9781631054631ChoiceAffairsSalisbury (16 page)

“We’ll finish this
later, of that I promise.” He turned and walked out.

Always
has to
have the last word when it comes to matters of sex
. I shook my head.
Time to turn the tables on mister macho Dom.

* * * *

I was met by a young
Marine as I exited the Bentley at Walter Reed early that afternoon. He escorted
me inside to a private r
oom where the vice
president’s wife and a couple of other senators’ wives were waiting.
Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous about any of this. In a small way, I was
representing Apolo and his commitment to anyone who was disabled.
In or out of uniform.

Once eve
ryone arrived, we were escorted by an Army major to a ward
where there were a group of servicemen, all in various phases of their rehab.

The vice president’s
wife introduced me to one Marine who was days away from being discharged. He
had just received his prosthetic leg the day before and was a little unsure
about walking too far on his own.
At
least without assistance.

He caught me quite
off guard. The young man, it seemed, had done his research
on his visitors.

“This is Senator
Choice’s wife, Caitlyn Choice,” the vice president’s wife said.

“Yes,
ma’am.
Nice to meet you.”
He extended his hand. “I admire your
husband, ma’am.
For him to com
e forward after all this time and share his experience and
make a commitment to helping the disabled.”

“Thank you, corporal.
I’ll be sure to let him know.”

“I read it was a civil
war era land mine? I’m a big civil war buff, so I was really interested.”

“Ye
s, evidently.
It is my understanding that after his
accident they found quite a few. Amazing one hadn’t gone off before then.”

“How was he able to
keep it secret like that? His disability, I mean,” another soldier asked.

“Senator Choice is
quite hard
headed and determined. He decided early on
there was nothing any different about him other than the fact he’d lost a limb.
He merely went after his dream and kept the rest to himself.”

“Did it make a
difference when he did reveal his disability?”

“No,
not
at all.
Certainly, it caught some people off
guard. For the most part, he was quite pleased with how well the news was
received.”

“Has the senator
decided whether or not he’ll start his own foundation?” the curious corporal
inquired.

“It’s something we’ve
discussed, something he’d like to do. Perhaps once he
settles into his new position, we’ll look at it further. The senator is quite
thorough, so if you’re familiar with his background, you’ll know he never does
anything without having completely researched
the
subject.”

The questions and
chats went on for about twenty more minutes. Then, it was time for a photo op.
For once, I was only too happy to oblige the young men. Apolo was going to be
quite pleased with my report, though I imagined he’d know about it
before I saw him again.

After, we were
escorted to a private dining room, where we had lunch with some of the heads of
the various trauma and rehabilitation units. By the time we were ready to
leave, I was very impressed with the dedication these men and
women put into their jobs.

As we walked to the
front door to be escorted to our awaiting vehicles, the vice president’s wife
took me aside. “I’ll see you at dinner this evening, Mrs. Choice. They loved
you today. I think you’ve found your niche. We’ll disc
uss
how to make it happen later.”

“Thank
you, ma’am.
Please, call me Caitlyn. I look forward to this evening.”

A group of what I
assumed to be secret service men closed in to escort her to her limo. “As do I,
Caitlyn. See you this evening.” She was gone th
at
fast.

As I met Jacob at
Apolo’s limo, I thanked my escort.

“I take it your visit
was a success?” Jacob inquired.

“Very
much so, Jacob.
That,
and I seem to have made a friend in the
vice president’s wife.”

“Excellent. Apolo will
be glad to hear that.”

I
ducked into the car and slid across the back seat as he
closed the door behind me.

“Where
to, Mrs. Choice?”

I sighed. “It’s
Caitlyn, Jacob. Home, I guess. We don’t have to leave for the vice president’s
until seven this evening. I might as well use the tim
e
to catch up on a few things.”

“Okay, home it is,
then.”

I settled back in the
leather seat and watched as the traffic and landmarks went by. Recalling the
events at Walter Reed, I remembered what the young man had said to me.
A foundation.
It was somethi
ng
neither Apolo nor I had discussed. So much had been going on in the short time
we’d been in Washington. All the same, a foundation in Apolo’s name dedicated
to the rehabilitation and lives of disabled people definitely had a ring to it.

Jacob accompanie
d me upstairs. I didn’t say anything, but I strongly
suspected that since the bugging incident, between the two of them, they were
going to double check each time. Any complaining on my part would be futile.

Satisfied with his
walkthrough, he nodded in my
direction. “I’ll be back
to pick you up at seven.”

“I can make it under
my own steam to the lobby, Jacob.”

