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  All the girls voiced their enthusiastic agreement.

  Nikki had to smile at her friend’s more than accurate assessment of Mike. Karina’s words could not be more true. If anyone was worth this roller coaster ride of emotions that Nikki was experiencing, it was Mike. He was more than worth it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Mike jumped out of his car and walked hurriedly toward the office. If he was honest, he would have to say, in fact, that his stride was almost approaching a jog. A broad grin spread across his face as he realized that he was simply in a hurry to get back to Nikki.

  Since she was going to be staying with him this weekend, he didn't want to spend one moment more away from her than he had to. Still, just because he had a house guest, no matter how enchanting, it didn't mean that work came to an end. There were going to be times that he had to catch up on critical issues while she was with him, but he certainly didn't want that to mean that he had to go into the office. For that reason, he'd made the decision to stop by and grab the relevant paperwork for all of the important things he was working on. That way, chances were, should anything critical come up in the next day or so that he had to give some attention to, he would already have the information with him. He could simply stop and take care of it and then return his attention to Nikki as quickly as possible.

  Now, all he needed to do was grab the documents and be on his way. He was one more moment closer to Nikki. He shook his head, he couldn’t believe how out of character he was acting. He had never felt this way about a woman before. He missed her so much when they were apart, and all he could think about every minute that they were away from each other was how soon they could be together again. Truthfully, when it came to Nikki, he felt more like a teenager than a grown man.

  As he rounded the last hallway corner leading to his office, he heard voices coming from his campaign manager, Phil's, office. That was odd. He hadn't expected Phil to be here, let alone with someone else. Mike slowed his gait. He didn't want Phil to hear his footsteps and realize that someone was approaching. He wasn't sure why he had this instinct, but he learned a long time ago that instincts worked best when followed. That was their purpose.

  As the other person in Phil's office began to speak, Mike stopped in his tracks altogether. He hadn't expected to recognize the voice, but this voice was almost more familiar than his own. He would know it anywhere. It was the first voice that he had ever heard, before he’d even been born. Yes, he'd been listening to that southern drawl since he was in the womb.

  What in the hell was his mother doing here?

  Mike slowly moved to Phil's door with padded, almost silent, footsteps. A small part of him felt a little sneaky spying on his mother and his campaign manager like this, but the larger part of him felt justified. The two of them were always coming at him with a united front for whatever they deemed best for his life, both career and personal. He had never attributed any truly manipulative motive to either of them. He hadn’t thought that they actually were, literally, plotting behind his back. He just thought that they both had the same opinions about his career and personal life, and envisioned the same path for him. It made sense, as it was generally the path of least resistance—his least favorite path, incidentally.

  He leaned in close to hear what they were saying and found that, with his ear lightly pressed against the door, he could actually hear the conversation quite clearly, word for word.

  “I don't understand why he's being so stubborn about Lizzie,” Phil was saying.

  Really? This again.

  “You just need to take control, darlin'. That is your job,” Mike heard his mother respond. “This is too important. You need to push him on it, sweetheart. We can't have him waffle.”

  Mike drew back, feeling sick to his stomach all of a sudden. Darlin'? Ok. That could have just been his mother's Southern colloquialism. But sweetheart? There was very little ambiguity about that.

  Wait. Were his mother and his campaign manager sleeping together? The familiarity with which they addressed each other, the endearments that they used—these were the marks of two people that were in a relationship, at least a casual one. He pressed his ear against the door.

  “I don’t know, baby. I’m not sure Mike’s going to get on board with this one.” Mike heard a swat and then his mother giggling. “Now hand me my belt, before these pants come off again.”

  Okay. So they were definitely sleeping together.

  Questions flooded Mike’s mind. How long had this been going on? How did he not know about it? How was he going to move ahead now that he did know about it? His head was spinning.

  His first question was answered almost immediately as his mother uttered her next sentence.

  “Now, honey, don't you worry. You may think you know me pretty well, since we've been seeing each other for over ten years, and maybe you do. But one thing you might not know about me is how well I know my son, and how marvelously adept I am at getting the boy to do the right thing. By which, of course, I mean the thing which I want him to do. This little snafu with Elizabeth is a short-term problem. You can take that to the bank, darlin'.”

  Mike stepped even further back. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear anymore. But then he realized that, in the interest of practicality, he actually needed to gather as much information from this unguarded conversation as he could. After all, if there was one thing that he had already learned from it, it was that both Phil and his mother were shameless bold-faced liars. Nothing they said when he confronted them later was going to have an ounce of credibility. He needed to get as much ammunition as he could now.

  Phil's voice was the next that he heard. “This little wrinkle with Lizzie had better be just a temporary snag. I'm on the phone with her father nearly every day. Imagine how pleasant that is. The man is Michael's largest campaign contributor, and he certainly wasn't handing over all of that money because of his unbiased respect for your son's political talent. No, the man's daughter wanted to marry a politician, and so daddy bought her one. The only problem? Now said politician has decided to renege on the deal. So what if that was a deal he didn't know he was in. Do you think that makes a difference to Lizzie's father? It does not. The man has paid out millions of dollars, and he expects to get the merchandise he paid for.”

