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I find her at her condo. Anthea advised me of her address before telling me that was the absolute last bit of information she was sharing with me and that I should consider the favor paid in full.
Cecelia looks at me with all the condescension she has for me when I arrive. She lets me step off the elevator into her condo but that’s as far as she allows me in. Crossing her bony arms, she says, “Why am I looking at you?”
“Because you and I are going to have a little conversation. One in which I tell you why you should not run for senator, and one in which you agree that my idea is a very good one. After this conversation, we will never need to speak to each other again.”
Her steely gaze freezes on me as icy fury swirls in her eyes. “I told you that you’re dumb, Kristen. You really should listen to me. You’re wasting my time.”
“Did you treat all the women you sexually harassed at your work as awfully as you treat me?”
She stiffens. I see her try to hide that but she fails. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about. And I think Senator Hale might like to know about it too. I imagine he’d think that your brand of skeleton is worse than Bradford’s. Good PR can polish me up, make people forget the video you made sure they all saw. But not even good spin can polish your kind of filth.”
The veins in her neck strain against her skin. “Do you have any idea who you’re messing with? What I’m capable of?”
“Yes, I know you’re a bitch who goes out of her way to play dirty. But I’ve been in this playground my entire life and I also know how to play dirty. And I will, Cecelia, if I have to. If you think this is the only skeleton I have of yours, you’re fooling yourself. I may not want to use your abortion against you, or the other things I know, but if you force me to protect my husband in that way, I will.”
She glares at me for a long moment, her breaths coming faster with every second. Her fury is restrained, but only just. Finally, she spits, “Get out! And watch your back, because this isnotfinished between us.”
“Oh, I think it is. I really think it is. And I don’t wish you well. I wish you everything you deserve.”
As I step out onto the sidewalk, I pull my winter coat around me tightly before walking the short distance to one of my favorite coffee shops. I’ve decided it’s a good day to have a glazed donut. And a coffee with two sugars.
43
Bradford
“He’s fucking fired!” I jab my finger at Alan as I let my anger surge out of me. “He’s been reporting back every day for three weeks with the wrong fucking information, and thanks to his fuck up, my wife has had her private life smeared across the fucking internet. Get rid of him today.Now. I don’t ever want to have to look at him again.”
Fuck.
I force air from my lungs and yank my tie off while working like hell not to smash my fist through a wall. I’ve just spent the last hour with Alan and our team to get to the bottom of why our efforts to control the smear campaign haven’t worked. And the fucking reason is that the team missed the fact it was Cecelia behind most of it all along. We were working with incorrect information and it has cost Kristen dearly, which isn’t something I will tolerate.
“You’re being unreasonable, Bradford, and making a rash decision. Yes, he screwed up, but anyone would have with the information he was being provided.”
I see fucking red. “I don’t pay you to share your opinion of decisions I make regarding my wife, Alan. I pay you to get me elected, so how about you get me fucking elected.”
His brows knit together as he glares at me. “Here’s an opinion for you. Your wife is your only weakness. Before she showed up, I saw the road to the White House. There were no obstacles in the way that we couldn’t have dealt with. You were the best candidate I’ve ever worked with, but then she came along and fucked that all up. And now you can’t see what I’m seeing. I actually don’t fucking know what you’re seeing anymore, and that’s a massive problem for me. The guy giving us the wrong information is the least of your worries while Kristen’s in your life.”
A call comes in from Jenna, distracting me from Alan. I’ll come back to him, but first I answer Jenna’s call.
“Jenna.” She’s never phoned me and I’m instantly on alert.
She doesn’t bother with social niceties. “Kristen will likely throttle me for this, but you need to know that Alan went to see her today and took it upon himself to tell her to get the fuck out of your life, and I quote him exactly. And further, he’s been awful to her for weeks and she hasn’t wanted to tell you because she knows you already have enough on your plate, but it’s gotten to the point where I can’t hold my tongue any longer because she’s also got enough on her plate and the last thing she needs is to be constantly criticized for doing everything wrong.” She takes a breath. “You need to keep that man away from my sister, Bradford. Please.”
I stare at the man she’s referring to and every cell in my body wants to do damage to him. I’ve wanted to hurt people before, but I never knew what it felt like to want to inflict the kind of harm I now want to.
“Thank you for telling me. I will take care of this.”
“Good.”
I end the call and place my phone down on my desk, controlling my movements carefully because I’m concerned that if I don’t, my body will take over, and I’ll beat the shit out of him to the point he may no longer be breathing.
Calling on restraint I barely have, I say, “You went to see my wife today.”
He doesn’t bother denying it. Instead, he squares his shoulders and replies, “Yes. I gave her the honest truth that you never will.”
Every muscle in me tenses and I fist my hands by my side. “You told her to get the fuck out of my life.”
