The campaign headquarters of Meredith Long reflected the platform she planned to run on. Volunteers wore casual slacks and tops with not a tie in sight. Phones rang, and the low murmurs of the workers were sometimes interrupted by a shout or a question.
A man approached Annalise and Luke when they walked in. “I’m Al Winston, campaign manager.”
“Luke Branson. We’re from The Justice Project.”
Annalise held out her hand. “I’m Annalise Manwaring.”
“Meredith’s expecting you. We hope to get you on board. Follow me.” His statement indicated they knew this was an interview to decide whether or not TJP would support the candidate with hard work and long hours, money for ads and social media and endorsements.
They wended their way through desks, filing cabinets and stacks of posters, mailers and flyers set out on tables. Meredith came to the door wearing a flowered summer skirt and dark pink T-shirt. Annalise wore something similar in green. “Hello. I’m Meredith. You must be Luke and Annalise.”
“Thanks for meeting with us,” Annalise said.
Huh, Luke thought. Meredith should be thanking us.
“I assure you, we’re the grateful ones. Come on in.”
Contrary to the outer room, in Meredith’s office everything had its place, which appealed to Luke’s sense of order. Shelves were neatly stacked and labeled, posters of former presidents, famous scientists and a couple of senators graced the walls. A plain desk and a conference table that seated eight made up the rest of the furniture. Its long set of windows let in the early June sunlight.
Once seated at the oval table, Meredith dove right in. “So, Luke and Annalise, what do I need to do to get the support of The Justice Project?”
Luke eased back in his chair. “We’ve already vetted you and Mark Dawson. We were at the debate. A face-to-face is the final step before our decision.”
“You vetted and had a face-to-face with Mark, too?”
“We aren’t finished with him,” was all Luke said.
“What questions do you have for me?”
He turned to Annalise. “You start.”
She’d taken out her tablet and scanned the points they wanted to cover. “First, we admire your platform. I agree with your stance on child care, women who live in poverty…” She named other areas of concern. “Do you think you’d win a seat on these issues? The House of Representatives is split between domestic and global concerns.”
“Well, if they’re not concerned about those areas, then they need me. But our party has gotten bills passed expanding Medicare and shoring up Social Services. That’s exactly what I want to be involved with.”
Luke leaned forward. “If you win the primary and the general, what committees do you want to be on?”
“Education and Labor. Ethics. Climate Concerns. Indian Affairs.”
“Indian Affairs?” Annalise asked. “Why?”
She frowned. “The plight of Native American women and children is atrocious. I know that’s a generalization, but so many of them live in poverty. The medical facilities, the schools all need funding and more attention.”
“Interesting.” Luke took a risk. “These seem like female concerns.”
Meredith started to laugh. “Then women should run the government.”
“Touché. What about the Science, Infrastructure, and Appropriations?”
“Those are important issues. But Luke, we have to specialize. We can’t be adept at everything.” She turned to Annalise. “The assumption here is there are men’s issues and women’s issues. Do you agree?”
“No. I think all the committees are concerned about people issues and both males and females need to be involved.”
“Ganging up, I see,” Luke said, half-teasingly
Meredith’s brown eyes twinkled. “Maybe.” She turned to Annalise. “What do you think?”
“I like your stances. But for the record The Justice Project has supported both Republican and Democratic issues, which makes us unique.”
“And expands your donor base.”
At the end of the meeting, Luke stood. “It was helpful to meet you in person, Meredith. And to be clear, I’m very interested in furthering support for our indigenous population.”
“Glad to hear that.”
They walked out the door and a few steps down the street in silence. When they reached the car to drive to the campaign office of Mark Dawson, he said, “Okay, let me have it.”
She chuckled. “I got no complaint about how you interviewed her.”
“Seriously?”
“It’s an interesting style, quite opposite of mine, but I can learn a lot from you.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s a compliment, Luke. Say thank you.”
* * *
“Burr. I needed a sweater in there and I’m not talking about the air conditioning.” Annalise meant what she said.
“Yeah, I know. I think Dawson’s naturally cold. But he had some good points. Let’s brainstorm.” He cleared his throat. “Mind if we drive around while we do?”
“Not at all. But why aren’t we heading back?” They had a long drive to D.C.
