Governor. I’ll be there on Monday.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. I’m looking forward to going over strategy with you.”
Surry was driving out of his life as he said, “Oh, and one more thing, Governor. You won’t ever have to doubt my loyalty to you. I live and breathe this job. So, I’m your man and we are going all the way to the White House.”
Chapter 3
On Saturday morning Ian went to the strip mall near his condo and purchased a few items for his upcoming trip. He then met Noel Carter at the Breakfast Klub for some waffles and wings. “Have you found a place to stay in Washington yet?” he asked his old friend.
Noel shook his head. “Ryla and I are going out there next week to look around.”
“I’m headed out of town next week myself. I can’t give you a name right now, but I’m meeting with someone who is thinking of running for president.”
Joy spread across Noel’s face. “That’s all right. I’m excited about that. You go handle his campaign, and then in about a decade or so, you and I will be working on my presidential campaign.”
“Now that sounds good to me. We will have another President Carter in the White House.”
“Yeah, but I’m going to be there for two terms.”
The men ate their food and then Noel put his fork down and said, “I’m not going to be able to go home if I don’t ask you something.”
“What’s up?”
“Ryla wants to know if you talked with Surry.”
“She came by my office yesterday. I feel for her, because this guy is trying to do a number on her. But I have to leave town on Monday morning, so I’m not sure I can help her.” Ian didn’t mention to Noel that he was also bothered by the fact that Surry couldn’t pick up a phone to accept his dinner invitation. But the moment she needed help, she came right over to his office. But he wasn’t bitter, so he was trying hard not to act like it.
After breakfast he went home and started packing for his trip to Charlotte, still trying to convince himself that he made the right decision. He was almost there, until he turned on the television and caught a glimpse of a tearful Surry on the six o’clock news. The reporter had obviously just asked her a question as he’d turned to this station. The microphone had been shoved in Surry’s face. Maybe no one else noticed, but he took note of the tears on her eyelashes as she declared, “My business means everything to me. I would never jeopardize losing it by stealing from a former colleague.”
Surry was going to be crucified in the media unless she did something to change the situation fast. She didn’t deserve what was being done to her. And Ian knew firsthand that once the media got hold of something, they wouldn’t let it go until they ruined the lives of everyone associated. He put a pair of pants in the suitcase and sat down on his bed, thinking about the pain he saw in Surry’s eyes as she talked about how much her business meant to her. Where did pain like that come from? Then he wondered if he was wrong about what he thought he saw in her eyes...maybe it had been passion for her business. Pain or passion, he wasn’t sure which, but he desperately wanted to find out.
Making a quick decision, Ian grabbed his keys and drove to Westheimer Road. He’d received an invitation to the grand opening of Designs from the Motherland from Ryla. Ian had been out of town handling some business in Washington so he hadn’t been able to make the opening. But he’d kept the invitation and therefore had the address.
Her shop was exactly twenty-seven minutes away from his condo. He parked next to the cute little Mercedes he’d seen her drive off in the other day and stepped out of his Range Rover.
Walking toward her store, Ian noticed smiling customers walking from one shop to another with their purchases. The area was vibrant and active. This was a good spot for business. Ian was admiring Surry’s business savvy as he watched her ring up a customer. At the front of the store he couldn’t hear what the customer said to her, but he could see Surry lean her head back and give a full-throated laugh. He could spend a lifetime with a woman who laughed like that.
Surry handed the customer her bag, and as she walked away, Ian stepped over, put his hands on the counter and asked, “Why does it matter to you so much?”
“Why does what matter to me?”
He waved a hand around, indicating the building they were standing in. “Your business...I saw you on the news this evening, and I remembered the way you looked in my office the other day. This whole thing has hit you really hard, and I want to know why you’re letting it get to you like this.”
Averting her eyes, staring at the cash register rather than Ian, she said, “My business means a lot to me. I’ve worked hard to get where I am. And it just bugs me that someone can lie on me, and I can’t even fight back.”
“Of course you can fight back. Why do you think I’m here?”
“I don’t know why you’re here, because the last I heard, you have a plane to catch. So, just go away and let me figure out how to deal with John Michael on my own. I never should have bothered you in the first place.”
“You are infuriating and stubborn, Surry McDaniel.” He walked behind the counter and pulled her close to him. “You need to understand that I don’t want to leave town without you.” She was so close that he was inhaling the vanilla scent of her perfume. He didn’t know why, but that sweet, welcoming fragrance made him want to put his face in the crook of her neck and sniff her like a lovesick pup.
“You have to leave,” Surry was saying. “You have an important client and I can’t stand in the way of that, no matter how dire my situation has become.”
“I want you to go with me.”
Surry stepped around Ian and sat down at the table in the back of her boutique. Ian followed her, and she said, “What are you thinking, Ian? I can’t just pick up and leave town with you.”
He pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. “Why not? Things aren’t going so good for you here.”
“I have a business to run, if you hadn’t noticed.” Surry stretched forth her hand, indicating the things that were in her boutique.
“You won’t have much of a business to run if the media start crucifying you. We have a limited amount of time to turn this situation around. And I can’t repair your image and provide damage control unless I spend some time figuring out who you really are and what makes you tick.”
“And just like that—” she snapped her fingers “—my problems will be over.”
“Well, not like that.” He mimicked her finger snapping. “I also plan to find out as much about your rival as possible. If we can dig up enough dirt on him, we’ll be able to change his tune pretty quick.” Ian might not know fashion, but he knew mankind. And in politics, avoiding scandal was the name of the game. So, if this John Michael had skeletons, he planned to find them.
“Oh, it’s ‘we’ now, is it?”
“Excuse me?” He was caught off guard by her attitude.
“When I came to you
