Too Hot to Quit (2 page)

Chapter 3

Senator
J.L. sat pensively in his Capitol office as he mapped out his latest strategy
for winning his re-election. He circled two important dates on the small
triangular calendar atop his huge oak table.

 
August
15
— Inaugural meeting with his campaign staff

August
22
—Official
launch of his campaign in his constituency headquarters
in      downtown Los Angeles

He
grabbed his cup of hot morning coffee to take a quick sip when his office phone
started ringing.

“Senator,
would you like to take a call from one Ms. Sheryl Lekhov now?” one of his
assistants inquired.

No
more hesitation: “Put her on the line please,” he said with obvious excitement.

“I’m
sorry for calling you quite early this morning, Senator,” she apologized
politely. “I overheard you are working on the final list of your campaign
staffers, and I thought it is imperative I contacted you before your final list
will be produced,” she said.

Senator
J.L. couldn’t immediately understand where she would come in on this matter.
Was she going to promise to pay all the salaries of his campaign staffers? Or
did she possess some previous management experiences she thought would be
useful in the campaign?

“I
just thought that I’d like to be more proactive in this campaign,” she said.

“Yeah,”
Senator J.L. punctuated.

“And
there’s no better way to do this than being a member of your campaign team,”
she said.

Senator
J.L. almost rejected her suggestion to be part of his campaign staff, but he
quickly realized that such a response might eventually piss her off. She might
ease herself completely out of his campaign, having detected that the Senator
appeared reluctant to work with her. But the truth is: Senator J.L.’s
admiration for Sheryl had doubled since she had proved herself beyond every
reasonable doubt that she was a formidable financial lifeline the campaign should
do everything possible to retain.

“If
I may ask, which area of our campaign are you most interested in?” he asked
her.

“Put
me in the media department,” she answered, curtly.

“Media?
Do you have any previous experiences in the media?” Senator J.L. looked
surprised.

“Yeah,
I used to be a professional photographer for a well-known New York Magazine. I
think I’ll be glad to be in charge of taking the campaign photographs,” she
said.

Senator
J.L. heaved a silent sigh, probably not loud enough for her to have heard it on
the other side of the line.

“We
actually have a lady who does that job in our campaign,” he revealed, bluntly.

“I
see. No problem: I believe two of us can work together,” she suggested.

“Alright.
 I will ask her to contact you as soon as possible. Is it OK if I give her
your cell phone number?” he asked.

“Sure.”

Senator
J.L. appeared helpless as he realized there was apparently nothing he could do
to prevent Shery Lekhov from invading deeper and deeper into his private life.
As his campaign photographer, Sheryl would always be present there at every
occasion to shoot important campaign photos to be displayed in the campaign
newsletter, website or to be handed over to the mainstream media houses for
publicity purposes. This entailed that she and Senator J.L. would see each
other almost every day, something that he disliked and didn’t want to happen.
But what could he do to stop this momentarily?

As 
a single man, Senator J.L. kept reminding himself that it was OK dating anyone
he so desired. But he was only cautious that such unexpected dating opportunity
had come to him in an election year—the period when he needed to exercise
extreme carefulness because no one knew what a desperate political opponent
could use as a powerful destabilizing weapon against the other person!

What
made the whole Sheryl Lekhov drama seemed weird to him was that he couldn’t particularly
identify what the lady was looking for. Was it fame? She had it already, as the
only daughter of an oil-business tycoon. Was it romance? As a beautiful lady,
young and very attractive she probably had dozens of suitors who would be
begging her for marriage.

Or
was she looking for an association with an important person in power? She had
got it already, being friends to company presidents’ families and Hollywood
celebrities. Sheryl had got enviable social standing that she didn’t need to
lobby for recognition in any social spheres. So, what was Sheryl Lekhov looking
for in this relationship? Only if Senator J.L. could find an answer to this
important question that he would, at least, feel relieved about the whole
issue.

