Chapter Three
Evie
As I drive down the street, I come to an abrupt stop at a red light. I can’t believe how late I am for school. I’m never running this late. Problem is I couldn’t get to sleep last night after the ball. I sip my coffee and press the gas a little too harshly causing the car to jerk and my coffee to slip over the rim of the cup and onto my white blouse. Of course, my morning just gets better and better. I grab a tissue and dab at my blouse. A big yellow stain has already formed down the front. My father was Grandpa Jack’s son. When I was two years old, he found himself fighting a different battle dying from complications from the flu. I take a quick right turn and head toward school as a long yawn escapes my lips. My grandfather is only visiting me for a short while here in Chicago before he heads back to LA. I like to support his veteran affair commitments basically because he stood up to the plate when there were no other takers. He gave me love the best way he knew how and saved me from ending up in the system.
I feel out of sorts after last night. My nerves strung high. It was by fluke that I made it to protest the destruction of Henderson Place only to have my best friend Jake place a cream pie in my hand. I’m only passionate about certain things in life. I certainly don’t go out of my way to fight battles that aren’t my business like Jake does. Heck, I don’t even know what the governor was saying about Henderson place since he was too far away for me to read his lips. What I did know was that the Governor was there to support its destruction. Just the thought made my stomach turn because it meant he didn’t care about the heritage of our city but more so I was angry that he didn’t even have the decency to meet with Jake and the project manager when he brought the proposal from Habitat for Humanity to his office. It had been rejected the previous week in the Cook County Development Department, and the governor was our last resort before the project would be shut down. I was fueled by the fire of his rejection of the project when I threw that pie at him. It was only a bonus that Jake nailed his chief of staff. I also didn’t expect to nail the governor right in the face. I started freaking the heck out when I did. Throwing a pie must be a felony in the great state of Illinois. I’m sure of it and I’m a teacher for goodness sake. I could lose my license. Hence my lack of sleep last night. I mean who would have thought that not even twenty-four hours after throwing a pie in his face I would find myself face to face with none other than the governor himself. And not only did I come face to face with him but he seemed interested in me in a way that wasn’t friendly, the look in his gorgeous blue eyes spoke of something feral, needy, sexual, and almost devious. To say I wasn’t weak at the knees would be a lie because they were knocking together as we danced and not only out of fear of him recognizing me but more because he was so darn handsome. His smile was kind, his eyes bluer than the bluest of seas, and his masculine scent all had me thrown off kilter. That never happens to me. And so, when my heart rate speed up and my mouth watered at the sight of him I did the only thing that made sense. I put up my defenses. Scolded him for not meeting with Jake about the Habitat project and called him a schmuck to his face. Okay, maybe the whole schmuck thing was a little overboard, but honestly what was a simple girl like me to do when faced with such a handsome powerful man? Besides he had his priorities crossed when it came to politics. I had gone over the long list of reasons why him and me would be a bad idea last night in bed, and the list was too darn long to even contemplate the pros.
Now I was a hot mess this morning with a coffee-stained shirt and the papers I graded for my tenth-grade science class sitting on the floor of my car in a heap completely out of order. My mind was everywhere as I convinced myself that the governor was all wrong for me. I finally parked in my usual reserved spot and reached for the papers I graded on the floor. There was no time to organize, and I would have to do that later. I just picked up the heap and held it close to my chest while some of the pile threatened to slip through my fingers. I grabbed my huge purse, throwing my water bottle inside, then grabbed my cup of coffee and left the car. As I walked in my stilettos and too tight pencil skirt, I worried about spilling more coffee down my shirt. It didn’t help that tonight was parent-teacher conferences and I would have to meet parents with a stained shirt. I finally made it into my morning class remembering the lie I told the governor about working in a clothing store. I’m not even sure how that lie came about other than my nerves were frayed by his good looks and the mixed thoughts about getting arrested for the damn pie incident.
