Rumor Has It (8 page)

“I've heard some people talking about that and there are a lot of folks who are afraid that their rights are being trampled on.”

“They are. I know you shouldn't hate anything or anyone, but the GOP is close to making me hate them with the love of Jesus.”

Jackson tilted his head to the side. “That's pretty deep.”

“I can't stand the way this General Assembly and governor are disenfranchising a community of people.”

“I know,” he said. “That's why we need people in office who care about people and not the power.”

“When you get a few years under your belt, I'm going to remind you of this conversation.”

Jackson smiled, then looked down at his watch. “I have to go in to the clinic and check on one of my patients.”

“I hate that you guys are going to have to shut down. I've called in every favor that I have and I can't get what you all need.”

Jackson rose to his feet and nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

Heading to the clinic, Jackson felt a cold dread wash over him. If the clinic closed and he won the election, how would he be able to make a difference in the lives of soldiers returning home from war in need of help? Would all of this be in vain if VA centers were still shuttered?

“Something has to change,” he muttered as he turned into the clinic's parking lot.

Chapter 10

Liza knew this was going to be an uphill battle when she walked into Chante's place and saw her friend sitting with one of Charlotte's most expensive wedding planners, Jeanne St. Jean.

“It's about time you got here,” Chante said when she spotted her friend. “Come on over and take a look at these samples.”

Liza couldn't force a smile, couldn't pretend that she was happy to see her making plans for a wedding. A wedding to a man who was a low-down lying cheater.

“Chante, can we talk in the kitchen?” Liza asked. Chante took note of the look on her friend's face. “What's wrong?”

Liza nodded toward the kitchen. Once the women were inside and out of the hearing range of the wedding planner, Liza grabbed Chante's hand. “You can't do this.”

“Do what?”

“Marry Robert.”

Chante ran her hand across her forehead. “I don't understand. We just had this conversation and you told me to follow my heart. Why the one-eighty?”

Liza nodded. “That was before I . . .”

“Chante,” Robert boomed as he burst into the kitchen. “Don't listen to her.”

As Chante looked from Liza to her fiancé, her face was a knot of confusion. “What in the hell is going on?”

“Are you going to tell her or should I?” Liza asked as she pulled her phone out of her purse.

“I really wish it didn't come to this, Liza. I thought you were my friend,” Robert said.

“And you thought I was going to let what I walked in on just slide on the strength of our friendship?”

Robert crossed over to Chante and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “You know I love you,” he said. “And I thought Liza was happy for us. I mean, she's the one who introduced us. But tonight she crossed the line and told me—”

“Stop the lies!” Liza exclaimed. “I walked in on him fu—”

“She confessed that she hoped she'd be the one I'd marry.”

Liza blinked rapidly. “
What?
”

“Liza?” Chante asked, her mouth dropping open. “Why?”

“Robert, you're a fucking liar.” She pulled up one of the pictures on her phone and held her phone out to Chante, who ignored it as she looked at Robert.

“I'm a liar?” Robert said. “Nic heard everything and he's waiting—”

“Oh, I'm sure Nic will say anything you want him to say. Chante, look at the picture,” Liza prodded.

She shook her head still ignoring the photo. “I don't understand,” Chante said. “I thought you were happy for me, for us. Is this why you've been ignoring my phone calls, why we haven't been hanging out and—”

“Are you kidding me? Are you seriously kidding me? Chante, I
was
happy for you until I found out that he's a cheating, lying bastard.” Liza held up her phone and Robert pushed it away.

“She's trying to cover up the fact that I told her I love you, Chante.”

“You know what, to hell with both of you. And, Chante, you're not that desperate. You had your own doubts, so don't act like I've done something to hurt you because you want to get married.”

“That's not it at all. You're still simmering in bitterness because Alvin cheated on you and you think every other man is going to do the same. Or maybe you've finally seen whatever you've been looking for in Robert now that he's off the market.”