Senator
J.L. wondered if he should intimate his best friend Danny Birch about his
feelings towards Sheryl. But how would he react to such information? Wouldn’t
he think he was acting like a faint-hearted boy and getting worked-up for
unimportant matter? And if he felt that Sheryl was probing too fast into his
world and should be immediately stopped, wouldn’t this later development affect
the performance of his political campaign due to avoidable in-fighting?

At
the end, Senator J.L. decided to keep this issue to himself. He had vowed to
remain cautious and vigilant in dealing with Sheryl Lekhov until election
palaver would be over. If what Sheryl needed was love and romance, she could
get plenty of those after his successful re-election, Senator said to himself.

On
the day he officially launched his re-election bid, Senator J.L. felt honored
to see the caliber of people that had witnessed the occasion: Hollywood
celebrities, famous and influential politicians, business executives, industrial
players, people of high social standing and so on. Sheryl Lekhov and her mother
were also in attendance.

Some
familiar guests came forward to give Senator J.L. a hug and he returned their
kindness with loving pecks and handshakes. When Sheryl showed up in front of
him, the Senator was visibly nervous, and instead of pecking her cheek, he
unintentionally kissed her mouth to mouth but quickly retracted from the
action. He looked somehow remorseful, but when he saw the don’t-bother-about-it
smile on Sheryl’s face, he definitely knew that the lady was up for something
romantic. And Senator J.L. believed that it wouldn’t take him more than two to
three weeks to fully uncover her intentions.

Chapter
4

As
campaign activities came into full swing, Senator J.L. became quite busy as he
stumped the major cities in California that were under his constituency. He was
happy and grateful for the warm reception he had received from many supporters,
especially those living in Los Angeles area. They had come out in thousands to
show their unflinching support for his policies and pet projects, which many
believed had lifted a good number of Californians out of poverty and poor
standards of living. His educational programs were deemed extraordinary.

“Senator,
we will like to see more specific actions in the issue of wage disparity between
men and women in this country,” a female voter shouted among the pack of
people. Her curt statement had received a thunderous applause from other excited
women in the crowd.

Thinking
that the matter she had just raised appeared popular with the people, the woman
continued her outpour of challenges. “For too long we have waited for something
to be done about this unfair inequality in our workplaces, but nothing had
happened so far. Why should we—the women—continue to be victims of ageless patriarchy
in America? We who cook for you, take care of your home, sacrifice our time and
love for you and your kids, and obediently put our bodies on your beds to be
mercilessly fucked like bitches! Don’t we, for goodness sake, deserve some
paybacks?” the woman now looked irate. And enjoying the noisy boos and cheers
she elicited from the chaotic crowd around her.

Senator
J.L. turned his face away so that he would not stare into the woman’s fiery
eyes.  But his gaze landed on Sheryl Lekhov’s body wearing a see-through
blouse that showed her breasts’ brown teats! She smiled lustfully as her eyes
met that of the Senator’s.

“God
have mercy!” Senator J.L. whispered silently to himself and turned back to the
enraged woman to pacify her with assurances.

“We
are already working on that. And I can assure you that we’re getting there; we’ll
soon pass laws that give everyone what they deserve, irrespective of age or
gender,” he said amidst loud cheers and jeers.

When
he returned to his hotel suite to have some rest, the chief campaign
photographer, accompanied by Sheryl Lekhov came to have a snapshot of him
relaxing in a sweaty T-shirt, baggy shorts and cheap slippers. This humble
picture was going to be distributed to some media houses the following day to
show voters that Senator J.L. was indeed a regular guy who could easily
associate with the middle-class and not one of those typical out-of-touch Washington
politicians.

But
Sheryl Lekhov’s see-through blouse and her tight-fitting mini-skirt had thrown
him off-balance that it took him some minutes before he could compose himself
for the shot.

“Do
you ladies mind having some wine with me before going home tonight?” Senator
J.L. asked.

