“I thought this was a corruption hearing,” I say as I walk up the aisle. I’m wearing my Jimmy Choo’s today—just for this. I also have my lace black La Perla thong. It's my lucky one, the one I was wearing when I first had sex with Liam. It’s a wonder he didn’t rip them off. I mean, the way he took me was like an animal. Those eyes—they were so intense. Those muscles. That huge monster cock. And then when Carter got in on the action. I swear it was like I was—wait a second. Why do I keep drifting off thinking about fucking at times like this? I need to be on point. Besides, I was saying something profound. Something that you can end chapters with. Right.

“And boy, do I have a story of corruption for you,” I finish as I walk up to Carter and Liam. They both look at me and I think back to what I was just thinking and I smile broadly at them.

Michael Anders, sitting on the raised dais above me has just gone white as a ghost. All color drained from his face. He manages one final desperate play.

“Arrest that woman,” Michael croaks.

“Arrest yourself,” I shoot back. From here, he doesn’t look like a billionaire media magnate at all anymore. “I have a story to tell.”

You remember when I had to go real quick the other day? I couldn’t tell you where I was going? Told you to cover for me?

“This committee’s time is valuable, Senator,” the Majority Leader tells me as his position as Chairman of the Ethics Committee. Although in truth, he might as well just hand the gavel over to me or to Michael or even Carter or Liam. He’s lost control of these proceedings and he knows it.

“This won’t take but a moment, Mr. Chairman,” I tell him. I turn around to face the audience. “In fact, we have most of the principle cast of characters in this room.”

I scan the crowd. There! I raise my hand and point to Tina Ling.

“We have Tina Ling, who has made no secret of the fact that she’s representing the city of Shanghai, China,” I say to the audience, no longer talking to the committee. The photographers leave their spot underneath the raised dais of the Committee and go to the sides of the room to snap pictures of me pointing toward Tina. “She’s even told us her affiliation with the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China,” I finish and pause.

I look around the room. Everyone is hanging on my words. I feel some of the old power coming back.

“What she didn’t tell us is that she’s also a Managing Director of the China First Bank, Mr. Chairman,” I say, whirling around to face the Committee. “And that may be okay. Unlike the United States, we can’t regulate what other jobs public officials have and they are likely going to have different rules.”

Michael looks like he’s going to be sick. I think he’s figured out where I’m going.

“But where it does become a problem, members of the Committee,” I say with a smile. “Is when China First Bank has a majority shareholder that’s a corporation headquartered in the United States.”

This causes ripples of conversation throughout the room. A US corporation working with a Chinese corporation with ties to the Communist Party? If the public ever found out something like this, there would be a backlash.

And I’m about to cause one.

“What we didn’t know, that some will find interesting,” I say, and again relish the pause that I give everyone. “Is that China First Bank is in fact owned through a series of other holding companies by none other than the same holding companies that own Anders Media.”

For a moment there is nothing but silence as people comprehend what’s going on. I decide to get in the last word.

I don't think it’ll be quiet enough to talk for the next few minutes.

“For those of you who don’t get what I’m saying, this whole thing has been orchestrated by none other than that man,” I say pointing a finger toward the dais. “Michael Anders, the billionaire CEO of Anders Media.”

Again, for a second there’s nothing but silence. It’s a lot to take in.

And that’s when the commotion starts. It starts with a whisper. One person looking over their shoulder to the person sitting next to them. Could it be? Looks are exchanged. Glances are given. People are a bit nervous. Is it true?

And then someone whispers something. Maybe ‘I can’t believe it’ or ‘Can you imagine?’

All of a sudden the person sitting next to them chimes in. And then the person next to them has to speak a little louder. And then you hear something from the next row. But the people next to you didn’t. So you repeat it. A bit louder. And then someone hears you. And they repeat it. And you think of something. You say it, all pretense of whispering gone now.

“Order!” The Chairman shouts and bangs his gavel.

But this time, it’s no use.

The audience does quiet down a little bit as the Chairman of the Committee keeps banging his gavel, but Michael speaks up.

“Where’s your proof for these wildly inaccurate accusations, Ms. Hawthorne?” Michael asks. “How do we know this isn’t just some stunt you’re pulling to save your own career from your licentious behavior?”

And I was ready for that. This is actually where I went off to the other day when I got to the city.

“Normally, I’d have no proof, Mayor Anders,” I say and people quiet down. They’re wondering if I just got them riled up as an excuse to stall. “But I got a phone call and went down to meet someone the other day.”

