"C athy will be calling you later today, Libby." athy will be calling you later today, Libby."
Olivia lifted her gaze from her cereal bowl to glance over at her father, with a questioning look on her face. "For what reason?"
"To schedule all those fund-raisers that you and I will need to attend over the next couple of weeks, beginning this Sat.u.r.day."
Panic shot through Olivia. "Not this Sat.u.r.day night, I hope."
Her father quirked a thick brow. "No, it"s Sat.u.r.day midday at the home of Darwin Walker and his wife."
She nodded. Darwin and Terrence used to play together for the Miami Dolphins. Last year Darwin, who, like Terrence, had retired from the NFL, moved to Atlanta after accepting a coaching position with the Falcons.
"And why are you concerned about Sat.u.r.day night? Do you have plans or something?" Orin asked.
Olivia swallowed. She hated lying to her father, but there was no way she could tell him the truth. Running for political office had made him somewhat unreasonable, especially when it came to Reggie. She was convinced that the only reason he didn"t like Reggie was that he was the main person standing in the way of him becoming a senator. However, she intended to do as Reggie had suggested and believe that the election had no bearing on what was developing between them.
She met her father"s gaze. "Yes, I have plans. I ran into a friend at the party Sat.u.r.day night, and we"re getting together again this weekend." At least what she"d said wasn"t a total lie.
Her father"s features softened. "That"s good. I"ve been feeling badly about asking you to put your life in Paris on hold to come here and be my escort for all these campaign events. I"m glad you"ve managed to squeeze in some fun time."
If only you knew just how much fun I"ve had thanks to Reggie, she thought.
Both she and her father resumed eating, and the kitchen became quiet. There was something she needed to ask him, something she truly needed to know. The issue had been bothering her since she"d heard about it yesterday.
She glanced across the table at her father. He had resumed reading the paper and was flipping through the pages. She hated interrupting, but she had to. "Dad, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, sweetheart," Orin said, looking up to meet her gaze and placing the newspaper aside. "What is it?"
"Reggie Westmoreland," she said and watched her father"s jaw flex.
"What about him, Libby?"
"Did you authorize any of your staff members to put out that false statement about his company facing bankruptcy and layoffs?"
Her father frowned. "Of course not. Why would I or my staff do something like that?"
"To discredit him."
His features tightened. "And you believe I would do something like that or give my staff permission to do so?"
"I don"t want to believe that, but I"m not naive. I know how dirty politics can be, Dad."
Orin leaned back in his chair. "Are you taking up for Reggie Westmoreland?" he asked, studying her features.
She sighed deeply. "No, Dad, I"m not taking up for anyone. Such tactics can backfire, so my concern is actually for you."
What she didn"t say was that she was sure Reggie was aware of the rumor, which had circulated yesterday, but he hadn"t mentioned it to her. Although he had to have been upset about it, Reggie had given her his full concentration and had kept his word not to mix his compet.i.tion with her father and his relationship with her.
Now it was her turn to study her father"s features, and she could see that what she"d said had him thinking. Was he so disjointed from his campaign staff that he truly didn"t know what was going on? Did he not know what they were capable of?
"I"m having a meeting with my campaign staff this morning, and if I discover that someone on my staff is connected to yesterday"s story in any way, they will be dismissed."
She came close to asking if that included Senator Reed. She had a feeling he was behind the rumor. "Thanks, Dad. I think it will be in your best interest in the long run."
"Where were you yesterday, Reggie? I tried reaching you all afternoon," Brent said, looking across the breakfast table at his friend. They were sitting in Chase"s Place, where they had met for breakfast.
Reggie shrugged. "I was busy. Did anything come up that you couldn"t handle?"
"Of course not." Brent set his coffee cup down, and his blue eyes studied Reggie intently. "But it would have been nice if I"d been able to contact you. Someone from Newsweek Newsweek called to do an article on you. We"re not talking about a local magazine, Reg. We"re talking about called to do an article on you. We"re not talking about a local magazine, Reg. We"re talking about Newsweek Newsweek. You know how long I"ve been trying to get you national coverage."
Yes, Reggie did know, and he felt badly about it. But at the time all he could think about was that he wanted to spend uninterrupted time with Olivia. "I"m sorry about that, Brent."
"You"re seeing her, aren"t you?"