That was it! Liza had been trying to be nice and save her friend from making the biggest mistake of her life. “Do what you want to do, but when you find out who you've put your trust in, don't come crying to me! To hell with both of you!” Liza stormed out of the kitchen, refusing to allow a tear to fall from her eyes. She was hurt, angry, and disappointed in the people who were supposed to be her best friends.

She wasn't going to take this lying down at all! If Jackson Franklin wanted to win this election, then she was going to give him the ammunition he needed to beat the breaks off Robert Montgomery. She started to drive to Jackson's campaign office, then remembered that she had no idea where it was. More than anything else, Liza needed a drink.
Revenge will come tomorrow
, she thought as she headed to Total Wine and More to get a couple of bottles of chardonnay and merlot. Tonight, she'd drown her disappointment and bad feelings in wine. Tomorrow she would reach out to Jackson and deal with the fallout of losing her best friends later.

 

 

Jackson yawned as he looked at the recent headlines about the election. The race had tightened as Robert flaunted his engagement with the lovely lawyer. Jackson didn't want to believe that he was that jaded, but he felt as if Montgomery was using his newfound love to get votes. And it seemed to be working.

Powering down his iPad, Jackson crossed over to the breakfast island in the kitchen to brew himself a cup of coffee. He had about an hour before he needed to get ready and head to the campaign office. He couldn't believe the big debate was less than a week away and the election was just two weeks out. Reaching for a banana nut muffin, Jackson was ready to relax for just a minute. Then he heard the doorbell ring.

“Really?” he muttered as he put his muffin down and headed to the door. Looking out the window, he was shocked to see Liza Palmer standing on his doorstep.

When Jackson opened the door, Liza expected to see him dressed in a business suit holding a cup of coffee with the latest copy of the
Charlotte Observer
draped over his arm. What she didn't expect and was not ready for was a shirtless Jackson Franklin.

“Ooh,” she said, blinking then quickly turning away from his chiseled abs and tantalizing pectorals. “I-I hope I'm not interrupting anything.”

“Just my breakfast. How did you find my address?” he asked.

“It's not as if you're unlisted. You might want to think about that when you win the election.”

“As I recall, a couple of days ago, you were sure that I'd lose. And you told me to drop out.”

“Things have changed and I have what you need to win,” she said. “May I come in?”

Jackson folded his arms and she saw the 82nd Airborne tattoo on his forearm. God, that was sexy.
Focus, damn it!
she thought.

“Why should I let you in?”

“Because I can no longer stand behind Robert Montgomery and I want you to win this election.”

Jackson tilted his head to the side. Dirty tricks were a part of politics and he wanted to believe that Liza was different. But why was she on his side all of a sudden?

“I'm not buying this, and I thought we were running clean campaigns around here.”

Liza pulled her phone out and flashed Jackson one of the pictures of Robert and that woman having sex. “This is all you need to win.”

“I'm not running that kind of campaign. And I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I'm not falling for it.”

“This isn't a game. This is your ticket to that senate seat.”

Jackson leaned against the doorjamb and folded his arms across his massive chest. “You've been his cheerleader since this began and even longer, according to you. Now you want to help me? Darling, I was born at night, but not last night.”

Liza focused on his eyes, hoping they'd be less distracting than his muscular arms. Big mistake. They were intoxicating. Hypnotic.

“I thought Robert was someone else. I thought he was a champion I could stand behind. But he's not. People should know that.”

“So, you're morally outraged because he had sex in the office with his fiancée, or are you jealous?”

Standing on her tiptoes, Liza gripped his arm. “I'm sick of people thinking that I'm petty and bitter. I can have a man if I wanted to be lied to and played. But I chose to blaze my own path. I'm sick and seriously tired of men lying and doing whatever the hell they want to do! I guess you're one of those men too!”

“Actually, I'm not. Because watching you stand here all indignant and angry, I want to scoop you up in my arms and take you inside to see how mad you really are,” he said with a slick smile.

