“Aubrey was a wonderful girl.” Gary turned toward June. “Just like this one.”
* * *
Monday, on his way to meet Eve at Spill the Beans, a family-owned coffee shop wedged in between a dry cleaner and an antique store, Anson swung by his campaign headquarters to talk to Jerome.
The fact that Eve had canceled their tentative plans for yesterday troubled him. Since she’d returned to Denver after graduation, they’d been building on a relationship that had begun to blossom last year when he’d been in San Francisco and had made a side trip to Berkeley. They’d met for dinner and had talked for hours.
Listening to her discuss her business plan and the strides she’d made on her social media platforms had blown him away. It was over that dinner of pad Thai and green papaya salad that Anson had realized he no longer saw Eve as Cameron’s younger sister, but as an intelligent, interesting woman in her own right.
As they’d continued to FaceTime and meet in person whenever he was in San Francisco or she was back in Denver, his feelings for her had only grown. Anson had come to truly know her, to see the woman behind the sophisticated facade she presented to the world.
If she’d canceled their plans yesterday because she’d had work to do, that was cool. But he wasn’t sure that had been the reason. On Saturday, as the evening had drawn to a close, he’d sensed something was off with her.
Which was why, despite a packed day, he’d dropped everything when she’d asked if he could meet her for coffee at eleven. He hoped she was ready to tell him what was bothering her so they could deal with it together.
He and his campaign manager had been playing phone tag all morning. Jerome insisted talking was more secure than texting, because phones could be hacked and texts leaked. Maybe Cameron was right, Anson thought. Maybe Jerome was paranoid. Tired of trying to catch him on the phone, Anson had decided to swing by for a quick conversation.
“I’ll get back to you on that.” Jerome clicked off the call, pushed back from his desk and stood. “I didn’t realize you were stopping by.”
“I’m on my way to meet Eve, and your messages made it sound urgent that we speak.” Anson waved away Jerome’s gesture for him to sit. “What’s up?”
Jerome’s smile faded, and his gaze turned watchful. “She told you what I said.”
“Who?”
“Eve.”
Everything in Anson went cold. “What did you say to her, Jerome?”
Jerome hesitated for only second, which was long enough for Anson to know that whatever it had been, he wasn’t going to like it.
“We simply had a frank talk.” Jerome waved a dismissive hand. “Long overdue.”
“About?”
“About you and her. About your political future.”
With great effort, Anson kept his tone easy. “Go on.”
“I told her that while the two of you have an abundance of star power, I’m not sure she’s an asset to your campaign. I think we can agree that she’s, well, too young and frivolous.” Jerome continued, apparently not noticing Anson’s tightened jaw. “It would be one thing if you were with Nyla, the respectable daughter of a prominent family, but Eve is a child. She’s a sweet kid, but she’s all about lipstick and selfies. You need to be with a serious woman, Anson, not just another pretty socialite.”
Anson counted to ten. He had to count a second time before he felt back in control.
“You don’t know have a clue what you’re talking about. Frivolous?” Anson’s chuckle held an edge that Jerome would have had to be hearing impaired not to hear. “Eve wrote up a business plan for her cosmetics company while she was still in college. Her father was against her going out on her own until he saw her plan. Let me tell you, impressing Ross Driskill isn’t easy. I know most people think her father is funding this venture, but she’s using her own money and has a plan for taking it public in five years.”
“Most people don’t know that and will only see—”
“If they don’t see that Eve is serious and online-savvy and an excellent marketer, that’s their problem. Not mine. Certainly not yours.” Anson gave Jerome a hard stare. “You handle my campaign, not my personal life. You try to get between me and Eve again, and you’ll be gone.”
When his campaign manager said nothing, Anson pinned him with an even fiercer look. “Do we understand each other?”
A muscle in Jerome’s jaw jumped as he nodded.
Anson forced himself to steady. “Now, tell me what you needed to speak with me about.”
* * *
Eve took her latte to a table in a corner of Spill the Beans to wait for Anson. Though she loved any excuse to dress up, the establishment was low-key, and she hadn’t wanted to draw any unwanted attention.