I'm sitting in my office, transfixed by the landscape outside of my window.

"We can’t do anything unless we get the people back to fucking work!" Liam bursts out.

I sigh.

"The Boltiador Global factories puts out more pollution than anything we would ever allow," I say to Liam. "You’d never even get a chance to break ground; the state would close that shit down."

"We’d keep building," Liam says, smirking. "Fuck that state."

"Yeah, except we wouldn’t turn on the fucking water or power, then what?" I shoot back. That was petty. But I feel petty.

For the last week and a half ever since Vivian, Liam and I…had sex together, we’ve made some progress. We’ve understood what each side wants. Which is leaps and bounds ahead of where we used to be before.

Did we really just both need to bone the shit out of Vivian to start talking at the table?

Is that all it needed? Is that the secret to working across the aisle? As Liam would call it, "fucking the shit out of each other"?

If I'm being honest with myself, I still can't believe what happened between us in the limo. That moment—as unbelievable as it was—is replaying itself in my mind over and over. I tell myself that I can't let that happen again. I need to stay focused.

I know, you’re thinking about it too.

I told you I had a monster cock swinging between my legs. Unlike Liam though, I don’t go tell every single goddamn person that asks. It’s like going to the grocery store and waiting to get your change and telling the cashier you have a 12-inch pecker. I don’t do that. But it gets the job done.

But that was then. This is now. And I can’t let the people of this state suffer because I gave in to Liam because I got soft on the environment. On protecting their health and well-being. No, what happened in the limo is a one-time incident. I—we—need to move on.

The intercom on my phone buzzes. I can tell from the flashing red light that the call is coming from my secretary.

"Yes, Cathy?" I answer.

"Governor Andrews, Jason from Strategy needs to see you. He’s outside. Right now."

"That's fine. Go ahead and add it to my schedule. I'll be free in another hour, Cathy."

"Thank you, Mr. Andrews. But he says he needs to see you now."

I sigh. It’s always like this with him.

But the thing is, when he needs to see me, he really usually needs to see me.

I look over at Vivian and Liam who are sitting at the table.

"Can we pick this up later?" I ask.

Liam looks at me and pulls out a bottle of bourbon. That used to be my bottle, but he got a hold of it. He takes a long swig.

Given the events of the last few days, I feel like I need it too.

I reach out my hand and Liam hands me the bottle. I take a drink. The warm liquid slides down my throat in a fiery trail, and puts me at ease. If I'm going to take this meeting with Jason, I might as well be relaxed.

"Governor Andrews?" my secretary asks again.

I look at the time again. Shit. It’s been almost five minutes since she called.

Vivian gets the hint.

"Why don’t we pick up later?" she asks.

She looks amazing per usual. Her blonde hair frames her face and reflects the light of the office. She's wearing a low-cut dress, and her cleavage absorbs my attention. Or at least in my mind it does. Did I really just say that I wanted all of this to end between us? Because now I'm already having second thoughts. Seeing her again makes my pulse leap for the millionth damn time today.

"Look, we got a lot fucking done today, didn’t we?" Liam asks. "Can we unwind a bit…maybe say we schedule a dinner for this evening?" Liam asks, looking at me and Vivian.

He’s inviting me to dinner.

This is the strangest and most twisted affair I’ve ever had.

Vivian looks at Liam for a second. Then she looks at me. As if deciding internally if she wants to do this. Because with dinner is going to be booze. In the city. There’s only one thing we’re going to do after that.

"It’s a bit unconventional of a relationship, isn’t it?" I ask her.

She looks at me and smiles.

"If unconventional is what we’re after, let's meet at a circus-themed restaurant," Vivian suggests.

"And where do you suppose we find something like that?" I ask intrigued.

"Le Cirque," she responds, as if it's the obvious answer.

"I wouldn't say that's exactly unconventional," Liam chimes in.

"How many restaurants do you know are circus themed?" Vivian asks. "I'd say that's a little out of the box."

Is it wrong that all I'm thinking about is Vivian's 'box' right now? I can't stop staring at her perfect breasts in front of me. I think I'd agree to just about anything if she suggested it.

"Le Cirque is iconic," Liam quips. "That's a signature midtown restaurant."

"I'm free tonight. What time?" I ask.

"Let's make it 8 pm," Vivian suggests. "You two bring your gorgeous selves, and I'll bring the acrobatics."

My heart leaps again as I wonder what exactly she's implying. Acrobatics? Is she referring back to what happened between us in the limo?

