“Esther,” Crystal says, stepping into my office in the headquarters. It’s around lunchtime. “Representative Hamilton wishes to speak with you.” That’s not unusual. He probably wants to have lunch together. “Thank you, Crystal,” I say and start wrap up my work for lunchbreak. It doesn’t take long
“It doesn’t matter,” Miles says. “None of this matters. Not really. Not when we are faced with a very real threat to your life.” “The election is important, Miles. You deserve the presidency.” “Not at the cost of your safety,” Miles says. He looks at me now, and I’m faced with the same steely de
That night, Cynthia, finally back from her vacation, calls me. The first thing I feel when I see her name on the caller ID is overwhelming relief. It floods through me so strongly that I could cry from it. I’ve missed my friend. I’ve needed her so much. And now she’s here. Answering it at once
“Miles fired me,” I explain to Daphne. “Apparently Edward told him that he would back off once I’m gone.” Daphne gives me a pitying look. “Did you actually believe that?” “No.” But Miles did. “He might back off for now. Maybe even for a while, through the election,” Daphne says. “But when he i
She has to know that, but she still shuts herself off from me and my words, looking away. “He won’t stop…” I say, my last effort. I want to save her, but I can’t if she won’t agree. Her eyes damp, Daphne looks at me. “You’ll always be my friend, Esther.” It’s a nice sentiment, yet somehow, when
Hugo’s words sit with me for the rest of the day. Childishly, I don’t want to be the one to reach out to Miles. He should be the one to apologize first, and I did say I would never forgive him. I don’t want to go back on that so easily. But… I also want my job back. I miss helping on the campaig
Hobbling, he starts carrying me toward my bedroom. We stop on the way twice, where he pushes me up against the wall to kiss me deeply again. On the second stop, we accidentally knock over a landscape picture I had hung on the way. Miles glances down at it in shock, but I touch his cheek, turning
Miles pauses, considering my words. His frown deepens with each passing heartbeat. “You spoke with Daphne?” “She wanted to see me, to warn me,” I explain. “Hugo helped arrange it.” “Of course he did.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Nothing.” “Miles. Please.” I step closer to him. “I know
“Miles…” Emotion overflows within my heart. There are so many things I want to say, to express – my gratitude, my own affections, explanations about why this has been so difficult for me to accept – yet in the moment, everything gets tangled up in my throat. “Miles…” My tears fall from my chee
I don’t know what to say, especially not in front of the publicist, so I softly ask her if Miles and I can be alone for a minute. Gladys, smiling, looks between the two of us. When Miles nods in agreement, she grabs her veggie slush drink and heads out of the office. Miles and I stand out of polit
Miles doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t get angry. Instead, his eyes soften somewhat and he reaches forward to take my hand. “Esther,” he says my name so gently, so reverently, that it punches the air from my lungs. “You and I are it.” It’s so simple, so sweet, that I have to ask, “What do you mean?” Be
Hugo sets up a meeting for Daphne and me with one of the best lawyers in town, Mr. Geoffrey. Hugo knows this man personally, and as such, knows that he holds no love for Edward. “I have a really strong nose for bullshit,” Mr. Geoffrey says upon our first meeting. By now, he knows why we’ve come, s
Miles being here isn’t likely to make things better for Daphne, but he’s no longer answering my calls and texts. He’s probably already in his car, driving over here at top speed. With a sigh, I return to the living room, where Daphne is wrapped up in several blankets. “Miles is coming here, isn’
Hugo didn’t like my plan of walking straight up to the Zimmer house and knocking on the door, but it was the best I could think of at the time. By that evening, I still hadn’t come up with anything better. So the next morning, after telling Miles I will be arriving late, but not telling him why, I
The next morning, my face is all over the internet. The video of me aggressively defending Miles outside of the club has gone viral which, as I read through all the comments on the video, has only increased speculation about the relationship between Miles and me. Some of the comments are praising
Cynthia is always ready for anything, so after a quick phone call, we are both standing outside of a club, waiting to get in. Cynthia’s certain her connections will get us through the door, but due to fire code safety, we physically cannot enter until two other people leave. This leaves us standin
“I’m not sure it’s necessary to come forward, despite what Mr. Anders says,” Esther says. Miles freezes. Esther is a very private person, so he thought she might feel this way. Yet it still hurts in his chest to hear her say the words. He has no shame regarding his relationship with Esther. He’d