《Political Relations (Book I of the BWWM Political Series)》Mixed Signals
Advertisement
After Oliver stormed out of the conference room, Lucille was left to explain things to Shane. She didn't know much about Anne Katherine's motives so there wasn't much to discuss.
"Well", Shane began. "This is definitely something."
Lucille nodded.
"I would've never seen this coming. What do you think of this?", he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. "We make it work", she answered. "Anne Katherine could make or break this campaign. If she wants a divorce, he'll have to give her one."
"We can spin it in his favor after he gets elected", Shane said. "Wait about a year. Maybe 16 months after election. We say they drifted apart-"
"We can't say they drifted apart", Lucille interrupted. "That makes it sound like he can't handle running the state and making time for his wife. We say the two have realized they don't love one another as lovers but as friends. Something like that."
Shane nodded. "It could work."
Lucille backed away from the table. "I'm going to see if I can reach out to Anne Katherine. Set up a meeting or something."
Shane was eyeing her up and down as she stood. She saw him looking at her but she didn't realize he was checking her out.
"I know I might be dressed very inappropriately right now but I wasn't planning on coming in today. I do apologize."
"It's no problem", Shane said as he stood up also. "I don't mind at all."
Lucille smiled and nodded. "It was nice meeting you."
"Likewise", he said. Shane watched her closely as she walked out of he conference room. He knew in due time, he would have no choice but to ask her out.
Lucille walked down the hallway to Oliver's office. She really hoped he was inside.
One reason being because she needed to talk to him about what just happened. The second reason being, he was her ride home.
She turned the knob on the door and poked her head inside.
"Can I come in?", she asked him.
"Since when do you ask?", he joked.
Lucille smiled as she entered.
"I just wanted to check on you. You left pretty fast back there. You're upset."
"I'm not upset", he confessed. I mean I think I should be upset but I'm not at all."
"Do you want to divorce her?", Lucille asked.
Oliver grinned. "Hell yeah."
"I'll meet with her tomorrow and talk about the timeline of how things will go and-"
"No. No I'll do it", Oliver answered. "I'll do it now", he said standing up.
Lucille didn't have time to suggest against it. His mind was made up so she let him go.
"Antonio will take you back to the hotel", he said. "I'll let you know how it goes."
Lucille smiled and nodded. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
Advertisement
He waved goodbye as he exited his office. Lucille was nervous. She didn't understand what this meant for them. Did she even want to? She couldn't help but think maybe she should've kept her mouth shut about the divorce.
__________________
Lucille was lying on the bed in a complimentary hotel robe. She had her curly hair stuffed into a messy bun at the top of her head. She played with the stray pieces while reading the latest issue of Cosmopolitan, one of her guilty pleasures.
She kept her phone near her, hoping Oliver would call. At this point she would've been happy for a text. Hell, an email. She just wanted to know what happened with Anne Katherine.
After she was done flipping through her magazine, it was a little after 11. She crawled under the sheets, and settled into bed. She was almost certain Oliver had reconciled with his wife and she knew she had no right to be upset if that were the case. But it wasn't the case.
She pretended to be sound asleep when she heard the sound of a key card being scanned in. She could hear his body moving gently around the room. He was being considerate of not wanting to wake her, little did he know that wasn't a problem.
When she heard the shower turn on, she actually decided to let the sandman take over. She drifted off into a light sleep. She came out of it when she felt weight on the other side of the bed. Strong arms snaked around her waist, pulling her close.
"Are you okay?", she mumbled out, still half asleep.
"Of course I am", he whispered.
Neither of them acknowledged the elephant, or elephants, in the room: her now ex-boyfriend and his possibly soon-to-be ex-wife. For now they enjoyed the weird relationship they had. They found comfort in one another even without a sexual relationship.
She rested her hand over his. "Goodnight", she mumbled inaudibly.
He pressed a kiss against the back of her neck. "Goodnight."
