"Why do you have to parade me around, Eve? I'm perfectly capable of shaking hands and smiling on my own."

"Daryl Dinero! This is important and you know it." Evelyn, my campaign manager and jack-of-all-trades, was easy to stir up. Sometimes I thought my run for State Senator was her ambition more than it was mine.

"Isn't that Senator Daryl Dinero, Eve?" I shot her a smile and elbowed her. "Or Senator Daddy?"

"Candidate Dinero, don't get too far ahead of yourself. And you know I don't like when people call you Daddy." She shook her head. "We agreed that you need to have that wife on your arm, or you might never be a senator."

"I know, but I just feel weird about a fake marriage. I can get all the women I want. I could probably have any woman in this hotel right now."

"Victoria is not just any woman - she's a beautiful woman and her dad has a lot of connections. And it hurts your image to be seen with different women. You need one woman, preferably one who can help you politically."

"Yeah, Vic Lobos - the notorious gangster. If your name is Victor, why would you name your daughter Victoria? Pretty arrogant."

"He's not a gangster, and keep your voice down." She looked around. I hated when she got all twitchy like that. I wondered if she came out of the womb twitching and nervous.

"And you're one to talk about arrogance."

She had a point.

The hotel bar was mostly empty, anyway. The bartender was wiping glasses and looking at them in the light, and the only patrons were old ladies drinking at 7am - mimosas and what looked like a Bloody Mary.

About what I expected in my hometown, and it's one of the big reasons why I left 10 years ago. I kept a residence in Manchester in one of my hotels, but this small New Hampshire town near the Canadian border was actually where I was born and raised.

The only thing I had going for me when I left was a girl I dated briefly. I'd already been accepted to the Naval Academy, so I couldn't back out, and she'd already been accepted to college. My family moved to Massachusetts and I lost track of the girl. Too bad, I wouldn't mind a run-in with an old friend. I'd take any chance to get away from the stuffy VIP lineup that Evelyn had planned.

"I'm going to introduce Victoria tonight from the stage - the stage is set up, right?"

"I have no idea, Eve, that's your job."

"I'll check with that portly IT manager, what's her name?" she snapped her fingers and looked down, "Lisa! I'll check with Lisa. Oh, and this blizzard is putting a wrench in my gears, Daryl. We might need a few things. I've got a list - can you have the driver run down to the store to pick these up?"

Perfect. That was my chance to get out for a while.

"You know what, Eve," I grabbed the list out of her hand and lifted it high when she tried to take it back, "I'll go myself."

"Daryl! You're booked solid."

"Eve, I need some air. And I'm not booked until 8, right? It's still early, but you probably don't know that when you never sleep."

"Ha ha." She pursed her lips and shook her head. "I need you here. Just have your driver go?"

"The conference is in 1 hour and she's STILL not here!" Lisa, the IT manager, said into her cell as she came into the bar and laid out some papers on a table. She gets a bit uptight, I'm told. I hadn't met her in-person until yesterday, but I'd had several phone chats and email conversations with her leading up to the conference. I had several things I wanted, including WiFi everywhere and a seamless experience for the guests, especially the VIPs that I was here to impress. Or that I was told to impress.

Impressing VIPs was something I did every day, even though Eve seemed to think I needed help.

I touched Lisa on the elbow and she jerked around. She was about to give me the what-for until she recognized who it was, she softened, put her finger up and told the person on the other end that she would call them back.

"Is there going to be a problem with the conference?"

"What? No! It's just that, uh, this girl that we've had on contract off and on for the past year is sometimes a little late."

"Is she late now?"

"She was supposed to be here an hour ago."

"Where is she? I'll go get her."

"No, no, Mr. Dinero, you don't want to go out in the snow. It's not quite a blizzard yet but it's coming down pretty heavy right now." Lisa was a portly woman in her late 40s and her whole body seemed to jiggle as she protested. She nodded towards Eve. "She doesn't look like she's happy about something. Maybe you should stay here."

"I appreciate the concern, Lisa, but Evelyn is ALWAYS unhappy," I smiled at her and touched her arm again. She blushed and looked down. Her perfume smelled like something that was popular when she was in high school 30 years ago.

"You're sure?"

"Of course. My Bentley has the best all wheel drive that money can buy. I've got a list of things that Evelyn needs," I craned my neck and raised my voice, "so I was going out anyway." Evelyn rolled her eyes, looked at her watch, and sighed again. "I'll be out and back faster than anyone else you could send."

She was torn - on the one hand, she needed someone to go out there and I was right, my SUV would easily handle the snow; on the other hand, I was the boss and she shouldn't send me on errands. Her needs won out.

"Well, okay!" she agreed with wide eyes and a head shake that jiggled her whole body again. "Her name is Ms. LeCroix. She's out on Old Plymouth Road, near where it crosses Exeter. You know where that is?"

"No, but my car does," I smiled again and turned. "I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail."

"Daryl! Don't be late for the meeting with Judge Chalmers. He's very influential, you know, so you need to -"

"Sorry, Eve, but I've got to go. There's a stranded lady and it might make us look bad if we let someone stay stuck out in this weather, wouldn't it? Besides, she's super important and our conference might look second-rate if she's not here. Isn't that right, Lisa?"

Lisa was back on her phone but looked up with a vigorous nod.

"I don't- I can't - " Evelyn was used to getting her way, a luxury I'm sure she enjoyed most of her 65 years. She looked great for her age - her hair was still long, unlike most ladies her age, and she let it gray gracefully instead of those awful dye jobs older women get. Her business suit was fitted, and she was trim for a woman of her age. She still went to the gym a few days a week. I honestly don't know where she got all that energy.

"Just reschedule with the honorable judge, Eve. Tell him there's a damsel in distress. I'll be back in a while."

"I don't like it, but we need to pull this off." She looked at her watch and her phone chimed. She looked at it. "Shit, I don't have time for this. Lisa, you really need this girl?"

"Yes, ma'am. She leads the team that sets up all the electronics. If you want a stage, lighting, sound-"

Eve put her hand up to stop Lisa from enumerating her list. She looked at me with those graying eyes and waved me off. "Go on, now, you've got a lot on your plate today. Don't doddle."

Evelyn rushed off and I shook my head. I was glad to have some time to myself. I was looking forward to getting out of there for a bit. I can't be "on" all the time.

I called my chauffeur. "Hey, Blake, I need the keys to the Bentayga."

"Yes, sir. I'll pull the Bentley around front for you, sir."