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Finally, with a small sigh, she took a seat.
“Should we order?” I asked. I wanted her to be comfortable, and if food was going to do that, I’d make sure she had every piece of sashimi in the damn restaurant.
But Annie surprised me once more and folded her arms over themselves. “We can order after you tell me what it is that you want from me.”
I raised a brow in surprise. “Are you sure? Food and sake might make this easier on everyone.” I smiled at my own joke, but Annie’s face remained stoic. I sighed “Okay, then.”
“What is it that you want from me? You said that you had a way to help me, and as much as it pains me to say this, I could use some help.” Her face was open and vulnerable. I felt bad knowing that I was the arbitrator of her unhappiness. I’d emailed HR letting them know that she’d used fake credentials to get her job. I’d told myself that I was just hastening along a process that was inevitable. Still, I felt bad, especially considering that I’d told her that I would take care of it.
“You’ve heard the rumor that I’m planning to run for mayor,” It was more of a statement than a question. Her roommate had brought it up, so I knew that she was aware of the rumor.
“I’m assuming you plan to tell me it’s not a rumor?” she asked.
I nodded. “I’m planning to announce my candidacy next week.”
Annie nodded. “What does that have to do with me?”
It was a legitimate question. Annie and I barely knew one another. I had been her boss, briefly, but as far as Annie knew, we weren’t close enough for my candidacy to be of concern to her.
“You also know that there was a not so great write up done of me recently.” I cringed as I thought about Annie reading that. It hadn’t been wrong, but it definitely didn’t paint me in the best light. Out of context, it seemed like I was a sexual deviant.
But Annie just shrugged. “I don’t read gossip, but I heard about it.”
I didn’t know if that made me respect her more, or if it just made me like her. “Well,” I said, cringing about what I was supposed to do next. If Annie agreed to this, I would make sure that she was taken care of. It would be worth her while, but I wasn’t silly enough to think that she would come away from all of this unscathed. My father hadn’t.
“Whatever it is, just spit it out. The anticipation is making me anxious.”
I smiled and took a sip of my water. This was a whole new side of Annie that I didn’t know. “I need to fix my image if I hope to ensure that I win,” I said. I could tell from the look on Annie’s face that she was starting to get frustrated with the way I was dragging this out. “I need a fiancé, and eventually, a wife. I need the city to think my past is just that–in the past.”
I expected shock, surprise, or hell, even outrage. But there was none of that. Annie just stared at me with the same blank stare she had before. It was obvious that she still didn’t see her role in what I was saying.
“I want you,” I told her plainly, hoping that this would elicit some sort of reaction from her.
It did, slowly. She blinked once, twice, and then, released a giggle out of nowhere. She laughed and laughed until tears were streaming down her eyes, and the people around us were looking at us oddly.
“Not exactly sure what is so funny,” I told her.
Annie stopped laughing almost immediately, training her blue eyes, filled with tears of laughter, at me. “Are you serious?” she asked.
“Very.”
Her once mirthful expression became serious and somber as she patted the tears from her cheeks. “Are you insane?” she asked.
I held my hand up. This was the type of expression I expected. Incredulity and anger, not laughter. “I can assure you that I am very much serious.”
Annie shook her head. “This plan is ridiculous.”
I smiled at the fact that she hadn’t outright said no to my proposal. The fact that she hadn’t said it made it possible that she was seriously considering what I was saying. There was a chance that she could be persuaded, as long as I made this good for her.
“The plan is perfect,” I told her. I sat back in my seat confident in that fact. “If it weren’t, I wouldn’t have even brought it to you.”
Annie shook her head. “It’s insane. People aren’t going to vote for you because you are a family man.”
It was exactly what I’d said to Marcel when he’d spoken to me about it. I wanted to believe that voters cared about the issues more than they did about someone’s sex life, but after doing my research, I realized that Marcel had a point. Issues were important, but so was perception, and currently, the perception of me was that I was someone too irresponsible to handle the city. That needed to change.
“I wish that you were right,” I said with a sigh. “After all, I’m not exactly looking for a wife.”
Annie shook her head. I could see her trying to figure out what my angle was. “Why me?” she asked.
