Traded for Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

face.
    “Good. I'll expect you around noon.” He looked pleased with himself.
    My stomach was sick. I stifled a look of disgust as he paid our bill, insisting, despite my protests, that he would handle it.
    His reason? He said he considered it an investment in the future .
    (Emily)
    Back in the car, I opened my clutch to take out a mint. “Well, that was interesting,” I said, shaking my head. “What a weird guy!”
    “Yeah, weird,” Jack echoed. His eyes were fixed on the floor.
    “Jack, what's wrong?” She rested a hand on my thigh. “Are you upset because he paid the bill?”
    “No,” he snapped.
    I withdrew my hand as if he'd tried to take a bite out of it. “Oh. Do you have to go to the campaign office today?”
    He laid his head back against the seat. “Unfortunately.”
    I scooted up beside him and wrapped an arm around his torso. “Maybe you can take today off. It wouldn't hurt to spend time with me and the baby just for one day ,” I said.
    His hand closed around mine. “One day can make all the difference!” he said angrily.
    I tried to pull my hand free of his, but his fingers closed tighter. He sat up and squeezed his eyelids shut, a stuttered breath escaping him. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I'm not mad at you.”
    “Is there something I can do for you?” I asked. “Whatever it is, I'll do it.”
    He tipped his head and our eyes met. “Come to my office tonight, after I get home. I need to talk to you.”
    I smiled, trying to help his mood with what positivity I could spare. “Okay.”
    (Hours Later)
    He'd been gone all day, and, as usual, had come home late. By the time I heard the front door, I was pumped up. I'd gone and gotten waxed after he'd left for his campaign office. I was ready for the punishment he'd promised me earlier. The heat between us in his office had been so strong that I was sure he'd have made good on his word to fuck me right then and there.
    Even though I'd been wrong about that, his request for me to meet him in his office had been encouraging.
    Until I'd heard him go into his office, I didn't dare come out of the bedroom. After the telltale sliding noise of his office door, I crept down the hall and knocked.
    “Come in,” he beckoned.
    He looked ragged and exhausted as he sat at his desk. When he saw me, he didn't smile. This made me uneasy. He was always cocky and over-confident. My hopes of being loved by him that night suddenly plummeted.
    “Did you have a good day?” I asked, hopefully.
    “Emily, sit down and listen very carefully to what I have to say to you.”
    Wow, he's drop-dead serious, I thought, a lump forming in my throat.
    “What? What's wrong?” I asked, sitting down at the guest chair on the other side of his desk. He brooded in silence for a moment, rubbing his forehead with his palm. “Jack, I know I don't know much about what's going on, but you can tell me anything. I'll try to help you if I can. Did something happen with the campaign?”
    “No. Nothing's changed with the campaign.” He stared off into the distance. “I have something to tell you about tomorrow.” He sat back in his chair. “It's hard to say.”
    I wrung my hands. “What is it?”
    “It's about your meeting with Stratford's wife. It's more than that. He wants … ”
    I narrowed my eyes. “Wants what?”
    “You. He wants you.” Finally he looked at me. He'd delivered the blow and I was finally aware of why he'd been different since the lunch meeting. “I want you to go. I want you to do whatever he says. The only time you're allowed to leave is if he's putting your life in danger, not that I think he actually would .”
    “I—don't—I mean—Jack … ”
    “I know,” he said. “He made a bargain with me, Emily. All he wants is for you to go to his house tomorrow afternoon for a few hours, and he'll manage the campaign.” It was written all over his face that he'd given the idea extensive thought. His advantage was that I would do anything for his