“There’s a piece of property not far from here I want to check out.” He glanced away as if he was lying. “It’s a back road but leads home, so we won’t lose much time. And we won’t even get out of the car.”
How odd. Again. “You planning to buy farmland?”
“No.” Was that tension in his voice?
Since that’s all he was going to say, Annalise gave up. “Go ahead, then.”
“You go first.”
She closed her eyes. “At the restaurant, he embarrassed me by being so mean to the waiter.”
“I fully agree that wasn’t right. I gave the guy a big tip. Despite that, I still think his platform might be better than Meredith’s.”
“Then we disagree on that.”
They each made salient points. Together, they made a list of pros and cons as Annalise recorded their thoughts on her tablet. Then they drove in silence. A half-hour passed.
When they reached the countryside and went by a few farms, Luke seemed to be checking out each. At one, he pulled off to the side to the side of the road. The mailbox across the pavement from them said, “Branzini.”
He stared at the plain brown box with an expression she couldn’t identify. Then he transferred his gaze to the gravel road that led back to the farmhouse. Finally, he scanned the front of the property.
A red truck appeared, stopping in the middle of the road. The driver rolled down the window, but Luke seemed reluctant to do so.
She nudged him. “Buzz down the window. Maybe he needs help.”
When Luke finally lowered the glass, the man said, “Can I help you? I saw you checkin’ out my property. It’s not for sale.”
Luke’s face paled. “Um, no. We don’t need anything."
The man studied his face. His gaze dropped to Luke’s taupe summer sports coat. Then back up. "Do I know you?”
“Um…not really.”
Now the farmer frowned. Then his lips thinned. “What’s your name?”
“Luke.”
Annalise saw the man’s whole torso tense. His blue eyes narrowed and he snarled, “Luke what? What’s your last name?”
“Branson.”
“I don’t believe you. I have a son who looks like you too much to be a coincidence. Branson’s not your real name, is it?”
Luke shook his head. “It’s Branzini,” he croaked out.
The guy turned his head away from Luke and stared out the windshield. “I thought so.” When his gaze snapped back at Luke, anger etched his features. “You can go to hell. Go straight to hell.”
Luke put the car in gear and tore off. Annalise didn’t say anything until he swerved into a graveled area on the side of the road not far from the farm. He shut off the engine, and Annalise noticed his hands were shaking.
She grasped his arm. “Luke, what was that all about?”
His eyes were tortured eyes when he met her gaze. “That’s my…he and I…that man is my brother.”
“Oh, Luke, I’m sorry about the way he treated you.”
“I, um, didn’t expect to see him. But I was drawn to the place.”
“Let’s go back. See why he’s angry.”
“No! I can’t.” His hands fisted on the wheel. “But, um, can you drive us back to D.C.?”
“Of course.”
* * *
It had been two days since the fiasco with his brother and Luke had to put thoughts of Seth’s reaction out of his mind. To the end, he conceded to Annalise to support Meredith Long. He’d also managed to keep his free time filled with racquetball and running and exhausting himself so he could sleep at night.
On the third morning, he drove into the parking lot of The Capitol Gym just as another car swerved in next to him. Huh!
“Hey, there,” Annalise said cheerfully, after they both exited their vehicles. “How are you doing today?”
“Hanging in there, Annalise. You?”
She gestured to the building. “Well enough to get up at the crack of dawn for some exercise before work.”
“Me too.” They walked inside together. He tried to keep his eyes off the sleeveless pink and black top she wore with black pants which had a stripe going up to her waist. Her long ponytail swayed jauntily back and forth.
They were met by Tammy, his trainer, and another man Luke had never met.
Annalise greeted him. “Hi, Max.”
“Hi, kiddo. Ready to go?”
“Come on, Luke, you too.” Tammy urged Luke to speed up ahead of the other two. She said, “That guy drives me nuts.”
“I know the feeling.” He chuckled. “His trainee drives me crazy, too.”
But in all fairness, she could also be kind and sympathetic. Most people would grill him after the way he reacted at the farm. But, as he’d asked, she stayed quiet and made small talk.
The place consisted of one big gym with a myriad of equipment and smaller rooms off it. Both Tammy and Max chose the one with treadmills, bikes and ellipticals.
