Campaign of Desire (CSA Case Files 4) (10 page)

“So what you’re telling me is that you would have wanted to continue our relationship.” Phoebe finally shifted her gaze from his hand to his face. Her blue eyes darkened just the way he liked, but there was a fire within that he’d never seen before. If he wasn’t careful, it would start an inferno. “It wasn’t a one-time thing.”

“It
turned out to be
a one-time thing,” Lach said, stressing to her that there was no going back and changing the past…or future. “Nothing will change that now.”

Chapter Eight

P
hoebe sauntered into campaign headquarters, feeling more alive than she had in months. Brent was following her and she knew that Lach wasn’t far behind them. There was a sense of self-assurance she now felt that she wouldn’t share with her father. This type of comfort was a hell of a lot different than he wanted her to have. She truly hadn’t realized how walking away from Lach had affected her until today. The entire drive here was spent reminiscing over her life and the choices that she’d made. Maybe it was time to actually take control and seize what she wanted…what she desired.

“Phoebe, Mr. Mooney told me to ask you how many pins you wanted for the rally next week,” Hannah asked, looking a little too timid for Phoebe’s taste. The young college girl needed to toughen up if she wanted to work in the field of politics or the wolves would surely make a meal of her. “I didn’t want to bother you, but he said that you wanted to use a specific company and that you’d taken over the purchasing of promotional items.”

Phoebe refused to allow Paul to ruin her mood, so she smiled and placed a gloved hand on Hannah’s shoulder. After giving her the information she needed to complete her task, Phoebe felt a rush of heat go up through her spine. She had no doubt that Lach had walked through the doors and she couldn’t resist turning to meet his stare. His expression didn’t alter and she wondered if he was aware that things had changed.

“Phoebe, did you go over the notes I sent you?” Paul’s question had her looking back in front of her, finding the pompous ass standing there with a cup of coffee and a smirk on his lips. She knew damn well he was referring to the cliff notes attached at the bottom of her father’s speech, where it stated she was to stand at her father’s side looking
serene
. “Bill did an excellent job writing it. Your father is pleased.”

“There’s no further need for you to add additional comments on my role or appearance.” Phoebe slowly pulled off her gloves one finger at a time, ensuring that Paul knew she wouldn’t be rattled or bullied into acting the way he thought she should act. She’d been in the political limelight her entire life and her mother had taught her well. Paul hadn’t been too thrilled when he found out that her role in the campaign stretched further than the typical daughter. “Although you might want to have Bill add on why Kimmie won’t be here today. It would seem odd to leave such a gaping hole for the media to speculate about, don’t you think? An ounce of prevention in this particular case.”

“What do you mean, Kimmie won’t be here? And who authorized that?” Paul’s smile immediately vanished. “We’ve had this planned for over a month.”

“She had an exam her first period and there’s no reason for her to miss it.” Phoebe looked past Paul and saw that her father was sitting at his desk and looking rather forlorn. It was such a rare occurrence to see him like that and concern washed away the irritation she felt for Paul. It would be better for everyone if the two of them worked together and she didn’t mind being the first one to take that step. “Paul, I promise that I’ll represent my father the same way my mother would have. It’s okay that Kimmie isn’t here. In fact, it’s for the best and maybe if Bill wrote something along the lines of Dad not wanting this campaign to interfere with his daughter’s education, it might just go over well with some of the parents that are still on the fence.”

Paul studied her before he nodded in accordance and headed in the direction to where Bill sat at one of the desks. There were more volunteers here today due to the fact that the phones were going to start ringing off the hook within a couple of hours. She knew the men and women would have all been vetted through Lach and his team, but she’d still take the time to introduce herself and make them feel welcome. Switching her attention back to her father, she finished taking off her gloves and placing them in her purse before maneuvering her way through the desks.

“Dad,” Phoebe called out with a quick rap on his door. He hadn’t looked up once since she’d been here and she knew he wasn’t aware that she’d arrived. When he glanced up from the paper he was reading, his eyes brightened and a sigh of relief went through her. “You okay?”

“Yes, yes.” Stan smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He continued talking while she hung her coat up on the standing wooden rack in the corner of his office and then set her purse on one of the guest chairs. “I’m just getting the key points down on the speech Bill put together. Did the rest of your evening go well?”

“Kimmie spent the night.” Phoebe walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. “I told Paul that Bill should put something in this morning’s address regarding Kimmie’s schooling and how you don’t want the campaign to interfere with her studies.”

Phoebe walked back to the other guest chair and took a seat. She looked up and found her father scrutinizing her with a tender smile. Her heart lurched as he rarely took time to reflect on anything other than his work. She parted her lips to speak, but no words formed.

“Your mother would be so proud of you,” Stan said softly as he scanned her appearance. “You’ve grown into such a beautiful woman, taking on the world in her stead. You have her patience, her compassion, and her drive to make the world a better place. And now here you are, putting your life on hold to support me and my campaign.”

“Dad, Kimmie and I both know what this means to you.” Phoebe tried not to let on that her throat constricted at his praise. He didn’t like when she or Kimmie got too sentimental, and yet here he was doing the exact same thing. “As for Mom, she would have loved to have been here, side by side with you on the front lines.”

