Off the Record (Record #1)(81)

Liz turned away before he could and walked through the double doors and into the fresh evening air. She turned the corner and stared at the line of cars and limos that stretched around the circular drive. Unless his driver happened to recognize her, she wasn’t going to be able to locate Brady’s car without a valet.

She looked around and found the valet station, but it was currently unoccupied. They must have been out collecting a car for someone else.

She craned her neck when she heard voices off to the left, hoping it was the valet, but saw someone talking on their cell phone. The person turned and Liz saw that it was Clay. He nodded his head at her and beckoned her over.

Liz scrunched up her eyebrows and stood her ground. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Brady right now.

“Let me give you a call back,” she heard Clay say before hanging up his phone and sliding it back into his pocket. “Hey, you’re not leaving, are you?”

Clay walked back across the sidewalk to stand in front of her. Fuck! She couldn’t take Brady’s car if Clay was standing here.

“Yeah, I think I’m going to call it a night,” she told him.

“Where’s Chris?” he asked, looking around. “Is he getting his car?”

“Nah, I think I’m going to head home alone.” She sure hoped he didn’t try to read more into that. Chris was technically her date, and now it probably looked bad that she was leaving without him.

“Huh,” he said, seeming to mull that over. “Well, do you need a lift?”

“You would miss your own brother’s party?”

“Hey, it’s not like it’s my party,” he said with that cute dimpled smile.

“You really don’t support him, do you?” she couldn’t help asking.

“Why do you care if this guy wins an election?” Clay asked. “I mean, why do you think he’s running anyway? In a few years, he’s not going to remember anyone in this room who isn’t paying him in the upper hundred thousands. Unless you have a trust fund somewhere lying around, which, forgive me if you do, he’s not going to remember you either. The man has a plan, and he won’t stop for anyone to get there.”

“What? Did he step on your toes to get where he is now?” she demanded. This was not a conversation she wanted to have with him after the one she’d had with Brady in the bathroom.

Clay chuckled and shook his head. “Just wait. You’ll see. The toes will be the least of everyone’s concerns. You don’t know him well enough to understand.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” she huffed.

“Because I want to take you home,” he told her. “Why don’t you let me?”

“I’m just curious,” Liz said, holding her hand up. “Does this line actually work on women?”

Clay laughed out loud. “Actually, yes. It does.”

“Uh-huh…well, maybe you should try some new material.”

“Apparently, but that doesn’t change the fact that I want to take you home. Nor does it change anything I said about my brother,” he said.

Liz smiled slightly. He didn’t get it. He didn’t get what Brady got about the world. Clay had it written all over him how jaded he was. From the way his hand rested in his pocket, the cockiness in his smile, and the glint in his eyes. She just wanted to…fix him.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to have to pass. And about your brother, maybe you’re not wrong about him. But next time he gives a speech you should listen to what he says and how he says it. You might be surprised.”

“I’ll do that…just for you,” he said with a devious smirk that said he certainly wouldn’t.

“Ms. Carmichael?” a voice called behind her.

Shit!

“Yes?” she asked, turning to face him.

“Your car is on its way,” the valet said.

She hadn’t even gone up to ask the valet for the car. Was this Brady’s doing?

“That’s me,” she said to Clay. “Have a nice night.”

“At least let me get your number,” he volleyed.

“And what are you going to do with it? Don’t you go to Yale?” Liz asked.

“So?” he said with a shrug before pushing his phone into her hands.

Liz rolled her eyes. “I only want to hear from you if you change your mind about your brother,” she told him. She typed her number into his phone.

He took the phone back and nodded. “Sounds like a deal. I think I’ll find some compassion tonight,” he said with a wink before walking away.

Liz blew out softly as he departed. She knew that if she hadn’t done that then she never would have gotten away without him seeing that she was getting into Brady’s car.

Damn! Why hadn’t she thought of using a fake number? Whatever. It wasn’t as if she would ever respond to his messages.

Brady’s driver, Greg, pulled up in front of the valet station a second later. The valet opened the door for her and she slid into the backseat. Greg stared back at her through the rearview mirror with a smile. “Pleasure to have you back, Ms. Carmichael.”

Greg rolled up slowly in front of a brick two-story house in the very back of a gated neighborhood in a Raleigh suburb. It was dark outside, but the front porch light was on, allowing Liz a better view. The house was traditional-looking, with bay windows in the front and a large porch with a porch swing. She knew that Brady had neighbors on either side of his house, but the generous portion of land, curve of the cul-de-sac, and abundance of tall pines obscured the view of any of the surrounding lots.