Liza dropped her hand from his arm and stepped back. “Uh, I—”

“Don't worry, I have self-control. And I have sense enough to know that a man sleeping with his woman in his office doesn't make him—”

“That's not his fiancée, and if a man will lie to the woman he allegedly loves, why would he be honest with the public?” Her voice rose and Jackson did usher her inside, fearing that a neighbor would hear her.

“Would you like a cup of coffee to go with that pissed-off feeling inside you?” he asked as he led her into the kitchen.

Liza rolled her eyes and paced back and forth around the breakfast nook. “Don't patronize me.”

Jackson poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her. “Have a seat and let's talk rationally.”

“Do you want my help or not?”

“I don't want your help like this.”

She sipped the black coffee and rolled her eyes. “Like this? What does that mean?”

“It means, I'm not going to use scandalous pictures to win the election. People shouldn't worry about what others are doing in their bedroom.”

Liza flashed the picture again. “Does this look like a bedroom?”

“You know what I mean. Liza, let's be honest, your feelings are hurt. He's engaged to your friend, you caught him cheating, and I'm guessing she took his side. You want to lash out and that's why you're here. If you really want to help me, send a donation to my campaign, vote for me, or”—he closed the space between them and drew her into his arms—“let me kiss you.”

“What?” she asked, blinking as he lifted her chin.

“I want to kiss you.” Before she could reply, Jackson covered her mouth with his and Liza melted. He was a skilled kisser. Smooth. Tender. Delicious. And his bare chest against her body caused a river to flow between her thighs. Just before losing herself in lust and longing, she remembered why she'd come there.

Pulling back, she took a deep breath and turned for the door. “Liza,” Jackson called out. “Wait.”

In midstep, she stopped and looked at him. “What?”

“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have . . .”

“No, you shouldn't have. Instead, you should've done this,” she said as she rushed over to him and threw herself into his arms. Liza nibbled his full bottom lip and then gave him a wonton lick across his lip. Jackson moaned, caught off guard and highly aroused.

“Damn.”

“Now that we've gotten that out of the way, can we talk business?”

Jackson looked at the clock on the coffeemaker. He now had thirty minutes to get to his event. “I can't now,” he said. “How about we meet later for dinner?”

She slapped her hand on her hip. “I know you're going to this voter turnout thing, organizing drivers and a couple of churches to get ‘souls to the polls.' You won't have to do all of that if you just expose Robert for the lying piece of—”

“You're really starting to sound like a jealous ex,” he said. “Meet me at seven-thirty.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere but the Capital Grille. Bad things seem to happen to politicians who eat there.”

Liza laughed, despite herself. “There's always Amelie's,” she said.

“Sounds good to me. Or better yet, meet me here. I don't think this is a conversation we should have in public.”

“Sounds even better,” she replied as she walked to the front door. Jackson fought the urge to kiss her again, and from the look on her face, she was doing the same thing. But that kiss was simply amazing and the only reason he wanted to see her tonight. He wasn't going to use her photos or any inside information she had on Robert. What he wanted was to get inside Liza's mind, heart, and soul. Even if she was the enemy's best friend.

Chapter 11

Liza sat in her car feeling confused and angry. Angry with herself for being so distracted by a man without a shirt on and not being able to keep her mouth and tongue to herself; she hadn't gone there to kiss that man. But goodness, it felt so good.

What was she thinking? Someone needed to see those pictures and bring Robert down. Had Jackson been right? Was she acting like a jealous ex because her feelings were hurt? The truth of the matter was, she'd been more disappointed by Chante's reaction. Her sorority sister should have known that if she'd wanted Robert she would've had him a long time ago.

If either of them thought she'd be envious of what she now knew was a farce of a relationship, they were wrong and weren't the friends she'd believed they were. As she started her car, her phone beeped, signaling she had a Google alert. She'd deal with that later. Right now, she wanted to see if Robert was worth saving. Pulling into the parking lot of the Montgomery campaign headquarters, she decided that maybe she'd been mistaken and he'd confessed his sins to Chante after she left.

