It's been a day from hell. Straight out of the fiery depths of Hades, this day has been nothing but one fucked up thing after another starting before I even got here.

Five thousand gallons per hour of sewage being spewed out of the ground in the middle of the city usually makes for a fun day. Add on top of that a new misconduct case being levied against the police department and a grant denied for a housing complex for the city, and the day goes to shit rather quickly and quite literally.

So, yeah, shitty all around.

My office door is shut, but the shuffle of staff members in the hallway outside sounds as loud as if they were in front of my desk. Everyone is on high alert, waiting for the latest poll numbers to drop. I'm trying to block it out, trying to work on the bill in front of me, but the interruption every six seconds by someone else is making it impossible. I can't even escape to the Farm. Too much work has had to be done today in the office, yet not a lot of it has actually been completed.

Another knock raps on the door and I toss my pen across the desk, watching it skid until it lands against a stack of files. "Yeah?" I ask, my voice more irritated than I care to let most people hear.

Nolan opens the door and lets it shut behind him with a slam. "Numbers are in."

By the look on his tightened face, they aren't good. I lean back in my chair and wait for the verdict.

"Hobbs gave a speech last night that was better than we predicted. He's gaining headway in the north more steadily than anticipated.”

“How do we counteract that?” I sigh.

"You know how.”

“Monroe.”

“Yes, Monroe.” He sits across from me, his face stiff. “Look, Barrett. I know you don’t want to make concessions to him. I get it. But if you want to win this thing, you’re going to have to bite the bullet and tell him what he wants to hear.”

Squeezing my temples, trying to massage away the issue, I groan. This is something I had hoped I could put off long enough that it wouldn’t be necessary. It’s becoming apparent that’s not happening.

“Is there any other way, Nolan? Anything?”

He shakes his head. “No, and you have Garalent coming up too. I’m not one hundred percent sure how Monroe’s going to feel about you taking Alison.”

“She’s my girl. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”

“Daphne has traditionally gone with you. For years now, it’s been the two of you. It’s kind of your show. People wait for those pictures, and Daphne gets a lot of press after it. You bowing out on her is going to diminish some of that.”

“Not my problem.”

He sits back in his chair, tapping his cheek with a pen. “So Alison is going with you?”

I don’t want to answer that question. I’m afraid it’ll open some door that I want permanently sealed. But the longer I look at Nolan, the more obvious it is he’s going to wait for an answer.

“No, actually,” I say. “She has to work.” I raise a brow. “I’ll be going alone.”

He catches his smile. “Well, in that case, I think we should consider—”

“We shouldn’t.”

“Barrett ...”

“I am not taking Daphne Monroe to the Gala. Period.”

Nolan rolls his eyes and stands. His jaw is twitching, frustrated with my sudden forcefulness. “Fine. No Daphne. But if you want to win this election, you’re going to have to give in to her father.”

Another knock, interruption number sixteen million, sounds at the door. Before I can respond, it pushes open and my father walks in. Dressed in a suit that mirrors mine, he flashes a look to Nolan, then to me.

“Son.”

“Hey, Dad.”

“I just saw the reports Nolan sent over. The polls are bad, Barrett.”

“I’m still in the lead.”

“Barely.” He stands next to Nolan and they both look at me. “You have to be smart here. How many months do we have in this campaign? How many salaries are dependent on whether you get elected or not?”

“How about my legacy? How’s it going to look if that bill passes and it fucks the entire economy, like I think it will?”

“It won’t,” my father says, his voice stern.

Groaning, I stand too, so we are eye to eye.

“Do you want to go out there and tell Rose she needs to look for a job?” Nolan asks. "We're all going to be looking for one come January if you don’t act now. And we are down to days, Barrett. Days."

He's right. This damn election is going to go to the person that sells their soul to the right bidder. I'm not going to have a chance to do the things I want to do as Governor, nor am I going to be able to make my family proud by winning the seat, if I don't do something. My ethics are keeping me from winning, and that's not fair to everyone that's worked so hard for this chance. Or me. And if Hobbs gets in office, fuck knows what he'll do.

"Give me the phone," I mutter.