Happenstance(34)

Funny, that’s exactly who I am. These days, anyway. Not always.

I wasn’t always like this.

Two voices reach me through the bathroom door and my chin snaps up, sending my troubling thoughts scattering like picnic goers in a rainstorm. I know those voices. Recognize them well. One of them belongs to Deputy Mayor Alexander. The other is Jameson Crouch. Gabe’s boss, to be specific. Of course, they’re both at this party, but meeting alone on a separate floor at the end of a dark hallway? To say people would find it suspicious is an understatement.

I’m here tonight for Gabe. Despite the reminder, though, I can’t deny the urge to follow those voices. It’s not technically safe. Karina wouldn’t like it, to say nothing of the men downstairs who already seem so protective of me. But I don’t owe anyone a single explanation about who I am or what motivates me, right? Not to Gabe, not Banks and certainly not Tobias. With that reassurance ringing in my head, I creep out of the bathroom and follow the voices.

“What are you doing?” I whisper to myself. “Something bad. This is bad.”

I swore to Karina I would drop this story. But not following these men would be neglectful. They’ve practically fallen into my lap, right? I was just minding my own business, then bam. Potential headline news walks by. Creeping on the balls of my feet to the end of the deserted corridor, I stop just before the turn and listen.

“Let’s make this quick before we’re missed,” Deputy Mayor Alexander clips. “Being caught gossiping like schoolgirls near the bathrooms would raise some eyebrows.”

“Jesus Christ,” drawls the union boss. “You’re in a fucking mood.”

“What did you not understand about ‘make this quick’?”

“Hey.” The union boss takes on a much sharper tone. “I’m suffering through this phony truce between me and the mayor to make sure he doesn’t suspect anything. I’m your ticket to becoming the mayor of this godforsaken city, in case you forgot.”

“I didn’t. That’s why I’m here,” growls Alexander. “You really want to do this? So far, you’ve been accepting the information I give you to take potshots at the mayor. But leaking documents and private correspondence to the press is a whole other animal.”

“We have no choice but to take this to the next level—they poked fun at the feud on frickin’ Saturday Night Live last week. No one is taking the debate seriously anymore. Now the mayor invites my union to this gala as some kind of peace offering? I’ll let him think I accept, but he’s dead wrong if he thinks I’m going to forget the way he’s shuffled aside the union too many times. You’re going to get in that office and change how things are done. In our favor.”

“All right. I hear you.” There’s a sound of metal slapping down on a palm and I hold my breath, listening. “These are emails the mayor sent me prior to the governor’s visit last month. He calls the governor a scheming reptile, among other select names. Not to mention what he says about his wife—those are going to be the nail in the coffin. The first family of New York is popular as hell in this town. Floating these emails out for public consumption isn’t going to help the mayor come election time. Once the writing is on the wall, that’s when I’ll reluctantly announce my intention to run.”

“A scheming reptile, huh?” mutters the union boss. “Takes one to know one, I guess.”

“We’re all scheming in our own ways. Some of us are just better at not getting caught.”

A few women step off the elevator behind me, their voices carrying down the corridor. Thinking on my feet, I press my phone to my ear, nodding at a pretend caller on the other side, dropping the device as soon as the women disappear into the bathroom. But it gives me an idea. A bad one. Another bad one. But the information being handed to me on a silver platter is too valuable to pass up. Before I can talk myself out of it, I open my camera app and make sure the flash is off. Listening to make sure the union boss and deputy mayor are still engaged in their hushed conversation, I sneak the very edge of my phone past the edge of the wall and snap a photograph, my heart slamming loudly against my eardrums.

No break in their conversation. I got away with it.

Just as fast, I turn on a heel and speed walk for the elevator, exhaling a sigh of relief when the metal door slides open immediately. I get inside, staring at my reflection is disbelief. “That was a stupid risk,” I whisper. “That was so utterly stupid and pointless, because you can’t show it to Karina. You’re going to get fired.”

I’m unsettled. Angry at myself for being so impulsive. Normally I would retreat into myself. Handle these feelings on my own. But when the elevator doors open to the party once more, I find myself eager to be around Gabe, Tobias and Banks. I find myself craving their company. Craving the distraction and maybe even the comfort they’ll provide.

And when I step off the elevator into the cool, dark purple atmosphere of the party and I’m pinned by three sets of eyes, it’s obvious they’re more than willing to provide those things.





Chapter Ten





Tobias and Banks are still in their positions at the bar, visibly relaxing once I’m back. Gabe has joined a conversation with a few men who are definitely part of the construction crew. They’ve already removed their tuxedo jackets and rolled up their sleeves. The conversation appears easy-going, none of the ridicule Gabe expected. Thank God.