__________________
A month later and things were getting more and more awkward between Oliver and Lucille. The sexual tension was rising, there was no denying that. But they refused to acknowledge it.
Lucille was back at her apartment, without Aaron. Oliver had taken over the hotel room where she had been staying before.
He was spending more time with his son which was exciting for him but he just couldn't explain to him why he wasn't sleeping at home. He blamed it on work and the young boy never questioned it further.
Anne Katherine had kept her promise with the deal Oliver had made with her. She would get her divorce as long as she put forth effort in helping him win the election in two months. Also, Oliver made it clear that he would be in his son's life. That would be in writing.
Advertisement
From then on, Anne Katherine was at Oliver's side at every public function he attended, sometimes even with their son, which was great. People loved a family man.
The relationship between Lucille and Anne Katherine, though it was never significantly great before, was strained because of the whole Aaron deal. She'd apologized to Lucille but Lucille still couldn't forget what happened. She had no choice but to move on though.
"So have you started dating again?", she asked unashamedly.
Lucille rolled her eyes but answered anyway. "I was with Aaron for 6 years. I'm not sure I'm ready to jump back in so soon."
"Well when you're ready I know someone who would be a good suitor for you", Anne Katherine answered.
'Oh so do I', Lucille thought to herself. 'Your husband.'
But instead she asked, "who would that be?"
She followed Anne Katherine's eyes over to Shane. The sly grin on her face told Lucille she'd been plotting on this for some time.
"Definitely not", Lucille answered.
Lucille had to admit, Shane was undeniably good looking. She bit the inside of her cheek as she checked him out from across the room while pretending to be invested in the files in her hand.
"Okay, he is undeniably handsome, sexy, scrumptious", she thought to herself coming to a conclusion.
"You see the way he looks at you, don't you?", Anne Katherine asked, pushing the issue.
Lucille giggled. She did catch him a few times, but she did nothing to let him know she was interested. Which she wasn't. She was in no predicament to be dating, especially not now. And not him.
"I can't deal with you", she finally answered.
"What's all this whispering about?", Oliver asked as he approached them.
Lucille brushed it off but Anne Katherine was excited to let him in on the secret.
"I think Lucille should go out with Shane", she whispered excitedly.
Lucille searched Oliver's face for a reaction and quickly looked away when his eyes turned to her.
"Is Lucille interested?", he asked shoving his hands into his pockets.
The question was for Anne Katherine yet his eyes remained on Lucille.
"Of course she is. Look at him", Anne Katherine answered.
Lucille sighed. These stay at home moms literally had no excitement in their lives. She was at least happy to see Anne Katherine making an effort to get along with Oliver though, even if it was at her expense.
"They certainly have my blessing then", Oliver said.
Lucille spoke up, "All of this is rhetorical. Shane hasn't exactly expressed interest in me."
She said it to reassure both herself and Oliver.
"Well either way", Oliver said. "Excuse me", he said before walking away from the women.
"There's no shame in making the first move", Anne Katherine chimed in before she also walked away.
Lucille looked over to Shane who was still deeply invested in his work. What harm could one date do? Besides, Oliver had been terribly distant with her over the past month.
She wondered if it had anything to do with the divorce bombshell. He said he wasn't bothered that she'd kept it from him but maybe it was a front.
She was so deep in thought she hadn't realized Shane was now looking right back at her with a smirk set on his face. He'd caught her staring. Her cheeks heated up as she turned on her heel to exit the conference room quickly. She ran right into Oliver.
He cleared his throat. "Excuse me."
"Can we talk?", Lucille asked.
He nodded. She led him down the hall to her office. Once the door was shut she wasted no time.
"What's going on?", she asked.
He looked at her questionably.
"You've been detached for the past few weeks. I just wanted to make sure we were okay."
"We're as okay as we can be for the moment", he answered.
"What does that even mean? You're talking in code." She seemed agitated. "Just say what you mean."
"We are fine", he answered. The look in his eyes begged her to drop it. So she did.