Michael looks up as I turn to the doorway.

A tall, well-dressed young man walks in. He’s 6’ 3”, well-built, and you can see that he knows how to carry himself. People know who he is, and if you were right there, you’d know exactly who he was too.

He walks up to me. Michael is even paler now as the man stops near me, and smiles up at Michael.

“Hi, Dad,” he says.

General commotion in the courtroom abounds again. But he’s not mistaken. That’s Lance Anders standing next to me—the stepson of Michael Anders.

If you’re just coming into this universe for the first time, you’re probably going to need a bit of a catch up.

And it’s perfect timing, because the Chairman bangs his gavel a few more times.

“Senator Hawthorne, we all know the mayor’s playboy son, but what has this got to do with anything?” he asks. I can tell he’s a bit irritated that he isn't following along like some people. But I figure it’ll be good to fill in all the dots anyways.

“You see, Mr. Chairman,” I say as I pull out some papers from my briefcase. “The paper trail that I was able to get my office to pull together after I talked to Lance and got the details about what his father did told most of the story,” I say.

When he keeps looking at me, I continue. “Michael Anders, a billionaire media mogul is also serving the beginning of his second term as the Mayor of New York City,” I say. “But he’s got massively negative disapproval ratings outside the city and it’s clear that once he’s done with his job as mayor – and he only has this one term left because of term limits – his options are limited.”

The Chairman starts to nod. “But there’s a problem. Because of his negative approval ratings, national office is going to be hard. He can’t challenge a senior Senator, but he can sure take on a junior one. And even if that fails, he can discredit the Governor and possibly have an open option there. This was all designed so that Michael Anders would have something to do once the people kicked him out of the mayor’s office.”

People are beginning to put the pieces together. I continue. “Being a woman who enjoyed sex didn’t help. Michael’s stepson, Lance, recently got married to and had a baby with his ex-wife, Jocelyn. The whole country knows. You don’t escape from something like that without raising serious questions. Michael probably views it as Jocelyn’s fault and blames all confident women.”

“I see,” the Chairman says, nodding. “And what about Liam Jeffries and the impeachment in New Kingston?” he asks.

I pull out some more papers. “These documents show that China First Bank received substantial payments from the local Shanghai Communist Party to bring the Boltiador Family factories over to them. They’ve been trying to sabotage this deal to build the factories in America. A discredited mayor who reached out to big business would send shockwaves through the business community. Large corporations would think twice about re-investing in American small towns again for a long, long time.”

There. All the pieces are connected now. It all makes sense.

I have to hand it to Michael Anders. The guy is a diabolical genius.

But he had one fatal flaw. He allowed Lance to continue working in his company as he ran the city. Not realizing that Lance Anders was a decent human being. Sure, he had his bad boy days, but Jocelyn seems to have tamed him. That’s another story, by the way, that has its own HEA. But it’s actually quite Scandalous, and I should probably let you get to it on your own.

I’m telling you all this right now because there is no way I can talk. Tina Ling is on her feet and I see her try to slink away, heading to the door.

But it’s a good thing that the State Police are here, because they block her. Michael Anders is sitting there, frozen, unmoving.

“Order!” the Majority Leader shouts. “Order!”

After a few more bangs of the gavel, he finally gets a measure of quiet.

“Senator Hawthorne,” the Chairman says, looking at me with apology in his eyes before turning to Liam and Carter. “Mayor Jeffries, Governor Andrews. It’s obvious there is more than meets the eye in this situation. I think it’s time for us to regroup and understand exactly what is going on in light of this new…evidence.”

People are starting to clap and smile. Both Carter and Liam approach me, they’re beaming with grins from ear to ear.

“As such, I’m exercising my authority as Chairman of the Ethics Committee to clear you of any reason to be investigated,” he says forcefully but I’m more focused on the men around me. “I hereby end this hearing and declare no ethics have been compromised at this time!”

He bangs the gavel, but I’ve stopped paying attention. My arms travel to Liam, who is closest to me and he brings me closer. His face finds mine, and our mouths touch. I close my eyes as we kiss, tasting his tongue massage mine.

People are clapping and cheering as I back away and Carter takes me in his arms. We share another kiss and if it wasn’t for the fact that Liam turns to me and says, “We have a surprise for you back at my place,” then I’d have started grabbing their crotches right there. I’m so turned on.

I don’t know how I’m going to control myself to wait till we get back home.