Chapter 3 – Diana

As I exit the building I can’t seem to wipe the thought of Kyle Swanson out of my mind.

What is it about him?

Is it because he’s rich? His well-muscled body? It can’t be any of these things. Normally any man that would talk to me like that had already lost the game. But I felt myself getting drawn closer to Swanson with every breath. A giddy excitement took over as I thought about meeting him again later that night.

Maybe it was because he was so driven. It was crazy enough that he was running five different corporations simultaneously, but why on earth did he want to become a Senator? I mean we’ve all got ideas about how to run the country, but Swanson seemed consumed by it. It was like an irresistible force was pulling him up into more and more power.

 

My reaction was completely irrational. The man sexually harasses me. It goes against the grain of everything I believe in as a professional woman. And yet, here I am giddy, wanting him. I began reviewing all the reasons it could be again. Was it his power? His money? His good looks? His drive? His energy? Maybe it was all those things. Whatever it was despite the way he talked he made me feel like a woman.

 

This was all too crazy. I’m a professional, a journalist.

 

Oh I hate the term feminist, it conjures up images of someone with a chip on their shoulder that almost, or actually does, hate men. That’s not me, but I’m a professional and expect to be treated like one, and treated fairly. So why am I getting all wound up over this man, excited about seeing him again in a few hours? Walking along it seems like the force of gravity has been cut in half. Every step is light, and I’m practically skipping like a child towards the parking garage.

 

I get to my car and try to gather my thoughts. Sitting there for a few minutes I do some deep breathing exercises and the rational part of my mind takes over. The man was clearly a jerk. I had to keep that in mind, remember his reputation, how he talked about women on television and how he talked to me.

 

My nerves finally began to relax, enough that I could drive on out of here.

 

***

 

My pulse accelerated as I began searching for a motel. I didn’t want to spend all night with Swanson having dinner down here, drinking wine while having to drive home on I-5. And I needed my own place to stay the night in case he suggested I join him at his house – something I wasn’t ready to do yet despite my undeniable attraction.

The more I drove, the more Swanson kept haunting me, like a tiger stalking its prey. His pale blue eyes were penetrating, causing a weakness within me that was impossible to fight. Despite all the feelings of hostility I had for him before meeting him, and the disgust I felt at his crude language, every time our eyes met the more I wanted to submit to him.

 

I shake my head violently trying to get him off my mind.

 

I’d seen Swanson on TV many times, but meeting him in person, and alone like that, caused a heat in my body. He radiated power and dominance from his core, and for the first time in years I was around someone that made me feel like a woman.

 

I had a lot of dates with hot looking guys. Some even leading to relationships that would last six months or a year. But they were all boys trapped in the bodies of men, and the relationships would always fizzle. Great sex for awhile, and some fun times but not much beyond that. They’d rather play video games or watch the latest TV series than do anything grown up men would do. I don’t know why I met so many of these types, maybe that’s all there is available these days.

 

But with Swanson it was different. Sure I disagreed with him on a lot of issues. And he had a leg up that most people didn’t have, being born into some wealth. But this guy had real power, and he was using it to do something. He employed 70,000 people and was running for a high government office. As far as I could tell, there’d be no stopping him either.

 

Taking a deep breath I grip the steering wheel even harder, trying to get his image out of my mind and find a reasonably priced motel near this restaurant he owns. Unfortunately it’s close to the harbor and so I’m probably not going to find anything cheap. And the traffic sucks.

 

I start thinking I should probably quit this job. This man is suddenly on my mind constantly and I’m feeling a level of anticipation about our future meeting that makes my higher self more than uncomfortable.

 

So what if he wins the Senate race. He’s likely to anyway. I should just go get a quiet job writing articles for an architecture or home decorating website and forget all this.

 

And then I feel haunted again, drawn in by those blue eyes.

 

After pulling over and searching on my phone, I finally found a Motel 6 nearby with an available room. So I headed over there and got settled in.