He was walking out but before he left he turned back to her.
"If you wanna go out with Shane", he trailed off. He was hesitant to continue. "He seems like a nice guy."
Lucille nodded as he exited her office. Shortly after there was a knock at the door of her office.
Shane stepped inside, greeting Lucille with a somewhat stirring smile.
"What are you so happy about?", Lucille asked fumbling around papers at her desk, trying to seem only half interested.
Shane chuckled a bit and pointed behind himself. "So I just spoke with Anne Katherine", he said.
Lucille could feel her face heating up. "Oh yeah? About what?", she asked not looking up.
"She seems to be under the impression that you are.. interested in me."
She looked up at him. "Sounds like some water cooler gossip to me", she laughed it off.
He nodded. "I figured as much. There's no way a woman as beautiful as you isn't already taken."
Lucille blushed. "Well thank you but unfortunately I am newly single."
"I'd say I'm sad to hear that but I'd be lying", he said. "Because since you're single you can join me for dinner."
Lucille smiled. "I'm sorry but I'm not in that place right now."
"I can respect that", Shane said.
As he turned to walk away, Oliver's words floated to Lucille's mind. She shook her head but proceeding to speak up.
"Shane", she said.
He turned around to face her. "Yeah?"
"How about coffee?", she asked.
------------------------------------------------------
Shane boutta be eyeing Lucille and drinking that coffee like...
Advertisement
- In Serial425 Chapters
Rise
Su Xue, a woman in her mid 20s, is struggling both in paying rent and finding her path in life. Her latest stint has her trying to become a popular League of Legends streamer, though to poor results. One day, she is interrupted in the middle of a livestream by a surprise visit from her landlady. She is informed that she will be having a new roommate. The landlady’s nephew, Lin Feng, a 18 year old boy who has just transferred over to Shanghai for his last year of high school.Though initially opposed to it, Su Xue reluctantly agrees to the arrangement. She learns that the two share a common interest—League of Legends—and that he’s really amazing at the game. Lin Feng also reveals to her he wishes to become the best professional League of Legends player in the world.The next day. Lin Feng attends his first day of school as a transfer student at High School 13. He meets Ouyang and Yang Fan, and the trio find a common passion in League of Legends. Lin Feng is then introduced to Ren Rou, the president of the esports club with a fiery personality, and Tang Bingyao, a quiet bookworm with a love for money and a surprising talent for the game.A little about Lin Feng’s past is revealed. He was a once pro player, the youngest in history and a contender for the best player in the world. Until the finals of the Season 1 World Championship. There, he lost to his arch-rival, an equally brilliant Korean youth. That was the peak of his career, and also the turning point in his life. He stepped down from his team and disappeared from competitive play altogether. Now, after a four year long hiatus, he aims to make a comebackOver the next couple of weeks, Lin Feng learns about the upcoming Shanghai 16 School Tournament, and that his school’s esports club had performed especially poorly the previous year. He agrees to coach the club’s team and help them win the first place trophy this year. And so, he starts the members of the club out on an intense training bootcamp.Meanwhile, the Season 5 League of Legends World Championship is taking place at around the same time. Tian Tian, one of Lin Feng’s former teammates and best friend, is on one of the Chinese teams playing at Worlds. After a poor showing, he is on the verge of a mental breakdown. Lin Feng witnesses everything in a viewing party with the esports club members and becomes worried.On the day of the Shanghai 16 School tournament, Lin Feng reunites with Tian Tian on the phone. He tells Tian Tian he’s going to return to the professional scene, that he’s making a new team and plans to invite him. But Tian Tian has to vow not to give up at Worlds and keep winning. Tian Tian agrees, and Lin Feng promises he’ll fight alongside him. Lin Feng then heads into his match with renewed resolve, to climb from the bottom all the way back to the top, and overcome the rival that defeated him so many years ago.
