derisive. “That’s how the world works, darling.”
I straighten my spine. “No thanks. No matter how much you try to bribe me with, I wouldn’t do that to him. I don’t like lying.”
“Well, aren’t you good at playing wholesome?”
“Playing?”
I’m about to jump up from the stool when she smirks. “Connor doesn’t want or need you. Why do you think he hasn’t contacted you?”
Denial clogs in my throat. No. He wouldn’t ghost me. He’s too proud for it. If he wanted to end things between us, he’d tell me to my face. I shake my head.
Vivian clucks her tongue. “With your…promiscuous proclivities, you don’t foster the right kind of image. It’s best for everyone if you disappeared from his life.”
“Disappeared? Promiscuous proclivities?” My head is spinning. “What are you talking about?”
She tosses the folder across the counter. It lands between us, pages spilling across the gleaming granite. They’re…me. Photos of myself. Dread seeps into every inch of my skin as I stare at printed pages from my blog.
No. No, no, no. This can’t be happening.
“I’ll take your stunned silence as agreement.” Her words tear me from my stupor. She clicks a pen, poised over a checkbook she pulled out while I was in a daze. “How much will it be?”
What a horrible woman. I’m never voting for her.
Sucking in a fortifying breath, I face her. “If Connor doesn’t want me, why would you have to pay me to stop seeing him?”
I’m proud that my voice only shakes a little.
Vivian taps the tip of her silver pen against the blank check. “Insurance.”