“I know my career hasn’t always been easy on you girls, but after your mother passed away, it was the only thing that kept me…sane.” Her dad tossed the papers in his hand onto the surface of the desk, leaning back in his chair and running a hand down his face as if he were tired. “I wasn’t always the best father and I know that.”

“Dad, that’s not true. You always made an effort.” Phoebe might have told a little white lie, but she could see her father was feeling a lot of guilt that really wasn’t needed right now. He worked through most of her teenage years, but she didn’t harbor any resentment at being left to raise Kimmie along with the domestic staff. She loved her sister and family meant everything to her, just like she knew what it meant to her father. “Losing Mom was hard on all of us. We all dealt with her loss our own way, each of us differently.”

“Honey, I want to tell you this before we go out there. I
need
you to know that nothing means more to me than you and Kimmie.” Stan waved his hand toward the bullpen. “The reason I went into politics to begin with was because your mother was so hell bent on making the world a better place. We were young and idealistic. But this was my way of helping her, and when she passed it was my way of keeping my promise. I—”

“Felt closer to her.” Phoebe finished his sentence, her voice just as low and she realized she was afraid he would actually stop talking. This was a side of her father that she never got to see and she found she liked it. “I understand, Dad. Why do you think I took over her foundation? She had a way of making a person want to be better and to take on some responsibility for something greater than one’s self.”

“That she did. But I found that the path we’d chosen had become my destiny and I want this presidency more than anything. I can make our country stronger.” Stan stood and walked around his desk, opening up his arms. His affectionate action immediately caused Phoebe to tear up and she placed her coffee on his desk, knowing otherwise it would be spilled onto the floor. She stood as well and walked into his warm embrace, placing her cheek against his chest. “Thank you for being by my side. I love you, honey.”

Once again, Phoebe couldn’t form her words around the lump in her throat, so she just tightened her arms around his waist. When she woke up this morning she hadn’t expected the day to be filled with so many revelations. It was emboldening and gave her strength to finally admit that it was time to live her own life rather than trying to live up to her mother’s expectations.

“Excuse me,” Bill Pierce said, knocking on the half open door. “I have the revised text for the speech.”

Stan slowly pulled away, but not before he placed a tender kiss on top of Phoebe’s head. She made sure she was turned away from the door, wiping the wetness that had gathered underneath her lashes. It wouldn’t do to have smudged mascara on live television. She would represent her father to the best of her ability while working on claiming her own life back. It was freeing to know that she wasn’t the only one who needed to feel closer to her mother and that it was okay to walk on her own path.

“Dad?” Phoebe had reached down and grabbed a hold of her father’s hand. When he stopped and looked back, she squeezed his fingers. “I love you, too.”

*   *   *   *

“The press conference seemed to go well,” Ethan said, his voice coming in loud and clear over Lach’s cell phone. “Kimmie watched it in one of the student lounges at the college with a crowd of other classmates.”

“There were no security issues.” Lach was sitting across the street at a cafe, sitting inside the window. The location gave him a perfect view of Dunaway’s campaign headquarters and Lach was able to scan the area without people noticing. Brent was inside with Phoebe, along with another guard for Dunaway himself. Connor was about, but Lach didn’t have a lock on his position. “How are things at the college?”

“Jacob is sticking close to Kimmie while I hang back. It was a good idea to match her with a younger looking personal security agent. He blends in well with the other jocks and preppies.” There was a long pause on the line, almost as if Ethan was making sure that he wasn’t overheard. “There’s this student that’s paying a little too much attention to her, and not in the college frat boy kind of way if you know what I mean, or whatever the hell they call postgraduates. I gave the name to Taryn around fifteen minutes ago. Knowing her I’ll have his blood type in another ten.”

“What’s his name?”

“Austin Bentley. Mid-twenties, pampered. Most likely a mama’s boy, but he’s a bit odd and he set off my radar.”

“Speaking of setting off radars, did you give Fallon the info on our threat?” Lach picked up his soft drink and took a swig. He should have gotten a cup of coffee for how cold it was by the window, but he’d needed to cool off after this morning’s meeting with Phoebe. When they’d left her apartment building, he’d have sworn they’d been on the same page. Upon walking into headquarters, he wasn’t so sure. “I heard Kimmie mention Fallon’s name as the two of you were walking out the door this morning.”

“Fuck. No, I haven’t spoken to Fallon about our current situation.” Lach could hear Ethan’s uneven breathing and he knew immediately whatever contact his friend had with Fallon was more on a personal level. Lach grinned and waited, all the while keeping his eyes on the building across the street. “It was nothing.”

“I mean, it’s not a bad idea to have Fallon look at it if she has time.” Lach tilted his phone just so, enjoying giving Ethan shit. He was the clown of the team, even going so far as to bring popcorn to formal settings as he got enjoyment out of other people’s misfortune. All in good nature, of course. It was nice to see the tables turned for a change. “Since she’s on your speed dial, why don’t you hit her up?”

“Fuck you. If we need her
expertise
we’ll go through proper channels.” The way he emphasized the one word gave Lach insight to how Ethan thought of profiling. Some people just thought it was random psychobabble. He must have stopped wherever he was, since the background noise had faded. It didn’t surprise Lach when he switched topics. “I’m heading to Masters tonight. You up for it?”