“I understand that,
ma’am.
Just following orders.
I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

“Okay, I give up.” I
laughed. “I’ll see you at seven.”

He enter
ed the elevator and was gone.

Five minutes or so
later, as I was sitting in my office, making some notes on my laptop, my cell
rang. Picking it up, I checked the caller.
Apolo.
Of course, it would be. I was sure Jacob and he’d had a
briefing on my trip to
Walter Reed. When was he going
to learn I was not in harm’s way?

“Good afternoon,
husband.” I sat back in the executive chair, waiting for his reply. I could
hear his breathing. “Did you and Jacob have a nice chat?”

He chuckled over the
line. “You know me
too well. Perhaps I need to change
my strategy. Yes, he gave me a briefing. However, I don’t know how the actual
visit with the soldiers went.”

“I was quite impressed
with the facility. One corporal in particular stood out. He evidently did his
homework.
He’d researched your accident and was very
impressed with how you’d overcome the situation.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I was pleasantly
surprised that he’d taken the time to do that. He just got his prosthetic leg
and will be going home in the next few days.”

“Then,
we’re on the right track, as much as I didn’t want to use
my own disability.”

“Yes, don’t dismiss
yourself so easily, Apolo. Soldiers or not, they were taken with how you’d
gotten control of your life and moved forward. I’d say you’re somewhat of a
role m
odel.”

“So, what time is your
dinner?”

“Seven, as if you
didn’t know.” I shook my head, spinning back and forth in my seat. “By the way,
one of the young men asked if you’d considered starting your own foundation.”

I heard him make some
sort of noise on th
e other end. I didn’t know if it
was in response to my remark or about the foundation idea. “And you replied?”

“I told him right now
your focus was on getting comfortable in your new job, but perhaps later on, it
might be something you’d consider.”

This
time he laughed, leaving me confused for a moment. “I knew
you were going to have no problem finding your voice, darling. Spoken like a
true politician’s wife...”

“I’ve had an excellent
teacher.”

“Well, I merely had to
hear the sound of your voice. I’m goi
ng to grab
something to eat before we get started again.”

“Long night, as
expected?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.
Enjoy your dinner, sweet.”

“I will. I love you,
Apolo.”

“I love you, too,” he
replied, quietly. “Remember, my pet. I intend to finish what we started
this morning.”

“Apolo Choice, have
you no shame?”

That caused him to
burst out laughing again. “I’ll see you later, darling. Remember what I said.”

He was gone before I
could respond. Probably what he wanted, anyway. He loved playing his little sex
games w
ith me. Not quite the same as before he’d
taken on this position, but he still had fun with them.

* * * *

Apolo

Finding out our own
home had been bugged with both video and audio was nerve wracking enough for
me.
But Caitlyn?
It seemed to freak her out.
Not that I cherished the thought of knowing tapes of our
sexual encounters could be put out there in either, or both, formats. I was
more concerned for Caitlyn than myself.

This early on in my
political career and someone seems hell bent to bring me down.
I can weather the scandal, if one does come of it. The
question is—can my beauty?

Jacob and I sat down
after we got back and discussed the matter. Who was behind it? Was it her
brother, mine, both together? Or did it have something to do with that asshat
of a senator Susan seems to have bedded down with? Though I
wouldn’t say a thing to Caitlyn, the man is filthy rich and that seems to be
what her mother is drawn to.

Speaking of Susan, her
tactics for self-promotion never cease to amaze me. Coyly inventing
some cock-and-bull story that Caitlyn was pregnant and
then releasing it to the press in Ireland was something even I never saw
coming. Having children is a matter we’ve discussed with no one. There’s always
the possibility that we won’t be able to have c
hildren
of our own, due to my accident. Something I need to be re-checked for.
But not until I’ve finished out this
year, this term.

We’ve both agreed the
best plan is to get through the madness. If I decide to go up for re-election,
we’ll still go forward
. We’re just married and have a
lot on our plates.

It’s a matter I’ve
really not given much thought to since my accident. I was told I’d never father
children, so I put the matter out of my mind.
Until Caitlyn.
If it’s meant to be, it will be. If
it’s not
, we’ll figure something out.

But then, there’s
Delpheine. How and why is she involved? Well, hell, I know
why
.
To try and get me back.
Stupid woman.
She doesn’t know me very well. She
doesn’t seem to recall that I remember people’s actions, and she certai
nly threw me out with the bathwater when she found out I’d
lost my leg. The idea of ever crawling back into bed with that witch makes my
skin crawl. She was only after my money then, and she’s only after it now. We
have to get both situations contained.
No
w.
By whatever means it takes.