“I hope I didn’t insult him in some way.”
“That’s just him,” she said, looking unconcerned, and then told Simon about the meeting in Washington that day. With her open, winning way, she had gotten the senator to admit he wanted to be president before he was thirty-nine years old, which was a major coup. It was going to shoot the ratings through the roof.
“Just as you always do,” Simon said, proud of her, as Blaise thought how nice it was to have someone to talk to about her day.
Mark mentioned the meeting with Simon the next day too, and he looked awkward when he spoke of it to Blaise. “You should have said something to me and warned me,” Mark chided her. “The door opened, and this hunk stood there smiling at me and held out his hand.”
“What was he supposed to do?” Blaise laughed at him. “Grab the envelope and slam the door in your face?”
“I had no idea he looked like that, Blaise. He looks like a movie star.” And then he couldn’t resist asking her the question that had been on his mind all night. They had a good relationship and she was always honest with him, unless it was something confidential she couldn’t tell him, or didn’t want him to know. He wondered if this might be one of those. “Are you in love with him?” She looked shocked when he asked the question, that he could have thought that, and she shook her head with a baffled look.
“Why would you think that? Did Simon say something inappropriate?” If so, she was going to talk to him about it, but it didn’t sound like Simon. He was polite and discreet and always very correct with her, even though they had become friends. Their developing friendship had been unexpected, but went no further than that. He had never been presumptuous or out of line with her. There had been that odd moment once at the kitchen sink, but they had both brushed it aside, and it hadn’t happened again.
“It wasn’t anything he said,” Mark corrected the impression immediately, to justifiably absolve Simon. “It’s what he looks like, and how comfortable he seems in your space. He’s right at home.”
“Obviously. He’s living there with us. You get pretty friendly when you see each other over breakfast and dinner every day, and run into each other in the kitchen at midnight over a cup of hot milk. If anything, we’re becoming friends. But I’m certainly not in love with him, and besides, he’s fifteen years younger than I am. He’s much more likely to fall for Salima than me. And there’s no sign of that either.” She sounded relieved.
“Well, if you’re not in love with him, you should be,” Mark said ruefully. “He’s the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen. And he doesn’t look his age. He looks older, and you seem like a kid. You two probably look good together. You don’t look a day older than he does.”
“Are you angling for a raise?” she teased him, but she was surprised by what he’d said. There had been no hint of romance between them, nor would there be. They would never be more than friends.
“I’m sorry. I just had to ask the question. Maybe it was wishful thinking. I was a little shocked at first. But when I think of the raw deal you got from Andrew Weyland, I wish you’d end up with a guy like Simon. You say he’s a great guy, and smart, and he’s fabulous looking. You deserve a prize after all the shit you’ve been through. And look at your ex-husband. Harry goes out with girls nearly fifty years younger than he is. What’s a mere fifteen?”
“That’s different. He’s a man. It’s acceptable when men go out with young girls. If women do it, people call them names.”