Governor (Governor Trilogy 1) Page 38

  I’m no longer sure if, after sixteen years of running our state, I’ll still want a national office. I’m beginning to think no. I know Owen doesn’t want to pursue a US Senate or House seat. He wants to help get me elected and then return to private practice, this time in Tallahassee, so he can remain with us.

  Except…if I run for the US Senate, my time will be split between Florida and DC, and I’m not sure I can handle being away from my guys for that long, or if I’ll still have a taste for being a politician by then.

  The trooper walks me to my front door and waits to leave until I’m locked inside and have reset the alarm. I’m not going anywhere until it’s time for me to depart for the inauguration ball, and a limo will be sent for me then.

  One of the few times the three of us will be able to ride together without any questions being asked. It won’t be unexpected that we’d share a limo tonight. Our public victory celebration.

  It’s saving money that way.

  One more excuse Carter will ruthlessly use to explain some of the choices he’ll make over the next sixteen years to give us as much time together as possible. It’s less money to protect several people in one place, versus two groups of people in different locales.

  Daddy wanted to hire me a personal assistant, at his expense, to accompany me to Tallahassee. To help ensure my privacy and to do things for me like run errands, shopping, so there was no risk of spending taxpayer dollars on a state employee doing those kinds of things.

  Carter shut that down in record time, reasonably explaining that we couldn’t start our first term in office appearing to take largesse from someone so intrinsically tied to the GOP, my daddy or not.

  Fortunately, Daddy is a reasonable man and understood that.

  Unfortunately, Senator Benchley Evans is also a sneak. Carter soon caught wind of him setting up a blind trust, through which Daddy thinks he’s going to hire someone.

  I’m leaving that fight up to Carter. I don’t have time to deal with it.

  Right now, I need to get ready for tonight.

  I strip and examine my new marks in the bathroom mirror.

  Yep, those will show nicely for a few days, at least. Carter was careful not to mark me on my shoulders or neck or upper arms over the past couple of weeks, so they wouldn’t be exposed by the gown he and Owen chose for me to wear tonight.

  I take my shower and fix my hair, my makeup, and go through my work e-mail as I await the limo’s arrival. Carter had his tux sent to the mansion. He’ll take his shower and get ready with Owen, working to keep Owen calm and prep him for facing the crowd tonight.

  That’s one way Carter knows he doesn’t have to worry about me. I am my daddy’s daughter, and I was raised on these kinds of events. I can just about walk through them in my sleep.

  Even the ball is a relatively sedate affair when compared to the lavish, political party- and lobbyist-funded galas of past administrations. We’ve deliberately kept it low-cost—as low-cost as one of these things can be—and have invited people not just from our campaign staff, but lawmakers from both parties, as well as some private citizens worthy of recognition for their volunteerism, or their efforts for our campaign.

  Other than Daddy and three of his closest friends, who were more like adopted uncles to me growing up, there are no “lobbyists” on the invite list.

  Instead of spending money on A-list celebrity entertainment, Carter’s enlisted bands and choirs from a local high school and from FSU, which is located in Tallahassee. The cost of bringing them all in is still far cheaper than we’d pay for an hour of time for some well-known Top 40 band. Plus it highlights state talent. And had we accepted offers by celebrities for donated performances, it would have been labelled cronyism in the works by our opponents.

  What are they going to do, complain that talented high school and college students are being spotlighted? That will make any complaints look bad no matter how they try to spin it later.

  Carter hopes some of them will try so he can have Comms viciously lance their griping as sour grapes and petty, partisan politics. Also something we can point to as proof that it was time for a change in how things are done in our state.

  Our food tonight is being prepared by people who work for several non-profits in the Tallahassee area and which receive state funds to provide services to the homeless and needy. Meaning the fees they earn tonight are going to help charities while spotlighting them and giving them well-deserved media coverage.

  Our campaign is also paying for the decorations and facility fees. Carter is still weighing what to do with the remainder of cash left in our campaign coffers. Whatever its final destination, it’ll be a worthy recipient and that will be “leaked” to the press when it happens.

  Carter is ruthlessly protecting our infant administration. We’ll face so many outside threats as it is that any self-inflicted scandals we can prevent aren’t a bad thing.

  Right now, we’re still surfing a wave of both major parties’ desperation over our landslide victory numbers. Lawmakers are trying to jockey for position to appear to their constituents to be the most reasonable at working with us.

  That has to continue for as long as possible for us to achieve a fraction of our agenda. Giving either party a toehold to exploit scandal will torpedo us. But the fact that we ran as Independent—and won by such a huge margin—has already opened the floodgates of candidates deserting both parties to switch their affiliation to I.

  It’s also why I know we’ll have to make such excruciating personal sacrifices, and we’ll all face some lonely nights ahead of us.

  I’m used to that. I was raised in a family where that was the norm, not the exception. I know I’ll be okay.

  And it’s why I desperately worry about what the stress of that will do not only to Carter without Owen sharing a bed with us, but especially to Owen.

  I consider Owen every bit as much my husband as Carter. So does Carter.

  Dray knows, because he works for us, but he’s also a trusted family friend and has signed an NDA. We just can’t tell anyone else.

  Yet.

  Owen completes both of us in ways I never imagined possible. Which is why this works for all three of us.

  One day, we’ll be able to openly express our love and our relationship.

  Unfortunately, today is not that day.

  * * * *

  Order Lieutenant (Governor Trilogy 2) and

  Chief (Governor Trilogy 3) by Lesli Richardson today:

  http://tymberdalton.com/books/series-info/governor-trilogy/

  And don’t miss the Determination Trilogy by Lesli Richardson, a spin-off trilogy set in the same world as the Governor Trilogy, coming December, 2018:

  Dignity (Book 1)

  Diligence (Book 2)

  Desire (Book 3)

  http://tymberdalton.com/books/series-info/determination-trilogy/

  About the Author

  Author Lesli Richardson, who is better-known by her more prolific wild-child Tymber Dalton pen name, lives in the Tampa Bay region of Florida with her husband (aka “The World’s Best Husband™”) and too many pets. She writes a wide variety of heat levels and genres, from mainstream sci-fi all the way to scorching ménage.

  The two-time EPIC award winner and part-time Viking shield-maiden in training loves to shoot skeet and play D&D with her friends. She’s also the bestselling author of over one hundred and fifty books and counting, including The Reluctant Dom, The Great Turning, Cross Country Chaos, the Bleacke Shifters series, The Great Turning series, the Suncoast Society series, the Love Slave for Two series, the Triple Trouble series, the Coffeeshop Coven series, the Good Will Ghost Hunting series, the Drunk Monkeys series, and many others.

  She lives in her own little world, but it’s okay—they all know her there.

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