She walked in the front door and was about to bypass the receptionist when Nic appeared out of what seemed like thin air.

“You can't be here,” he said.

“Excuse me? Get out of my way, Nic. I need to talk to Robert.”

“He doesn't want to talk to you and you're not a part of our campaign anymore.”

“Do you guys really want to make me an enemy?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

Nic laughed. “Please, you're a social media stalker. No one is afraid of you. I've dealt with and dismissed more than a few of your kind.”

“My kind? Are you serious right now?”

“Very. Now, kindly leave before I call the police to have you escorted from the property.”

“You son of a bitch!” she exclaimed. “I promise I'm going to make you regret this!”

Nic grinned diabolically. “You're making threats in a room full of witnesses. Good PR, if I say so myself.”

Liza turned and stormed out. She couldn't contain her anger as she climbed into her car. She banged her hand against the steering wheel and cursed. The litany of profanity that flowed from her lips would've made a sailor and a barber blush. Pulling out of the parking lot, she sped out onto Central Avenue and was promptly pulled over.

“Can this day get any worse?” she muttered as the cop walked up to her window.

Jackson's smile belied his muddled thoughts and there was just one woman to blame. Liza Palmer. He couldn't get the taste of her lips out of his mind and he caught himself more than once licking his bottom lip.

“Jackson!” Teresa said, breaking into his thoughts. “Channel Three is here. Where's your head this morning?”

If only she knew. “I'm good. Let's get this interview taken care of and then talk to the drivers and volunteers.”

Teresa raised her right eyebrow at him, giving him a “we'll talk later” look. Heading over to the cameras, Jackson got his game on point. He told the reporter that getting voters to the polls wasn't about him winning or losing; it was about the process. A person shouldn't have to skip voting because he or she didn't have a car. “Everyone has a right to make his or her voice heard on Election Day, no matter whom they support.”

The red light on the camera went off and Jackson shook hands with the reporter, then sprinted over to the group of volunteers who'd been helping him all day. They greeted him with applause and a bottle of water.

“You were great over there,” Natalie said. “The camera loves you and you always know the right things to say.”

“Slow down, Nat,” he said. “I'm just telling the truth.”

“Something that most people don't do and wouldn't know if it bit them on the a—”

“Let's keep calm, everyone,” Teresa said. “We need to focus our energy on getting people out to vote.”

The crowd cheered. Jackson was about to follow the volunteers to the tent that was set up on the edge of the park when Teresa stopped him.

“What's going on with you today?” she asked.

“Nothing. Well, that's not exactly true. This morning, I had a visitor.”

“Oh Lord,” she said as she wiped her face nervously. “Is it a pregnant ex? Someone with a video of you taking a bribe?”

“No. It was Liza Palmer.”

“Robert's best friend?”

Jackson nodded. Teresa rolled her eyes. “What did she want?”

Jackson sighed and then recounted most of what he and Liza had discussed. Leaving out the part about the kisses and how she turned his blood to lava with her tongue.

“I don't buy that for a hot second. Tell me why she would all of a sudden want to help you? By all accounts they have been friends since undergrad. This is a trick. We have a debate in two weeks and now she wants to bring him down? Please!”

“She had pictures,” he said.

“Photoshop, anyone?” Teresa shook her head. “Don't think for one minute that because you and Montgomery are in the same party you have the same morals. Dominic Hall is a nasty little shit and will do anything to win.”

“What does that have to do with Liza?”

“Fruit of the poisoned tree. She will do anything they want her to do and that includes distracting you, rookie.”

“Listen, even if they are trying dirty tricks, we're not running that kind of campaign. I told Liza that.”

“I hope you also told her where she could go and how quickly she could get there.”

Jackson smiled and thought it was best that he didn't tell Teresa about his evening dinner meeting with the lovely Liza. After all, he wasn't planning on talking politics with her tonight. If he was lucky, the only thing their tongues would do this evening would be taste each other.

