The Good One (The Ones)

Chapter seven

Donovan

IseeKaseywalk into the office while I’m on the phone with my mother. She is stunning, even in her conservative professional attire. She’s wearing a formfitting black shirt that hugs her gorgeous full breasts. The ones I imagined myself licking the sweat from just last night. Her pants are tight around her hips and thighs. I could feast on that ass for days and be a very happy man doing it. The heels she’s wearing aren’t nearly as high as the ones she had on last night, but I still imagine her wearing just those with her legs wrapped around my waist as I fuck her on my desk. The one I’m currently sitting at talking on the phone with my mother. Not the best time to have my thoughts wander in that direction. Pull it together, Hayes.

My mother called a few minutes ago to tell me about all the positive feedback she’s been getting from her friends and acquaintances regarding my bid for the senate seat. That she is going from a congressman’s wife to a senator’s mother has her thrilled to no end. My mother loved the political world when my father was in office. She lives for planning parties and charities and hosting other important people at her home. I’m sure she thinks she will do the same for me since I’m a single man. No girlfriend or wife in the picture. I plan to change that, though, starting with this interview. I can’t help but smile at my mom’s excitement. She has a head for this sort of thing. If she thinks I have an excellent chance at winning this election, she’s probably right.

I hang up the phone right when Kasey meets my gaze. The smile on my face says it all. I’m coming for you, gorgeous. Trish waves her back to my office as I stand to open the door for her.

“Hello, Miss Albright. I’m glad you could make it. Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you for having me, Mr. Hayes. Please, call me Kasey.”

I plan on calling her more than that in the not so distant future.

“Of course, and in that case I expect you to call me Donovan.”

We exchange a few more pleasantries and take a seat. I decided at the last minute to sit next to her instead of behind my desk. Honestly, I just want to be as close to her as possible. I saw the way her eyes darkened and the hitch in her breath when she came in. She feels this too. If she realizes I was the man watching her last night, she doesn’t let it show. Her sensual moves and the way she angled her body toward me while she was dancing last night didn’t go unnoticed.

It was a bitch walking back to my car with a hard-on, but I knew if I didn’t leave then I was going to do something crazy like walk up to her and take her mouth in a searing kiss. I knew that wouldn’t have been the right move last night. I could tell she needed last night for herself. To explore some feelings she’s kept bottled up. I guess like recognizes like.

My whole life I’ve lived on a specific path that consists of work and family. Being responsible, being the good one. These urges I have to make her mine are new and unexpected. But there is something there that tells me I’m right. After not being able to keep my eyes off her last night, I realize she’s probably been missing the same passion in her life that I have. It’s time we both got what we wanted.

We begin the interview. I can tell she’s nervous about something by the way she dips her chin and keeps brushing her hair behind her ear. A far cry from the confident woman I saw last night.

“So, Donovan, tell me everything about yourself. All of your deep, dark secrets.” She laughs.

“I think we should probably narrow that down a little, yeah?”

“I’m kidding. We’ll save the secrets for another time.” She smiles. “Okay then, how about we start with what made you decide to run for senate.”

I begin my story of seeing the good my father did in this state before his retirement and wanting to follow in his footsteps. It probably sounds like a stock answer, but it’s the truth. I grew up witnessing the genuine care and concern he had for his constituents. “His people,” he called them. I tell her I went to UPenn, my father’s alma mater, and after graduation, I worked on his campaigns, which is where I found my own passion for politics.

“You didn’t grow up wanting to run for office yourself then?” she asks.

“No, growing up, my brother and I wanted to blaze our own trail. We weren’t sure what that meant at the time since we were just kids, but we would come up with grand ideas after pilfering my dad’s liquor cabinet.” I smile at the memory.

She laughs at that. I love her laugh. It’s a melodic sound I want to hear more of.

“Oh, troublemakers, huh? A little misspent youth?”

I laugh. “No more than any other kids at that age, I would imagine. I’m sure you have some teenage rebellion tales of your own.”

She gets a slightly sad, faraway look in her eye. “I would have liked to. My dad passed when I was in high school, so I kept a pretty tight rein on it. Had to take care of my sister and help my mom after his passing. I didn’t really feel like I had the luxury of rebellion.” She gives me a small shrug.

“I’m sorry to hear about your dad. That must have been awful for your family.”

“It was, but it was a long time ago. We made it through and I like to think we’re stronger for it. We all miss him every day, but I know he’s smiling down, proud of who we’ve become.” She looks happy with that thought.

“So you had to take care of your sister? That must have been a challenge in high school.” I can relate. I’ve been taking care of my brother and his messes since college.

“She was always a pretty good kid. After my dad died, though, she definitely went through her teenage rebellion phase. I’m not sure she’s quite grown out of it yet.” She rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m familiar.”

“Are you and your brother close? He seems to live a little different from you.”

I’m not ready to go into our family’s drama tonight. Certainly not during an interview. I have to take a step back and remember that she is a reporter and everything I say at this moment is on the record.

“We are close. My parents have always stressed the importance of putting family first. He’s a little more present in the press than I have ever been. Obviously, that’s changing now with my campaign.”

“That’s a pretty big change for you, isn’t it? How do you plan to handle the stress of having yourself out there?” I like the way she asks questions, like she’s genuinely interested in the answers.

“Well, let’s be honest. This is a big deal in Pennsylvania, sure, but not exactly nationally. As long as there are no salacious stories people make up about me, I don’t really have anything to worry about. It’s not like I’m running for president yet.”

“Is this your way of announcing a presidential run, Mr. Hayes?” she asks. “Little ahead of the game since you just started your campaign for senate.” She smiles.

“Absolutely not,” I reply. “I’m concentrating on what I can do for my home state. The idea of a presidential bid isn’t even on our radar. Yet.” I give her a wink and a light laugh. “In all honesty, I don’t worry about press coverage. I’m news now because we’ve just launched the campaign and I would like to take advantage of the current news cycles. Once the dust settles, I expect I’ll spend more time campaigning and going across Pennsylvania to meet with the voters and tell them, in person, that I’m right for this job. That’s what I’m most excited about.”

I’m not naïve. I know I have to make sure my brother’s endeavors stay out of the press. It’s a huge skeleton in both our closets now. If Kasey only knew all the ways I’ve already kept Jackson’s exploits out of the public eye throughout the years, this would be a much different interview, I’m sure.

“Tell me about what your plans are for office. You mentioned initiatives in education. I would like to hear more about that.”

I’m reminded of her brief outburst about being single and smile to myself. We talk for about another hour. I tell her about my plans for Pennsylvania and all the ways I think I would be a good fit for the office. It’s nearing six thirty and I realize I didn’t have lunch today when my stomach lets out a growl. After sitting here with Kasey for more than an hour, I’m well aware that I’m hungry for more than just food, but that will have to wait. I have to play this smart.

“I haven’t eaten since breakfast and it’s getting a little late. How about I order some food while we wrap up the interview?”

“Sure, sounds great. I won’t take up too much more of your time.”

“What sounds good?” I ask.