Candidate: A Love Story (6 page)

That night, Kate arrived at a fundraiser for Senator Malendar. While she was a little aggravated that Grady had not shown up to the parent center opening at the children’s hospital yesterday morning, she was still pleased they had gotten through a week without incident. She stopped by the powder room to check her dress before entering the Agave Ballroom. It was very nice for a hotel event. The ballroom had four sets of doors that were open and leading to a balcony. It was beautifully lit and there were fresh flowers on each of the round tables throughout the room.

Kate set her bag down at her place setting. No one was at her table yet so she turned to get a drink at the bar. The sound guys were doing mike checks, and Kate saw Stanley adjusting the microphone at the podium. Stanley, who never liked to be called Stan, was a balding guy, she guessed mid-forties. He was incredibly well dressed, and seemed to do it with ease. From what Kate could tell, dressed-up Stanley was the only Stanley. His hair was cut very short to his head and his ears were small and round. They stuck out a little, and when he was angry, he looked a bit like a monkey. Stanley was often angry or frustrated with what he considered “the incompetence all around him.” Kate smiled in case he saw her, but he was engrossed in shaking hands and passing important people along to the senator.

Kate wore a simple black silk dress. Long, straight across and off the shoulders. It was her “go to” dress. She loved the lines, the feel of the silk, and the barely-there strappy sandals she always wore with it. It fact this dress was the only time she ever wore the insanely high strappy sandals. Her hair was up and she felt together, calm even, when she ordered a sparkling water and lime. She didn’t often dress up to the evening gown level, but when she did she was always reminded that she was a woman. She knew that was silly, of course she was a woman, but since the divorce she had forgotten a lot of things.

Grady, who was talking with a man and a woman Kate recognized as his childhood friends, Peter and Samantha, looked over at her and then excused himself and made his way through the crowd. As he approached, Kate was now acutely aware she was female, and slightly annoyed that the temperature in the room went up an easy ten degrees.

“Katherine.”

“Grady, haven’t we settled the name thing? It’s Kate.”

“I’m sorry, but that is not a Kate dress. That is most definitely a Katherine. Hepburn, Deneuve, take your pick, but it’s a Katherine.” He took her hand, kissed her knuckles and lingered. Kate tried to remember if a man had ever kissed her hand. If it had happened, it was never like this. “You look stunning.”

“Thank you.” That was all she could get out of her mouth. It was one thing to know the magazine cover Grady. No question he was lovely to look at and his tux was perfect, but since spending time with him, Grady had grown on her a bit. There was something in those eyes, behind them, that spoke to Kate far more than his beautiful face. She had clearly not been a good judge of men in the past, but this one did seem like a decent guy. She was about to ask where he was yesterday, when a blonde in a bright dress with a sizable slit took Grady’s arm. He looked awkward for the briefest moment, but Kate was prepared and doing her best to be gracious.

“You must be Maddie, that’s quite a dress. I’m Kate from Bracknell and Stevens.”

“Oh, you work for Grady? For a minute, from the look on his face, I thought you were moving in on my guy.” She giggled; there may have been a little snort, and Grady’s cheeks actually tinted.
This was going to be fun.
“How did you know my name? Have you been talking about me?” She made some weird pouty face at Grady and he started to say something, but Kate jumped in.

“It’s part of my job to know who Mr. Malendar is with during the campaign. Maddie Brinks, you are twenty-four, your family has been close friends with the Malendars for years. You went to UC Santa Barbara, majored in fashion design, and you currently own a little boutique in Los Angeles. Um, “Madly Chic,” yes that’s what it’s called. You and Mr. Malendar have been dating for approximately five hours, so it’s super cute you’re already keeping an eye out for him.” Kate smiled her best girlfriend smile. Grady began to smirk and turned toward Little Miss Mile High Slit.

“Wow, you’re good. She’s good, isn’t she, babe?” she said.

Grady was now into a full warm and wonderful smile. He looked right into Kate. “She certainly is. She’s the best.”

“It must be great to have such good employees looking out—”

“She’s not an employee.” Not looking away from Kate.

“Grady, it’s fine. I’m sort of an employee.”

He turned to his date, as if she were a toddler, and explained. “Maddie, Katherine works for one of the largest PR firms in the country. We are her client, I’m her project.”

“Oooh really? Katherine—”

“Kate, please call me Kate.”

“Kate, where’d you go to school? Have you worked with a lot of celebrities or only politicians?”

At this point Kate was distracted by the drinks being passed around, as the senator and his wife were about to toast and welcome their guests. Grady should probably be down there, at least available to his father. He must have read her mind because they started walking toward the main table. Kate liked work and was more comfortable with speeches and guest lists. Work didn’t have a lot of hand kissing and she liked it that way. As they took a seat at their table, Kate answered Maddie, who still wanted to know about the celebrities.

“Columbia, I went to Columbia, and I’m not at liberty to discuss our clients. Maddie, it was a treat meeting you, but if you’ll both please pardon me, it looks like the senator is about to toast.” Kate smiled at Grady, who looked perfect and poised, and she moved toward the center of the room.

Grady had schmoozed and even spent a painful half hour talking with Senator Grafton about his new parrot. After surviving that, and the rubber chicken dinner, Grady managed a dance with Samantha and even sat with his mother and her bridge friends for a while. Maddie tagged along, but after all of the talking heads had finished talking, Grady had driven her home, telling her he was heading home too. She had offered to tuck him in, which was the farthest thing from his mind. He kissed her on the cheek and knew he would wait maybe another week before making a clean break. It was explained that his father wanted him to have a “significant other” during the campaign, but Maddie was not that other. Grady was restless after dropping Maddie off, so he returned to the fundraiser. Sam and Peter would still be there, and Kate. Kate would still be there and, well shit. He wanted to see her.

