Chapter 5

Politics’ Dirty Games: The President

ADRIANNA WALES’ FLASHBACK

“Was he handsome then? Pretty? Is he a kind of a soft boy? Rough? Daddy? Come on! Stop making me think too much, Wales! It’s Leondelle’s duty to think this much!”

I cannot help but to laugh at Celestine and her continuous bombing of questions. I should be doing all the story-telling now, but she bombarded me with these questions like what I and Veronah expected to happen. We just got back and, of course, after knowing that I met someone, Celestine is the happiest—in fact, she is the most excited when it comes to our love affairs.

Celestine is our self-appointed fairy grandmother—yes, grandmother and not godmother—explaining why she is the most excited with our relationships. She wants to make sure that she can do whatever she can to help make things perfect for us. With all her riches, she can definitely do that and more. She is our real-life fairy godmother just like in the fairytales, but she insists that her label grandmother. She said it is her early practice.

Rozaine and Leondelle are curious about this new man that I had, too, and I am not really surprised. Among us five, I am the only one who is really into relationships and flings. I do not even have an active sex life until recently.

I told them everything about the amazing man that I met, minus the detailed sex part. I told them that it was just fine where and well we all know that that is my understatement of the year.

“You didn’t get anything else but his first name? And you what?! You literally left without saying goodbye?!”

All of us are laughing now with Celestine’s rage rant. Rozaine made sure to calm her down by massaging her weak spot in the shoulders. Now they are lost in their quiet little rant-massage world.

Leondelle chuckles and nudges my arm since we are sitting together. “But seriously, Wales, Morden is right. Statistically speaking, we would be looking at hundreds of thousands of Matts all-over the world. We are not even sure if his Matt is short for Matthew or something. So, we are looking at about millions of Matthews. As in you didn’t anything else besides ‘Matt’?”

Veronah is the one who answers, grinning as if saying ‘been there, done that’. “Get this, she even came back to our apartment almost half-naked because she almost forgot that it was our flight back home. She was not wearing anything but his boxers and shirt!”

I laughed out loud remembering that, and that was just two days ago! “That’s why I couldn’t say goodbye!”

We let go of the subject because I really could not provide them anything else. If it was not for Veronah, I am sure these women would have not even believed me that my sex adventure did happen. Veronah is like my witness despite not having anything more for them.

Soon later, we were talking about more business matters.

I should be concentrating; but now that we have talked about it, my own disappointment for not getting anything from Matt is sinking in. I just met an amazing man that compliments every bit of my personality and body; and the possibility of never meeting him again is very high that it hurts—such a pity.

I might never meet him again, but I guess I am just glad to meet him at all.

◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎

Just a year before the presidential election, my father died before his campaign even started. Yes, he was planning on running for the position of the president, despite his own advisers’ recommendations and suggestions. He died of a heart attack, but his case should not be considered death by natural cause—he was murdered.

The day he was going to announce that he would run for president, his very trusted political comrade Mason Zamora dropped the bomb on his face—my very own almost non-existent mother is having an affair with him.

Attending his funeral like this does not even make me sad anymore—it makes me furious.

I made sure that my mother would not set a foot in this area ever in her life and I made sure to throw everything she owns in the dumpster. She can pick them up or whatever, but she will never ever enter any of my, or any of my father’s, properties.

That was also the day that we realized that we better do our plans sooner or later—in fact, this is very perfect timing that we have. Leondelle is positive that we will do good. Celestine and Veronah are on board. Rozaine already volunteered to throw herself on the wolves.

Our plan is perfect and I took my mourning for my loss into my motivation to do even better.

Everything is going well, but it was not just enough.

Until I get the offer I can never refuse.

◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎

Ever since we came back and had the talk about the man I met, I would usually play the what ifs in my head. What if I got his full name, what if I asked what he does or where he works, what if I took it upon me to know him more before proceeding to our… affair. Those what ifs boiled down to my manifestation of meeting him again and I did not know it would work.

But this is not exactly what I signed up for when I kept asking the universe if we can meet up again.

“Your Matt is Matt Zamora?! The son of Senator Mason Zamora?! Literally the man we all despise?!” Celestine almost flipped the table. “What in the fucking small world is this?!”

“Should we just kill him? I can do it,” Veronah volunteers.

Rozaine just gives a thumbs up at Veronah’s suggestion.

Leondelle, on the other hand, slams the table Celestine is so close to flipping over. “Calm down, women! Calm down before I make you all recite your law nightmares!” She breathes deeply and lets it out to calm down. “You have to remember that we are in this field where no goody-two-shoes wins anything. It’s all about blood and all the dirty games we have to play right if we want our plans to even move forward. Adrianna just happened to receive an offer that we will make us all win and we don’t fucking care anymore if it is from Matt Zamora or not!”

She already called me in my first name—we are not, in a way, kidding anymore.

I sighed and before I could even break the silence that just happened right after Leondelle’s speech; Rozaine—our woman barely speaks—takes it upon herself to do it… by popping a wine bottle.

“It’s my call to have a celebration now because I will not be the one who snitches on Senator Zamora. I mean, I still will do it because it’s my duty after all, but his own son is willing to do it too. We better celebrate because Leondelle is right. This is a win for all of us.”

 A win for all of us…

I know that this is the gamble that I am willing to take—even if it means betting my own heart.

“I’ll do it. I’ll talk to Matt and accept whatever his offer as long it will be beneficial for us.”