9781631054631ChoiceAffairsSalisbury (23 page)

I jotted down the two
women I’d had l
unch with when I first arrived. I
needed to make contact again. Pick their brains a little. Plus, it wouldn’t
hurt to actually get involved in their organization. Good for networking.

As the desktop came
up, I googled in the names Renee had sent with Apolo
.
I made notes on each one, bookmarking their page for future reference.

I found Amy Knight’s
number and called it. I waited for voicemail to pick up. Then, I left a short,
non-descript message. Placing the phone on my desk, I picked up my pen and made
a f
ew more notes. I was beginning to get excited
about the prospect of finally getting this off the ground.

It was needed. Apolo
needed it, whether he would admit it or not. He’d never really faced his
disability. Sure, he’d overcome a lot of hurdles before jumping on the road
that was the here and now. The fact that he kept it hidden for so long was
proof of th
at. Apolo was a private man, true, but I
still felt while he never wanted pity from anyone, never wanted to discuss it,
perhaps there was more going on.
Until
he met me.
Now, he sees, once again, the good he can do.

My cell rang, causing
me to jump. I figu
red it was Amy calling back. The
number looked familiar, so I answered.

“Mrs.
Choice, so good to hear from you.
To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

“Please, it’s Caitlyn.
I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, but settling in here has bee
n a bit more time consuming.”

“Actually, it was me
who was supposed to get back with you.”

Dead
air, an awkward silence.

“I was wondering if
perhaps the three of us could meet again for lunch. The senator and I have some
questions I thought you might be ab
le to answer.”

Another
pause.
Not the same woman I’d met at the restaurant all those weeks ago.

“Actually, Mrs.
Choice, I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible. We’ve decided that perhaps
we should distance ourselves from Senator Choice, given all the p
ublicity surrounding him right now. I do hope you
understand. Perhaps once this blows over, we can revisit the topic.”

“Certainly, I
understand,” I replied, curtly. “Sorry to have bothered you, Ms. Knight.” I
hung up before she could respond. So, this was
Washington?
It had never occurred to me that people would shun me because of what was
happening with Apolo.
In spite of
the fact that it was his personal business and had nothing to do with
Washington or his senate seat.
“Bunch of two-faced—”

Rather than r
ant to no one but the walls, I decided to call Renee, see
if perhaps I couldn’t get her to break free for an hour. Glancing at the clock
on my desk, I started instead to head on down there.
Knowing Renee, if I called her, she would make excuses for
not tak
ing the time.
I wondered if she even had a social
life. It wasn’t like she was a stranger to Washington, having grown up here.

I paged the desk and
requested a cab. No need in bothering Jacob at the last minute. If the weather
wasn’t getting cold, I might
have even walked.

A short time later, I
was on the elevator in the senate building headed to my husband’s office. There
was the usual hustle and bustle I expected. The receptionist, knowing who I
was, waved me in. I quietly asked her if Apolo was in. She n
odded.

Not seeing Renee in
sight, I was told she was down the hall and would be right back. I walked over
to Apolo’s closed door. If he was busy or had someone with him, I’d just turn
around and wait on Renee.

I quietly tapped on
the wood then proceeded to
open the door and walk in.
My husband was indeed there, in fact, he was in quite the predicament, you
might say. There he stood, in the middle of his office, Delpheine in his arms.

They both looked up.
She appeared as though she’d been crying. Her mascara was running down her
cheeks, and her eyes were swollen and bloodshot.
Stupid
bitch, hasn’t she heard of waterproof mascara?

Apolo was stunned.
As he should have been.
I’d obviously
walked
in on something I wasn’t intended to know about.
“Caitlyn?
What are you doing here?”

“I could ask what
she’s doing here, but I guess she must be that appointment you said you had to
get to.”

His shirt was damp and
smudged from her eye makeup. If she
thought her
little game was going to work, she was sadly mistaken.

“Caitlyn, you should
have called first.”

“Actually, no, I
shouldn’t have. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

Fighting back tears,
and determined that neither of them
see
it, I piv
oted
on my heel to leave. As I did, I almost ran right into Renee. How long she’d
been there, or what she’d heard, I had no idea, nor did I care. I had to get
out. It seemed to me in my moment of lax judgment that everyone was a part of
this. Renee was a g
atekeeper for Apolo.

“Caitlyn, wait.”

“No, I really don’t
want to hear any excuses.” I stopped mid-sentence as I heard that cow snicker.
I turned back around to face them. She was next to Apolo, but he’d distanced
himself from her. “I’m sorry, Delpheine, d
id I say
something funny?”

She smirked. “I just
didn’t take you for a quitter, that’s all.”

I marched up and stood
inches from her.
If she wanted to
play…
Bitch,
bring it on
.
I’d been waiting for this moment for far too long. I raised my hand and slapped
h
er face as hard as I could. It was obvious she was
stunned, as was my husband.
“Quitter,
huh?
You’ve just met your match, bitch.” I turned and stormed
out of the room, leaving the three of them staring at each other, I’m sure.