"Done," Liam replies.

I also go ahead and agree with Liam, "Count me in."

We say our good byes and they walk out of the office. I sit back for a moment in my chair and think about how easy it was to speak with both of them. It was all so cordial. Hell, even the meeting was good. Liam is right. We actually are getting somewhere. We’re going to get this deal done. This couldn’t have been more different from our encounter at the Harvard Club. I mean, one minute, I'm putting my fist into Liam's face, and the next, we're making dinner reservations.

I remember my impending meeting with Jason, Chief Strategist, and I snap my laptop closed and go to my desk. Vivian and Liam have left. I push the button to my intercom to summon my secretary.

"Cheryl, you can let Jason in now."

As if waiting for the word, Jason, my Chief Strategist, bounds in. He's always been a high-strung person, but today he seems especially frazzled. When he turns his head, his body bounces along sharply with his every movement.

With him is my Press Secretary, Michele.

She looks up at me. "Have you seen the news Governor?"

"I just got out of a meeting. I haven't seen anything," I reply.

"Well then, you better crawl out from whatever rock you're buried under and watch this," she says, walking over to a nearby television. She clicks it on, and I watch as the screen comes to life.

A reporter is speaking in a hurried tone. "Again, if you’re just joining us, we have breaking news being reported by the New York Daily Journal of yet another scandal in Albany. That’s right. New York State has had its share of political mischief, but this time, all levels of government seem to be involved. Political operatives on both parties are outraged in what they say is some of the worst abuses of power this state has ever seen. Revolving around Governor Andrews and his decision to block the investment of several factories from the Boltiador family and further move more jobs to China, inside sources tell me that a deal is being put into place that would do just that."

Well, it’s not that bad, actually.

"At the heart of this decision is a desire that has nothing to do with government, but a desire to be romantically involved with the state’s junior Senator to Washington, Vivian Hawthorne," the reporter continues.

Okay. That might be pretty bad.

"The Governor has been in a very unorthodox mood lately, acting in a very strange manner according to those close to him. Last week, he was involved in a fight that led to a temporary arrest in New York City. And now, sources confirm that he’s working with the Mayor of New Kingston to find a politically expedient way to move 10,000 would be jobs from the state and send them to China," the reporter continues.

Yeah, this isn’t looking that good. They don’t understand, that’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to figure out a workaround. Maybe not bring over the highest polluting operations but more skilled work.

"The Governor is also being implicated in revealing his plans and working in concert with Chinese Communist Party leaders in secret," the reporter concludes.

Okay now that is bad.

"We’ll have more after these messages," the reporter says as the news cuts to GEICO commercial.

"I’ve never been so relieved to know I could save 15% on my car insurance by switching to GEICO."

"What the hell is going on Governor?" Michele asks, her brows furrowed in worry.

How has the media caught wind of this? I'm wracking my brain and nothing makes sense unless … Vivian and Liam are the only people who would know about this conversation. Could that really be true?

I don't know Michele," I say, shaking my head. And that's the truth. I really don't know how in the hell this has been leaked.

"Well, you better figure it out, and fast. You're going to be racing against the clock on this one. We're going to need to come up with a new technique to manage this one. As two of your senior advisors, I have to say that this isn't casting you in a favorable light with the public." I watch as she places both hands on her hips defensively.

"Don't you think I know that?"

"Well, you seen so nonchalant," Michele shrugs. "You can't sit here and expect everything to be OK."

"Is that what you call this? If so, you've been fooled," I growl in irritation. "I'm anything but calm. I'm downright outraged."

"We need to avoid any further negative media coverage," Michele says.

Fine. I hate to do this. But I’m going to have to.

"Okay, listen, lock it down then," I say to Amy. "No communication inside or out until this blows over. I have a dinner with Vivian and Liam…"

"I would cancel that now," Michele says, her face incredulous. "Or you might as well quit."

"Cancel it," I say.

"Radio silence?" Michele asks.

I nod.

"We won't be taking any additional calls or emails until further notice," I say. "Make sure everyone is clear on that."

She nods her head in agreement and hurries off to share the news.

Again, I search every corner of my brain for answers, and the only name that keeps comes up is Vivian's. Could Vivian be behind this media leak? Could Liam?

Did one of them just stab me in the back?

We just spoke and everything seemed fine. I didn't detect anything out of the ordinary. If anything, it was one of the friendliest meetings we've ever had … outside of the limo.

If one of them is behind this…why?