K. Linde - Off the Record

She was pretty sure he had knocked the breath right out of her, but she found her confidence within and answered, “Liz. Liz Dougherty.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Liz,” he said, offering her his hand.

She placed her hand in his. “Handshakes and kissin’ babies,” she muttered.

“Such is the life. Though it’s typically not this enjoyable.”

“You seemed to enjoy yourself just fine today,” she responded. “What made you decide to run?”

“Now, now, none of that,” he said. She hadn’t meant for it to come off as a reporter question, but it was her life, after all. “I didn’t buy a reporter a drink. I bought Liz Dougherty a drink. And I want to know when I can see you again.”

Everything about the situation told her not to give in. What good could come from that? She was a reporter and he was a politician she was writing a story on. They couldn’t ignore that.

But for the life of her, she couldn’t do it.

“You want to see me again?”

He dug into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and extracted a business card. He placed it in her palm, and she fingered the thick embossed paper. It was an expensive card; that much she knew.

“I’ve already said I want to see you again. If you want to see me, give me a call on that number. It’s my personal line. If you can’t reach me, call my secretary at the number below that. I’ll get in contact with you,” he said with a penetrating gaze that made her believe he would. “I wish I could stay now, but I have some business to attend to.”

She couldn’t call him. She couldn’t see him. It wasn’t right for her professionalism or for her future career in journalism.

Maybe when she was finally away from him, she wouldn’t feel as heated and desperate to be closer to him.

“Hey,” he murmured softly, brushing his fingers across her jawline, “you want to see me. I want to see you. Call me. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.”

Could he read her mind?

“I’ll think about it,” she whispered, entranced.

“I look forward to your call,” he said, releasing her chin.

Her body was already missing his touch. She hated that he left her with the option, but he had already stated what he wanted. Now it was up to her. He wanted her to come to him willingly, and she certainly was willing. He had this undeniable, uncontrollable pull on her that she had never experienced with another man. He made her want to use this card.

But she knew she never would.

Liz walked in a trance back down the flight of stairs leading out of VIP. Her hand was clutching the business card Brady had given her, between shaking fingers. All of her attitude dissolved when she left, and she was wondering what the hell had happened.

Her feet hit the bottom of the stairs, and she exited the doorway back onto the main floor. She didn’t know how long she had been gone or if anyone had noticed her absence. All she knew was that Brady Maxwell, a sitting State Senator, had said he wanted to see her again. And what had she said? I’ll think about it. Really? Was she out of her mind? The man was the most gorgeous person she had ever laid eyes on, and the physical attraction she felt in his presence was off the charts. She would have gone to the ends of the earth for him, and still somehow she had told him she would think about it.

Not that it was a good idea to see him, but now that she was away…it felt like a much worse idea not to see him.

Liz tucked the business card carefully away in the pocket of her navy blazer and walked back to the table. Her head was down as she approached, her mind lost on Brady. He was all charm, and she shouldn’t have been surprised. He was a politician, after all. She just had never expected…him…that he would throw her so off-balance.

She had a strong head on her shoulders. Her dad had always told her that. It was why she had worked so hard in high school to get a full scholarship to Chapel Hill, and why she pushed herself at the paper to become a reporter. It was the same steadfastness that made her a long-term kind of girl, and that caused her to always be the one who ended things with her various boyfriends when she felt the relationship slipping. She might stay with them longer than she should, but in the end, it was always her choice…it was always her. Yet here she was, swept away by some politician.

“Where did you run off to?” Hayden asked, jumping up from his seat as she drew near.

“Uh…I went to look for you.” She wished she had a drink or something in hand. She didn’t want to tell Hayden about meeting Brady. That would bring about a whole slew of questions she didn’t want to answer with his enticing stare still burned into her mind.

“I only left for a second,” he said a bit defensively.

Before she had met Brady, she would have taken all of this personally. After all, Hayden was the one who had run off with Calleigh, leaving her alone with people she didn’t know. But now she wasn’t focused enough to care. The card was burning a hole in her jacket.

