And here we go—the gloves are off now.

My mother stares Parker down with such a fury that the air around her seems to be simmering. There’s a vein bulging in her temple, and her lips are a thin line of contempt. Her face is contorted into an expression of seething rage, and all of her beauty seems to have evaporated.

For a woman as beautiful as my mother is, she sure knows how to play the part of haggard evil witch.

“What the fuck are you really doing here, Kate?” Parker asks her, turning to face her. The surprise in his voice is telling; he wasn’t expecting her, not at all.

“I came to see if it was true… You turned my own daughter against me,” she whispers, balling her hands into fists. Jesus, she can act, which reminds me of how dangerous she really is. She’s like a coiled snake, hidden in the leaves but ready to strike and bury her fangs in the flesh of an unsuspecting victim.

“Don’t be insane,” Parker replies, folding his arms over his chest. “No one’s turning Amy against you.”

“How dare you lie to my face?” my mom shrieks, taking one step toward Parker as a hateful scowl takes over her face. I look from her to Parker, having no idea what I’m supposed to do here, and so I resign myself to a simple spectator.

Susan, meanwhile, made the sanest choice available and quietly sneaked out of the room, which now makes this a family reunion of sorts.

Just wonderful.

“You’ve always hated me, Parker…” my mother continues, lowering her voice. “And now you’ve decided to run for the Senate just to spite me. And you brought my daughter into this as well… Don’t you have any limits?”

“I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about, Kate. Why did you come here? Just to shout at me? What the fuck do you want?” he asks her, and I see something flickering in her eyes. That’s the question she was waiting for.

“I want you to drop out of the race,” she replies, the words flying out of her mouth with the force of a sledgehammer.

“I see,” Parker whispers, more to himself than to my mother.

“Drop out,” my mother repeats, and I can see the hint of a grin on her lips. She knows that he won’t drop out this easily, but just knowing that there’s a chance that this will all be over here and now is enough to make her smile.

“Over my dead body,” Parker finally responds, narrowing his eyes and staring her down. Yeah, so much for wrapping this up.

“That can be arranged, Parker,” my mother tells him, her voice so low that I can barely hear her. I lean back against my chair, shocked by her words, and by the honesty behind them. Why do these two hate each other’s guts like this? I never expected them to be on friendly terms, but this is simply too much. What the hell’s going on in here?

“Hey, look, we should all calm down and --” I start, getting up to my feet, but my mother turns to me and shuts me up real quick.

“Stay out of this,” she cuts me short, her icy eyes turning toward me. I sink down into my chair once more, realizing that this time I might be in over my head.

“Get out. Now,” Parker says, his voice boiling with rage. He takes one step toward my mother, but she just looks him up and down with a look of disgust and, clutching her purse against her chest, turns on her heels and starts walking toward the door.

“This isn’t over, Parker. Not by a long shot. Like I said, this means war," she whispers before bolting out of the office, slamming the door shut behind her.

“Jesus,” I whisper with a sigh, still staring at the door as the fading click of her high heels reaches us. I know she wants me to help her force Parker out of the race, but I had no idea she intended to go bat shit crazy over this.

What the hell was she even trying to accomplish with this? Unless… Unless she’s trying to set up a precedent. She’s building up a story, trying to make it look like there’s no connection between her and I. All hail the Queen of Mind Games, Katherine Meelios.

“Are you okay?” I hear Parker’s voice, my train of thought derailing, and I turn toward him.

“Yeah… I’m okay, sure,” I reply, not knowing what else to say. I guess that if my mother’s little act was true, I’d be shaken up by the scene. But I’ve never been a good actress and, besides, it’s not like I need to pretend right now.

Parker’s too absorbed by his own thoughts to notice my calm demeanor; the look on his face is one of anger and calculation. Just now, he’s realizing that my mother has declared war. And when my mother goes to war, she doesn’t hold back any punches. I’d know, after all, I’m sitting inside Parker’s office as her spy.

Suddenly, Parker walks toward the door and, without a single word, he grabs the key from his pocket and, after sliding it inside the lock, turns it. I hear the bolts sliding as he locks the door, and he finally turns to me.

“I want you. Now,” he whispers, his serious eyes focused on me.

“I’m right here, Daddy” I reply with a smile, getting up from my seat as my heart starts picking up the pace. The confrontation with my mother has made his blood boil, and there’s only one way a man like him can let go of his fury.

“You’re fucking mine to do with as I please,” he hisses.

I gulp. I’m wet.

I can’t imagine that one of those staffers outside would be scared at this glint in his eyes.

Lucky for him, I’m right here, eager to help him unleash all that rage of his. Even though I never wanted this assignment in the first place, I have to be honest: being at Parker’s mercy makes it all worth it.