Chapter Seven

A woman dressed in black slacks and a white blouse answered the door and Phillip pasted on a smile. “Phillip Young. Mr. Smith is expecting me this afternoon.”

“Yes, he mentioned you would be arriving,” the woman said, taking a step back so Phillip could enter the house. “He’s waiting in his office. Please follow me.”

Phillip followed the woman through the two-story foyer and down a hallway. The moment Ted Smith had approached him about running his campaign, he’d done his homework. He knew the former lieutenant governor had gotten this home as well as the one in Vermont in the divorce. His ex-wife had gotten the home in the Hamptons and the one on Martha’s Vineyard. He didn’t know what the other houses looked like, but it didn’t appear as though Ted Smith had suffered following the messy and very public divorce. The event would be the biggest obstacle standing between his client and the open Senate seat in Washington.

In front of him, the woman paused and knocked before opening the door. “Mr. Smith, your associate has arrived.” She stepped back so Phillip could enter the room.

“Thank you, Lila,” Ted said.

He left his spot behind his desk and met Phillip in the middle of the home office. “Nice to see you again. Have a seat.” He gestured toward the small conference table in the room. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

When it came to alcohol, Phillip favored whiskey, but he’d drink anything. From the research he’d done, the same could be said about Ted. “Whatever you’re having is fine.”

While his new employer poured them drinks, Phillip set down his leather portfolio and laptop. The easy part had been getting the signatures necessary to get Ted on the ballot. If they had any hope of him winning first the primary and then the election, they had a lot of work to do. Especially considering whom he’d be up against in the primary.

Damn Sherbrookes. Anyone else and Phillip was confident the man before him could win even with his less than stellar past. However, running against a member of the Sherbrooke family made the possibility far less likely. Not that it would stop him from trying. When it came to running campaigns, Phillip had a reputation to maintain. And nothing was going to stand in his way of getting his candidate elected. Not even a member of the Sherbrooke family.

“Did you see the most recent polls?” Phillip asked once Ted sat down across from him.

“No, not yet. I haven’t had a chance to check them.”

That wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. If Ted was going to win, he needed to dedicate himself to this campaign, and that meant eating, sleeping, and drinking politics every day no matter what until November.

“As of this afternoon, the polls have Brett Sherbrooke ahead of you by ten points.” He’d seen candidates overcome such deficits on occasion, but he’d prefer a much small margin. “Hammond and Reed are tied as of now. Neither of them are our concern at this point, however.” After he helped Ted win the primary, he’d turn his attention to ruining the other party’s candidate.

Ted sipped his drink as he mulled over the information. “All things considered, it’s better than I expected. I’ll be upfront with you. I thought I would have this race in the bag until I saw the Sherbrooke name.” He took another sip before setting the glass down. “Between you and me, I’m not sure we can compete. He’s got resources I don’t.”

Phillip glanced around the home office. He didn’t have the man’s bank records, but if this house was any indication, he was doing quite well despite the monthly alimony and child support payments he had to both his ex-wife and his former mistress. Today he wasn’t here to discuss finances though. Those particulars he’d leave to Ted’s finance coordinator.

“Sherbrooke might have an edge there, but he doesn’t have the experience you do. Many won’t care what his name is because he doesn’t have the same political knowledge you do.”

Perhaps he was stretching the truth somewhat. While Brett Sherbrooke hadn’t held an office, he’d grown up around politicians. No one could spend that much time around politics and not learn a thing or two. Ted didn’t need to hear that, especially not today. The man who’d first approached him to run his campaign had been confident and ready to tackle anyone who stood in his way. The man across the table this afternoon was giving off a very different vibe.

“It’s not the only thing he doesn’t have,” Ted said before downing the rest of his drink.

The man’s personal life was worthy of a drama series, however they’d discussed it already. While not ideal, Ted wasn’t the first politician to have extramarital affairs surface. Ted also wasn’t the first to have a secret baby come to light while going through an ugly divorce. He hadn’t seemed overly concerned about any of it during their previous meetings. He did now.

“Is there anything else I need to know?” Phillip asked. When it came to running a campaign, he needed to know everything short of when the man across the table used the bathroom.

“My former personal assistant is pregnant. I found out last night. She’s due the end of November.”

He’d met the former Miss Massachusetts Ted was currently dating. She’d been at the house during their first meeting. He didn’t think she could be six months pregnant. “Are you referring to Arianna?”

Ted walked away and refilled his tumbler. “No, that would be too easy. Victoria worked as my personal assistant for four or five months.”

The man’s personal life already resembled a bad reality show. They didn’t need a pregnant former employee to add to the mix. “She waited long enough to tell you. Are you sure the baby is yours?”

Ted nodded. “As sure as I can be without a paternity test. The dates match up.” He rejoined Phillip at the table. “She claims she’s willing to keep the truth to herself as long as I agree to pay child support.”

He’d seen too many people go back on such promises. If it did come out, they needed it to be after Ted won the Senate seat. “I recommend going along with whatever she wants. At least for now.” Phillip reached for his untouched drink.

“It was my intention.”

“And in the meantime, we need to try to dig up something we can use on Sherbrooke.” Phillip considered himself an expert in that area. He’d dug up enough skeletons on various political candidates to fill a cemetery. He’d only failed once, while working on Richardson’s presidential campaign in the last election.

“I don’t see it happening. I’ve done my research too. Brett Sherbrooke has a reputation a Boy Scout would be jealous of. Add in his military background and family name and there’s nothing we can use against him.”

Phillip agreed. While working on Richardson’s campaign he’d done everything he could to dig up something to use against then Senator Warren Sherbrooke. He’d even gotten intimately involved with Sherbrooke’s younger daughter, Sara. He’d come up empty-handed. He didn’t think they’d uncover anything useful now either, but he’d try.

“Let me do some digging into his background. If he doesn’t have anything, then we just find something on someone close to him. A girlfriend perhaps.” He hadn’t heard Brett’s name linked to anyone, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t involved with a woman—or a man for that matter. “Unless you object, I have contacts who can help with this particular project and be discreet.”

“I want that Senate seat. Do whatever you have to do,” Ted said.