A Political Affair by Mary Whitney Read Free Book Online Page A

I’ll set it up with my assistant. If I’m not flying home, Thursday evenings are good for me.”
    “Okay, I’ll tell the other interns.”
    He was pleased his plan might work. “Well, if you’ll excuse me,” he announced, standing up from his chair. “I have to go call an irate mayor now. Thanks for everything, Anne.”
    “No problem.” She chuckled. “I guess I should call my dad.”
    “Will that be bad?”
    “Nah. He’ll be more annoyed than anything,” she admitted. “Frankly, he doesn’t really like Langford.”
    “Funny. I don’t either.” His blue eyes shone as he smirked, and she laughed with him.  
    “Have a good day,” she said as she rose from her seat. “I’ll see you in study hall.”
    “Absolutely. I’m looking forward to it,” he replied, and grinned as she walked out the door.  

    Later in the day, Stephen told Megan only the bare facts about his plan to tutor the interns on the LSAT.  
    She closed her eyes and shook her head. “You’ve got to be kidding me?”
    “Nope.”
    “Well, I guess there’s nothing wrong with it. It is for a group. And frankly, after the last few weeks, your whole staff could use some more kindness and conversation from you.”
    Stephen had to agree. He knew he’d been a jerk to his staff. They were all dedicated and hard workers who deserved better. “You’re right.” He decided to press her further. “But what if I wanted to spend some time with one person going over things a little more?”
    “Pfft. You’re relentless.” Megan snickered. “I’d say the door needs to be wide open at all times, and the rest of your staff needs similar access to you.”
    He frowned in silence. It wasn’t very appealing.  
    “It’s hard seeing you so unhappy,” she said with a sigh. “You like her, don’t you?”
    Her eyes held such sympathy he looked down and shrugged. After a moment, he mumbled, “It doesn’t matter.”  
    “I want to help, Stephen, but I’ve got to walk a line here,” she said as she crossed her arms. “Maybe you could talk privately if someone else was nearby . . . Patty or Greg or me, for example. It might be okay.”
    “I like that idea . . . a lot . . . with the exception of Patty.” He grinned.
    “Well, you know I’m going to tell Patty.”
    “Okay,” he grumbled.  
    “And I hate reminding you, but no intimate talks with whoever it is you plan on talking to.” She smirked for a second, but her voice became serious. “And no physical contact.”
    “Thanks for bringing me down to Earth,” he muttered. After a moment, he looked up with a change of heart and smiled. “But thanks for helping me out, also. I’ll let you know when I need you.”

Chapter 5

    When Anne arrived home that evening, she called her father to tell him about her run-in with Langford.  
        “Anne,” Elton responded in his booming voice. “Didn’t I tell you that you’d get a lot of questions if you worked for McEvoy?”
    “I know, and they’ve been easy to handle up ’til now.” She frowned and nestled into the pillows on her bed. “I just never expected to talk to Langford.”
    “Well, politics is a small world.”
    “He said he was going to have a word with you.”
    “Why? He’s going to call me because my daughter is interning for a Democrat?”
    “That and—”
    “He needs to be worrying about his poll numbers, not you.”
    “That’s true.” She laughed at her father’s keen ability to prioritize life’s problems.  
    “He can go right ahead and call. I’ll defend my daughter’s right to make her own decisions. How else are you going to grow up if your mother and I hover over you?”
    “Well, Mark and I appreciate you for it,” she said, referring to her brother, who’d also benefited from their parents’ long leash. “But aren’t you worried you may hear about it from other people in the party?”
    “No. I’ve been in office for twenty years. What are they going to do? Give me a primary