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Mom looks over at Oscar, and he shrugs. Her lips thin.
“Well, I am sure you know what you are doing, dear,” she says in her condescending tone, and I grind my teeth together, yet flash her my biggest, most charming smile.
When Dad died, she became a shell of herself before reinventing her life as a rich socialite only interested in climbing the social status ladder. She leaned on me the most, and I was always there for her, helping her with her business affairs in Dad’s absence. But lately, her role in my life has become all-encompassing, and she needs to take a step back.
“Good. Now why are you in my office?” I ask, my arms crossing across my chest as I look between her and Lilly.
“Well, I just wanted to get your thoughts on the color palette. I want to ensure that we match. I want my dress to be perfect,” Lilly answers, giving me a smile, clearly clutching at anything to ensure she is the belle of my ball. It is my turn to sigh. My eyes flick to my mother again as I try not to let anger be the emotion that is about to pour out of me. Luckily, Eddie saves me.
“I have scheduled a briefing meeting tomorrow, so why don’t we go through all the party planning then? Beth will be here, so it will be good to get her up to speed,” Eddie says, sitting forward. I nod. It is the smartest thing he has said all day.
“Fine,” my mother says, pursing her lips. “We will get out of your way and have everything prepared for tomorrow.” And with that, the two women grab their samples and their matching designer handbags and walk out the door. No doubt to go somewhere nice for a long lunch.
“Well, that was entertaining. I am going to set up an office for Beth to use while she is here,” Eddie says as he jumps off the sofa and walks to the door.
“Where are you putting her?” I ask him.
He stops and looks at me, his eyebrow slightly raised. I never care where my staff sit, only about their outcomes, so my question has obviously intrigued him.
“There is a spare office next to mine,” he offers, by way of suggestion, shrugging his shoulders.
“Put her in Mindy’s office,” I murmur to him. My assistant, Mindy, left a week ago to travel the world. I have been using the other administrators on the floor to help me with my admin while HR finds a replacement. I watch as both his eyebrows shoot up and a small smile curves onto his face.
“You sure? That is right next door to you. She won't be a… distraction?” he asks sarcastically, quickly looking at Oscar to see if his statement enlists a response. It doesn’t.
I nod, which Eddie returns, before he opens the door and walks out, leaving me alone with Oscar.
“I know you don’t see my point of view on this, but I need you to trust me and to trust Beth. Give her the courtesy of your time and patience,” I state, looking at him.
“Of course.” Oscar nods before sitting forward, clearly unimpressed, but knowing his place and picking his battles.
“Great. Now, what’s next?” I ask, relaxing behind my desk and looking through the messages that I have from this morning.
“We need to talk about your speech for the event your mother is planning, as well as go through the plans for our scheduled visits early next week.”
“Okay, first let’s look at what the next week has install for us, as that may inform some of what we say in the speech. Where are we going?”
“We are going to an elementary school where we will discuss educational requirements for the county. We have an afternoon with our funders, and then I am trying to set up a briefing with the police, going through the statistics around Maryland’s criminal rate and hot spots and so forth,” Oscar says, as he looks over his calendar.
This is what he does best. He knows what industries and sectors we need to be in and when. He knows who I need to talk with and what the key topics are. If he sticks to this, Beth can assist me with the logistical elements and the media and support Eddie with community relations.
It will be perfect.
As perfect as her ass in those fucking yoga pants this morning.
9
BETH
After a brand-new phone and laptop arrived at my house last night, along with a full schedule for the rest of this week, I knew I had to put on my armor today. My long bright red hair is blow dried and styled, I did my makeup softly with precision, and wore the best suit I had—albeit, one I grabbed from the bargain bin at the thrift store a few months ago. But it is a brand name, even though it is a few seasons old.
To say that Kelly was supportive of my three-month secondment was an understatement. Apparently, on top of doubling my wage, Harrison also offered Kelly a secondment bonus of her own, in appreciation for loaning him my services. It appears that everyone wins, even though I still have no idea what I am in for.
But I know I deserve to be here. Working on a political campaign was never something I imagined doing; it wasn’t my dream to be building a man up to lead the state, but I always wanted to give back to my community. The same community that rallied around my father and I for most of our lives. I am good at my job, and I am going to take every opportunity presented to me, not just for the paycheck, but to give back, regardless of the nagging voice in my head that continues to tell me I am not good enough.
As the elevator opens to the thirty-fifth floor, I am hit with bright lights that shimmer off glass walls so clean that my reflection is sparkling, and my nerves creep back in. I don’t belong here. Everything is so nice, clean, and expensive. My eyes search the beautiful foyer, trying to notice anything out of place, but I come up empty. It is perfect. The only thing out of place is me.
“You’re here!” a chirpy male voice says from the side, and I turn to see Eddie, who I chatted with briefly yesterday.