“So did I,” she said with a shrug. “Where did Calleigh go?”

“She’s still talking to Tracey. I came back for you, but Trent said you ran off.”

“Just came to find you is all,” she told him again. “I think I’m ready to get out of here.”

Earlier she would have stayed here with him all night, but now the mixed signals from Hayden were irritating her. Was he interested in her or not? Brady had been so up-front with her. Liz knew very few people had the self-confidence to pull off that attitude, but it wasn’t like Hayden was lacking in that department. At least Brady had told her what he wanted…even if that situation had its own complications.

“Yeah, I’m ready to get back,” Hayden agreed. “We have an article to write. I feel a long night ahead of me.” He cracked that smile that she was so fond of, and she tried not to compare it to Brady’s. That comparison wasn’t even fair. “Let me just say good-bye.”

A few minutes later they were walking toward the door of the bar when Calleigh appeared out of nowhere. Her burgundy hair seemed to have gained even more volume with the pressing heat in the room, and it only made her look more beautiful. Her bangs were falling haphazardly into her eyes, and she did nothing to push them aside as she latched onto Hayden’s arm. “You guys aren’t leaving, are you?” she asked, pressing into Hayden’s side.

Liz watched Hayden disentangle himself from Calleigh’s wandering arms and take a step away from her. At least this time she could actually tell that Calleigh was drunk.

“Yeah, we’re heading out. It’s late,” Hayden told her. Liz didn’t actually know what time it was, but it felt early.

“Hayden, you should stay here with me,” she said, the coy smile wiped off her face and replaced with blatant desire. Hayden actually looked uncomfortable. Liz could live with that.

“Appreciate it, Calleigh, but we have to get back to Chapel Hill,” he said.

“Thanks for the invitation, Calleigh,” Liz said. “Really had a great time.”

Calleigh looked at her blankly before returning her gaze to Hayden. “You’re leaving with her?”

Oh, this wasn’t looking good.

“Calleigh, let’s not do this,” Hayden warned with a sigh.

“I mean, after everything, and I haven’t seen you. I just thought…” She trailed off. Calleigh actually looked affronted. She clearly hadn’t thought the night was going to end like this, and Liz could only guess why by her comments.

Liz didn’t want to think about it, but the visual kept coming back to her. Calleigh and Hayden. Hayden and Calleigh. Of course, it made sense. They were perfect for each other. She felt like a fly on the wall as they stared at each other.

“We have to go,” Hayden said finally, ending the staring match. “I don’t know what you thought you were going to accomplish tonight, but it’s not like that. You know that. You’ve known that for a long time. I don’t know how much more obvious I can be. What more do you want me to say?”

Calleigh looked at the floor, clearly hurt by his words. When she met his eyes again, hers were steely. Liz didn’t want to know what she was thinking in that moment. “Fine. It’s not like she’s even a challenge,” Calleigh said, tossing her hand in Liz’s direction and talking about her as if she weren’t standing right there.

“Calleigh,” he said in a threatening tone, “keep it together. You’re embarrassing yourself. Now, we’re going to go. Good night.”

Hayden gripped Liz’s elbow softly and tugged her away from the ticking time bomb. She got one last glance from Calleigh, and she saw only a promise in Calleigh’s eyes…a promise that Calleigh wouldn’t forget tonight.

Liz stumbled out onto the blacktop parking lot. She felt the oppressive summer heat press against her suit, and she stripped her jacket off. Her mind was buzzing with the confrontation she had witnessed. Her body was still reeling. She couldn’t believe what Calleigh had said. Liz didn’t even really know Calleigh. She certainly wasn’t a threat to her. Whatever had happened between Calleigh and Hayden was something Liz wanted to forget…and knew she never would.

She stalked across the parking lot to his car. She hadn’t even realized how furious she was until she started walking. How dared she say those things! Calleigh had power and prestige, but that did not give her the right to treat Liz like this.

“Hey,” Hayden called, jogging to catch up to her long strides, “are you all right?”

“Fine,” she muttered, walking faster.