“Want to switch it up and do the elliptical?” Tammy asked. She added quietly, “Unless you don’t want to be near her.”
“It’s fine.” He stepped up to a machine two down from her.
Annalise laughed at him. “I won’t bite.”
“Funny.”
“Remember to start slow, Luke, and increase the tension and slope gradually.” Tammy had told him this several times before and mostly he didn’t listen.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He set the pace on two.
Tammy went to the computer stand outside the door. He liked having a trainer that didn’t hover over him the whole time.
When Annalise started on her machine, Max left, too.
The whirring noise of the ellipticals filled the air. A TV sat next to a glass window, but it was still dark outside.
“I didn’t know you joined here.” The statement came out neutral, not accusatory. Maybe she didn’t drive him nuts anymore.
“A month ago. It’s a nice place and not too crowded early morning or nights.”
“You come at night?”
“Sometimes. You?”
“Often. I’ve never seen you, though.”
“Just your luck.”
Tammy came back, once again walking ahead of Max. “Increase to four.”
Max smirked at her, then said, “You too, Annalise.”
Again, the trainers left and they heard Max say, “Can’t stay away from me, huh, babe?”
“In your dreams.” Tammy sped up and disappeared from sight.
Annalise’s eyes filled with humor. “Uh-oh, sparks between those two.”
“Obviously.”
Neither admitted the sparks kindling between them.
When they increased their speed again, it became impossible to talk. After twenty minutes total, Tammy returned. “You’re warmed up, Luke. Let’s go do some stretches.”
Max came back right behind her. “You do the same. I got some new exercises for you to try.”
“I’m game.” She slowed down and got off.
Luke kept his eyes straight ahead so he didn’t see where she went.
Once in the gym proper, he stretched out on a mat and did some leg lifts, calf and hip flexor stretches. More people had come inside and the clang of the weights and instructors’ voices filled the air. He finished his stretching. When he got up, Tammy said, “Time for the weight machine.”
The Universal had a lot of pullies giving clients a wide choice in activity and poundage. She stopped in front of one. “I’m increasing your weights today,” she said as she moved the pin up one on the center mechanism from his regular routine. “Four sets of ten.”
Initially, the increase was easy, but by the last set, he was sweating and his breath became labored. But he finished the sets.
“Take a break.” Tammy handed him a bottle of water.
He dropped down on a chair next to the wall. Unfortunately, he had a bird’s eye view of Annalise, and he didn’t have the willpower to look away.
Lying on a weight bench across the room, she executed bicep curls. Then triceps pulls. She had good, solid muscles and good form. No wonder her arms and legs were so toned. From what he could see, she was fit…elsewhere, too. When Max handed her water, she walked over to sit with him.
“Great job,” he told her.
“Max increased my weights.”
“Mine, too.” Luke glanced to the side. Little locks of hair escaped her ponytail. Her face was sweaty. He grinned. “You’re all wet and sticky.”
She was taken aback, then her eyes narrowed. “Did you mean that in any other way but from working out?”
“I did not.” He couldn’t resist. “But is that what you want?”
“Nah, I prefer romance.”
For a minute he was tempted to tell her he could do romance. But he didn’t. They worked together and he was her superior. Best to keep his distance.
* * *
When Annalise walked into her office, Luke had already arrived. Now he wore a tan suit with a crisp white shirt. But she couldn’t get the picture of him sweaty and hot at the gym out of her mind. He was so…male. In shorts and a white T-shirt, his muscles were on fine display. Now, they exchanged hellos, then she sat at her desk.
Her phone rang and she clicked in. “Sasha, hi.”
“Hey, sis. Was our sleepover fun or what?” Sasha had this lilting voice, which soothed and calmed people. Except when she was mad. Then she could be a tiger.
“Definitely fun.”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine. I went to the gym early and now I’m at work.”
“I have a class pretty soon, too, so I’ll make this quick. I got this notice that there’s a conference of dance studio owners in D.C. later this month.”
“Are you coming?” She could hear the excitement in her own voice. “You can stay with me.”
“That’s why I called. We said we’d try to see each other more. This would be an opportunity.”
