The Perfect Candidate (13 page)

The other three men, two oil tycoons and the head of an international retail company, were least extravagant in their praise of Miss Kendall (at least at first), but their appreciation was just as easy for Michael to read.

“Michael, my wife isn’
t going to be happy to hear I left her at home with the children when you brought your lovely girlfriend here!
”
laughed Roberts, one of the two Texan oilmen.

Personally, Michael thought that Mrs. Roberts was going to be more upset if she heard about the way that her husband was trying to look down the front of Ashley
’
s dress. 

“Miss Kendall is an important part of my campaign team, Mr. Roberts,” he said smoothly, hoping to put an end to it, but the other man simply guffawed.

“Oh yes!  I can imagine just what sort of
important role
Miss Kendall must play on your team!  That would be your
personal
team, right, Mike?
”

Michael could feel an angry heat rise into his face.  He felt bad for Ashley, having to deal with this, he could see her posture stiffen, and if getting these men
’
s money wasn
’
t so important to the campaign he would have walked straight back out of the hotel!  His displeasure must have been obvious, because Monsieur Rousseau quickly stepped in to defuse the situation by asking everyone to take their seats.

Michael couldn
’
t decide which of the men he would rather risk Ashley sitting next to
…
she selected for herself however, sitting on the end of the table next to Michael and opposite the young, quiet retailer.

“You looked like you were going to
kill
Mr. Roberts,
”
she whispered into his ear when on one was listening.

“You want me to?” Michael whispered back.  “I’
m pretty sure I can remember all of my army training.
”

Dinner went
…
slowly.  Nobody (except Michael, Ashley suspected) was in any hurry to start talking business.  It wasn
’
t a subject that was even raised until they were waiting for dessert to arrive, and then, unsurprisingly, no one could agree on anything! 

Ashley hadn
’
t expect things to be easy for Michael, but she was frankly disgusted by how relatively little the businessmen were prepared to donate to the party, especially when she heard how much they expected Michael to give them in return!  She was surprised, but also impressed, by how calmly and composedly Michael was able to hear their offers however.  Perhaps he had been expecting them to play this way? 

As time wore on, and the evening became increasingly late, it became obvious to everyone that nothing was going to be decided on tonight.  Ashley hoped this meant that she and Michael could leave soon!  She still had a few hours worth of work do on the speech, which she was determined to finish by the next morning on principle!

However, before anything had been mentioned about them leaving, the
maitre d
’
hurried into the room and spoke quietly into Monsieur Rousseau
’
s ear.  The Frenchman frowned, and then laughed and turned to speak to Michael.

“Well, Monsieur Reese!  It seems you will not be escaping back to Chicago until we have reached an agreement after all!”

“Oh?” Michael murmured.  He sounded curious and mildly amused, but Ashley had seen his shoulders tense.

“
Oui, oui!
  Look!” Rousseau laughed, getting up from the dinner table and then walking across the room to the large windows.  He pulled back the heavy drapes, which had been drawn to afford them more privacy, and revealed a winter wonderland outside.

“It’
s snowing!
”
Ashley gasped.

“Oui, mademoiselle,” Rousseau chuckled.  “I am afraid Pierre has just heard from the airport.  All outbound flights have been cancelled.”

Ashley glanced again at Michael, and tried to work out what he was thinking.  Were they really stranded here
…
together?  A shiver traveled down Ashley
’
s spine all of a sudden, and it didn
’
t have anything to do with the snow!

“Then it appears we will have to trespass on your hospitality for a little longer, monsieur,” Michael murmured, frowning out at the snow.

“Oh!  It is no trespass!  I have the perfect suite for the two of you,” he assured them, bowing before briefly disappearing out of the room.  Ashley assumed that he had gone to sort out their room… room
s
?

“Michael?” she whispered.  Only she and Michael had followed Rousseau to look out of the window.  The other men were too busy drinking and joking to pay them any attention.  “Michael we can’
t
share
a room!
”
she hissed,
however much she might like to
…

Michael looked down at her with one eyebrow raised. 
“
I would rather not draw suspicion by insisting on separate rooms,
”
he said in a low voice.

“But- but don’
t you think it might do more harm than good?  If it comes out that we stayed here
…
together?
”
Ashley croaked.

Michael slid his hands into his pockets, looked out at the snow and rocked back on his heels.  There was a smile dancing over his lips that Ashley wasn
’
t sure she trusted. 
“
No, I don
’
t think so, not if you
’
re going to marry me,
”
he said matter-of-factly.

“Not if I’
m WHAT?!
”
Ashley squawked, and her eyes almost popped out of her head.  Michael shot her a warning glance, and Ashley lowered her voice, remembering that they weren
’
t alone in the room. 
“
What do you mean?
”
she hissed. 
“Not if I’
m going to marry you?!
”

“Not
really
of course,
”
Michael muttered, managing to speak almost without moving his lips. 
“
But that
’
s what we can say if we
’
re caught out.  It might be worth running with that angle regardless,
”
he mused, looking thoughtful.

Ashley wasn
’
t sure if she should be insulted or flattered. 
“
Now you want us to pretend to get engaged?
”
she whispered incredulously.

“You
would
get a very nice ring out of the bargain,
”
Michael chuckled. 
“
You could even keep it when all of this is over.
”

“How generous,” Ashley snorted.  “How exactly
is
all of this going to end, Michael?
”
she demanded, forgetting again that they weren
’
t alone. 
“
Because we
’
re going to find ourselves walking down the aisle at this rate!
”

“Don’
t be ridiculous,
”
Michael smiled, and alerted Ashley to Rousseau
’
s return so that she wouldn
’
t continue with this topic.

“I have the perfect suite for you,” he gushed, walking over to the couple.  “Did you want to see it now, or wait until later?”

10

Michael and Ashley didn
’
t manage to get away for another hour, and when they
did
finally excuse themselves, Monsieur Rousseau insisted on taken them up to their room himself.

Michael was disappointed to see their
‘
room
’
was in fact more like two rooms, connected by a large, luxurious shared bathroom.

“Wow,” Ashley whispered, and giggled slightly, as Rousseau quickly showed them around.  “This place is bigger than my first apartment!”  Michael grinned.

“If you need anything- anything at all, just call room service.  They have been instructed to fulfill your every need,” Rousseau chirped happily.  He bowed a little as he backed towards the door.  “Now, goodnight, and pleasant dreams,” he chuckled, glancing between them knowingly.

“I don’
t like him,
”
Ashley said, as soon as their host was gone. 
“
He
’
s sure to tell someone!  Call a paper
…
sell us out,
”
she muttered anxiously.

Michael stared at her incredulously. 
“
Ashley, there are two beds in this suite.  We
’
re not exactly staying here by choice!  If you wanted to you could go and lock yourself in your half of the suite.
”

It was Ashley
’
s turned to stare up at Michael incredulously. 
“
And who
’
s going to believe that?
”
she demanded, and then her cheeks began to burn a fiery red. 
“
Please forget I said that,
”
she mumbled.

“Oh, I don’
t think so,
”
Michael grinned. 
“
I want to know exactly what you meant by that,
”
he whispered huskily.