“Sure,”
they both answered, simultaneously.

The
hotel servers gave each of them a tall glass and carefully poured them their
chosen wine: Sheryl Lekhov went for white wine; the chief photographer chose
red one; while Senator J.L. ordered white wine with squirts of lemon juice—his
favorite. The two ladies, both single, sat across from the Senator and seemed
to be enjoying their drinks and the scheduled show on Fox TV at that moment:
SEX AND THE CITY.  

To
Senator J.L., it was a wrong TV show at the wrong time! The ladies’ eyes were
riveted on the TV screen, enjoying the show, while Senator J.L. writhed in
silent discomfort and wished it would soon be over. But when the sex scenes in
the show came too often than expected, the Senator could no longer hide his
annoyance about it.

“For
me, I think shows like this make love-making look quite artificial! Do people
get laid that often in real life?” he was surprised.

“I
think it is possible. I have friends who go around fucking all manners of guys,
just like a dog,” the chief photographer said.

Sheryl
Lekhov gulped hard where she sat before joining the conversation: “I believe it’s
weird; but I also believe it is cool enjoying hot sex regularly,” she said.

Senator
J.L. could no more hold himself together as he stole furtive glances at Sheryl’s
exposed laps. Her smooth, shining skin reflected the bright light falling from
the chandeliers. Her lips were covered with golden lipstick that could blind
someone. And her shrill and piercing voice, as seductive as ever!

Senator
J.L. discovered that his chief campaign photographer had, after repeated incidents,
noticed his infatuation with Sheryl. She had frowned on a couple of occasions
when she caught her boss staring happily at another lady’s sexy figure. It was
difficult for her not to have let envy overpowered her thinking. It was true
that she also loved being admired, and when her boss refused to show her such
feelings, then why revealing the same to another lady?

To
avoid a situation whereby the two ladies would be fighting or competing for recognition
or admiration, Senator   J.L. had informed them to work with him
alternately. That is, if the chief photographer would like to work on four days
a week, Sheryl Lekhov should be allowed to work on the remaining three days.

The
decision had brought much joy to Sheryl, even though she didn’t show it
physically. And the Senator didn’t realize he had made a wrong decision until
the two women left his hotel suite. But it was too late for him to re-think his
decision.

So,
the thoughts banging on his mind were about how he would be able to manage work
with Sheryl alone without compromising his integrity. He had vowed to remain
unblemished throughout his campaign, and he would do everything it took to keep
Sheryl’s advances in check. But would that be possible? This is because Senator
J.L. could not actually deny his quiet admiration for Sheryl Lekhov’s beauty.

Chapter
5

Senator
J.L. still believed he was a smart guy despite allowing Sheryl Lekhov to have a
one-on-one contact with him as his campaign’s assistant photographer. He made
sure that all her photo shoots would take place in the open places, like on the
campaign trails, public halls, schools and other public avenues. One thing he
could never deny though was the increasing affection he started to show towards
Sheryl: he would volunteer to help her carry some camera accessories when he
thought they were obviously cumbersome for her; he would allow her to ride in
the same car or bus with him; he would touch her shoulder or pat her back to
request for her attention. These casual shows of affection were open to other
staffers on the campaign trails. This had already sparked hot gossips that the
Senator might eventually get engaged to Sheryl.

These
uncomfortable rumors had made Sheryl lose interest in following Senator J. L.
around, so she decided, on a sudden impulse, to retire prematurely from active
participation in the campaign activities.

“I’m
sad about your decision though, but please do keep in touch,” Senator J. L. told
her as they both sat in his hotel suite drinking wine.

“No
problem, I have your number, Senator. I’ll be calling regularly to know how
things are faring with the campaign,” she promised.