“I fully agree.” She booted up her computer. “Give me the dates and I’ll put them in my calendar.” She called up her weekly schedule. “I have yoga one night.”
“I’ll come with.”
“I thought dancers didn’t like yoga.”
“Some of the poses are counterintuitive to what I teach, but I’ll like the challenge.”
“You’re on, then.”
Luke looked up from his desk when she ended the call. “One of your sisters is coming to town to stay with you?”
“Sasha, the youngest. She’s the one who lives near another sister in upstate New York where I went last weekend.” She smiled at the memory. “The three of us had a sleepover.”
Then she remembered the comments on Sasha’s phone. “She found some ugly comments on PeoplePages about me.”
“Aren’t you used to that?”
“To some of that kind of thing. But this one was about getting a job at The Justice Project.”
He didn’t make a sarcastic comment. She stood abruptly. “I’m going to get coffee and a snack. You want anything?”
“Both.” Before she could go, he said, “Annalise, PeoplePages is full of vipers. Don’t read that stuff.”
“We usually don’t but because it was about this place, I did.”
“TJP has had its share of negative comments before. Don’t take it personally.”
She walked out the door feeling better about the posts.
When she returned, she put the coffee and treats on the small conference table.
He glanced at the food, then up at her. “I’ll eat at my desk.”
“No, come sit with me. I want to talk to you.”
Sighing, he stood and joined her. As soon as he took a sip of the coffee, she said, “You got sad when I talked about my sisters. And your reaction after you saw your brother was devastating. I’m a good listener. Tell me what happened with him.”
He ran a hand through his dark hair, messing it. “It’s a long story.”
She checked her Fitbit. “We have an hour until our next meeting.”
Huffing out a breath, he said, “I’ve been stuffing it. Not thinking about it.”
“That’s not healthy.”
“What is?”
“Talking to someone.”
His shoulders tensed. “I’m not much into confiding in people.”
“Why?”
“Trust issues.”
She thought about what he told her at the party.
Child services separated us when we were eight and ten. It was hard to keep track of where my brother went. Where I went.
“You said you and he were separated by Child Services. Why were you taken out of your home?”
“I told you my background at the party.”
“I know, and I’m sorry you grew up that way. I want to know more.”
“I—I…”.
She waited, as if knowing he felt the urge to tell her.
“My mother was an addict. Meth was her drug of choice. It took Social Services too long to discover her addiction because when she was sober, she was very convincing that she could raise her two boys.”
“Where was your dad?”
“He left. He couldn’t handle her anymore. Her ruse ended when she applied for welfare because she couldn’t buy food or clothes anymore. Social Services caught on and took us out when I was ten and my…brother was eight.”
“You weren’t placed together?”
“Nobody wanted two boys.” His jaw was tight, his eyes dark. “I never even knew if he got a permanent placement.”
“I still don’t understand why he’d be so mad at you.”
“Maybe he searched for me after we got out of the system.”
“Ah, and he couldn’t find you because you changed your name.”
“It must be that. It’s the only thing I can think of. I found him on the internet on the first try. But there was no way he could find me because I changed my name.”
“Why did you?”
He slumped. “I thought it was…pedestrian. Besides, I didn’t want anything to do with the old man. I wanted to forget my past totally.”
Now, there was hurt in his eyes.
“What changed your mind?”
“You. And all the president’s daughters.”
“Because we support each other and love each other? I must go on and on about them. I’m sorry.”
“You’re entitled to talk about your family. It got me thinking about Seth.”
“Then you have to go back.”
“I can’t. At least not yet.”
“When you decide you’re ready, I’ll go with you.”
“What a nice offer. Maybe.”
He checked the time. “We better get going to the meeting with Meredith and Creative Campaigns.” He stood up.
She grabbed his hand. “Do you feel any better getting all that out.”
“I guess. Thanks for listening and not judging me.”
“Never.” She stood. “I’ll throw this stuff out and walk down with you.”
“I’ll wait.” She touched his arm, feeling compelled to say, “I’m here to talk any time.”
* * *
Adam Crenshaw from Creative Campaigns stood in the conference room. The space was large with lots of windows, blinds slatted now to see the presentation. Seated at the large oak table, Luke, Annalise, Meredith and her campaign manager listened eagerly. But it was obvious Crenshaw only had eyes for Annalise. Geez, another one bites the dust: Mitch, Newsom, now the ad guy.
