Page 37 of Hurry Up And Wait
Edward stared down at it in disbelief. “You have your suit in there?”
“Why? Is that a bad thing?” I asked as if I was stupid.
My father knew better and stepped toward the man, wrapping his arm around Edward’s back. “My son is a bit of a jokester. I’m sure he already has his suit at the hotel or the dry cleaners.”
In truth, I didn’t. I was planning on getting one while I was here. I planned on leaving a set of clothes in the city so I didn’t have to keep going back and forth with a wardrobe I would never wear anywhere else. After all, the senator went to all the trouble of getting an apartment for me while I was here. I might as well take advantage of it.
“We need to discuss a few things before we proceed,” Edward said, sending the senator a knowing look.
“Of course. Bradford, please sit down.”
I internally cringed at the name. No one called me that anymore. I even considered having my name changed just so I didn’t sound like a pretentious prick. I sat at the long glass table Edward motioned to, averting my attention to the file he placed in front of me.
“This is a dossier on you. Read it and memorize it.”
I snorted, flipping the folder open. “I’m confused. You want me to memorize details of my own life?”
“There were a few…tweaks that needed to be made,” Edward continued. “Some things about you are less savory than others. It’s important we paint you in the best light possible for the purposes of the campaign.”
This was gonna be great. I started reading, finding the retelling of my life rather humorous until I got to the part about working for OPS.
“No, we’re not bringing OPS into this.”
Edward shot a careful look at the senator. “It’s one of your more fortunate attributes. We can’t possibly leave out your work with?—”
“No,” I said firmly, leaving no room for negotiation. “I don’t care what you want to make up about me. OPS stays out of this. The moment you start touting their name, the whole goddamn state is going to turn their attention to the company.”
“You don’t want more business?” Edward asked sarcastically.
“The company is very private. There’s a reason you won’t find us in an online search. It’s imperative that everything about the company stays as quiet as possible. Not to mention that if you bring OPS into things, your competition would dig into our most recent exploits, which would lead to some very uncomfortable questions about who exactly is involved with The Syndicate. I’m not sure you’re ready to answer that yet, are you, Senator?”
My father’s eyes met mine in challenge. I knew he was fucking hiding something from me, but until I knew what, I had to play things carefully. I couldn’t risk showing my hand to the public before I was certain how everything would unfold.
“For now, we’ll just say he’s been working in private security,” the senator replied.
It was clear Edward didn’t like the senator’s decision, but he went along with it for the sake of the campaign.
“Next, we need you to meet with your fiancée?—”
I snorted out a laugh, interrupting the chief of staff’s words. “My what?”
“To clean up your image.”
I shot a glare at the senator. “I had no idea my reputation was so tarnished.”
“It’s not,” the senator cut in. “This is simply to make you more appealing. Having a beautiful woman on your arm will only draw inmore female voters. And our most recent polls show that fifty-four percent of women are more likely to vote for a candidate who’s married than a single candidate.”
“I’m not the one who’s running.”
“No, but you are just as important.”
“What about male voters?” I questioned.
“The statistics on that aren’t as favorable. It seems only thirty-nine percent of male voters see a fiancée or wife as an advantage.”
I grinned at him. “Do you want to know why? Because men aren’t stupid. They know that all this is the dog and pony show. Whoever you put on my arm will be a trained puppet who’s only doing her job.”
“I wouldn’t phrase things like that,” Edward said carefully.