"So, he takes his nap around eleven and another one at three." Eliot set Atlas's baby bags down on the sectional beside me.
"Lucky him." I mumbled, staring into Sonny Boy's eyes as he placidly laid in my arms while I fed him his bottle. I wiggled on the couch, trying to get comfortable. What the fuck. Am I sitting on something?
"Here are all the emergency numbers if you need, which hopefully you won't. Oh, and if you want to take him outside don't forget his beanie. He looks so adorable." He set the laminated note card down on the glass coffee table that was titled "EMERGENCY CONTACTS". From behind I heard Ruby rummaging about, forcefully sighing.
"Where is that other fucking shoe."
Oh wait. Slowly I took the bottle out of Sonny Boy's mouth, set it on the table then used my free hand to scour my seat, finding a single Nike SB shoe, "I knew it wasn't one of my usual rubber toys." I teased, feeling the couch dip a bit as Ruby vaulted over it and smoothly landed on the cushion beside me. She grasped the shoe, then placed a wet kiss on my cheek.
"Thanks baby."
"Hello!" Eliot clapped his hands startling me and baby Atlas who fussed a little, "Emma are you listening to me?"
"Feeding time. Nap time. Emergency contacts. If I go outside put on the beanie. Beanie makes him look adorable," I listed as I stood and walked over to him, "I got it. He'll be fine El."
His shoulders dropped as he nodded slowly and leaned his shoulder against mine, "I know he will. Thank you for doing this on such short notice. Theo and I found out this morning about this stupid brunch with his firm."
"Don't worry. Jefferson and I will keep an eye out." Ruby added, lacing up her shoes then loudly slapped her hands against her thighs before she stood.
"I don't need you to keep an eye on Atlas." I looked over my shoulder at Ruby, pouting my lips.
"I'm talking about you." She said with a smile.
"I'm his mother. I'm not going to fuck it up." I kissed Atlas's soft forehead and stared deep into his beautiful eyes, "Would you please tell your aunt and daddy to give me some credit." I whispered to the newborn.
"I am. That's why I'm leaving him in your care." Eliot defended as he put on his coat.
"Bullshit. If your sitter could do it you'd leave him with her, because you're still pissed at me for last night. Sorry by the way." The sorry was a little offhand but I don't do it that much so…
"Don't apologize Emma. It doesn't become you." Eliot flicked the collar of his jacket and smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He did trust me, but he was nervous and I guess he has every right to be. Emma Swan and responsibility don't quite go together. Like Regina said, I can be the epitome of Peter Pan sometimes. Mm, Regina. Got to say I'm kinda looking forward to seeing her tonight.
"You have my number and Theo's if anything goes wrong. We'll be back at five." Slowly Eliot walked to the door and I passed Atlas off to Ruby so I could say goodbye. Pulling the door to the side El turned around and looked at me. The worry lines were deepening in his forehead.
"He's gonna be fine dad." I rested my hand on the wall, leaned in and gave him a short kiss.
"I know mom."
Eliot bounded down the steps just as the elevator roared in the hallway. Hopefully it's the breakfast that I ordered. I'm fucking starving. I glided back over to Ruby and slid my arm across her back, "You ready to spend a couple hours with your old lady, Sonny Boy?" I cooed to Atlas, rubbing my knuckles across his cheek. His lips formed a smile the best they could and both Ruby and I chuckled. She set him down in the rocker that we spent almost the entire night putting together as I plopped down beside it to tuck him in.
"Sooo, you wanna talk about what happened last night?"
"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow at her question and she laughed.
"You smelled like you bathed in scotch, which means you saw your dad. And you also kept calling me Chickey which means you saw your mom."
Does she always have to be so observant? It's useful when we're working together at the ad agency but it drives me crazy when it's directed at me and my personal life, "I fucked my mom's minister, and then mom found out I was gay, told me I was going to hell, then I saw dad to drink my sorrows away." I rushed out.
"Wait…" She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head, "You fucked your mom's minister? Isn't she taking quite a chance." Really? Out of all of that, the minister thing is what she clings on to?
I shrugged my shoulders, "The average age of her parishioner's is like a hundred and two. I don't think they're hanging out at the baths."
The elevator dinged and footsteps thundered inside my place, "Where's my little nephew at?" Jefferson loudly greeted causing Atlas to start fussing in his rocker, "Oh shit." He covered his mouth and tip toed the rest of the way up, "Sorry." Slowly he crept to the rocker, peering inside, "Emma, he looks so much like you. Especially those eyes."
