But sadly, as bad as the conduct is between the two men, the real blame lies not with them, but in the actions of Senator Hawthorne. This paper believes that the conduct of the Senator has been egregious in its utter lack of professionalism. We would like to publicly condemn the Senator for letting an explosive situation deteriorate to the point where two men are engaging in fisticuffs. And the cause for the deterioration? Because the attentions of both men must have stroked the Senator’s vanity.
For shame, Senator. For shame.
82
Carter
I'm sitting in my office, transfixed by the landscape outside of my window.
“We can’t do anything unless we get the people back to fucking work!” Liam bursts out.
I sigh.
“The Boltiador Global factories puts out more pollution than anything we would ever allow,” I say to Liam. “You’d never even get a chance to break ground; the state would close that shit down.”
“We’d keep building,” Liam says, smirking. “Fuck that state.”
“Yeah, except we wouldn’t turn on the fucking water or power, then what?” I shoot back. That was petty. But I feel petty.
For the last week and a half ever since Vivian, Liam and I…had sex together, we’ve made some progress. We’ve understood what each side wants. Which is leaps and bounds ahead of where we used to be before.
Did we really just both need to bone the shit out of Vivian to start talking at the table?
Is that all it needed? Is that the secret to working across the aisle? As Liam would call it, “fucking the shit out of each other”?
If I'm being honest with myself, I still can't believe what happened between us in the limo. That moment—as unbelievable as it was—is replaying itself in my mind over and over. I tell myself that I can't let that happen again. I need to stay focused.
I know, you’re thinking about it too.
I told you I had a monster cock swinging between my legs. Unlike Liam though, I don’t go tell every single goddamn person that asks. It’s like going to the grocery store and waiting to get your change and telling the cashier you have a 12-inch pecker. I don’t do that. But it gets the job done.
But that was then. This is now. And I can’t let the people of this state suffer because I gave in to Liam because I got soft on the environment. On protecting their health and well-being. No, what happened in the limo is a one-time incident. I—we—need to move on.
The intercom on my phone buzzes. I can tell from the flashing red light that the call is coming from my secretary.
"Yes, Cathy?" I answer.
"Governor Andrews, Jason from Strategy needs to see you. He’s outside. Right now."
"That's fine. Go ahead and add it to my schedule. I'll be free in another hour, Cathy."
"Thank you, Mr. Andrews. But he says he needs to see you now."
I sigh. It’s always like this with him.
But the thing is, when he needs to see me, he really usually needs to see me.
I look over at Vivian and Liam who are sitting at the table.
“Can we pick this up later?” I ask.
Liam looks at me and pulls out a bottle of bourbon. That used to be my bottle, but he got a hold of it. He takes a long swig.
Given the events of the last few days, I feel like I need it too.
I reach out my hand and Liam hands me the bottle. I take a drink. The warm liquid slides down my throat in a fiery trail, and puts me at ease. If I'm going to take this meeting with Jason, I might as well be relaxed.
“Governor Andrews?” my secretary asks again.