Page 46 of A Man of Power

Chapter20

Alexis

I closemy laptop and push back from my desk. I stroll over to my window and peer out at the world beyond it. It’s a beautiful day out and I need to get outside. I’ve been holed up in here all weekend working on a paper for my constitutional law class. It’s the only thing keeping me from crawling into my bed and crying. Erin and Whitney threatened to track down Sebastian and cut off his balls, but I kindly declined their offer. It’s not worth it. I went into whatever this was knowing that it would end badly, yet I chose to do it anyhow.

I’ve been left confused, angry, and sad. I don’t understand why he would want to be with me one minute and then send me away the next. I feel like something happened, but I don’t know what would have made him act like that. It was beyond being an asshole, it was cruel and hurtful. Maybe Erin was right, maybe I shouldn’t have ever gotten involved with him. Maybe I should have left that day at the White House. I’m almost as angry at myself for falling victim to the prowess of Sebastian North. God, that man is addictive in the worst way possible. Yet, he showed me the tiniest of glimpses into his big heart. He’s so much more than he lets the world see. A tear threatens to escape, and I rub my eyes. He’s not a broken boy in need of help. I’m being an idiot. He’s a grown-ass man who should have ended things in a better way than he did. He was harsh and mean and not at all what I thought he was. I turn from my window. I need to clear my head.

“Anyone want to go for a run?” I ask as I waltz into the kitchen.

Whitney is lying on the couch staring at the television while wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket like a burrito.

“No, I need to know if this couple gets together at the end of this movie,” she mutters as she shoves a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

“Spoiler alert, they get together,” Erin says from the kitchen where it looks like a bakery exploded. Flour is on every surface. She looks at me and shrugs. “Sorry, I’m in the middle of baking cookies for the office party next week. It’s Francine’s birthday on Tuesday.”

“Oh, right. Uh, well, I just need to get out of here for a few minutes, so I’m going for a run,” I state as I grab my running shoes from the coat closet.

“Make sure you keep your phone on and let us know when you’re done,” Whitney says.

“I will. It’s the middle of the day. I’ll be fine.”

I stick in my earbuds and head outside. I glance up at the sky, letting the sun’s rays warm my face before I walk down the street toward the park trail. I glance around me, but the scene playing out is just another normal day here in the nation’s capital. In the distance, I can see a field where some twentysomethings are playing rugby. A few other people jog by me. A woman pushes a stroller while talking on a phone. Three men in suits sit at a bistro table at the local coffee shop across the street. Why do I feel like someone is watching me? I glance around again, but everyone seems to be in their own little world, oblivious to my gaze.

Brushing off the unwarranted feeling, I turn toward the trail and start running. I’m soon deep in the woods, enjoying the nature surrounding me.

The light filters through the leaves, leaving long rays of light that illuminate small patches of leaves and flowers. The rest of the forest floor is still dark and mysterious at this early morning hour. But the light moves so quickly as the earth spins that by the time I pull my phone out to snap a photo, the angle of the light has slightly shifted. I take a photo anyhow, and continue with my run, unaware of the danger lurking amongst those dimly lit tree trunks.

Yesterday was my last day at Sebastian’s office, I turned in my research on the transportation bill and said goodbye to my co-workers. Erin was working two days a week at a small firm specializing in environmental law and offered to help me get a paid internship there. It seemed a like good opportunity and would at least give me a few weeks of pay. I haven’t seen or spoken to Sebastian since I left his house. I purposefully avoided him all week.

I see a fork in the path up ahead and I take the right toward the ravine. I like this part of the trail along the stream. It’s quieter and more peaceful with the sounds of the running water. I turn down my music just enough to hear it. There’s a rocky outcropping ahead where I can stop for a minute and enjoy the peek-a-boo view of the city. There are still so many places I have left to explore here. Yesterday, Erin mentioned Lincoln’s Cottage to me and now I’m planning to go next weekend. I still want to take the water taxi down to Mount Vernon or the National Harbor.

The stream comes into view as my fellow trail-goers disappear from sight, opting to stay on the more frequented part of the trail. I enjoy the solitude of my less traveled path.

I don’t know if it’s the sunshine or the solitude or the beautiful nature, but I start to feel slightly better. I let myself run in time to the beat of the music.

A murder of crows sits on trees nearby. It feels ominous, all those crows sitting on low-hanging branches, their beady eyes watching me. A murder…maybe it’s what a group of crows is called that’s actually the ominous part. I contemplate that as I scale a few boulders and get up to my favorite rock outcropping. The sun beats down on my face and I close my eyes, feeling the warmth of it.

I hear a rustle nearby and my eyelids fly open as I look around. I don’t see anything though aside from a distant squirrel. My phone pings with a message. I look down to see it’s a calendar alert for something I needed to remember for work…work I was doing at Sebastian’s office. I let out a breath and sit down on the rock. I need to go through and delete all of these. I don’t want any more reminders. Having to live in the same city as him, seeing him on television and social media, hell, the horror that we might end up seated near each other in a restaurant someday is enough of a reminder. I find a few more alerts on my phone and I delete them. It’s not nearly as therapeutic as I had hoped it would be. I’m left feeling more empty than before. Was what we had more than just fucking? I had promised myself that I wouldn’t fall for him, yet here I am acting like I just broke up with a boyfriend. Maybe I should let myself mourn the loss of whatever it was between us. I decide then and there that I’ll give myself exactly one more week and then I need to let Erin or Whitney set me up with someone. I can’t live in this wallowing in self-pity mode forever.

I climb down from the rock, a new determination in my mind. I start trying to make a mental list of all the things that I hate about Sebastian. He’s a smug and arrogant prick. He’s demanding as fuck. He’s horrible at sharing…anything. His family is clearly fifty shades of fucked up. See, I think to myself, I really dodged a bullet on this one.

I groan because I’m not fooling anyone, especially me. I was falling for him, hell, I might have already fallen for him. And now, it’s over, just as fast as it had started. I feel a tear threatening to spill over my lower lid when I hear another rustle from behind me. This time it sounds closer.

I’m about to turn around when I feel something hit my head and then…nothing.

Chapter21

Sebastian

“You need to focus!”Harriet chides as she stands in front of my desk. “That speech was half-assed and we both know it.”

I glare at her. If it was anyone but her, they’d be fired. “We’re up in the polls, aren’t we? And Jay thought it was fine.”

Harriet rolls her eyes with such dramatic flair that I half expect them to stay looking upward permanently. “You know what I mean. When you ran for this office,” she says as she points down at the floor, “you were passionate. You cared about it in a way that was infectious to everyone around you. Where is that Sebastian?”

She’s not wrong. In fact, it’s the fact that she’s hit the nail on the head that has me simmering with anger. Alexis hasn’t even been gone two weeks and I am still thinking about her. Plus, I’ve spent nearly every night sipping bourbon with Aiden and Conner while trying to figure out what the hell is going on with Confervo, and how can we figure out who in the brotherhood is behind what we think might be the murder of local young women that seems eerily similar to events from a decade ago. There’s a connection there between all three and we just can’t figure it all out.

“I’m getting there, alright? I just need to focus. So, get the hell out and let me work,” I growl.

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