"For sure Eliot's hair though." Ruby added.
I glanced at my wide-open door, looking back at Jefferson, "Dude…" I pointed the entrance when he looked at me.
"Oh, yea. Somebody is on their way up," Please say it's food, "Besides Ruby and I are heading down to use the fabulous gym here." He reached out his hand wiggled his fingers at her. Taking it, Ruby was pulled to her feet, and they walked to the door with me closely behind them, "I can't believe Eliot left Atlas with you. I wouldn't even trust you to water my house plants. I mean do you even know what a Huggie is?"
"Here's a guess, it's not a sexual position." Ruby teased.
"Of course I do, it's uh, it's uh, um…" Shit, what a horrible time to draw a blank.
"A diaper!" they loudly voiced at the same time.
"Right, I know all about diapers. I was fucking this woman for a while who was the head of a big corporation. She liked to wear diapers as I spanked her."
"Kinky. Well at least you already know how to put them on."
I rolled my eyes and pushed both of them out of the loft, shutting the door as they shouted that they'll be back in a couple hours, and walked back over to Atlas who began whimpering. No, no, no! It's too early to display your utter misery Sonny Boy. I pushed the rocker gently, but it only seemed to fuel his frustration and he began crying.
"Hey, it's okay…" I tried with the softest tone I could muster up, but it didn't work as he continued to bawl. Damn, kid has got some lungs on him. Dropping to my knees I frantically searched through his bag finding a pacifier after I dumped all his toys from the bag. Yes, this must be it, right? He must want to suckle. I tried sticking the pacifier in his mouth but he wouldn't latch. The only thing I managed to do was make him more miserable. Shit, I even stuck it in my mouth to show him how it's done.
"It's your pacifier, you should be the one sucking it." I whispered to him.
The doorbell rang only fueling his annoyance and he yelled even louder.
"It's about time!" I shouted towards to whoever was by the door, stumbling over various baby toys I dumped out, "I ordered over an hour ago." Atlas's cries began to crack and break in between intervals, forcing me back over to him, "One second!" I yelled to the delivery person.
I dropped to my knees to try the pacifier one more time, "Atlas, think nipple. Think pussy. Fuck, think cock. Whatever gets you there, buddy." And finally, he took it, settling down to low whimpers quite quickly, "Look at that. Your old lady isn't so bad at this, huh?" I rubbed his belly, smiling when his eyes began to flutter from sleep calling his name.
A heavy knock sounded and I growled loudly. Just leave it at the fucking door. I finally get this kid to settle down and they have to fuck it up, "You had better not forgotten the side of bacon this ti-" but my words were cut off when I slid the metal to the side and stared at the woman in front of me.
"I'd hate to be the one delivering to you."
"Jesus." I literally jumped back, almost stumbling over a squeak toy.
"You couldn't be more surprised if it was." Regina chuckled but it was hesitant, not quite as full bodied as her normal one. I stood there frozen, blocking up the doorway like I was being paid for it.
"What are you doing here?" I heard the way it sounded, mentally slapping myself. It came out rougher than I meant and she certainly picked up on it. Perfect eyebrows furrowed as she took a small step back, her cheeks flushing a deep red.
"Oh sorry, I was just um, I ran into Jefferson this morning at my brother's, and he said he was coming to see you. I texted you yesterday about a time but you never responded so I asked if I could come with him to let you know what time dinner was." Atlas's whimpers started up again and I quickly turned away from her and headed back to my son.
"Jefferson is going too. You could've just told him." I brashly grumbled, scooping Sonny Boy out of his rocker to cradle him in my arms. The tension in his face melted away from the feel of my skin against his.
"Right, of course." She sounded a little breathless and when I drifted my eyes to her she was fiddling with the strap of her purse, "I'll just-"
"No." I cut her off. My lack of breakfast is not her fault. I've done nothing but sound like I can't even be bothered with this little inconvenience, "I'm sorry. Please, come in."
Her very white teeth came out, biting her plump lip before she finally crossed the barrier and stepped inside the loft. Deep brown eyes traversed over every item inside my place, she looked impressed. Letting go of her lip, full lips stayed parted just slightly as her gaze finally landed on me and her eyes traveled down my body then up. Her expression only lasted a few seconds before she blinked several times then shook her head.
Oh. I wasn't wearing regular clothes. Just a sports bra and some spandex shorts. I get this look every time I show a bit of skin.
"Hellooo!" there was a light knock on the door, "Delivery for Emma Swan, we didn't forget the bacon this time." I shot a glare to the delivery woman who just set the bag by the door, scurrying away.
