Pasha does none of those things.I’m forced to swallow back a moan when his fingertips press against the fabric of my panties over my mound. So slow, and yet so firm. Like he’s letting me know that this is definitely happening, and I need to relax and let it.I take a deep breath. Hide my gasp of pleasure as a happy sigh. Steal a glance at him.He’s “focused” on the emcee like everything is perfectly normal.I want to slap him.I should slap his hand away for being so publicly indecent. But aside from the fact that no one can actually tell he’s now inching aside my underwear, I’m kinda enjoying this.I’m kinda loving this.Pasha presses his free hand to my side for a brief moment. He adjusts himself on the chair and settles back in without more than a contented sigh.Under the skirts, though?My ass is resting squarely on his very, very sizable bulge.The host speaker announces something I don’t quite catch; whatever it is, it has the room applauding with a few half-hearted cheers. Th
Ugh. Champagne. How I miss thee.“Well, well, well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”I hide my sigh as best as I can. Here we go. But when I turn to shoo off the sleazeball sidling up to me, I pause.He looks familiar. I think I’ve seen him in the newspapers, sure.No… he looks really familiar.How do I know him?“I never knew Pasha was into pregnant whores. But hey, who am I to judge?” He downs what’s left in his martini glass. “The man’s like a fucking STD. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to get rid of him. But I guess I can’t complain about tonight.” He slides his gaze over my body. “He brought you.”There are a thousand things I want to say to this asshole. A hundred more things I want to do, several of which involve stabbing the stem of my water glass into his jowl.“How much are you charging?” The man snatches another cocktail from a passing server and knocks half of it back in one gulp. “Whatever that asshole is paying you, I can double it.”I take another sip of my wa
DAPHNEI’m in nothing but my bra and panties when Pasha waltzes into the bedroom an hour later.“Excuse you!” I gasp, automatically trying to cover myself.He sighs at me. “Did you just forget all about the baby growing inside you? The one I put there?”“There’s still a door to knock on!”“That would ruin the surprise.” He sets the box he’s holding on the bed and pulls the lid off. “See? Surprise.”My eyes feel like they’re about to pop out of my head. “Surprise” is one way to word it.Stunning is another.Pasha lifts the gown by the beaded shoulder straps and draws it out of the box. The straps and bust are completely beaded over a backdrop of taupe satin, a deep V-neck that ends at an empire waist. The rest of the gown is a cloud of chiffon silk. Beneath the dress, still in the box, is a pair of matching beaded flats.With memory foam padding for my aching feet.Bless this man.“Here,” Pasha says, holding the dress low for me to step into.“I can manage myself, you know. Been gettin
Makari may have been right. It might be time to fire her.On the other hand, I need to keep all my enemies close at hand. Even the potential ones.Especially the potential ones.I’m greeted with Daphne’s smiling face the second I walk through the door. “How was your day?” she asks cheerfully.It’s not her fault that that question irks me. Shit, it’s not even my fault. I’m just irritated with the rest of the world for being so fucking difficult. “It was a day.”“Ah.” Her smile fades a bit, which I despise in its own right. “I was wondering, whenever you’re settled in… could we talk?”“I’d rather not.” The words fly out in the worst way before I can stop myself. “Not in the mood. Too annoyed with people. Things. The universe.”Her smile is completely gone. So is the cheerful light that was in her eyes only seconds ago.Good job, asshole.“It’s… it’s fine. No biggie.” Daphne waves it off and turns to leave the room.Why does it feel like she’s waving me off, too?I flop down on the couch
PASHAIntel updates this morning did not bring me good news.What they did bring me is straight to Brennan’s office.More specifically, to his assistant’s desk, where the events calendar is open on the computer.“Um, can I help you?” Fitz glares at me from across the room, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand. He closes the distance with impressive speed, shouldering me away from his abandoned post. “Do you have an appointment?”“That’s what I was trying to figure out.”Brennan’s assistant sniffs derisively. He knows as well as I do that my name is nowhere to be found on the senator’s calendar. “I’m sorry; you’ll just have to wait for Senator Brennan to contact you.”“Or…” I pull a hundred-dollar bill from my pocket and slide it across the desk. “You can help me find him.”Fitz looks at the money, then back to me. “As I said, you need to wait for the senator to reach out to you.”I’m partially irritated, partially impressed. This might be an expensive bribe, and that’s saying somethin
DAPHNEAll in all, it’s a pretty wonderful day.Until I start sorting through the mail that arrived at my office late in the afternoon and see a letter addressed to “Daphne Hamish.”My stomach drops.I recognize that handwriting.Mom even wrote my name large enough that it takes up half the envelope. As if I need a giant sign to remind me of my birth name.As if I could ever forget.Can’t they just let this go? What is so hard about cutting their losses? I don’t realize I’m this close to bursting into tears until Melanie answers her phone.“Hey, Daph! What’s up?”Shit. I’m crying. There’s no “close to”; I’m legit sobbing.“Daph…? You okay?”“Why won’t they leave me alone?” I slap the table with the unopened letter. “Why is this so… so… so fucking hard for them to just leave me the hell alone?”Honestly, that question applies to so many more people than just my parents. Conrad, Brittany, The Tweedles… why can’t they just take the very obvious hint and leave me alone?Mel’s voice drops