More Than Rivals Read Online Free PDF Page B

taken my call since we met?”
    “Oh…er…yes.” He shifted uneasily once again. “I usually do have my staff follow-up on all calls.”
    “ All calls? Or just calls from the hicks in Sonoma County. I bet you take the calls of the supervisors in San Francisco and Marin.”
    “Some of them…” He laughed and held up his hands as if to stop the barrage of her comments. “But give me a break. I only have a tiny part of Sonoma in my district. The majority of my district is SF and Marin. Technically, I don’t represent your supervisorial district.”
    “I know. I know.” She smiled. “It’s to be expected. Lucky for you, your staff is always helpful.”
    He studied her for a moment and shook his head. “But it looks like I’ve been missing out.”
    She felt her face become warm, and she was sure she was blushing. She looked around the room to get her bearings. While the crowd had dwindled down, they were still in a very public setting. Nothing had changed in their situation. In resignation, she shrugged. “But we’re here today.”
    “Yes, we are,” he said thoughtfully. “It’s unfortunate.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother’s expression of curiosity and concern. Reality was literally staring Lily in her face. She sighed. “Yeah. I think we should probably both get going.”
    “Probably so.”
    She extended her hand. “Nice meeting you again.”
    “And you,” he said with a smile. “I look forward to the next time.”
    “That’s right.” She smiled in realization. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.
    “Yes we will,” he said as his smile grew wider.  

CHAPTER THREE

    Later that evening, Lily swirled her gin and tonic as she waited for Jordan at her favorite restaurant’s bar. She was annoyed because he was always late for personal events. Professionally, Jordan erred on the early side of punctual, but he slacked off with friends and family. She checked her watch again and reminded herself she loved Jordan despite his flaws. He was great at his job and a good friend.
    When he finally sauntered through the mass of waiting patrons, he nodded and waved to the many people he called friends — or at least the Facebook definition of friend. His gregarious personality was also a useful trait for Lily. Jordan knew someone most everywhere, and for those places he didn’t, he had a contact who did. While Jordan made his way through the crowd, Lily ordered his drink.  
    “Evening, Lily,” he soon said as he pulled out his barstool.
    “Good evening. I already ordered you your drink.” She smiled and took another sip of her cocktail.
    “Thanks. What are we drinking tonight?”
    Placing Jordan’s drink in front of him, the bartender answered for Lily. “Manhattans. She went old-school.”
    “That’s my girl,” said Jordan as he snatched the maraschino cherry from his glass. He nodded to the bartender. “Thanks, Carmen.”
    Carmen acknowledged him with a wave, moving on to her next customer, and Jordan smiled at Lily. “I’ve got a dinner date, so let’s cut to the chase. How is it that you’ve had coffee with Bengston and you didn’t tell me?”
    Lily gave her drink a sheepish swirl, as she remembered how she planned on delivering the story. She’d already decided to tell Jordan everything. It was the right move to do politically so he’d watch out for her, and she needed to do it for her own mental health. After the candidate forum that morning, her mother interrogated her about her conversation with Jack. Martha’s curiosity was hard to deflect, but Lily avoided telling her mother any specifics about him. After keeping everything bottled inside, it was time to fess up. She shrugged and started her story. “It happened earlier this week.”  
    As she relayed how she met Jack the night at the coffee shop and then her conversation with him earlier that day, Jordan responded with chuckles, guffaws, and more than one incredulous look. Afterward he shook