“I'm not worried about Liza,” he said.

“Jackson, which head are you thinking with?” Teresa shook her head. “Let's get back to the volunteers before you get this campaign in trouble.” As they walked, Teresa's cell phone chimed. “Yes?”

Jackson watched as she talked, her face contorted as if she'd sipped rancid milk. “Are you kidding me? But why? I'll let my candidate know. Typical.”

“What was that all about?” he asked when he saw Teresa shove her phone in her pants pocket.

“State board of elections has delayed the primary.”

“Why?”

She shook her head again and frowned. “This is how you know you're doing something to rattle the status quo. All of the media appearances that you've made about voter laws and people not knowing what they need to vote has shaken people who need votes in November. So, your dear governor wants to make sure there aren't any misunderstandings.”

“This is ridiculous,” he said.

“And extremely transparent. He's trying to look as if he doesn't want to disenfranchise voters with his General Assembly cronies.”

“We have to make sure people see through this for what it is.”

“Not yet. We have to focus on Montgomery and winning the primary. I wouldn't be surprised if . . .” Teresa turned to Jackson. “You can handle this without me, right?”

“Yeah, what's wrong?”

“I've got to check on something. We'll talk later.”

Jackson wanted to question her further, but she zoomed away as if she had rockets on the heels of her shoes.

“Where's Teresa going?” Daniel asked. “She seemed like she was on fire the way she shot out of here.”

“She just got a call from someone telling her that the primary has been delayed.”

“What?” Natalie asked. “But why?”

“Allegedly so the public can be notified about the current voting laws.”

Daniel chuckled. “And let me guess, she thinks there is a conspiracy behind all of this?”

Jackson nodded and Daniel shrugged. “You know,” Daniel said. “She might be right.”

As much as he didn't want to believe it, Jackson began to think that Liza's visit that morning may have come with an ulterior motive. Pushing the thought of Liza aside, Jackson busied himself with the volunteers as they passed out flyers about the new voter ID laws that would go into effect in 2016 and signed up people to drive voters to the polls. Many of the elderly people they spoke to that morning were angry.

“That damned governor is stepping on everything we fought for during the civil rights movement,” a silver-haired woman said as she signed up to be a driver. Jackson smiled at her and wondered if she could still drive.

She winked at him. “Don't be fooled by the snow. I drive better than that girl Danica Patrick. And my Buick can hold about six people comfortably.”

“All with seat belts, right?” Jackson asked with a wink.

“Maybe. Are you going to ride with me?” she asked saucily.

“All right, Mabel,” another older lady said as she linked arms with her friend. “You leave that young man alone before you have another stroke.” The bystanders around them broke into laughter.

“Gladys, you are what the kids call a hater,” Mabel replied, then walked away.

Natalie nudged Jackson. “Looks like you have a few admirers. It's a good thing women vote more than men.”

“I'm hoping that everyone will find a reason to vote for me.”

“Gladys and Mabel have a few.” She poked him on his bicep.

“You're too much,” he said. Glancing at his watch, Jackson realized that he needed to get back to the clinic. He had a meeting with one of his clients who'd refused to talk to another counselor because he didn't trust anyone but Jackson. He hadn't told Daniel, but he was going to work with Carlton Wright until he broke down that wall. It didn't matter if he got paid or not. He understood Carlton's pain and the hard time that he was having getting back into the routine of civilian life.

Like Jackson, Carlton couldn't continue his military career because of an injury he sustained in battle. His injury had been more serious than Jackson's and cost him his right leg. He and Jackson had bonded over their battle scars.

And Carlton told him in their last session that he couldn't open up to someone who didn't have a firsthand understanding of not being able to serve his country.

Men like Carlton were the reason why Jackson wanted to win this election. Someone needed to help soldiers like him. Logic told him that in order to do this, he needed to avoid Liza Palmer at all costs.