Page 13 of A Man of Power

“No need to apologize. Here’s my card. If you think of anything else, please let me know,” he says as he motions for me to exit. I leave through a different door.

Becky, the reception for the congresswoman’s office, stops me. “What’s going on over there?”

I look through the glass door of her office where the crowd has dispersed and officers are milling around. A maintenance man is cleaning up the glass and has a new door set to the side. That was fast, I think to myself.

“Looks like vandalism,” I guess with a shrug as I head back to the conference room.

Nolan is missing when I return, probably getting interviewed. Maria is pulling a bag over her shoulder.

“You heading home to work?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She pauses. “I hope.”

“Right,” I reply as I glance over at David and Tory who are sitting in front of David’s laptop chatting about something related to a security bill that David was working on yesterday. My gaze travels past them to Sebastian. He’s standing in front of a window, staring out as he talks to someone on the phone. I can tell by his clenched jaw that he’s stressed. I hate seeing him like this. My last thought has me pausing. Do I really care that much about this man? He’s my boss for crying out loud. No, it’s fine. I can care about my boss. I mean, I should, right?

“Hey, you going to head home to work?” Nolan’s voice breaks through my strange stream of consciousness.

I give my head a little shake to clear my thoughts. “Uh, yeah. I guess I will. Looks like we are getting a new door installed. Hopefully things are back to normal tomorrow.”

Nolan nods as he picks up his computer bag. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. I’ve got to go finish looking over these ads we did.”

“I’d love to see them,” I say as he heads to the door.

“For sure. I’ll share them once I finish,” he says with a grin as he leaves.

I put my hands on the conference table and look around the room. I was supposed to be prepping for the White House transportation meeting tomorrow. I look back toward Sebastian just as Harriet walks into the room.

“David and Tory, I’ve managed to get our line forwarded to my office, which the police have cleared. You can both work in there for now. Have Nolan and Maria left already?”

I nod. “Maria is going to work from home and so is Nolan. He wanted to finish the ads.”

“Great. I need to find a space for you and me to go over things for tomorrow’s meeting. I think everything is set, but always good to over-prep for these things,” she says as she zeroes in on Sebastian. With her hands on her hips, she clears her throat. Sebastian slowly turns to face her.

“Yes. Will do. I have to go, but send me those documents and I’ll take a look,” he says as he puts down his phone. “Yes, supreme leader?”

Harriet glares at him. “I told you we should have upped our security when you announced your run for the Senate. The crazies are bountiful here. But no worries, because I have now taken care of it. They are replacing our door and the police should be done within the hour.”

Sebastian walks around the long table and leans against it in front of Harriet. I lift my hands because his ass is dangerously close to one of them.

Standing back, I look from Harriet to Sebastian and back again.

“When will the security team be here?” he asks.

“Tomorrow. I’ll need to deal with the press on this door situation,” she says as she looks at me. “I hate to ask this of you, but can you handle your own at the White House meeting tomorrow. I think maybe I need to get this under control. I’ll email you what I was going to prep you on,” she adds as she motions back toward our door.

I nod. “O-of course. I was going to go over things today.”

Sebastian’s eyes are on me, watching me intently as I speak. I feel myself blush under his scrutiny. It’s hardly been a few weeks and I find myself fighting to not be attracted to this man. Maybe Erin was right. Maybe this job is a bad idea.

I’m about to say as much when Senator North walks into the office. I haven’t met him before, only seen him from afar. He’s the silver fox version of Sebastian. But right now, he looks scary as fuck. He’s already surveyed the room as he walks toward us.

In a hushed voice laced with anger, he whisper-yells, “What the fuck is going on? Theresa told me your office was broken into?”

I watch as Sebastian’s entire demeanor changes. I’ve not seen them interact before, not in the confines of a small audience of staff members, anyhow. Sebastian’s jaw clenches and he leans in toward his father.

“It’s under control,” he mutters with such spite that I feel like a voyeur and turn away toward Harriet. Harriet might as well be shooting daggers with her eyes. What don’t I know about Montgomery North? He’s always appeared as a friendly and caring person. If there’s a baby in the building, he’s likely already held it. He looks and acts like a politician from some sort of romantic-comedy film. But this, this isn’t anything like the persona I’ve seen on the Senate floor or in the halls of the Hart Senate Office Building. This man looks like he could kill with his icy stare.

Harriet steps forward. “Senator, it’s under control; Gallagher Security has been called.”

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