Reggie lifted a brow and met Brent"s stare. "It depends on who you"re referring to."
"Orin Jeffries"s daughter."
Reggie leaned back in his chair. He and Brent had been friends for a long time, since grade school, actually. After attending college at Yale, Brent had worked for a number of years in Boston before moving back to Atlanta a few years ago to care for his elderly parents. A couple of months ago, Reggie had been the best man at Brent"s wedding.
As far as Reggie was concerned, other than his brothers and cousins, there wasn"t a man he trusted more. He met his best friend"s eyes. "Yes, I"m seeing her."
Brent let out a deep sigh. "Do you think that"s smart?"
Reggie chuckled. "Considering the fact that I plan to marry her sometime after the election, yes, I would have to say it"s smart."
Brent"s jaw dropped. "Marry!" And then he quickly glanced around, hoping no one had heard his outburst. After turning back around, he nervously brushed back a strand of blond hair that had fallen onto his face. "Reggie, you just met the woman on Monday at that luncheon."
"No," Reggie said, smiling, as he absently swirled the coffee around in his cup. "Actually, we met before then."
Brent lifted a brow. "When?"
"Sat.u.r.day night, at the Firemen"s Masquerade Ball."
"Sat.u.r.day night?"
"Yes," replied Reggie.
"That wasn"t even a week ago. Are you telling me you decided once you saw her at a party that you were going to marry her?"
"Something like that. And at the time I didn"t know who she was. I found out her true ident.i.ty on Monday, at that luncheon, the same time she found out mine." Reggie could only smile. Brent was staring at him like he had totally lost his mind. "Trust me, my friend, I haven"t lost my mind. Just my heart."
Brent took a sip of his orange juice. His expression implied that he wished the juice was laced with vodka. "Do the two of you understand the implications of what you"re doing? h.e.l.lo," he said, putting emphasis on that single word. "Her father is your opponent in a Senate race."
"We"re aware of that. However, we"ve decided that has nothing to do with what"s going on between us," Reggie said.
"And you love her?" Brent asked incredulously.
"With all my heart and then some," Reggie answered truthfully.
He had thought about it a lot last night. To be honest, he hadn"t been able to think about anything else. As crazy as it might seem to some people, yes, he had fallen in love with her. He had never been totally against marriage, especially since his family over the past seven years-starting with Delaney-seemed to be falling like flies into matrimony. He just knew he wouldn"t ever settle down until the right woman came along. Because of his career and his decision to get into politics, he hadn"t expected that to happen anytime soon. He thought he would at least be in his late thirties when he tied the knot, although he knew his mother wished otherwise.
"And she feels the same way?"
Brent"s question invaded Reggie"s thoughts. "Not sure. I"ve never asked her. In fact, I haven"t even shared my feelings with her yet. It will be best to wait until after the campaign."
Brent took another gulp of his orange juice. "I swear, Reggie, you"re going to give me heart failure."
Reggie smiled. "Don"t mean to. I"m sure you remember when you met Melody. What did you tell me? You claimed you had fallen in love with her instantly."
"I did. But her father wasn"t my political opponent," Brent countered.
"Shouldn"t matter, and we intend not to let it affect our relationship, either. So wish us luck."
Brent couldn"t help but smile. "Hey, man, what you need are prayers, and I"ll be the first to send one up for you."
Olivia stepped off the elevator and glanced around. Over the years, not much in her father"s office had changed. The placement of the furniture was still the same. She remembered coming here as a child after school and sitting on the sofa and watching television-but only after she had completed her homework. Duan and Terrence had been into after-school sports, so instead of letting her go home to an empty house, her father had hired a private car to pick her up from school and bring her here.
"Libby, it"s good to see you. You didn"t need to come in to meet with me."
Olivia couldn"t help but return Cathy"s warm smile. "I didn"t mind. I wanted to get out of the house, anyway."
That much was true. She had tried to paint, but the only subject that had readily come to mind was Reggie, and she couldn"t risk her father finding sketches of him all over the place. She slid into the chair next to Cathy"s desk.
"If you wanted to see your dad you"re too late. He stepped out. I think he went over to his campaign headquarters," Cathy was saying, with a concerned expression on her face. "He was on the phone earlier with his campaign staff, and he wasn"t a happy camper. He suspects someone released that false information on Westmoreland yesterday. Now it says in this morning"s paper that your father"s campaign is turning to dirty politics."
