"They were forty percent of our campaign."
I can feel the breath leave my lungs as the room spins around me; my lips moving soundlessly as my brain searches for the words to possible use here. This simply can't be happening; not after we've worked so freaking hard to get to where we are.
Donald glares at me as he furiously chews on his poor pen; "Maybe next time, you'll stay on the damn speech I give you instead of going off on one of your ‘save the world' tangents, Reagan. You know they're going to jump down you throat for that kind of things because-" His phone beeps and he frowns, trailing off as he shakes his head and mutters at whatever's just popped up, but I can pretty much take my pick of what he was going to say anyways: ‘Because I'm a girl,' or ‘Because I'm the youngest person to ever run for the State Senate of New York,' or my favorite, ‘Because I'm the daughter of the late William Archer; billionaire philanthropist-slash-arms-dealer, depending on who's opinion you ask.' To most people, I'm either the next great American Dream for politics, or a nut-job, which plays nicely to the split media opinion of eager-eyed media darling or poor little rich girl, depending on which new station you like to watch. I hang my head; running was one thing, but dropping out like this is going to be a news anchor joke for years.
"So this is it then? We're done, just like that?" I can hear my voice from outside my body, my ears ringing and my jaw clenching in that way Donald always tells me not to do in front of cameras because it makes me look aggressive. I look down at the trembling glass of champagne in my hand, suddenly wishing it was the size of a movie-theater cup.
"What?" My campaign manager takes the mangled pen from his mouth and briefly wrinkles his face at it, as if just noticing how gross a habit it is. He looks up at me, a stony look on his face; "No of course not," He snaps, a bit more condescendingly than I need right now; "We've been approached by another new donor who sees a lot of promise in our campaign."
I feel myself exhale for the first time in what seems like an hour and start to shake my head; "Well Jesus, Donald, you scared the living-"
"Now, you aren't going to like it, of course, but try to let go of personal baggage for once," He interrupts me, his voice low as he glares at me; "Try to remember that this is about more than just you?"
Instantly, I narrow my eyes as suddenly every one of my gut instincts start to tingle at the look on his face and the tone in his voice; "Donald-" I start to shake my head, my jaw clenching as I feel the anger and the heat rising in my cheeks; "No, absolutely not! It's not even an option!"
Even though we're off in the corner of the big open gallery of the museum where we've been throwing the now seemingly-useless campaign fundraiser, people around us turn to stare at my outburst. Donald shushes me again as if I'm some child acting out; "It's our only option, Reagan." He huffs, "Look, we all get that you don't want your Father's company's money, but it is the only move here." Donald's rolling his eyes at me in the obnoxiously patronizing way that makes my blood boil, and for the eight-hundredth time, I have to remind myself that he's really good at this job, otherwise I'd have blown up in his face and told him where to stick it a month ago.
"Now, there's a man here from Archer Holdings to meet with you, and he'd like to talk with you-"
"Ms. Archer, they need some shots with some of the museum trustees." I'm still shaking my head furiously, my mouth open and closing like a fish out of water, when one of my staffers scurries over and starts to tug me by the arm; yanking me away from Donald before I can even come up with anything to say. I turn back to over my shoulder to yell something like ‘We're not done talking about this,' but they're already pushing me in front of the wall of flashing lights and clicking cameras and back into the spotlight where I can't look like I want so break something.
*****
By the time they're done, my face is feeling sore from all the fake smiles, and my palms are slick from other people's sweaty handshakes; the hazards of the campaign trail they never tell you about. I'm extricating myself from the stuffy museum board of directors and scanning the room for another glass of champagne when I hear it - his voice; the voice from my past and the voice I haven't heard in five years; "Hey, Princess."
I turn and he's just there, standing in the flesh right in front of me. I feel my breath catch in my throat as I suddenly look up into the bluest, most piercing eyes I've ever seen, and then I feel my pulse actually skip a beat as I fully grasp the man they're attached to. He's even more gorgeous than he was back then, in that unbelievable, magazine-model way. His dark hair is slicked back to one side, and beneath those stunning eyes is a cocky grin stretched across a strong, chiseled jaw, marked on one side by just the faintest white line of a scar across his clean-shaved chin. He's the same infuriatingly hot dichotomy he was five years ago; the perfectly tailored tuxedo and gleaming silver watch on his wrist screaming money, but the teasing glimpses of tattoo ink creeping out from beneath his French cuff sleeves or the neck of his linen shirt. His lips part as he grins at me; I know those lips.
Suddenly Donald is there, beaming at this stunningly good looking man as if he's the one running for a Senate seat instead of me; "Ahh, good, you've met!"
I'd almost want to laugh if my body wasn't suddenly froze in time where I stand. Yeah, we've met. I complete tune Donald out as I lock eyes with the brooding and handsome man grinning that goddamn smug smile at me that hasn't changed a bit in five fucking years. He might be a little bit older and a little bit more polished looking now, but suddenly my body is remembering exactly how I know Hudson Banks. I know how his body feels pressed against mine, how his hands feel on the skin at the small of my back, and how his lips taste. This time, we're sipping champagne at a $5,000 a ticket political fundraising event, instead of moaning into each other's mouths as he grinds that hardness into my thigh, making my whole body melt for him.
It's been five years since that night; five years since I was at my lowest - drunk, confused, and grieving. Five years since I completely embarrassed myself by dragging this man away from the crowds at my father's wake and attacking him like some sort of hot mess, and five years since he pushed me away from him and suddenly walked out, leaving me utterly mortified and even worse than I was before.
And in five Goddamn years, I haven't been able to get him out of my head.
Donald is smiling benignly at me as he fawns over the smugly handsome man grinning that cocky smirk at me; "As I was saying, Mr. Banks, as you may know, works for your father's comp-"
"We've met" I say it with an icy tone, trying to look everywhere else in the room but Hudson's eyes; "And this isn't happening, Donald." I shake my head, my jaw set as I grind my teeth together. I'm furious, and of course embarrassed like I was that night all over again, and all I want to do is walk away from this entire horrible exchange right now.
"It is happening, Reagan." Donald's voice is firm and he shoots me a warning look; "This is happening or there is no campaign-"
"Then fine, there's no campaign. It's been a pleasure working with you, Donald." I spit out.
"Well, nice to see you haven't changed at all, Ray." He says with a chuckle. He's got that fucking smirk on his face, that cocky grin that I once found unbelievably attractive, and then I feel my face burn red as I realize I still do. He's even more attractive now than he was back then; healthier, his eyes even sharper, those broad shoulders even stronger looking as they stretch the tuxedo just enough to show off. I'm remembering those shoulders now, and the way my hand felt hot against that hard, chiseled chest; his hands on my skin as I breathed and whimpered into his mouth.
My hand is shaking, and I grip the champagne flute tighter, willing it to stop. I do not get this way over guys, especially a prick who tried to take advantage of my grief; winding me up around his finger before shoving me away, quite literally. Hudson Banks is a fucking head-case; some ex-military jock who somehow found his way into my Father's good graces and wound up running a whole division of his company. I shake my head again, suddenly realizing I actually would rather there not be a campaign than take my father's money; especially if it's coming from Hudson fucking Banks, however stupidly good looking and sexy he looks in that damn tuxedo with those piercing blue eyes the color of a stormy sea.
I'm dimly aware of Donald hissing at me as I shove the champagne flute into his hands and walk away, ignoring the cameras, the stuffy museum trustees, my campaign aides, and especially the hot asshole in the tuxedo, as I march right out through the museum foyer and out the door.