"Finally." I went to carefully lay Atlas down in his rocker but I'll be damned if he didn't start up with the fussing again. Not even six months old and my boy is already a drama queen. I stared at the bag longingly, the smell of the breakfast sandwich wafted under my nose, spelling out my name with its scent. But then Regina walked over, picked it up and slid the door shut, "Thank you."
"No problem," her eyes went to Atlas then landed back on me, "I can hold him while you eat. Assuming you're comfortable with that."
"Oh my God please." I sighed out, relief went over my body and she moved towards us. Heels clicked across the floor like some sort of countdown but to what I didn't know. Soon the floral scent of her heady perfume clouded my senses and she placed a hand on my low back, guiding me to the kitchen. The tingles that burst inside were unfathomable as she rubbed the exposed skin soothingly. The affectionate movement surprised me and it was so sudden that I almost couldn't breathe. Finally, after an agonizing eight seconds she patted the area then moved to expertly transfer Atlas out of my arms and into hers.
"What's his name?"
"Atlas."
He didn't even stir in his peaceful sleep.
I couldn't have gotten to my food fast enough; ripping open the plastic and moaning before I snagged the Styrofoam box with my sandwich and hopefully a side of bacon out along with two…wait two lattes?
"They gave me an extra one," I said holding up the paper cup to Regina, "Do you want it?"
She bit her lip, eyebrows puckering in contemplation and then shrugged her shoulders, "Sure." Sticking it back in the cup holder I brought the goods to my table, pulling out a chair for her and then for me. Ripping open the top I picked up the sandwich and took a large bite, shamelessly groaning as my eyes rolled to the back of my head.
"I sure hope that's the reaction we get when you come over tonight."
For some reason, when Regina said 'we' a flicker of frustration ignited in my belly but it was gone as quickly as it came. Swallowing the large lump of food I nodded, unable to really say anything else, and smiled.
"I'm sure it will be." I took another bite, this time suppressing the enjoyment I was feeling from the delicious me because I felt her watch me. Why was she looking at me? Maybe the way I'm eating was turning her off. I sat up straight and set the sandwich down, hoping this would help me actually chew my food versus scarfing it down. I darted my eyes to her, feeling uneasy by the way I was being gawked at but she just sent me a soft smile, easing my nervousness.
"I'm sorry for dropping in on you like this." Regina started, filling the silence. She adjusted Atlas, supporting him with one arm instead of two.
"Not a big deal," A bout of silence slithered in between us again, it was awkward…tense even. I've had enough tense interactions this week to last the rest of my life. I refuse for this to be another one, "How did the rest of your week go?"
"It was…" she started and then paused. I looked up at her only to see her tongue snake out and lick the bottom of her lip, catching some foam from the latte she had taken a sip of. For whatever reason that same throb from our interaction in my office appeared once again and I squirmed in my seat. Perhaps my eyes stayed too long because when I finally tore my gaze away to meet hers, she was staring at me with a blend of curiosity and mirth. The corner of her mouth rose a bit into a small smile and I clenched my teeth involuntarily at the sight, "It was pretty good. The usual; a lot of fundraisers, shaking hands with the public, working on the campaign with Jim." She said after that long pause, "How about you?"
Swallowing another mouthful, I sipped some coffee as I bought some time. How was my week? Would I classify it as intense? Therapeutic? Annoying? Surprising? All of the above? Regina's phone buzzed but she pressed a button, set it down on the table, and then focused all of her attention on me again, waiting.
"Mine was a little tense but still pretty good. I definitely miss the thumpa, thumpa of Banshee though."
"The thumpa, thumpa?" She repeated, raising her voice a little higher at the end. And there it was…the furrowing of the eyebrows pronouncing the 'v' that set in the middle of them when she was confused. It's actually kind of cute.
"That's the beat of Banshee." Taking my last bite of food I sighed contently at my now happy stomach.
"The beat of Banshee?"
"You've never been?" wait what am I asking, not only is she new, her husband is a right-wing bigot. Of course she's never been, "It's the hottest gay club in New York. The thumpa, thumpa is the beat that keeps us dancing."
"Ah. The thumpa, thumpa…" Regina whispered, it seemed more to herself than to me, "Neal and I might end up there one night. Maybe you and Jefferson can show us around." Um…doubtful, "They appear to be getting along very well."