Olivia sighed. She"d been afraid that would happen. "Well, I"m glad Dad is addressing it. Otherwise, it could backfire even more if whoever is responsible keeps it up."
"I agree."
Olivia liked Cathy. She was attractive, responsible, and Olivia knew the woman had her father"s interests at heart. At least her father was beginning to notice Cathy as a woman, although he was moving way too slowly to suit Olivia. "Well, as you can see, I brought my planner," she said to Cathy. "Dad wants me to pencil in all those important dates of those campaign events. I still don"t understand why he just didn"t ask you to go with him."
Cathy blushed. "Your father would never do that. I"m his secretary."
Olivia rolled her eyes. "You"re not just his secretary, Cathy. You"re his right hand in more ways than one, and I"m sure he knows it. Frankly, I"m concerned about him and the election. Sometimes I think he wants to become a senator, and other times I"m not sure. What"s your take on it?"
Cathy hesitated in responding, and Olivia knew it was because she thought that to say anything negative about Orin or the campaign might be construed as disloyalty. "I think that if it had been left up to your father, he would not have run," Cathy said hesitantly.
"Then why did he?"
"Because Senator Reed talked him into it."
Olivia shook her head, still not understanding. "My father is a grown man who can make decisions on his own. Why would he let Senator Reed talk him into doing anything? That doesn"t make sense. It"s not like they have a history or have been friends for a terribly long time. It"s my understanding that they met playing golf just a few years ago."
Cathy shook her head. "No, their relationship goes back further than that."
Olivia blinked, surprised. She had a feeling Cathy knew a lot more than she was telling. Definitely a lot more than Olivia or her brothers knew. "So, what"s the relationship?"
Cathy, Olivia noted, was nervously biting her lips. "I"m not sure it"s my place to say, Libby," she said.
Olivia knew that if she didn"t get the information from Cathy, then she would never get it. Deciding to go for broke, she said in a low and soft voice, "I know you love Dad, Cathy." At the woman"s surprised look, Olivia lowered her voice even more. "And I"m hoping Dad realizes, and very soon, what a jewel he has in you, not only as an employee, but, more importantly, as a woman who, I know, has his back. But I"m honestly worried that something is going on that my brothers and I wouldn"t agree with, and if that"s the case, then we need to know what it is."
Cathy stared at her for a long moment. "Your father feels indebted to the senator."
Olivia raised a brow. "And why would he feel that way?"
Cathy didn"t say anything for a long while. "Because of your mother," the older woman said.
Olivia"s head began spinning. "How does my mother have anything to do with this? My brothers and I haven"t heard from her in over twenty-something years. Are you saying that my father has? That he and my mother are in contact with each other?"
"No, that"s not what I"m saying."
With a desperate look in her eyes, Olivia took hold of the woman"s hand. "Tell me, Cathy. You need to tell me what"s going on and what my mother has to do with it."
"Years ago, your mother ran off with another man, a married man," Cathy said.
Olivia nodded. She knew all that. Although she had been only three then, years later she had overheard one of her grandparents talking about her mother in whispers. "And?"
"The man"s wife had a child."
"Yes, I know that as well," Olivia said. "I also know the woman was so torn up about what happened that eventually she and her child moved away."
"Yes, but what you probably don"t know is that eventually, a couple of years later, that woman committed suicide. She could never get over losing her husband."
Olivia gasped. Cathy was right. She hadn"t known that. "How awful."
Cathy nodded sadly in agreement. "Yes, it was. And what"s even worse, when she decided to stall her car on the train tracks and just sit there waiting for the train to come, she had her child in the car with her. They were both killed."
Tears she couldn"t hold back sprang into Olivia"s eyes. It was bad enough that her mother"s actions had broken up a family, but they had also caused a woman to end her own life and that of her child.
"I didn"t want to tell you," Cathy said softly, handing Olivia a tissue.
Olivia dabbed at her eyes. "I"m glad you did. But what does all that have to do with Senator Reed?"
Now it was Cathy who reached out to hold Olivia"s hand. "The woman who committed suicide was his sister, Libby, and your father feels responsible for what eventually happened to her and her little girl because of what your mother did."
The first thing Olivia did when she got home was to pull out her sketch pad and water colors, determined to go to the park. Painting always soothed her mind, and she needed it today more than ever.