Knight (Political Royalty Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

needed to know. “I drank a beer in the back of Ben Smithson’s pickup at the end of sophomore year.”
    “What else did you do in the back of Ben’s pickup?” he asked with a grin that said he had no intention of dropping the subject.
    “Not a damn thing. We watched the bonfire, and by the time it was over, Ben was too drunk to drive, let alone do anything else.” She’d had to call her mother to come pick her up. In hindsight, it could have been much worse, but she’d been so humiliated at the time. Ben was a year older than her, and it had been her first real date. None of it turned out the way she’d imagined. She didn’t even get a good-night kiss out of the deal. Of course, that didn’t stop Ben from lying about the whole thing the next day. Thankfully it was just a couple days until summer and by the time junior year rolled around, everyone had moved on to something else.
    “Any other forays into underage drinking besides with the disappointing fool Ben?” he asked, waving his chopsticks at her like a prosecuting attorney.
    “Just stupid college stuff. No arrests or DUIs. No questionable behavior caught on video and before you ask—no, I didn’t use drugs. Now can we please get back to why we’re here?”
    “We could if I knew. I’m not screwing with you. I didn’t do anything all that seedy. I never stole, I rarely drank to excess, and my drug usage was pathetic.” He set the empty takeout carton on the coffee table and reached for a sweet steamed rice cake. “You don’t have to take my word for it. I’ve run in three elections. I’ve been vetted, Haven. The press hasn’t reported anything because there’s nothing there.”
    “Forgive me, Senator,” she said, sliding a heaping dose of condescension into her voice. “But running for Congress in a small Southern state isn’t the same thing as running for president. The national press corps isn’t going to give your past a cursory glance. They’re going to bring the backhoes and stay awhile. If there is something in your past to find, they’ll find it, and if there’s not, then something will ooze in to fill the void. You don’t want that. You may fancy yourself as a white knight, but the press would like nothing better than to knock you off your horse. Don’t give them the excuse or the ammunition.”
    “You’re assuming you’re telling me something I don’t already know.” Without even shifting his posture, he managed to move from comfortable good ole boy to a man in his full power. “I’ve grown up in the most powerful political family this country has seen since the Kennedys. I was raised on this stuff. It’s in my DNA. I hired you because right now, in this moment, you’re the best at what you do. I respect your skills. Don’t underestimate mine.”
    It was a fair point, but she knew men like him. Powerful men who assumed their money and family name kept them a step—or, in the case of the Walkers, a whole stairway—above the rest of the world. Admitting he was right would only give him ammunition and she had no intention of doing that. Instead, she went for the adult stance and rolled her eyes at him.
    “Save it for the inauguration,” she said, digging out a dumpling and popping it in her mouth. “Since we seem to be hitting a dead end with your closet and you brought it up, what about your family? Your father has a reputation for being fond of his secretaries.”
    Walker blew out a breath and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his legs. “That might be the understatement of the century. Since he’s hit his term limit, he’s not even all that discreet anymore. I can talk to him about toning it down during the campaign.”
    “Seriously?” Haven couldn’t imagine having that kind of conversation with her father. She couldn’t imagine needing to. Her parents’ marriage wasn’t perfect, but they loved each other. She didn’t think either of them had ever had an affair.
    “My father is nothing if not a