Her Man in Manhattan by Trish Wylie Read Free Book Online

she was determined to fight for her rights.
    ‘Good morning, Miranda.’
    ‘Good morning, Grace.’ She saw the surprise in the older woman’s eyes when she appeared outside her father’s office. ‘Is the mayor in?’
    ‘He’s having breakfast with the chief of police.’
    ‘Where is my mother?’
    ‘I believe she’s still in the morning room.’
    When she turned on her heel Grace grabbed her file, rounded her desk and rushed down the hall after her. ‘You have a nine a.m. appointment in Brooklyn at—’
    ‘Not now, Grace.’ It was rude and she was sorry for that but they both knew the morning briefing was more habit than necessity. Miranda knew where she was going days in advance—weeks for the functions that required more forwards planning. If she didn’t how was she supposed to know what to wear or find time to research things she knew nothing about so she could hold a conversation?
    Two sets of eyes looked across the morning room as she entered without knocking. ‘Could you give us a moment, please, Roger?’ Once the door shut behind him Miranda took a deep breath. ‘I won’t be held prisoner in this house.’
    ‘Sit down, darling.’
    ‘I don’t want to sit down,’ she said without moving. ‘What I want is to be treated like an adult.’
    ‘Start behaving like one and you will,’ her mother replied with the infinite patience that drove her daughter insane when she was upset about something. ‘Now take a seat and tell me what’s wrong.’
    ‘You knew, didn’t you?’
    ‘Knew what?’
    ‘About the changes to my security detail.’
    ‘It’s hardly the first change of personnel since we took up residence.’ Her mother raised a brow. ‘Don’t you think you’re overreacting a little?’
    ‘When they were brought in specifically to keep me out of trouble in case I prove an embarrassment to you during the campaign?’
    ‘Well, obviously we would prefer to avoid any negative publicity this close to—’
    ‘I’m more than aware of the responsibilities forced on me since my teens, Mother. I don’t need a reminder.’
    ‘Yet your father and I are being given increasingly regular reports of your acts of rebellion.’ She gracefully folded her hands together on her lap. ‘We were elected to set an example. People expect more of this family. That’s the life we live.’
    ‘ We weren’t elected,’ Miranda reminded her. ‘ Dad was. I didn’t choose to run for office and I wasn’t elected to the position of your daughter. Doesn’t the fact I’ve lived someone else’s life for half of mine count for anything?’
    ‘Like it or not, you’re still the mayor’s daughter. This is his last term in office and—’
    ‘ If he’s elected or are we taking that for granted? Throwing pots of money at the campaign isn’t an automatic guarantee of success.’
    ‘We’re a family, Miranda. We stick together through everything. Once the election is over—’
    A small burst of sarcastic laughter left her lips. ‘I’m supposed to do what—wait until he decides whether he wants to confirm the rumours and run for Governor? Why stop there—what about the White House?’
    ‘That’s your father’s decision.’
    ‘And how I choose to live my life is mine. If you want me to act like a grown-up you have to allow me to be one. How am I supposed to learn from my mistakes if I’m not permitted to make any?’
    ‘Your argument might carry more weight if there was any evidence to support it,’ her mother replied. ‘We gave you more freedom at NYU and you repaid our trust by having your picture splashed across several tabloids.’
    Miranda’s frustration grew. ‘I love dancing and got drunk when I turned twenty-one—how does that make me worse than any other college student in America? I could have been running around in a wet T-shirt during spring break or got arrested at student protests. I could have experimented with drugs or slept with guys who were happy to make a buck selling all the