Finally, he called up a file on the computer which projected to a screen on the wall, then turned his attention to the candidate. “Good morning. Meredith, glad to be working with you.”
“Thanks. I feel the same about Creative Campaigns.”
“I’ll show you bullet points about the content of campaign videos that are available to you. I have some suggestions, but I’ll let you see the outline now.
“First off, is the introduction video. It lets voters know who or what they're voting for. Since you’re not well known, we’ll create an intro where you’ll explain who you are and what you stand for. You might want to discuss what policy changes you’d make and why they matter.”
“We were working on something like this before The Justice Project got on board.”
“I’d like to see what you have.” He addressed them all but kept an eye on Annalise. “Next we’d create an endorsement video which uses the voices of well-known figures to show their support of you. This type of ad shows your credibility and support from community leaders. But when you pick someone, make sure you agree with his or her policies.”
“I have some ideas on that,” Luke put in.
“How about you, Annalise? Do you have some ideas for endorsements?” Again, the sleazy smile. “You know politics from the inside.”
Yeah, sure, he meant her experience in politics. In reality, he was ogling her today. She did look great in a fitted white blouse and navy pencil skirt with blue heels.
“Actually, I’ve been making a list.” If she caught on to his attention, she didn’t indicate she had.
“I’d like to see that, too.”
“And my ideas, Crenshaw?” Luke asked. He didn’t like being ignored.
“Of course.” Crenshaw’s tone was dismissive. “The third type is a Q&A style video. It can be a simple ask-me-anything or you can give a professional interview. You should use this on all your social media.
“And last, a video focusing on the community to get the word out to your constituents. One type is to have community members talk about their views and how your policies support what they believe in.”
“I like that,” Meredith put in. “And by the way, I won’t do any negative ads.”
Crenshaw nodded. “We don’t either. Ads that attack your opponent have been shown to have little or no effect on voter turnout and might harm you instead.”
When he finished, he sat down at the oval table with them. “I think for our purposes, we should do all four kinds. Agreed?”
They all agreed.
He turned to Meredith. “We’d like to make a time with you to see what you’ve already got and to decide where you’ll be and what you’ll say in the intro video.”
“Sure.” They set a date. “Do you two want to come?”
“I don’t think so.” Luke spoke first. “Creative Campaigns knows better what to elicit from you.”
“Can we see a mockup of results before anything is polished?” This from Annalise.
Luke answered. “That’s standard procedure.”
“I’ll personally deliver it to you, Annalise,” Crenshaw answered. “And I’m counting on you to know this whole process. I’ve seen you in some videos with your father. You did an amazing job.” He said the words in a flirty tone. So much so, Annalise blushed.
Luke scowled. “It should be sent to the office. Annalise and I will watch it together.”
The guy’s brow furrowed. He was annoyed. Well, too damn bad. Luke was more than annoyed. He hated seeing that kind of fawning over Annalise.
* * *
The doorbell rang. It had been a hard day and Annalise had collapsed on the couch as soon as she got home and changed her clothes. She ignored the intruder, but when the noise didn’t stop, she reluctantly stood and headed to the entry. The camera showed her who was on the other side.
She opened the door. “Hi, Luke.” His hair was tousled, his tie off. He’d hooked his suitcoat over his shoulder. “What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.”
She had to say it, though she was glad to see him. Her fatigue vanished at the sight of him. “You should have called first.”
“I—” He glanced around the stoop where he stood. “I should have. I’m sorry.” He angled his chin to the room. “Are you busy? Have company?”
“No to both. Come in.”
He walked inside. Now, she noticed his whole body was taut.
“What’s wrong?”
“We need to talk about today.”
“Did telling me about your family have aftereffects?”
“Not that part of the day.”
Folding her arms across her chest, she asked, “The meeting with Adam?”
“Yes.”
“You seem upset. Sit down. Want a drink?”
“I could use one. Scotch if you have it.”
She returned to the couch and handed him the drink. His blue eyes turned deeper when they were troubled. Sitting across from him with a scotch of her own, she said, “Go ahead.”
