Sophia Sasson - The Senator's Daughter

Kat bit her lip. She hadn’t written a book because her ex-fiancé had stolen years’ worth of analyses and sold them as his own.

“A book would make your application more competitive, particularly one analyzing your father’s policies and tracking this campaign through the election.”

That was a lot more than what Kat had in mind. Maybe she should’ve thought through this half-baked idea before blurting it out. She couldn’t commit to being away from her mother for an extended period of time. “A book would be hard to write based on a few interviews.”

The dean wasn’t listening. He talked over her. “I have a very dear friend at Harvard University Press, and if you can deliver a book in the next three months, I’ll twist his arm to publish it before the election.”

She closed her mouth. A book? Published by Harvard University Press? In the academic world, that was like hitting the New York Times bestseller list. She might have a chance at living down this story. Other career opportunities would open up; maybe she could even return to a big-time university. But that meant spending two to three months researching with her father...and with Alex.

“Dean Gladstone, covering my father through the election is a longer proposition than what I was thinking.”

“Professor Driscoll, perhaps I haven’t made myself clear, so let me be blunt. Your current application will not get you a promotion. And your newfound notoriety gives me cause to consider whether to continue your contract for next year. I’m giving you a solution—I suggest you take it.”

Kat couldn’t bring herself to hit the end button despite the insistent beeps in her ear telling her the dean had hung up. She closed her eyes. What have I done? If he didn’t renew her contract, it was too late for her to find another position. Her savings account barely held enough money to cover next month’s rent. She couldn’t afford to lose her position. More important, her mother needed the health insurance that came as a benefit.

“I couldn’t help but overhear.”

Kat opened her eyes to see Alex kneeling in front of her. She closed her phone.

“This is none of your business.”

“Actually, it is.” He squeezed the bridge of his nose, then looked up at her. “I’m going to put my cards on the table. No bull. I have a win-win solution for both of us.”

She leaned forward, searching his eyes. He was a charmer, just like Colin. But she wasn’t going to be fooled. Not again.

“The senator’s going to take a hit in the polls with your mother’s announcement. No matter what she said, our conservative state will see him as having abandoned you. The only way to manage the story now is to invite you into the fold. Come on the campaign trail. Take some pictures with the senator so he can show that he’s getting to know his newfound daughter. Your mother said she wants him to claim you, and he’s willing to do that. In return, you can spend time learning about him for your book.”

She stared at him. His eyes were pleading and she could feel herself melting. Alex was a trained liar. This whole situation was his fault. If he hadn’t put pressure on them to lie, maybe her mother wouldn’t have made that impulsive statement. But... She had a chance to find out once and for all why her father had left, and to get some answers to questions that had haunted her life. Maybe it was time she learned to use her situation to her advantage rather than curl up and wait for others to determine her fate.

“I can’t leave my mother.”

“Our campaign headquarters are in Richmond, just an hour from here. The senator uses it as a base to travel through the state. I can situate you there.”

“Is that where you work out of?”

“I split my time between Richmond and DC.”

An unwelcome pulse of disappointment went through her. She ignored it. His not being around was a good thing.

“I have two conditions.”

He lifted a brow, his lips pressing together. “I’m not sure I can meet them.”

“Then I am sure I’ll be slamming the door in your face in a few minutes.”

A vein bulged in his neck and she felt her nerves spark as she took in the curve of his neck and jawline.

“Let me hear it.”

She focused her attention back on the matter at hand. “First, no media. You can take some posed pictures of me and circulate them, with my approval, but I don’t want to be in front of the cameras like I was just now.”

He steepled his fingers and tapped them against each other. Kat found herself getting distracted by the way his fingers moved. “It’ll be faster to take the attention off you if you give a statement to the media. They hound people who avoid them.”

She shook her head. “I won’t do it. That’s nonnegotiable. Posed photos only.”

He looked down before meeting her gaze, and Kat had the distinct impression she was making a deal with the devil. “I think I can manage that. What’s the other condition?”

“I want full access to the senator and to campaign decisions.”

He opened his mouth to protest but she held up her hand.

“I will sign a limited confidentiality clause and allow you to review my final manuscript before it goes to the publisher. Review it for factual accuracy, not to change my analysis.”

His eyes locked onto hers. She didn’t blink.

“That’s the only way I’ll do it.”

“I guess there’s no way the book can be published before the November elections.”

She bit her lip. Under normal circumstances, he’d be right. It took at least nine to twelve months to bring a book to publication, but she wasn’t writing a commercial book. She should tell him about the inside track Dean Gladstone had.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.” He held out his hand.

She hesitated before taking it. Was she doing the right thing? Reluctantly, she grasped his hand, surprised at the roughness in his firm grip. He smiled, and she found herself staring at the way his lips moved, the way they curved, the contrast of their pinkness against his golden skin. Her body warmed from her hair to her toes.

This is going to be disastrous.

CHAPTER FOUR

KAT KNEW WHAT to expect from campaign headquarters, but no intellectual knowledge could have prepared her for the in-your-face chaos that greeted her. Flashbulbs exploded in her face as she stepped from her car onto the sidewalk. Alex was there in a flash, shielding her and passing reporters with a firm “Wait for the press briefing.”

Alex thought it best to come to headquarters right from the house to draw the media away from her mother. They walked through a set of glass doors and staffers from every corner of the warehouse-like space came rushing toward her. She instinctively stepped back...and bumped right into the solid mass that was Alex. His hands went around her shoulders, steadying her. He lifted one arm and extended it, palm out. The rush of people stopped barely a foot from her. Questions and introductions were hurled at breakneck speed. Alex shooed them away and steered her over to a glass-walled office in one corner. She sank into a guest chair as Alex waved to someone.

Kat turned to see a petite redhead with black-framed glasses walk in.

“Kat, this is Crista Jordyn. She’s—”

Crista held out her hand. “I do all the real work around here while Alex runs around looking good.”

Alex rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Crista will introduce you around the office and find you a computer station. I have to go to DC.”

Kat stomped on the flare of disappointment. It was a good thing he wouldn’t be around, as she had enough to worry about between meeting her father and researching a book. The last thing she needed was to get distracted by Alex.