Good
and lustful thoughts about Sheryl Lekhov filled Senator J.L.’s heart as he
found himself alone in the same room with the lady he had had sexual fantasies
about for the past few weeks. Here she was in her trademark topless blouse and
to-match black mini-skirt, sexy and wonderfully beautiful. What in the world
would be more glorious than getting married to a perfectly built lady like her?
Wouldn’t it be a thing of honor to attend social functions with a lady so
immaculately pretty and socially knowledgeable as Sheryl Lekhov?

Sheryl
might have noticed that the man sitting across from her had been lost in some
weird thoughts, probably thinking about her.

“I
think it is time I left,” Sheryl stood up to leave.

“Really?
Thought we are going to have dinner together tonight. For the first time!” he
said.

“Oh,
I’m very sorry. I have already had a dinner appointment with my dad. How about
next time, Senator,” she asked, politely.

Senator
J.L. shook his head sideways to indicate his displeasure about her sudden
announcement.

“Please
just let me know in advance, and I will honor your invitation for dinner,” she
tried her best to assure him.

“Alright,
Sheryl. Next time,” he said and opened his arm wide to hug her.

Without
any reluctance, Sheryl Lekhov accepted his request for a hug but was
immediately surprised when the Senator had refused to release her. He held her
in a tight bear hug that made her pointed breasts pinched his hairy chest
inside T-shirt. His two hands were on Sheryl’s butts, caressing them. Sheryl
was amazed but not angry. She breathed rapidly as the Senator thrust his tongue
into her mouth, almost rendering her breathless. His attempt to put one of his
hands in her bras to touch her breasts was politely rebuffed.

“What’s
going through your mind, Senator?” she asked him, almost in a whisper.

“It’s
hard to help to explain, Sheryl,” he said. “I’m sorry if my action seems
offensive to you,” he apologized.

“No
need feeling sorry for anything, Senator,” she told him.

“Really?”
he asked and made a second attempt at touching his breasts again. But Sheryl
once more held his hand to stop him from doing so.

“Whatever
may be going through your mind, Senator, should stay there until we have successfully
concluded your re-election process,” she finally told him, pecked his left
cheek and went away.

Now
it dawned on him that Sheryl Lekhov might not have been working for his Republican
opponent. Her willingness to assist him in whichever way possible for him to
clinch his re-election revealed that she was a progressive; someone who truly
believed in the beauty of democracy and was doing everything she could to
encourage it.

 But
why was she planning to wait until the elections had been concluded before
accepting his amorous advances? Wasn’t she snobbish with that statement? Even
though she could not be referred to as a gold digger because of her family
stupendous wealth, but she might as well be regarded as a social climber,
someone who was only interested in dating high-profile men. So, what would
happen to their relationship if he failed to win his re-election? Would she
call it quit with him? Would she move ahead to date other famous guys and dump
him?

Senator
J.L. quickly cautioned himself as he noted that his thoughts about Sheryl was
getting stronger and fast becoming unsettling. He understood he needed a calm
mind to address this issue. And now that she was giving herself a break from
his campaign, the action might just help calm his nerves that had become tensed
due to relentless efforts at understanding Sheryl’s initial intentions. Which
had now become clearer to him: she wanted to date a high-flying politician like
him.

Throughout
that evening, Senator J.L. could not focus properly on his other activities. He
just pre-occupied his mind with sweet and uplifting thoughts of Sheryl Lekhov.

When
he couldn’t bear it one day, he decided to call her at a midnight.

“Sorry
for disturbing you; I just want to find out if you were the one who took my
Walmart photo,” Senator J.L. pretended.

“No,
I didn’t. Please ask the chief photographer,” she answered.

“OK,
I’ll. I’m sorry for calling so late. I just couldn’t go to bed without making
sure about that Walmart photo. We need it for a press release first thing
tomorrow morning,” he lied.

“No
problem, Senator. Good night,” she said and hung up.

Hearing
her sweet voice had given the Senator the needed boost to go to bed. In his
dreams, he dreamt about her swimming with him in a pool. Both of them were
naked. And he also noticed that she was pregnant in the dream. But he had no
idea whom she was pregnant for!