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“This is my career, Clark.”
He gave me a soft smile and held my hands tighter.
“Callahan is a piece of shit, Ori. And I know you already figured that out, but it’s much worse. I’m guessing you figured out about the charities?”
My mouth stayed closed, but I gave a subtle nod. At least this way Ronnie wouldn’t kill me.
“I figured. That was the first thing we found out, too,” he mumbled. “Listen, what I’m about to say has to stay between us. If you go and run to your editor, the operation I’ve been working on for the last few years will be for nothing, and a lot of people will end up hurt. Callahan isn’t just corrupt. He’s involved in shady business with much seedier people. These are not good people, Ori, and they won’t hesitate to protect what they consider their investment.”
My skin crawled at the information he gave me. Mayor Callahan was more dangerous than I would have given him credit for.
“I’m not killing your story, Ori. I know it’s your job, and I wouldn’t do something to fuck that up for you. All I’m asking is for some time for us to get everything against him. As soon as we have all the evidence, you can break the story. You’ll be my first call, I promise.”
I bit my lip while I thought it over. “Okay.”
Ronnie would understand. It wasn’t like we were abandoning the story; we just had to be patient.
Then Clark wanted to understand more about my situation with Lucas. His eyes went from understanding to anger, and lastly with something that felt a lot like admiration.
“You’re amazing, you know that?”
“I really am not. I’m just doing what anyone in my position would do.”
He didn’t have to say it, but I knew he thought otherwise.
“Go on a date with me,” he rushed out.
“Why?”
“Why not?”
Could I really go on a date with him? Younger me would have been thrilled, but current me…did she want that?
“My life is kind of mess at the moment…”
“Best things in life are messy,” he told me with a suggestive drawl that made me blush.
“Okay,” I squeaked, and he smiled triumphantly.
He stood up and gave me another kiss. This one was slower, but with more urgency, and when I gasped because I couldn’t breathe, he did the same.
Holy shit, he could kiss.
I left that gala with a weight off my shoulders and a new kind of excitement in my lower belly.
CHAPTERELEVEN
When I arrivedat the address that Clark had given me, I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I stayed in my car as I looked at the house. It was in the newer part of town. The black and white house was two stories, and it looked elegant and sophisticated.
Just one date. I could do this.
I mean, I wanted to do this. Why else would I have even been here?
At some point, I realized that the version of Clark I thought I had fallen in love with wasn’t real. It was a figment of my imagination. Sure, he was all the things I remembered, but also so much more. I saw pieces of him, but I wasn’t sure how they fit with the man he was today. What he was offering was a chance to see if there was something to be explored between the two of us.
This was something I had always wanted, or so I thought, but it didn’t feel like falling into a pattern. It felt new, scary, and exciting. But most of all, it felt right.
I grabbed the bottle of wine I had bought and made my way to the front door. My outfit was simple, but cute: a black and white striped ¾ blouse with a black skater skirt and brown oxfords. I was about to knock when the door opened.
