Another great set of doors, wooden, however, and Mars knocked once before opening them both at once.
His first up close look at Lee Madison nearly took his breath away. He was as rich looking as his surroundings, books covering the wall shelves, and a window that let in the sight of yet another courtyard and the vines that covered that wing of the mansion.
Lee Madison, trimmed beard on a handsome, sculpted face, rose from his chair, behind a mahogany desk and rounded the corner to come to him. The extension of his hand nearly shocked him, he was so on edge, and he jumped a little as he shook the man’s hand. “You must be Elijah Bloom.”
“Eli, please, Senator.”
“Lee, please, Eli.”
Madison stared into his eyes, like he was attempting to read Eli’s mind. “It’s good to meet you, Eli.”
Instead of heading back behind his desk, he went to a linen-colored sofa that was under another wide window and gestured Eli to join him. “Thank you, Mars.”
“Yes, sir.”
They sat on the couch, legs crooked so they could face the other, and Eli tried to let his shoulders drop. They were so tense they were nearly to his ears.
“I need a personal assistant. I have interns, pages, all that, but someone to take care of things here and at work. It’s not an easy task, and there will be things to do that aren’t exactly what you may expect.”
“Oh, well, I’m not afraid to work hard, Sena…I mean, Lee. I worked my years at Georgetown by keeping up my grade to be granted scholarships all through. I also worked whatever jobs I could get that would allow for my school schedule.”
“That’s impressive. I don’t know if I could have done it. I like my sleep,” he mentioned, laughing. “Were you in a fraternity?”
Internally wincing, he didn’t want to answer, knowing Lee was almost guaranteed to have been. “No…no, actually, I wasn’t. Is that a problem?”
“Of course not,” he said offhandedly. “In fact, it’s a bonus. Fraternities in universities like Georgetown are filled with legacy pledges and that is all they have going for them. I can say that from experience. They already have the connections they need to get past the upper class’s hurdles in the job market.
“Men and women like you, though, don’t have those. That is what these positions are made for. I hope to introduce you to people that can help you get to where you want to go. That costs, however.”
If Eli weren’t sure he was straight, he would have thought Lee was leering at him in that moment.
There was no other noise to distract him, no smells or anything that he could think on except looking into those rather cold blue eyes of the lawmaker. “Costs? I was under the impression the position paid.”
“It does, and very well to the right person. Are you the right person, Eli?”
He felt baited, like he was being asked things not contained in the words he was hearing. Lee’s head, a little cocked to one side, didn’t move as he waited for the response.
“I hope to be, Lee. What all does the position entail?”
“Oh, making me happy. That’s the biggest thing, Eli. Keep me happy at all times, so my head is clear to…to do my many jobs.”
He wanted to ask about the many jobs, only knowing about the one, the senate, but then again, Lee likely didn’t sit in a room all day typing. He was on the floor, fighting for the bills he wanted passed and drawing up amendments to other bills. There were a hundred jobs a day for a lawmaker, at least there was in theory. Most thought none of them did much of anything.
“I…uh, I hope I can do that for you, Lee. I know that once I know your likes and dislikes, I’ll be much better. Given a list of responsibilities, things such as that.”
The leer became more prominent, and it did two things to Eli. On the one hand, it creeped him out, but on the other, the man was beautiful and offering him something amazing…
“Aren’t you going to ask about pay?”
Of course, Eli wanted to know that, but he always left that until the end of the interview, so he didn’t seem desperate. “Sure, yes, I’d need to know that.”
“Well, my staff is paid well. That is to one, keep them loyal, and two, keep them loyal. You’ll be compensated twelve thousand a month, plus benefits and bonuses for, well, doing a good job.”
He licked his lips after saying the last, and again, chills ran up Eli’s spine at the perfectly predatory aura around the guy. The money had him choking, but he didn’t show it, hopefully, more than swallowing theare you fucking kidding me, that begged to fly from his lips.
“That’s, uh, great. That’s great.”
“I’ll have a background check done on you. I can’t have people living in my home that are dangerous or thieving.”