  What the fuck? Mr. Gordon had financed his campaign? Why hadn’t Lizzie said anything to him? Most likely because she was a co-conspirator in this plot.

  “Oh, Honey, I understand. Just because Michael's decided he's valuable enough to make his own decisions, doesn't mean he is. We just need to make him see it. And we will, don't you worry. We just need to strategize.”

  Wow. Thanks, Mom, Michael thought to himself.

  Mike had heard enough, he turned on his heel and padded back down the hall. His hands were shaking. It was all he could do not to burst into the office, or at least stomp down the hall. Adrenaline rushed through him, fueled by rage, and he needed to calm down or he wasn't even going to be safe behind the wheel.

  There was no way in hell that he was living with Lizzie in his life, that was number one. Honestly, after today, he wasn't even sure that he was going to keep his mother and Phil in his life. He couldn't believe that he had spent the better portion of his life surrounded by users and liars, and he hadn't even been savvy enough to realize it. And he was supposed to have an acute political mind?

  He shook his head. This kind of thinking was getting him nowhere. Self-recrimination and revenge plotting were the refuge of the weak. Mike was anything but weak. What he needed to do was figure out how to move forward, quickly and decisively.

  This is what made him a good politician. He was unemotional when he needed to be, and he had the remarkable ability to not take things personally, even things that were aimed directly at him or had to do with his life. Rather, he saw everything as part of the logistical strategy.

  If there was one thing his mother had taught him that he could use in this situation, it was to look at his life as
a chess board. He saw now that his decisions about what moves to make had been far too influenced by two people who absolutely did not have his best interests at heart. No matter what happened going forward, that was absolutely going to stop.

  The other thing that was going to change, starting tonight, was that he was going to reprioritize the things in his life, and Nikki was going right at the top of that list. He couldn't believe that, ten short minutes ago, he'd actually been headed into the office to get paperwork in preparation for situations that might have distracted him or taken him away from Nikki during the short time she was staying with him.

  What have you been thinking? Why was it so important?

  The answer hit him like a ton of bricks—because Phil told him that it was, and so did his mother. They had been the ones who had always insisted that he worked his fingers to the bone, that he never be without his phone. That he be on call 24 hours a day with no room for a personal life. Lizzie had always been fine with that, and now Mike knew why—she never loved him. She had only loved the idea of being a politician's wife.

  Well, Mike had just received a shock to his system, and he wasn't sure if it might not be the best thing that ever happened to him. From now on, no matter what happened at work—while still being important—was not going to be his entire life. Hell, he didn't even plan on letting it be the most important thing in his life.

  That spot was going to be taken by Nikki Maguire.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nikki marveled at the beauty and elegance of her surroundings. She did not think that she had ever attended an event this elegant before. After all, although she was attractive and poised, she was certainly not on what anyone would consider any kind of social register. She was, at heart, just a working class girl who was being taken out tonight, much like Cinderella, to a fabulous ball. And, the best part...her escort could definitely fit the bill of the handsome Prince.

  It was difficult, Nikki realized, to even take in all of the amazing details that decorated the beautifully appointed ballroom. They had each been lovingly attended to, and the overall effect was one of controlled opulence. Certainly, it was lux—but it was lux in a subtle way. There was nothing about the room, or the evening itself, that could in any way be described as 'common.' It was all spectacular.

  Luckily, in Karina's red Grammy dress, Nikki felt like she fit right in with the elegant surroundings—and the elegant people in attendance, for that matter. After feeling so out of her element with the people at the luncheon, Nikki had been exceedingly nervous to come here tonight and face the same crowd. However, it was amazing the difference that a fabulous wardrobe made in her level of confidence. Not only did Nikki feel like she fit in here, she knew that she did.

  Of course, another secret component of her newfound confidence was the fact that tonight, unlike at the luncheon, Mike was not going to be separated from her for the bulk of the event. Yes, she realized, at the luncheon all of her problems had started after he had walked away from her. That's when the whole thing had started to go south.

  Here, that wouldn't be an issue. Obviously, since he was a politician, he was not going to be stuck like glue to her all evening. He was going to have to work the crowd a bit and mingle. Also, she was sure that Phil would be pulling him away periodically to attend to various bits of business. Still, it wouldn't be the same situation as before, where the two of them were just completely separated through the entire event, and for that, Nikki was grateful.

  She turned her head to glance over at Mike. God, he was so handsome. He looked like a movie star, or a fairytale prince. And on his arm, she always truly felt like a princess.

  Just like at the luncheon, Mike had no qualms about introducing her to everyone they talked to—in fact, he seemed proud to introduce her. While there were people, and clearly his campaign manager Phil was among them, that would think it was inappropriate, or even scandalous, for him to get involved with a flight attendant rather than a socialite, Mike clearly did not share their views. It was obvious to Nikki that he was proud to be with her and excited to show her off to anyone and everyone that they spoke with.

  Nikki was actually really having fun, enjoying the interaction, until they came to one very important introduction—and then she froze.

