help elevate the people of Las Vegas, but deep down, he really wanted to help the people of the state of Nevada, and then America as a whole. He looked around his home, and while it was lavish and contained every comfort he could ever imagine, it wasn’t enough; the money wasn’t enough for him anymore. He’d set his sights high, and since he was a child, he’d dreamed of someday sitting in the Oval Office, being the commander-in-chief, leading the country, making decisions for the betterment of everyone in America, no matter who they were, working with other world leaders to make the world a better, safer, cleaner place. It would be tough, a lot of hard work, but Rafael was ready. He’d been preparing all his life for the battle and would take it head-on. There was only one thing standing in his way at that moment—Jessica Morgan.
He turned around, and his eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on the television once more, on Jessica Morgan’s heart-shaped face, her green eyes, pouty lips. Her smooth, creamy skin that his fingertips itched to caress, and her light brown wavy hair, which was lightened throughout and at the ends with honey-colored highlights. Her message was one of equality, of everyone having a place at the table, and while he admired that message, he’d yet to hear her plan of how to accomplish it. As far as he was concerned, as idealistic as her message was, she was all talk.
But not only was she a bleeding heart, Jessica was a beautiful woman. Rafael couldn’t deny that. She dressed conservatively, but the suits and high-collared shirts actually put more of her delicious curves on display than they hid, and that could easily drive a man to distraction. There were more times than he’d care to admit in the past two years, sitting across from her at council meetings, when he’d found himself preoccupied, wondering what she must look like under all the layers of clothing, or how her light brown hair would feel tangled around his fingers as his mouth took hers. He’d been called out several times already, not paying attention at public events because he was thinking about her pink lips wrapped around his cock...
“She’s good-looking.” Alex’s observation broke through his thoughts, and he turned around to face his friend.
Rafael nodded, but didn’t respond. It wasn’t just her looks or raw sex appeal, Jessica had already proven herself to be strong, intelligent, passionate and one hell of a competitor. If the first few weeks of her campaign was any indication, he was in for a fight. It was imperative that he forget how good the woman looked and renew his focus on winning. He turned back to Alex, and saw his friend watching him.
“And that obviously didn’t escape you,” Alex noted. “Did Harris find out anything about her?” he asked, referring to the private investigator Rafael had hired to help him gain an edge in the mayoral race.
“I’m expecting him over here any minute now,” Rafael told him. “He’s been on her since the day she entered the race. That’s why I called you over tonight. Apparently, he’s got a bombshell to drop, and as my campaign manager and closest brother, I wanted you here for it.” Alex might not have been his brother by blood, but since they were children, they’d been inseparable. All the members of The Brotherhood were close, but he and Alex shared a special bond.
Alex walked over to the wet bar and, helping himself to some of Rafael’s good stuff, poured himself a couple of fingers of bourbon. “Sounds juicy. Want a drink?”
Rafael refused. “No, I need to stay sharp for tomorrow. I’ve got a luncheon with little old church ladies, probably shouldn’t go in reeking of booze.”
With a shrug, Alex sipped. “You don’t know how some of those little old church ladies like to party.” He snickered. “But you have fun with that. You have no idea what Harris wants to talk about?”
“No. He wouldn’t tell me what it was until he was 100 percent certain, and he didn’t want to do it over the phone.” He grimaced at being told to wait. Rafael wasn’t exactly the patient sort. “But I’m definitely intrigued. It sounds like he’s got something big.”
As if on cue, the doorbell chimed. Rafael smiled and walked out of the room to the door. He opened it, and Harris, his trusted PI, stood on the other side. He moved aside and let the man in.
“Tell me you’ve got something good,” he said, as the two of them joined Alex in the living room.
Harris smiled. “Tell me if this is good,” he said, as he passed over a brown envelope. Not wasting any time, Rafael opened it. His eyes widened with what he saw in the enlarged photos; the lighting might have been low in them, but they were of excellent quality. “I’ll email these to you, too.”
He turned to Harris. “Are these legit? Is it her?”
“I saw her with my very own eyes,” the PI confirmed. “Last weekend in San Francisco, she was there, live and in person.”
“What do you have there?” Alex asked, coming up behind him.
He passed over the photos to Alex, and smiled. “I think I just won this election.”
* * *
Jessica Morgan leaned back in her chair. Now that the camera was off, she was finally able to relax. Despite the late hour, the live interview had gone well, and she hoped that it would help to raise her approval rating against Rafael Martinez. Jessica had come home exhausted after a long workday and still needed to pack for San Francisco; but when Tanya Roberts, the LVTV political reporter, had called requesting an interview to fill some time in their nightly broadcast, Jessica had no choice but to agree. She didn’t have the resources her competitor did; she didn’t have a ton of money to pour into television ads or flashy billboards. Along with her social media presence, and arranging informal meet and greets, she had to take advantage of any opportunity available to get her message out there.
“Thank you, Jessica,” Tanya said, leaning forward and shaking her hand.
“Anytime, thank you for making time for me.” Jessica took a swallow from her nearby water bottle. Her nerves were slowly waning. She was more comfortable with some types of performances than others. Public speaking was never her forte, but since she’d taken her place on city council, she was getting better. “I was pretty excited when Gordon came to me with the message from your office. I’ll take any free publicity I can get.” Her campaign manager had been ecstatic.
“Speaking of, how is the crowdfunding going?”
“Excellent,” Jessica told her. She’d started raising money just after announcing her candidacy. “The response has been better than I could have imagined. I certainly wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the people who have contributed, volunteered. This is a group effort, for sure.”
“And how’s the campaigning going?”
“Really well,” Jessica told her. “I’m kind of exhausted all the time, there’s a lot of work to be done, but I expected that. But it’ll all be worth it once the ballots are counted.”
“I’m sure it will. Good luck with the campaign.”
“I really appreciate the support, thank you so much.” Jessica stood, covertly checking her watch. It was almost 11:00 p.m., and even though she had a lot to do before bed, she was still glad she’d agreed to the interview.
Seeing Tanya and her cameraman to the door, Jessica said her goodbyes, and when she closed the door, she leaned against it, letting out a deep, tired sigh. She still felt a nervous excitement flicker through her system, the same one that always did the day before a performance. All that stood between her and a stage was packing her bag, getting a couple hours’ sleep and a short flight to San Francisco. And