* * * *

Apolo

I stood ther
e dumbfounded, watching as Caitlyn smacked Delpheine across
the face in a justified rage. Rarely does my redheaded goddess get angry, and
there is no greater wrath known to man. Anyone in her path had better step
aside. She had warned Delpheine on more tha
n one
occasion. Now she had acted and acted well.

Not sure what Caitlyn
thought she was walking in on, I felt the urge to go after her. Delpheine,
thinking she’d won some sort of victory, latched onto my arm. Out of instinct,
I forcefully removed her hand.

Renee pulled me back.
Voting was to begin on the chamber floor in fifteen minutes. I still had time.
I shook my head and stormed out of the office in search of my wife. I caught up
with her just as she entered the descending car. Sticking my hands between
the two doors, they parted, and I entered. She was over to
one side, looking straight ahead and not at me.

Catching me looking at
her, she turned her head. She was angry and had every right to be.

The elevator soon
arrived on the lobby floor. I stepped ou
t and waited
for her. She did her best to avoid me, walking away.

“Caitlyn,” I called
after her. It didn’t take but a couple of my steps to meet her. “Caiti, don’t
leave angry. You know there was nothing to her being there, other than her
self-absorbed
pity party.”

She slowed down,
turned, and stopped. Now that she was facing me, I could tell it was taking
every bit of strength she had in her to keep from losing her composure. “Apolo,
all I want to do is go home. I would have never come here if I’d known
what you were up to. I merely wanted to talk with Renee
about the foundation idea. Instead, I find you in the arms of another woman.”

“Caitlyn—”

“Please, it’s been
nothing but a crappy day so far.
Keeps
getting better by the minute.”
She was ranting, but
I let her go on. “Oh, and did I tell you that I’m being
shunned? I tried calling those women I’d met with when we first got here?
They’re not interested in working with us. Rather, they’ve decided it would be
best if they distanced themselves from us, you,
until
this matter is sorted out.”

“You knew this might
happen. We discussed it.” I stood there, unable to do a thing for her at that
very moment. “Why don’t I have Jacob take you home? I’ll be there as soon as we
finish this afternoon’s votes. Okay?”

“Whatever.”

“Caitlyn, if I could
blow it off, or even abstain, I would. But there are some important issues
being decided today. I have to be there. I have to cast my vote.”

“I know.” She glared
at me with those haunting green eyes. If I wasn’t mistaken, I
could almost swear I saw daggers. “I’ll go home, have some
lunch, do whatever.”

I saw Jacob pulling
the Bentley up to the curb and began to walk her that way. “I love you, always
and forever,” I whispered into her hair. “Don’t ever doubt that.”

She stoppe
d and looked up at me. “I never doubt your love, Apolo. I
love you.” She leaned against me as we continued on.

As we reached the
Bentley, I leaned over and kissed her. “I’ll be home as soon as I can. In the
meantime, go online and look up this person.” I h
anded
her a card. “Tina is my cousin. She lives in L.A. and works as an event
planner.”

“Why haven’t you
mentioned her before?”

“I probably have, in
passing.
Anyway, she texted me a
few days ago.
She heard that you
were wanting
to set up a foundation.
Want
ed to know
if we needed any help.”

“Hmmm,
invisible cousin who keeps up with you.
I like her already.”

“Yes, well, she’s made
a good life for herself.
Never
married, except to her career.
I suppose that’s why we get along so
well. Look her up, and we’ll ta
lk. I know she’s set
up a couple of foundations for some A-list celebrities. She may be who we
need.”

“You may be right,
Apolo. She’s totally unassociated with the Washington scene.” She kissed me on
the mouth. If we hadn’t been in public, where there were
probably a couple of paparazzi staked out, I might have taken it a
little deeper.

Glancing up, I noticed
Delpheine getting into a cab.
Take your pathetic ass back to whatever
rock you crawled out from under.
Thinking you have even the slightest
chance in
hell of getting back in my good graces by
rushing into my office with your phony sob story is a riot.
Delpheine swore she’d made a huge
mistake with the senator, but I know that all she wanted to do was cause
trouble.
To quote the song, Delpheine, “I’m loo
king through you.”
Yes, you’re that transparent. Good
riddance.

Washing my hands of
her, I turned my attention back to my wife and our current discussion. “Yes,
that’s what I thought. I’ve got to run, angel. I’ll text you as soon as we’re
finishing up.”

“
Okay,
and Apolo?”

“Hmmm?”

“I love you. Thank you
for being you.”

“My
pleasure, Mrs. Choice.
And I apologize for what you walked in on. I should have
never allowed it—”

“Water
under the bridge.”
She patted my cheek, smiling, though I could still see the
hur
t in her eyes. She slid in the backseat of the
Bentley.