Page 6 of A Man of Power

I slowly remove my hand. I realize his hand is wrapped firmly around my arm to keep me from falling.

“You OK?” his deep gravelly voice asks. I want to groan. Why does my boss have to be so fucking gorgeous? Even his voice is gorgeous. Breeding. It’s the only explanation. I’ve seen his parents, and they are both beautiful.

“Fine. Sorry,” I mumble as I straighten.

“You all settled in?” he asks, motioning to my office.

I nod. “Yep. I’m heading to the library to start on research for you.”

“Good. I take it you’ve been warned that shit is about to get crazy around here?”

I lick my lips and watch his eyes move from mine to watch my tongue darting out. I blush. “Uh, yeah. I’ve been informed. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

“I’m sure there will be, but for now, everyone has it covered. I’ll have a staff meeting later this afternoon, so everyone is prepped.”

“OK,” I squeak and then clear my throat. “Um, I’ll see you later, then.”

He nods. “Happy researching.”

I smile and step around him. His woodsy cologne hits my nostrils and I breathe in on reflex. I look back over my shoulder to find him leaning on his doorjamb, watching me with a smirk on his face. Asshole.

Chapter3

Sebastian

I lean backas my best friends, Conner and Aiden, watch the news coverage of my senatorial run announcement from my office. They joined me to celebrate for five minutes while I have time.

It’s harder these days for all three of us to spend time together. Our college days are long gone and replaced by busy work schedules. Hell, Aiden spends most of his life in his office at the National Institute of Health, where he is the lead on an anesthesia research team that’s running drug trials. Aiden is a damned genius. I’m proud as fuck of him. And Conner now runs a lobbying firm for big shipping companies. Always the rebel, he chose not to take over his father’s shipping empire but didn’t stray far from the family business. It was Conner’s way of saying “fuck you” to his father while still carrying on the family legacy in some sort of capacity. Poor Conner has more baggage than a 747. He makes my past seem like a cakewalk.

Yet, even with their busy schedules, they managed to come by today to mark a momentous occasion in my career. They both helped me see that running for Congress and now the Senate wasn’t the awful family requirement that I viewed it as, and I’m grateful for their friendship and their no-bullshit mentality when it comes to telling me how it is. They made me take my sister’s death and turn it into something good. I don’t think I would have done that had they not incessantly reminded me to use my family’s name for good as a way to celebrate my sister and carry on her legacy.

And here we are now, at the tip of the iceberg, some have suggested a White House run in another decade, but I’m not ready to even contemplate that. Right now, my eyes are set on taking over the Senate seat my father will be vacating. After his second heart attack, he finally decided last year that he would not run again. And that was my cue to step up and start my campaign, even though I’m barely thirty years old.

My phone pings and I glance down to see a text from one of my mentors, Charles Richards. He’s a member of the brotherhood and has been like a father figure to all three of us.

Chuck: I’m proud of you. Well done.

I smile at his text and write back a “thank you.”

“Well, there’s no going back now,” Aiden states as he sips his bourbon.

I look over at Conner. He’s got his phone in his hand and is looking at something. I lean forward. Fucking titties.

“Can’t you save the spank bank until later?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.

He glances over at me and glares. “Fuck off, North. I’m just previewing the fine set of tits I’ll be fucking later tonight.”

“Well, Pound, just remember to bag it up first. We don’t need any little Conners running around this city,” Aiden states as he looks over the rim of his glass at his friend.

Conner grunts. I grin at the use of Conner’s fraternity nickname, which he got because his last name was Sterling, and he was also known to strike up a fight when drunk and bang a lot of girls. He’s still known for his penchant for hot women. He’s the biggest player in our group. If I didn’t know the giant heart lurking beneath the beast façade, I might not be willing to drop everything at a moment’s notice to have his back.

My office door opens. Conner quickly flips his phone over while Aiden sits up straighter. I roll my eyes at Harriet. She’s standing by the door looking very much like a principal who just caught the star players of the football team smoking pot in the janitor’s closet.

“If you gentlemen are done with your…celebration…Congressman North is needed for a meeting.”

Aiden sets his glass down. “I have to get over to the Beechwood for a keynote speech. I’ll call you later.”

Conner doesn’t move. He looks at the antique clock on my desk. “I suppose I can grab a drink at the bar before she arrives.”

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