By the time he got back things were winding down. Most of his father’s staff and a few select friends had moved from the ballroom to the senator’s suite. Grady walked into the large presidential suite, which was bigger than most LA apartments, and saw her first. His gaze fell on her instantly, and why not when she was wearing that dress? Her hair was piled on her head, messier than it was earlier in the evening. A few strands curled at her neck. She was talking to her boss, Mark, and the small crease between her eyes appeared. It was there every time she focused or was mentally prepping her argument. He knew that now. He noticed things about her.
When had that started?
Grady was now used to Kate’s serious and often starchy personality. It was stimulating, and for the first time in a long time he was on his toes and enjoying it.

He grabbed a bottle of water from the bar that was now en suite, and as he looked up from twisting off the cap, someone made Kate smile, and the air changed, just like that. Her face was warm and soft. She put her tongue to her teeth and did this little crinkle with her nose when she laughed. Genuine, so unstudied, and alive.

“Hey, you’re back,” Samantha said, slipping her arm through his.

“I am.”

“Any particular reason?” Sam noted his line of sight. “Or someone in particular?”

Grady caught on. “Actually, I came back to see you. Where’s Peter?”

“Sulking.”

“Yeah, he seemed pissed tonight. Hugely successful playwright pressures?”

Sam chuckled. “That must be it. Hey, would you mind giving me a ride home?”

“You’ve got it. I’m probably going to leave in a few minutes. I just wanted to say goodnight.”

“Uh huh,” Sam said as Grady’s gaze drifted back to Kate. “She’s very sweet.”

“Huh, not the word that comes to mind. She probably likes you, so she might be sweet with you. When she’s with me, it’s more like sour.”

“Well, you can bring that out in people.”

“Thanks, Sam.”

She patted him on the back. “I’m going to get my coat and I’ll meet you by the valet in twenty minutes?”

“Sounds good. I’ll be right down.” Grady kissed Sam on the cheek and made his way over toward the balcony, to Kate.

She was now sitting with her back to everyone. Her arms were perched on the railing as she held out a piece of paper she was reading. He didn’t even need to see her face for his stomach to do that weird flip it had started doing since she kicked him the first day they met. As he got to the balcony, someone called her name and Kate turned. Her hair fell softly around her face and she wore glasses, something new and in contrast to her flowing gown. She uncurled from the chair, noticed him, smiled, and then walked toward Mark, in bare feet.

Grady hadn’t seen this Kate yet. Sexy and completely unaware. Working, but still having fun with her job. Beauty, brains, and those glasses. He was slipping into unfamiliar territory. It was time for him to head home.

He found his father, said his goodnights, and tossed a wave to Kate as he left. He needed to keep his distance. Distance had always been his unwavering friend.

Chapter Seven

K
ate left the hotel about a half hour after Grady. While unlocking the door, her heart stopped as her phone vibrated with a text telling her to get down to the Cal Medical Center. It was urgent, that was all Mark said.

She locked up, turned around and ran to her car. On the drive, she received bits and pieces of information. Grady had been in a car accident. He was fine. His friend Samantha had been injured, but she was stable. A million questions swirled through her mind as she pulled her car into the emergency room parking lot. She grabbed a pad and pen from her car, gathered her dress, and walked through the buzzing doors as quickly as she could, thankful she had found flip-flops in her car so she wasn’t going to have to run interference all night with crying feet.

Kate met with Mark and the senator’s staff in an unoccupied break room just off the ER. She collected information and was chosen to address the press that had already assembled outside. She wasn’t thrilled that she needed to meet the press in an evening gown, but there was a woman, Grady’s dear friend, in a hospital bed, lucky to be alive. Kate really had no room to complain. She had a job to do.

Kate walked through the main hospital lobby on her way out to the front entrance where the press was cordoned off, anticipating a statement. Her brother Neil was standing just inside the hospital talking with two other uniformed police officers.

“Hey, Sis.” His arm outstretched, he pulled her into a hug. “You okay?”

“Sure. I’m fine. I wasn’t in the car.”

“I know, but I heard Grady’s name on my radio and just came down to make sure you were all right.”

“Are you working tonight?” Kate asked noticing his jeans and sweatshirt.

“No. I was, well, I was close and I just wanted to check. Looks like everyone’s fine. His girlfriend is pretty banged up, and I think he needed stitches, but you probably already know all of this, big shot.” Neil bumped his shoulder into hers.

“Yup, that’s so me, big shot.” They both laughed. “I’m not feeling very tough in my princess dress here.”

“You look beautiful. How was the shindig, well, before Mr. Fancy Pants wrecked his car?”

Kate shook her head. “Look at you with that clever wit, huh? If you read the report, super cop, you know that Grady was not at fault, so while his pants may be fancy, he didn’t wreck his car all by himself.”

“Yeah, I did see that. No drugs or alcohol either.”

“Oh, and not his girlfriend. She’s a family friend.”

“Thanks for clarifying that.” Neil smiled. “So, you better get out there, the natives are getting restless.”

“You realize that phrase is a touch racist, right?”

“What?”

“The natives, Native Americans?”

Neil looked confused. “That’s ridiculous. It’s a damn expression. A saying. Everyone is so sensitive these days.” Neil wrapped his arm around her and squeezed. “Well, good to see you, even at two in the morning. Get out there and be politically correct.”

“Good to see you too, officer.” Kate lifted up and gave her big brother a kiss on the cheek.

She stepped through the automatic glass doors of the hospital and into the cool early spring air. Greeted by a dozen microphones and several blinding lights, Kate had met worse, but not without her navy blazer. It was her best friend in these face-to-face dances with the media. Kate took a breath. She told herself Super Girl was still Super Girl even without the cape, and then the battle began.