I stopped dead in my tracks as I passed the threshold to my classroom because a man with broad shoulders, wearing a dark suit was looking out the back windows at the courtyard. Fuck me! I didn’t usually swear but fuck me! He was here in my classroom, in my school. I was going to kill Grandpa Jack, that could be the only explanation as to how this man found me. I leaned forward on my desk and plopped down the large heap of papers I was holding. Followed by my cup of coffee and too large purse. He must have sensed my arrival because at that moment he turned his head followed by his body. Those dazzling blue eyes raking over every inch of me before a slow smile formed on his lips.
I didn’t mean for the warmth I felt in my chest to spread throughout my body, but it did. Moving on its own accord before slipping between my thighs and reminding me that the male in front of me was all man. And before I had time to remember that I ended last night by calling him a schmuck and taking off, nervous words were spilling from my mouth. “What are you doing here?”
His brows dipped together before those thick lips of his moved and said. “I’m here to see you.”
I laughed. “You’re a glutton for punishment, I see. If I remember I called you a schmuck yesterday.”
His smile grew, maybe he made a sound of laughter. I’m not sure. It had been so long since I heard a sound that it seemed a part of a different life and time.
“You did. I haven’t forgotten.” He cocked a brow. “I think we got off on the wrong foot and I wanted to rectify that,” he said but he was speaking rapidly. Too fast. I only got half of what he’d said.
“Sorry, can you repeat that?” I asked.
“I want to fix things between us. Take you out for dinner.” He grinned a smile that probably had many women in his past saying yes to his every whim.
I tilted my head to the side and gave him a look that said ‘what’s your angle buddy?’
He muttered something, but I don’t know what he said. Then he looked exasperated. “You threw a cream pie at my face at the Henderson Place ribbon cutting ceremony. You should at least say yes to my dinner proposal. You owe me.”
My eyes turned so wide and round I thought they might bulge out of my head. My heart raced at the thought that he was here to have me arrested.
He lifted a hand. “Relax. I’m not here to get you into any trouble.” He grinned widely then coughed looking around my empty classroom for a brief moment. “Although I can’t believe that teachers throw cream pies at governor’s in their spare time.”
“It was a once in a lifetime occurrence,” I quipped. Then thought better of it. “I’m sorry. I was having a bad day and you were smiling so wide at the ceremony like you loved the idea of ripping poor Henderson Place down, plus you wouldn’t help out with the Habitat project.”
“And for that I’m sorry. I want another chance to make a first impression on you. I hate that Henderson Place is getting demolished,” he stopped talking. “Okay, how about we meet for dinner, and we review your Habitat proposal over dessert?” he offered.
“Great, I’ll ask my friend….” I began but he cut me off with a shake of his head.
“No, you make the proposal. Not your friend.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Governor,” I smiled a little too much, unable to control my need to flirt with this man.
“Great, so do I have my driver pick you up from school or are you going to tell me where you live?”
I thought long and hard about his question. My apartment was my personal space. Did I want to share that information? I mean he is the governor so he can’t be the crazy stalker type. And he was very dreamy, too dreamy. There was only one problem. I don’t think that he caught on to the fact that I was deaf. Would he still be interested in me when he found out? Did I even want to go out on a date with a man that was able to hear? I knew from my peers and past relationships that it wouldn’t work in the long run and anyway did the governor truly see me as someone he could be with past a one-night stand? I hated all the questions running through my mind but at the end, my curiosity and the need to get to know the handsome governor won out, “My apartment is fine. Only I can’t meet for dinner tonight. Parent-teacher conferences.” I reached for a notepad on my desk and scribbled my address down. Then I passed him the paper. He was grinning like the darn Cheshire Cat.
“Fine, tomorrow evening then,” he responded. I looked at the clock it was eight fifty-five and the students began trickling into the classroom. We had no bells here. They weren’t needed.
“Yes.” I smiled and he turned and left. I fell back in my chair and blew out a long breath. I had a date with the Governor of Illinois. Holy shit! I let out a loud noise knowing my students wouldn’t hear it anyway then put my straight face on to teach. Still, I was giddy the whole darn day.