"Yea, Jefferson really likes him, but as far as the other subject goes I don't how Mr. Vanguard would feel about his wife dancing with a bunch of people that threaten the very fabric of his 'American Dream'." I knew I had crossed a line when a frown pulled her lips down momentarily, but I think she tried to hide it by looking at Atlas. When her eyes met mine again it was like gazing at a brick wall, and whatever she was feeling was being shielded away.
"I don't think those were his exact words."
"They're close enough" I almost taunted, daring her to yes, do it, "Look, the ins and outs of your marriage are not my business, but your brother is definitely gay and you're clearly an ally to the community." I let my statement hang in the air, thoroughly enjoying the way Regina began to fidget in her seat.
"He wasn't always like this. Jim is a good man sometimes he just gets passionate about what his beliefs and doesn't realize what he's saying and how he's saying it." The thing about her is that she usually looks me in the way when she's speaking, except this time as she talked about this subject. Which to me means not even Regina believes the bullshit that's flying out of her own mouth.
Standing up from the table I let a judgmental scoff slip through my lips as I walked to the trash, "Yea, okay." I casually threw back at her.
"Well what about you?" she quickly stood up, but with such careful movements that Atlas didn't even seem to notice. No, he was loving Regina, completely zonked out with his little baby arm limply draped over her hand. I can whole heartily admit this is the first time I'm jealous of an infant, "You're into women but decide to work with him anyway…why?"
"For the money, the referrals we'll get," I dumped my trash and walked backed to her, "He may be bad for the community but he's good for my business." I could feel her stare rake over my face as I reached for Atlas, taking him back in my arms, "I live by one rule; Do anything. Say anything. Fuck anything. No excuses. No regrets. No apologies," I gazed down on Atlas, fixing the blanket just under his chin, "Isn't that right Sonny Boy."
The silence between us felt heavy, a tense energy was radiating off both of us as her brows creased and comprehension struck her as she nodded.
"I should get going." Regina mumbled as she walked to the door. God her ass looked great in those jeans. Sliding it open she stepped into the hallway then turned around, tucking some loose strands of hair behind her ear. Brown eyes went to Atlas and a smile pulled her full lips up, "Thanks for the coffee."
"No problem." I responded with a crooked grin.
Regina's smiled widened like I had just told her an inside joke, "I'll see you at seven tonight. I already texted you our address so please check your phone."
Slowly she backed up, sent me a wink that made my stomach spin and glided down the stairs.
"Look your mom just needs some time to get use to it." Jefferson grabbed my shoulders and squeezed, relieving the tension that was quickly building up.
"Get use to what? The fact that her baby girl loves to eat pussy?" Ruby quipped back.
"J. Rubes. Let's table this talk for now and focus on the dinner. You have the prints with you?" They both nodded, showing me their perspective leather briefcases, "Okay, let's do this."
I tried moving the best I could in this stupid tight red dress that I was wearing without stumbling over my own feet in these 'fuck me' heels. God I hate these shoes, they're not sturdy at all and my feet hurt like hell. I was grateful they lived in Soho and that we didn't have to cross a bridge to make it to another borough. It was less than four miles from my place but it still took over thirty minutes to get here. Fucking Manhattan traffic. So much worse than L.A.
Jefferson had on some nice black jeans and a beautiful silk, white shirt where he left the first few buttons undone, showing off his muscular chest and Ruby was wearing black heels, black slacks, a red blouse. No matter how uncomfortable we may feel, we do clean up very nice.
Before we could even ring the buzzard the knob twisted and a bellman stepped out, "Good evening. You're here for Mr. Vanguard?" Damn I live in West Chelsea and I don't even have a bellman. We followed him inside and over to the elevator. Jefferson, Ruby, and I exchanged glances once we entered, "Floor fifteen, suite 1502." He said, then tipped his hat in our direction and let the doors shut.
"Very posh." Ruby joked once we were alone, hitting the '15' button. We teased about the uppity-ness of this place rolling into a full fit of laughter that didn't seem like it would slow down anytime soon. The elevator dinged and we stepped off, shushing each other. The door to 1502 flew open and there was Jim, standing with his arms wide.
"Hello gang!" He boomed so loudly that I winced. Damn dude, you've never heard of using your inside voice? "Come in, come in." Jim waved us inside and immediately my eyes searched for Regina but came up empty. Their unit was two stories, a lot of glass so you could get a beautiful view of the city lights. Not as good as mine but a close second, "Regina is just finishing getting ready. Something to drink? Italian Prosecco?"
"Sure, yea, I think we'd all love something like that." Ruby answered with Jefferson and I nodding our heads in agreement. It smelled delicious in here, on cue my stomach growled.
