He got up and grabbed the dishes. “I didn’t give it my all, that’s for sure.”
She watched him as he loaded the dishwasher, wondering why he spent so much time trying to downplay his education while playing up the sports side.
She carried their juice glasses to the sink.
“Do you regret not following through on law school?”
He frowned, turned his head to look at her. “No. I’m doing exactly what I want to do with my life, what I love to do. I’ve got plenty of money to continue to do it for a long time.”
She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “I sense a but in there somewhere.”
He finished loading the glasses and utensils, then shut the dishwasher and dried his hands. “No but in there at all. I was meant to race. Otherwise, I’d have played baseball.”
“And what about after?”
“After what?”
“After racing is over?”
He stared at her, then pushed off the counter. “Want something to drink? A beer? I feel like celebrating.”
And avoiding her question. “Sure. A beer sounds great. It was hot out there today.
How hot does it get in the car?”
“A lot hotter than outside.” He grabbed two beers, then motioned for her to join him in the living area. He pressed a button on the remote and a TV screen popped up.
He switched to the racing channel, where they were replaying the events of the day.
“That’s handy.”
“Yeah.” He handed her one of the beers. “So you enjoyed the race today?”
She took a sip of the beer and nodded. “If heart-in-your-throat, nonstop panic and anxiety could be considered enjoying the race.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Awww. You were worried about me.”
She had been. But she didn’t want him knowing how much. “Well, we can’t have you losing your fan base. If you end up in the back of the pack, your fans will think you suck and then you’ll start losing them. Then what good would you be to me?”
She could tell from the smirk on his face that he wasn’t buying it.
“Oh, right. All those registered voters. So important to my father and all.”
“Exactly. I need you to keep on winning for purely selfish reasons. My job is on the line.”
He turned to face her, setting his beer on top of the sill. “Tell me about your job.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
He hadn’t wanted to hear anything about her work with his father before. This was progress. “What would you like to know?”
“What do you do for the senator when you aren’t charged with getting me to help you secure votes for him?”
“I started out as an aide. Which basically meant a glorified flunky. I did anything and everything, including making phone calls, having copies made, running errands.
You name it, I did it.”
He looked at her and didn’t say anything. She knew the question that wasn’t being asked.
“He never hit on me. Not once. Nor did I ever see him behaving inappropriately with any female on his staff. He was always a gentleman. So busy with the duties of office.”
“An appropriately worded statement coming from one of his staffers.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re hardly the press. You’re his son. You know him better than anyone.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “Sometimes I think I don’t know him at all.”
“Maybe it’s time you get to know him.”
“Not all that interested. He had a lifetime to get to know me. He didn’t take the time.”
She laid her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry for that. I can tell it bothers you that he didn’t make time for you when you were younger. Obviously he let his job take precedence over raising you.”
Gray shrugged. “My mom was good at taking care of the things that needed taking care of.”
“But a boy needs his father.”
“I managed all right without him. But this isn’t about me. Tell me what you do for him.”
“Right now I’m working very closely with him on building his constituent base, specifically at the national level. When he was running his presidential campaign, my job was to increase his exposure in all states, blitzing media campaigns, working with his local campaigns in every state and checking with the polls daily to determine which states needed the most attention.”
“So why did he fail?”
Her lips lifted. “I don’t know that he failed in his bid for the presidential nomination. I think the American people—and our party—feel that John Cameron has more to offer as a presidential candidate at this time. Plus Cameron has the backing of our current president.”
“Hard to beat that.”
“Indeed. Which isn’t to say that your father wouldn’t be a viable candidate in eight years, once Cameron is elected and serves his two terms.”
He laughed. “Thinking positively, aren’t you?”
“It’s my job to think that way. If I thought the other candidate would win, or that Senator Preston wouldn’t end up getting the vice presidential nomination, I shouldn’t be in this position.”
“Good point. So, you have a very important job.”