“I didn’t like Crenshaw singling you out as the president’s daughter at The Justice Project. It’s one of the reasons I objected to you coming on board.”
Now that hurt. But she strove to be patient, and honest. “I didn’t like it either, Luke. Is that why you were rude to him?”
“Partly.”
“You do know how he behaved wasn’t my fault.”
He faced her squarely. “You seemed to like his attention. I came here to make sure you know that our employees don’t date each other or the people in agencies we call in.”
She struggled for patience. “Good to know.” But something was off with all this and damned if she let him go before she found out what it was. “Is that all?”
“Did he ask you out? I saw you have a cozy chat with him before he left.”
If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought he was jealous. “Yes, we did. I told him Sasha was coming and my time was filled up with work and my sister.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “You need to make it clear you won’t date him because you work with him.”
That tipped the scales and made her bristle. “Luke, I don’t like your tone, or being given orders about my personal life.”
His jaw tightened. “Do you want to date him?”
“Actually, no. But you can’t barge in here and order me around.”
“I’m your business partner, your superior at TJP and I’m concerned about your professionalism.”
Setting her glass down, she stood. “That’s it. Get out of my house.”
He set his drink down harder and ice clicked on the glass.
He looked up at her again.
Grabbed her hand.
She couldn’t decipher his expression. Her voice softened.
“What’s wrong with you tonight?”
Finally, he said, “This.”
He dragged her onto his lap.
Lowered his head.
And took her mouth. His lips pressed into hers, demanding a response. Without thinking about it, she pressed back, so he slid his arms around her and clasped her close to his body.
Her hand went to his nape.
He opened her lips and plunged inside. Exploring her, he found hidden recesses in her lush mouth.
She explored him, too. Dueled with his tongue. He eased her back into the cushions and covered her torso with his. She met him kiss-for-kiss. Moan for moan.
A whimper came from deep inside Annalise. She held him there. She lost herself in the scent of Luke that she loved, in the muscles of his body hard against hers. His firm lips claimed hers, giving hers back, demanding more. She tasted, touched, bit, soothed. It went on and on…
A noise intruded. He startled. Then whispered against her cheek, “The phone. Let it go.”
She sucked in a breath. “Yes.” But her hand went to his chest. “Luke what are we doing?”
His eyes smoldered. He took in air. Blew it out. “I-I don’t know.” He drew further away from her. “We should stop.” His voice came out as a throaty whisper.
Though she didn’t want to, she knew he was right. He eased to a sitting position. She scrambled up against the arm of the couch. A few buttons were undone on his shirt.
He pointed to hers. “You, um, better fix that.”
Her top was pushed up, and she saw that her bra was askew. She didn’t remember either happening. She cleared her throat, adjusted her clothes and swung her feet to the floor.
He linked his hands between his legs and stared down. After a bit, he raised his head and looked out at the backyard. “This can’t happen.” He cocked his head at her. “Hell, we were just talking about Crenshaw and why you couldn’t go out with him. You must think I’m the world’s biggest hypocrite.”
“Not that. But were you jealous of him? Is that what this was all about?”
“Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know.”
She frowned.
His expression was intense when he said, “All right, I was jealous. Of him. Of Mitch. Of Nate.” His eyes narrowed on her. “You participated in the kiss. Why?”
“I-I’ve been thinking about you—this way.”
“Don’t tell me that! Nothing can happen between us.”
“So you said.” Annalise waited. “Do you want it to?”
“It doesn’t matter what I want. What you want. This can never, never happen. Professionalism is very important to me.”
Silence. Her body throbbed and she could see he was aroused too. But she didn’t argue. Because he was right in many ways. If she was going to go on to hold office in the near future, she had to be careful of any dalliance, especially with a senior member of the team. It could be construed that the job she got was a favor. Damn it, she was already dealing with the nepotism issue on PeoplePages.
She gestured to where they’d clung together. “You’re right about all this. We made a mistake.”
He stood. Gave her a longing glance. Then grabbed his suitcoat and got to the door, opened it.
“Luke?”
His back to her he said, “What?”
“For the record. I would have wanted to take this further if we weren’t working together.”
“Me, too, honey. Me too.”