Page 63 of Whiskey and Regret
“Stop hitting me or I’m calling Mom!” I shouted over her incessant nagging. I pushed her away from me but it didn’t stop her evil glare. “What is your problem, Navy? You act like you cracked a code to something.”
“I did. You’re fucking Senator Freeman. Aren’t there enough men out there willing to give you what you want without you having to go after your boss?Ourboss. I recommended you for this nanny position and you’re screwing the boss?”
“I never said I was fucking Freeman.” After the way he made me come, calling him Freeman felt too stiff. I wanted to call him Daddy. “You assumed. Like I’d be willing to put my job on the line.” I tried to sound convincing. Hopefully, she couldn’t tell I was full of shit.
“You have a hickey on your neck. Senator Freeman was ten minutes late getting out of the house, which is not normal for him. When he walked out, you were right there beside him, grinning like you’d just been fucked. You’re relaxed and happy. You have a hickey on your neck, and you rushed to the bathroom as soon as I got in here.
You’re fucking him and I have no idea how you even worked your way into that one because Senator Freeman is not an easy nut to crack.” For the first time since my sister started ranting at me, I heard something that piqued my interest.
“Wait…how do you know he’s not an easy nut to crack?” I snickered inwardly at the term nut to crack…because naturally, I have the humor of a middle school kid. “Have you tried to crack him, Navy?” I lifted my eyebrow and tried to control the anger flickering inside. Was I prepared to be jealous of my sister over a man I’d just started fucking?
See? Evander hit the crazy button when he fucked me. Or maybe it was when he sucked my clit into his mouth. Or when he choked me until I couldn’t breathe.
“What? Have I tried to get with my boss? No. Absolutely not. You know that’s not me. I do have access to his work and personal schedule though and he’s never scheduled a date or time with a woman besides when he has to go to court with Alexis,” she said. “Xari do you know how many women throw themselves at him? He’s had expensive gifts sent to him from celebrities and been asked out so many times I can’t count. The point is…he never entertains any of that. He doesn’t date. He doesn’t let the attention go to his head. He’s focused on his work as a senator.” I knew that was a lie. Well, at least the part about him being focused on his job as a senator. Evander’s focus was on writing. He went along with being a senator.
“He doesn’t date?” I quizzed.
“No. I’m sure he has ways of…releasing tension but it’s never important enough to be on his schedule.”
“So that should be enough for you to know nothing is going on with us. I’m not on his schedule.” I forced a smile but inside I wondered what it took to be important enough to get penciled in on the senator’s schedule.
“I’m sure he doesn’t schedule late-night hookups though, Xari so what the hell is going on?” Before I could open my mouth and lie to her again, her phone chimed. She pulled it from her Louis bag, which I approved of, and checked the notification. “Speak of the devil. See? This is what I mean. I get his schedule updates in real-time, so I know if I need to rearrange things for him.” I came to peer over her shoulder.
The block for today was littered with meetings, phone calls, and blocks of time for him to sign and review papers. After 4:00 PM, it read:
Clear all appointments after four. I need to be home for personal reasons.
-E.F.
I blinked a few times and tried not to smile too hard. Navy’s lips dropped into a frown. “I wonder why he wants me to clear his schedule. Frankie doesn’t get dropped off until seven tonight and I already reworked his time slots not to go past then.” She tucked a chunk of hair behind her ear and blew out a frustrated breath.
“I’ll try to get home earlier tonight so I can see you before Frankie gets home.”
I heard Evander’s promise in my head and I knew that’s why he wanted his schedule cleared after four. I couldn’t tell Navy though. She would have a field day. Shit, she was already having a field day and I hadn’t said a word.
“Just move his schedule around.” I shrugged and went back to searching my DM’s. I had tons of them telling me Damon Philips posted my video but I didn’t see anything from him.
“I hope everything is okay,” she muttered as she moved things around on her screen.
“I’m sure everything is fine. Maybe he just wants to chill out before Frankie gets here.” The lowest parts of me tingled thinking about him clearing his schedule for me. I would definitely make it worth his while.
“Or maybe he blocked off time to come home before she gets here so he can have time with you. Alone.”
“What?” I laughed as I scrolled through my messages. I had to focus on something else because Navy knew how to pull the truth out of me and I wanted to keep my affair with Evander quiet. I didn’t want to fuck up the NDA I’d signed and I didn’t want to break his trust.
“Xari, I know you’re fucking him. You worked your voodoo and now he’s under your spell.”
“Or maybe I’m under his. I mean,ifwe were fucking. Maybe I’d be hypothetically under his spell.”
“Oh my god. You two are really doing this. I have to act like I can’t see it. Ugh. You know I can’t pretend. I never have been able to pretend.”
“There’s nothing to pretend about, Navy.”
“I can’t believe you’re lying to me. I know you.” She finally looked up from her phone and leveled me with a glare. “You can’t say anything because you signed the NDA.” Her voice was full of revelation. “That’s why you’re not telling me, isn’t it? You can’t talk about anything that happens on River Bend Drive.”
I flicked my eyes back to the screen and like a beacon of distraction, I saw a message from Damon Philips. “Here!” I shouted, hopping up and down. “Oh my god, Navy, look! It’s from his account. It’s verified.” I pointed at the checkmark beside his name and Navy gawked at me.
“Oh. My. God. Read it!”