"Alright let's talk. What are you all thinking?" Jim asked, jumping right into the nitty gritty of business. I like that; no foreplay just straight to the pounding. We followed him to the table with the three of us sitting on one side, Jim and I assume Regina on the other.
"Right, well, we were thinking of shooting a whole new ad, obviously, because the other one…well…" Jefferson gave him a thumbs down.
"Talking about business without me?" A lovely voice rolled into the room, causing me to look over my shoulder and my jaw dropped. Holy. Fuck. She was in a skin tight leather black dress that ended at the top of her thigh. The front had a v-cut that damn near went to her naval, accentuating her glorious cleavage. Her long brown hair was lightly curled but her diamond and gold dangling earrings peaked through every time her locks moved.
"Jesus…" I heard Ruby whisper next to me in complete awe. Fucking right?
With each step that she took her legs flexed, showing off her toned muscles in her thighs all the way down to her calves.
"Ah there she is." Jim grinned like a coyote as he stood, embracing his wife in a hug. He kissed her lips, then went down to her cheek then her neck causing a giggle to erupt from Regina's chest. Jim pulled back and I watched his adoring gaze linger on her neck, flickering to a state of barely confined lust. Something inside gripped around my throat like a vice and frustration surged around my stomach.
Jealousy?
Again?
"Honey we have guests." Wiggling out the hold he had her in, Regina went to the kitchen and began taking out plates. With a raised eyebrow I looked at Jim and when I realized he wasn't going to help her I rolled my eyes and stood from seat, taking my wine glass with me.
"I'll be back." I said to them. They nodded with Jefferson jumping right back in where he left off. My heels clicked against the floor as the heat blazed around my stomach noticing her back was completely exposed in that dress. Fucking hell. This outfit is killing me softly, "Need some help?"
She jumped at the sound of my voice and I couldn't help but chuckle, "No it's okay. Please go sit down and I'll bring it to you."
"And miss sampling this delicious smelling food?" I took a couple steps closer until I came up shoulder to shoulder, "I think not." I went to stick my finger in the red sauce, but she swatted it away, and for a moment it felt like we had been doing this routine forever.
"No, you have to wait for dinner." Finally her brown eyes drifted to mine and we held each other's gazes for what felt like hours, "But if you must do something, the salad bowls are up there."
I placed my wine glass on the counter once Regina pointed to the cabinet above her head. She went to sidestep out of the way, but my fingers cupped around her waist as I reached over her to grab dishware, brushing my chest against her bare back.
A stupid move.
Because now the heat was roaring, my clit was throbbing, and with each passing second I was getting increasingly wet. Not to mention I swore I saw goosebumps rise on the back of her neck.
"You have a beautiful home." I commented after the bowls were safely sitting near my glass. Resting against the counter I stared at her as though I needed to memorize every inch of her face to pass a test. She turned off the stove and turned to me, resting her back on the other side toying her glass in her hands.
"Thank you. I told Jim that if he was forcing us to move to this God forsaken city then I get to pick where we live."
"Of course, happy wife happy life, right? Not that I would know anything about the wife part." I teased. Regina laughed so boldly that I stopped breathing just so I could listen to it. Her eyelids narrowed like she were considering my response and for a moment, we just looked at each other…again. "I was thinking maybe I tag along with Neal the next time you all go clubbing." She paused, the wine glass inches from her lips, "You know, to hear the thumpa thumpa of Banshee." Darkened eyes gazed at me from under her manicured brows and she kept eye contact with me as she drank. Her free hand ran through her hair, tossing it over to one side.
How in the hell did Jim get a woman like this? I mean, he's not exactly a troll but she's like…ta-dow!
"I seem to recall someone telling me not to eat where I shit." I raised my eyebrow, wondering if she remembered saying those words. Judging by the smirk she had on her face I'd say yes, "But I was never really good at following the rules anyway." We shared a chuckle, resuming our tasks in the kitchen.
We worked well together, well as best as I could considering what she was wearing. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop my gaze from dropping to her cleavage, but still managed to get everything dished up without dropping, spilling, or tripping. To me that's a success. Within a couple of minutes we were all sitting at the table enjoying the tasty ass food.
"So Emma…" Jim started and I inwardly groaned, my body already on alert and guarded, "Regina tells me you live in West Chelsea."
"Yes." Because what else do you say?
"You married?" he pressed to which Ruby and Jefferson let out a half snort half chuckle. If I could've reached both of them, I would've but since Rubes was closest she got the small kick under the table.
