Buyer’s Market(213)

"What do you mean by that?"

"Did you see the way she was looking at you? Like a tiger eyeing her prey. And don't look surprised. Be honest with me. What's really going on?"

I watch as Carter replaces his tie and straightens it back into place. He now looks completely different from how I found him. It really is as if nothing happened, and I'm taken aback by how striking his frame looks in that tailored suit. Why am I just now noticing this?

"Listen, Tina Ling is just trying to help."

"By taking her shirt off for you?" I smirk.

"No, with Liam Jeffries."

Now I'm really intrigued. "What's Liam got to do with this?" I ask.

"You know as well as I do that he's gone rogue."

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean that he's making brash and impulsive decisions with no regard to environmental legislature. Sure, he's winning over the hearts and minds of the people, but what about the environmental impact? We need to stop thinking simply about the present. I know that we are talking about 10,000 jobs and I'm not trying to minimize the importance of that, but just think about the environmental impact of those five factories that he's proposing—air and water pollution worse than anything the city of New Kingston has ever known. With those five factories being built in close proximity to New York City—homes and schools—the people of New Kingston will be subjected to unhealthy levels of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Have you ever seen kids get sick because their water was poisoned? Or elderly people with asthma and lung cancer that doesn’t happen from smoking?"

"And so what does Tina Ling have to do with any of this?"

"Bottom line? She agrees with me. She doesn't believe that Liam should be running wild with no regard for the law,” Carter says. “And she’s at least offering me some help.”

“Because Liam told the papers that you could go fuck yourself?” I ask, unable to help myself.

Carter bristles. “I guess you just used him to do that, didn’t you?” he asks. The moment he says it, I know what the problem is.

There’s a silence.

I decide to let it go.

"Have you ever thought that Mayor Ling is coming from a selfish place?” I ask him. “That maybe she has a hidden agenda. Judging by her body language, it looked pretty personal."

"Right now, everyone has an agenda Vivian,” Carter says. “The question becomes, how important are the lives of the people who can’t afford allies?"

"Come on, Carter. She's thinking about her own economy. Her own country. She’s not in it to help you save lives. If the jobs go back to Shanghai, she wins."

"Correction, we both win."

"I suppose so."

"I know so, and she promises that she can help raise the money."

I wonder for a moment what Carter means by raising money? Isn’t it too early to start thinking about re-election?

"Don't looks so dubious," he says, noticing my pensive gaze. "Although, you look awfully cute when you're deep in thought." He flashes a disarming smile.

"Very funny."

"No, I mean it."

I watch as Carter takes a few steps toward me and I notice the distance between us is shrinking. He's so close now that I can practically feel the warmth emanating from his body. The look on his face has changed, and a pregnant silence fills the air.

He clears his throat. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Of course. You can always be honest with me."

He brushes his hand up against my own. I immediately recognize how big and strong it is. "It's women like you who cause global warming."

"Oh yeah? What's that suppose to mean?" I smirk and roll my eyes. But inside, my heart starts beating faster. It’s like I want to believe him and fall into his arms, you know? I want to see where this is going.

"You're so hot you've raised the temperature of this room at least 20 degrees."

"Is that the best you've got?" I roll my eyes and sigh again. But I’m smiling. Ear to ear.

"What's going on between you and Liam?"

Oh. My. God.

The question catches me off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Come on. Don't think I haven't noticed. What are the secret meetings about?"

"It's nothing. Honestly."

“Sex?” he asks me.

I bristle. “Listen, to me, Carter Andrews,” I say, taking a step forward and placing my index finger on his lips. “If I didn’t tell that Communist bitch Tina about my sex life, what makes you think I’m going to tell you?”

“Because you’re going to be having sex with me in about five minutes,” he says, his eyes boring down into me.