  "Nikki, I'd like you to meet my parents," Mike said stiffly as they were approached by a very attractive older couple. "Mom, Dad—this is Nikki, who I was telling you about."

  Nerves fluttered in Nikki’s stomach. This was unusual for her. Generally, she had no qualms about "meeting the parents." In fact, historically, she looked forward to it. Parents loved her. She’d always considered that to be one of her secret weapons—she was the "parent whisperer."

  However, her charms seem to have absolutely no effect on Mr. and Mrs. Gowan. Neither one of them were overtly hostile, but it was exceedingly clear that neither one of them wanted to be there talking with her either. They each expressed their displeasure in distinct but unmistakable ways. Mike's father continued to talk to Mike as if Mike had not said anything about Nikki being there. He didn't spare her so much as a glance. It was as if she was the invisible woman.

  Mike's mother, on the other hand, took distinct note of her. Her eyes traveled slowly from the top of Nikki's head to the bottom of her feet and then back up again, the look on her face indicating that she had possibly smelled something vaguely objectionable. After the appraisal was over, she extended her hand limply, a stiff smile on her face, and said in a flat monotone, "Charmed."

  Nikki shook her hand warmly, determined not to let the woman's demeanor affect the way that she would act at all. However, Nikki could not help but be shaken by the cold reception that she had received from Mike's parents. That couldn't be a good sign. After all, these were his parents, for God's sake—if they absolutely hated her, how long would it be before their attitude rubbed off on Mike?

  Luckily, his parents did not hang around long and as soon as they were gone Mike turned to her with a giant grin on his face. Well, Nikki thought, at least their attitude hadn't started rubbing off yet. Like her mom always said, Thank God for small blessings.

  “So,” Mike said cheerily, as if he hadn't a care in the world, “on a scale of one to ten, how big of assholes do you think my parents are?”

  Nikki was shocked for an instant, but then almost immediately burst out laughing. Maybe her concerns were unfounded after all. It certainly didn't seem as if Mike had much regard for his parents' point of view.

  After her laughter died down, she attempted to make at least one sincere comment. “I'm sure they're just concerned for you,” she hedged.

  His jaw set in a tense line. “That's where you're wrong,” he said flatly, but did not elaborate. Nikki decided it was best not to push him on it. Whatever was on his mind about his parents, whatever the history there, he would tell her in his own good time.

  At that moment, Phil came over and ushered Mike away to go take care of business, and Nikki found herself on her own. However, she didn't feel nervous in the least. Mike had completely put her at ease. She had to give him credit. As nervous as she had started out at the beginning of the evening, there was no way that she would feel as calm and assured as she did right now, if it had not been for his influence, his actions and his demeanor making her feel as if she fully belonged there.

  A statuesque young woman sidled up to Nikki and gave her an icy smile. Oh, Lord, here we go, thought Nikki, her calm and cheerful mood of only a moment before evaporated in an instant.

  "Hello, there," the woman said smoothly. Nikki didn't think that this woman would ever have any crises of self-confidence. She was model beautiful and was the very essence of self-assurance. “I thought I should come over and introduce myself. I'm Lizzie."

  When Nikki did not respond immediately, Lizzie let the silence hang in the air. After a moment, when it was just beginning to turn truly awkward, she added, "I'm Mike's girlfriend. I thought we should meet."

  Nikki's heart dropped. So thi
s was the Lizzie that she heard so much about, and from numerous people. Nikki had no idea that the woman would be here tonight. However, far from feeling chagrined or shamed at meeting Mike's ex, she felt a competitive spark rise up in her. If Lizzie had wanted to intimidate her, she had made one critical error. She had let condescension shine through her demeanor, and if there was one thing that Nikki absolutely could not stand, it was condescension.

  "You're Mike's girlfriend?" Nikki asked, the inflection in her voice making it sound as if she was truly interested in the answer.

  "I certainly am," the woman responded without hesitation.

  "Have you checked with Mike about that lately?" Nikki shot back, making sure that her tone stayed even and displayed nothing but casual interest.

  Nikki saw something hard and cold flash in the woman's eyes, but the chuckle that she intimated held nothing but friendly camaraderie. She leaned in and whispered in Nikki's ear, her manner conspiratorial. Anyone glancing at them from around the room would think that they were merely two girlfriends sharing a juicy piece of gossip.

  "Oh, I like you," Lizzie said in a faux-friendly manner that had nothing but razor blades underneath. “You're a real spitfire. Most of the whores he brings around are so...plastic. You're gonna be fun.”

  With that, she drew back, gave Nikki a wink, and then was gone.

  Dammit, Nikki thought with frustration, what was it about standing alone at these functions? It was like the minute Mike left her side, the circling vultures decided she was fair game.

  Well, she had news for them. She may have been easily intimidated at the luncheon, but this is a brand-new ballgame, and she knew how to play hardball. They could try to intimidate her all they liked. She knew who she was, she was confident in herself and confident in Mike's feelings for her. So, the only thing that she really had to say to anyone who wanted to try to make her feel bad about either one of those things was, well—bring it on.