The Billionaire's Kiss(6)

"Maybe I'm just making a big deal out of nothing. I should just forget about it."

"Callie, you deal with powerful people all the time. Why can't you ask your sister for some time off? You work insane hours, you do incredible things, just go and ask. If you don't, I'll march down there in my pajamas and do it for you."

"As much as I'd love to see that, you're right," Callie said. She grabbed her bag and turned for the door.





***

Callie paused in the doorway for a moment before stepping into Amy's office. Her palms were sweaty, and she couldn’t remember if she had put on deodorant, and every moment she waited, her confidence dwindled. It was now or never. Callie pushed the door open and announced, "I've thought it through, and I need some time away from Washington. I need a break." Callie felt a rush of anxiety as she waited for a response. Then she looked up and realized that Amy wasn't alone.

"Good morning, little sister. I think you remember Hank Harris."

Callie felt her cheeks burn as she started to blush. She placed her hand over her mouth in surprise, and then mumbled through her fingers. "Mr. Harris.” Hank Harris stood before her, his white hair sticking out beneath his stetson. With his broad shoulders and his deeply tanned face, he looked every inch an oil man. Though that was how he made his fortune, the seventy year old billionaire had taken on a second career as an environmentalist.

Hank pulled off his hat and held it over his chest. “Ms. Haven. Do you mind if I call you Callie?”

Callie pulled her hand down from in front of her mouth and repeated herself. "Mr. Harris, good morning. I apologize for interrupting your meeting. I'll come back when you and Amy have finished your business. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

"That's quite alright, Callie." Hank said. "Come on over and have a seat. Amy and I could use your help. We were just discussing the problems we’ve encountered with a piece of legislation.”

"Your environmental bill?” Callie asked. Hank’s nonprofit had drafted the language, identified the sponsors and done the heavy lifting to move the bill through committee. Haven Communications had helped persuade a few individuals who had been on the fence. Callie had personally been twisting arms and wrangling votes for this bill for months. As far as she knew, everything was set, and the bill had support from both Democrats and Republicans. Please tell me this doesn’t have anything to do with the video.

“One of the original sponsors of the bill has gotten cold feet.”

“Right,” Callie said, “Congressman…” Her mind went blank. She could almost see his face. The Congressman was young, from a prominent political family. Oh, his name was just on the tip of her tongue.#p#分页标题#e#

“Jack Coburn has gone from lead on the bill to mucking it up in committee, delaying things as he contemplates his next move. He’s gearing up to run for Senate in a few years, and now he thinks this bill could be a liability.”

Tell me this doesn’t have anything to do with the video. “It seems like a natural fit for him,” Callie said. “He’s a young, unproven Congressman. This would look great on his resume when he’s running for higher office, and it would help him shake his image as a bit of a partier.”

“When the sponsor of the bill is trying to bury it, what does that tell you?”

“There’s something else going on,” Callie said. She swallowed hard. She was starting to get the feeling that Hank’s presence wasn’t a coincidence. This had to do with the sex tape Callie had unearthed the night before. There was no point in trying to avoid the discomfort of talking about it. Callie turned to Amy. “So, this has to do with the video?"

"Yes," Amy said. "Let's just say that Hank also has a vested interest in keeping that material from ever seeing the light of day."

"Understood, but what am I missing?” Callie asked.

"How much do you know about my son?" Hank replied.

"I'm sorry?" Callie said. She really didn’t understand what the misadventures of a heartthrob with a trust fund had to do with an environmental bill. "Other than the fact that he was at Amy's wedding, and that he has a bit of a reputation as a wild child, I don't know anything. As far as I can tell, he hasn't made the headlines in quite some time.” Of course there was more than that. She remembered exactly how he had looked at her from across the crowd at Amy’s wedding. Specifically, she recalled how at odds it seemed with what she had heard of him. According to Amy, he was hot-blooded, impulsive and charming. He had been arrested more than once, and he had been in the center of a fabricated sex scandal that had almost brought Amy’s career to a halt. What else did she know about him? Oh, apparently he had a sex tape. “Has he done something?”