8 1136 - In Serial479 Chapters
Phoenix's Requiem
Painfully shy and conflict-averse, Yun Ruoyan is a scion to a noble house only in name, a puppet embroiled in political machinations beyond her ken. At the tender age of eighteen, poisoned and at death’s door, she finds herself thrown out into the streets. Her relatives have all been executed, betrayed by her dear husband and her cousin. With her dying breath, she curses her own weakness and swears revenge.When Yun Ruoyan awakens once more, she is thirteen, transported five years into the past by the will of the heavens. Her death-defying experience has changed her: no longer is she the malleable creature she once was. But more questions await at every corner—what is the truth behind the birthmark that disfigures her appearance? What are the circumstances surrounding her mother’s mysterious death?Will the phoenix rise from the ashes, or will she fall once more in thrall to fate?
8 646 - End489 Chapters
Poison Physician Consort
Follow Bai Luochu on a journey back to the peak as she reincarnates into the body of an orphaned daughter of the former great general of the Cloud Water Nation.With the Three Great Immortal Sects in front of her, her mortal enemies who caused her death, how would she rise to the top again?With her astounding medical skills and ability to create heaven defying poison, Bai Luochu heals the crippled meridians of her new body and attracts the attention of all three princes of the Cloud Water Nation!
8 1749 - End413 Chapters
Rebirth of a Fashionista: This Life Is Soo Last Season
Cinderella went from rags to riches, but when you are already at the top, fate is more than happy to kick you down. A car accident kicks off Sheng Jiaoyang's reverse Cinderella story by trapping her soul in the body of a poor girl, leaving her to succumb to fate and wait for her Prince Charming to come to her rescue -- obviously not!Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, Sheng Jiaoyang forges her own way back up to the upper echelons of society, clearing obstacles, taking revenges, and bagging her handsome and rich childhood friend on the way.If you are tired of reading about poor damsel in distress waiting for a man to rescue her, and wants a female lead that can carry herself to the top, Rebirth of A Fashionista is the novel for you!
8 274 - End448 Chapters
The Attack of the Wastrel
Her rebirth gave her a second chance at life. She was back with a vengeance and wanted to make those that had harmed her pay. But to those that helped her, she wanted to repay them. Her evil stepmother? She would slowly pull out her claws, one by one. Her evil stepsister? She would crush her pride. She thought that by getting her revenge for her past life, she would be happy in this life. However, she never would have thought that danger would chance upon her time and time again. The hatred from her clan and whether their bloodline would continue to exist, lay solely on her shoulders. Luckily, on this thorny path, someone had always been protecting her. "Third Prince, have you ever regretted being with me?" That person laughed lightly and peered at her with a loving yet weary look, "As long as I am together with you, I have no regrets."
8 1461 - End401 Chapters
Demoness's Art of Vengeance
Jun Xiaomo, notoriously known as “Lady Demoness”, finds herself chained and bound in a dungeon. Her hard-earned cultivation has been completely crippled, and she has no means of escape. Qin Shanshan, a lady she used to called her “close friend”, mocks Jun Xiaomo, revealing that Jun Xiaomo had been used by the people around her. Even her lover, Qin Lingyu was one of the masterminds scheming against her. Jun Xiaomo watches her life flash before her eyes and realizes that she had indeed blindly placed her trust in people. Her naivety had led to her current predicament. Jun Xiaomo wanted to end it all. However, she is determined to deliver a swan song. Over the hundreds of days tormented in that very dungeon, Jun Xiaomo had painstakingly painted a complicated formation array with her own blood. With a determined look, Jun Xiaomo burns her life force to activate the array. Her sole intent? To bring with her as many schemers to the gates of hell as she could. The bright red light from thearray intensified, and the end was nigh.…or was it? Jun Xiaomo opens her eyes and finds herself alive again; time had rewound right back to when she was sixteen years of age, albeit only at the eighth level of Qi Cultivation. Armed with the knowledge and memories of her previous lifetime, Jun Xiaomo is determined to learn from her mistakes and bring retribution to those who so deserve…
8 368