"No, I don't believe in marriage." My eyes darted to Regina who was sitting directly across from me, sticking some pasta in her mouth. A little bit of sauce was on the corner of her lip but before I could tell her, she sensually licked it off then swiped over her bottom lip.
Fuck my life.
My body felt like it was set ablaze with want and it took every ounce of me to not drag her to the large window and fuck her against it while everyone watched.
"Ah yes, she's like Johnathen." Jim nudged Regina's arm with his elbow, knocking off the fresh forkful.
"Honey, I'm sure she doesn't like mixing business with pleasure." Deep, doe oak brown orbs held me, noticing the small smile tug on her lips. Do we finally have an inside joke? "Why don't we just stay on the topic of the campaign." She urged, spinning her fork to wind the noodles around the prongs.
"Right. Sorry, Emma."
I nodded to him but kept my eyes on Regina, watching her put another bite in her mouth then slide the fork out. Jesus Christ. It's like a fucking porn video. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to look away and focus on the conversation at hand and my plate of food. Shove pasta on fork, lift, put in mouth. Repeat. Look away from Regina. Dear God look away from Regina. But I couldn't and a part me felt like she knew it.
"No worries, so did they fill you on what we were thinking for the new ad?" I asked, trying anything to distract myself from her.
"Yes, but I would like to hear about it a little further."
"Of course." Clearing my throat, I sipped some wine shifting into professional Emma, "The goal with this is to blend your promise of making the city family friendly with the look of a regular, every day man." Perfectly on time Ruby and Jefferson took the sketches out of their bags and passed them to Jim and Regina, "We're thinking of filming you coach your little league team, get some B-roll shots of the kids playing in the park."
"Then, you say something like 'I'm Jim Vanguard and I'm Chief and coach of the little league. You used to be able to send your kids to the park before sex and drugs were available on every corner as mayor I would like to make the streets safe again,' Some shit like that" Ruby rested her arms on the table and leaned in as she spoke.
"We'll add some more B-roll footage of you actually playing, maybe taking off your shirt and drinking some water, then cool off a bit by letting the water run over your hair." Jefferson added before Jim held up his hand, stopping him.
"I'm sorry is this a music video or a campaign ad?" He asked, with an uneasy edge to his tone.
"I think what Jim is trying to say," Regina quickly jumped in and reached over to place her hand on his chest, "Is that he doesn't want to look like a fool. I'm not sure he's comfortable revealing his body like some sort of sex object."
"What do you think sells corn flakes?" I quickly countered, pushing my now empty plate forward and leaning back in the chair, my eyes glued to Regina.
"There is a strategy to this," Jefferson assured, using his nice voice to ease the tension, "Like when we air the commercial."
"Right," Ruby added, "It will be when both women and men ages between eighteen to thirty-four are most likely to watch T.V."
"Women and men?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing much like Regina's when she's unsure. I wonder how many other things they've picked up from one another.
"There are people out there who will vote for you just because they think you're hot." I wanted to throw that out before he said some ridiculous shit about being uncomfortable with men watching him, I still have the feeling he will. The beautiful husband and wife couple exchanged glances, she seemed more on board than he did but when she nudged her head in our direction Jim nibbled on his lip before he slowly nodded his head.
"Okay. But-" he sternly interjected, "If you make me into a fucking joke I'll have all of your jobs." His green eyes stayed solely on me.
"If we do, I'll help you." I coolly responded, "We can get started Monday. The agency will make sure to reach out to with the details before then."
He nodded, taking a sip of his wine, "Tell me something, do any of you have kids?"
I felt like all eyes were on me, only I didn't really know why, "Yes I have a son." I answered.
"Then I'm sure you share every parent's concern that he might come across one of these drug infested breeding grounds."
"He's only three weeks old." Like homie can't even crawl yet…
"The point is, I made a promise to the voters. And I don't want to let them down because I pride myself on being a man of my word. Just look at 9th avenue," Hold up, that's where all the good clubs are, specifically the gay ones, more specifically Banshee, "Back rooms and bathhouses. It's a veritable breeding ground for every single sexual transmitted disease." And regular old straight clubs aren't? "But with the help of you three, we're going to turn that around and, in the process, win the election."
I didn't have to sit next to Jefferson know that he was trying to keep his anger at bay. Ruby sent me a hesitant look and I knew they were thinking the same thing: Should we actually be helping this prick?
"Now," Jim started, as he stood to pick up his plate then Regina's, "Who's ready for dessert?"