“Hey, Mom,” I told her when her video popped up on my screen.
A tender smile illuminated her face. “Hello, sweetie. I’m so happy to see you.”
I smiled back at her. “You sound like you haven’t seen me since last year.”
“Oh, you know how mothers are. Consider yourself lucky that I don’t call you once in every hour and demand to know your whereabouts.” She rolled her eyes. “I heard one of our neighbors does that to her son every day.”
“Mrs. Wilson, I guess?”
“That’s right. Poor boy can’t escape her, because that woman has her claws deep in him.”
That “poor” boy, as she called him, was also a junky teenager who had a criminal record, but his mother’s behavior could explain some of his misdeeds.
“So how was your first day at your new job?”
Almost instantly, the images from that closet appeared before my eyes, and I was sure my cheeks had gone red.
“It was… It was pretty interesting. It was busy and my colleagues are nice.”
“And your boss? Does he treat you well?”
“Yeah. He’s cool.”
“Good. I’m relieved to hear that. I know how fussy those politicians can be, so I’m glad your boss is not one of them. I remember Carter’s first job on the Hill, that man was a menace.”
“He isn’t fussy at all. He was kind to me the whole day.”
“And is there any love interest?” She wiggled her eyebrows. As if following a command, my cheeks reddened again. I pushed the strands of my hair to the front so that I could hide my face with them. I was acting like a teenager. Ridiculous. “You haven’t said anything to me for a while, and I was beginning to wonder if there is anyone—”
“No, there isn’t anyone,” I interrupted her, my words sounding unconvincing even to my own ears.
“Are you sure?”
I remembered how close I felt to Merritt as he held me in his arms in that closet and shuddered. I had no idea what made me unable to get him out of my head, but it had to end right now. I had to focus on my job and forget about Merritt.
“One hundred percent,” I answered, determined to keep my distance from him the next time I saw him.
I continued to do menial work for the next several days, but I was actually enjoying it. I was getting closer to the people I worked with and even the Congressman commended me for my efficiency. I was sure that if things continued this way, he would entrust me with more serious tasks any day now.
I didn’t see Merritt again, but that was probably a good thing. I didn’t have to busy myself with thinking about the ways to avoid him. The second day of work, I was anxious, waiting for him to appear from any corner, but by the fourth day, I was finally able to relax and keep him out of my mind long enough to get my job done.
I intended to keep everything that had happened between us under wraps. Luckily, no one had found out about the moment we shared in the closet.
I knew that there could be something there and was super attracted to him, but I didn’t know how to make my feelings and my new work life work together. I had a hunch things could get pretty complicated if we acted on emotions and kept seeing each other, not that I wanted it at this point.
It was for the best that we didn’t see each other again. Besides, he was probably only temporarily interested in me and would get bored with me eventually. I didn’t want to risk my career for someone like him. Yes, the sex was amazing, but I shouldn’t forget he was a playboy, even though he said those words in the closet.
Men like Merritt didn’t love. They never meant anything serious, acting on their impulses with no worries about the consequences. I couldn’t afford that luxury of screwing around with no care. I liked my job and I wanted to keep it.
The next time I saw him, I would tell him straight off there would be no more sneaking around with him. Whatever we’d had was over.
9
Merritt
The days had passed by in a blur, one meeting morphing into another, along with a couple of interviews I had to give to media outlets. I could hardly get enough sleep, surviving on coffee and microwaved food mostly.
I was attending another boring meeting talking about donors and how to continue to move forward with my career, and I had a hard time paying attention to what others had been saying. The congressional elections were coming up in less than a year, so I had to decide whether I would run for reelection or else.