Nine
Texas in the springtime was a sight to behold. The Dallas sunshine warmed the patio of Hip Stir, where Penelope Brand sat across from her most recent client. Blue cloudless skies stretched over the glass-and-steel city buildings, practically begging the city-dwellers to take a deep breath. Given that nearly every table was full, it appeared that most of downtown had obeyed.
Pen adjusted her sunglasses before carefully lifting her filled-to-the-brim café au lait. The mug’s contents wobbled but she made that first sip to her lips rather than to her lap. Which was a relief since Pen always wore white. Today she’d chosen her favorite white jacket with black silk piping over a vibrant pink cami. Her pants were white to match, slim-fitting and ended in a pair of black five-inch stilettos.
White was her power color. Pen’s clients came to her for crisis control—sometimes for a completely fresh start. As their public relations maven, a crisp, clean do-over had become Pen’s specialty.
She’d started her business in the Midwest. Until last year, the Chicago elite had trusted her with their bank accounts, their marriages and their hard-won reputations. When her own reputation took a header, Pen was forced to regroup. That unfortunate circumstance was rapidly gaining ground as her “past.” The woman sitting across from her now had laid the foundation for Penelope’s future.
“I can’t thank you enough.” Stefanie Ferguson shook her head, tossing her dark blond ponytail to the side. “Though I suppose I should thank my stupid brother for the introduction.” She lifted her espresso and rolled her eyes.
Pen smothered a smile. Stefanie’s stupid brother was none other than the well-loved mayor of Dallas, and he’d called on Penelope’s services to help his younger sister out of a mess that could mar his reputation.
Stef didn’t share her brother’s reverent love for politics and being careful in the public eye. She flew by the seat of her skinny jeans, the most recent flight landing her in the arms of one of the mayor’s most critical opponents, Blake Eastwood.
Blake’s development company wanted to break ground for a new civic center that Mayor Ferguson opposed. Critics argued that the mayor was biased, given the civic center was to be built near his family’s oil wells, but the mayor’s supporters argued the unneeded new-build would be a waste of city funds.
Either way, the photograph of Stefanie exiting a hotel, her arm wrapped around Blake’s while they both wore wrinkled clothing and sexually satisfied smiles, had caused some unwanted media attention.
The mayor had hired Brand Consulting to smooth out the wrinkles of what could have turned into a PR nightmare. Penelope had done her job and done it well. One week after the snafu, and the media had already moved on to gossiping about someone else.
All in a day’s work.
“You’re coming to the party tonight, right?” Stef asked. “I’m looking forward to you being there so I have a girl to talk to.”
Stef was younger than Pen by four years, but Pen could easily become close friends with her. Stef was smart, savvy and, while she was a tad too honest for her brother’s taste, Pen welcomed that sort of frankness. Too bad a friendship with Stefanie broke Pen’s most recently adopted rule: never become personally involved with a client.
That included an intimate friendship with the blonde across from her.
A pang of regret faded and faded fast as Pen remembered why she’d had to ink the rule in the first place. Her ex in Chicago had tanked her reputation, cashed her checks and forced her to journey to her own fresh start.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Pen answered with a smile. Because yes, she wasn’t going to become besties with Stefanie Ferguson, but neither would she turn down a coveted invitation to the mayor’s birthday party.
Those who gained entry to the mayor’s annual soiree, held at his private gated mansion, were the envy of the city. Pen had worked with billionaires, local celebrities and sports stars in her professional past, but she’d never worked directly with a civil servant. Attending the most sought-after party of the year was as good as a gold star on her résumé.
Pen picked up the tab for her client and said her goodbyes to Stefanie before walking two blocks back to her office.
Thank God for the mayor’s troublemaking sister.
Stepping in at the pleasure of Mayor Chase Ferguson might have been the best decision Pen had made since moving to Dallas. Her heart thudded heavily against her breastbone as she thought about what this could mean for her growing PR firm—and for her future as an entrepreneur. There were going to be many, many people at this party who would eventually require her services. The world of politics teemed with scandal.
After
