Chapter Thirteen.

Controlled chaos normally filled the mayor's office. Today, though, it was filled with a slew of confused staff members who were milling around in slow motion. The junior staff members looked bored out of their minds for the most part, not knowing any better, and the senior staff members were taut with tension.

Jacquelyn was sick of it. Gabe was pacing again, and even though he had been taking Jo's side over hers, she felt badly for him.

"Let's grab some coffee," she said, reaching out to grab his arm.

"What?" He looked up at Jacquelyn, clearly not having heard a word she said.

"Coffee. Let's go. You are scaring the children." She jerked her thumb in the direction of one of the office's newest interns, who looked like she might cry.

"Okay," Gabe conceded, glancing at the intern. "It's not my fault she picked a c.r.a.ppy week to start working here," he mumbled.

They walked over to the break room, where Jacquelyn poured them both a cup of coffee.

"Drink up. And tell me why you're so upset."

"It's just...they said they would be here this morning and they're not."

"They?" Jacquelyn asked.

"Yes, both Jo and Madeline said that they were coming to work today."

"Did Madeline email you? Or were you finally able to get her on the phone?"

"She was at Jo's apartment last night," Gabe admitted, avoiding eye contact. "I stopped by to check and make sure everything was okay. I wanted to find out how Madeline had been earlier in the day. But apparently, she is still staying with Jo."

Jacquelyn lifted her coffee mug to her lips, masking her reaction. Inside, she was reeling, but she had made a decision not to show her anger to her co-workers anymore-especially Jo. A covert attack would be much better than one Jo could see coming.

Gabe was rambling, "I just want things to go back to normal, you know? I'm tired of sitting at my desk with nothing to do. I'm sick of rescheduling events, wondering when Madeline will come back to work. I'm tired of staying up late at night, trying to rethink my career path if for some reason she does not win the election next November. You realize that's just a year away, don't you? If she doesn't snap out of it, this thing could ruin her career."

"I'm well aware of that, thank you, Gabriel." Madeline's voice was amused.

Gabe jumped, spilling coffee down the front of his s.h.i.+rt. "s.h.i.+t!" he yelled. The curse was followed quickly by a mumbled, "Sorry for my language, ma'am."

Jo was nowhere to be seen, but the mayor stood confidently before them. Jacquelyn beamed from ear to ear at seeing Madeline without her new friend. "Good morning, Mayor Stratton. Gabe and I were just talking about how we hoped you would show up this morning. We have sure missed you around here."

"It's good to be back, even if only for a little bit," Madeline said.

"Excuse me," Jacquelyn said, scurrying to pour another cup of coffee. She added a cream and two sugars to it before extending the cup to Madeline.

"Thank you." Madeline smiled and turned to survey the front office. "It looks dead in here," she commented.

"It has been," Jacquelyn admitted, then, her curiosity getting the best of her, "Where's Jo this morning?"

Madeline shrugged as she turned back to face them, but the gaze she leveled upon Jacquelyn was piercing. "I'll be in my office talking to Ian, but if you need anything let me know." She turned toward her office, but stopped to add, "I don't think I want to take any calls today, so if you can hold those, that would be great. I'm only staying an hour or so."

"Yes, ma'am," Jacquelyn replied.

From the break room, Jacquelyn could hear the front office door swing open and closed, just as she could hear the familiar clacking of high heels on the floor.

"Speak of the devil," she said snidely to Gabe, who shot her a puzzled look. Jacquelyn couldn't help but notice the way Madeline's hands shook at Jo's entrance. After all, there could be little doubt who it was. Everyone else was in the office, working as they should have been.

All eyes turned to the entrance of the small room, as the footsteps approached. Jo rounded the corner, and Madeline moved to the side to let her enter.

"Good morning, Jo," Madeline said, nodding in her direction before leaving for her office.

Gabe chimed in, "When did she stop calling you Josephine? I've been here for years and she still won't call me Gabe."

"Have you ever asked her to call you Gabe?" Jo asked, lifting an eyebrow.

He considered for a moment. "No, I guess I haven't. Is that what you did?"

Jo nodded, taking another sip of her coffee.

"Okay, whatever," Gabe replied. "So how is she doing? And why is she staying at your place still?"

Jo opened her mouth to respond, but Jacquelyn didn't want to sit around and listen to Jo talk about being Madeline's new best buddy.

"I would love to sit around and chat about the latest gossip with you two, but I think I will get back to work." Jacquelyn could hear the b.i.t.c.hiness infusing her voice, but she didn't care. "Gabe?" Ian's voice boomed down the hallway.

"Looks like you won't have time for your idle chitchat anyway," she said, tossing the words in Gabe's direction and watching his face fall as he realized that he wasn't going to have a chance to be alone with Jo.

An unwilling but well-trained puppy, he headed to Ian's office. She followed close behind him, stopping at her office, which was beside Ian's. She let out a sigh.

"So what's on the agenda today?" her intern asked, looking up from the files he'd been sorting.

"Survival," Jacquelyn said dryly.

Jo busied herself at her desk. Like other staffers, she was accustomed to the air of chaos that usually engulfed the mayor's office. With the press frenzy being largely handled by Ian and Madeline's appointments all canceled, there was little for her to do aside from write letters for staff members to read on the mayor's behalf. Days that seemed trivial were unsettling. Once she had finished prepping all necessary letters, she hammered away on her computer, outlining some of the speeches that would be needed in the coming months. She needed the distraction.

If she let down her guard for even a few seconds, her thoughts s.h.i.+fted straight back to Madeline. The past few days, she had been riding a roller coaster of emotions. Was it the thought of a forbidden love that had enticed her so completely? Or did she really feel this strongly about her? One way or another, everything that had happened had left her feeling confused and hurt, like a leper or a loser who had made a pa.s.s at someone and been rejected.

Cursing herself under her breath for her stupidity, she tapped her fingers anxiously on the desk. She wanted to see her-to talk to her and smooth things over.

She glanced at the clock on her computer screen. Only forty-five minutes had pa.s.sed since she had arrived. She felt like she was in a cage. Scanning the office, she confirmed what she already knew-everyone was staring at her, trying to figure out the change in her demeanor or how to get a juicy piece of gossip.

"Did you hear that she's staying with Jo?" an intern who had yet to learn how to whisper asked his neighbor in the corner cubicle.

Jo stiffened and, after a deep breath, stood. On her way to Madeline's office, she rehea.r.s.ed what she had to say. When she stood at the door, though, words escaped her. Forcing herself to be strong, she knocked gently on the door.

"It's unlocked," came Madeline's voice from the other side.

Jo opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her. "We need to talk," Jo said quietly enough to thwart curious ears-but with enough a.s.sertiveness to let Madeline know that she meant business.

"We have nothing to talk about," Madeline said. "Besides, Ian will be in to meet with me shortly."

"You can't shut me out."

"I have to," Madeline said, the defeat evident in her tone. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

"If that's how you want it," Jo replied and left the office.

Stopping in the hallway, she tried to steady her breath. There was no logical explanation for how her heart raced when she saw Madeline or how her entire body tingled when she smelled her perfume.

One day she would be strong, not give all this another thought. Jo Carson was not the type of woman to throw herself at the feet of someone who did not want her nor the kind to get involved in an inappropriate work affair. Now, however, she could not be here.

She approached Ian's door, knocked and stood in his doorway until he glanced up from his computer.

"Good morning, Jo." Even though he smiled, the stress and worry remained evident in his eyes.

"Good morning, Ian." Jo attempted to return his smile.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I think I need to work from home today," she said, knowing she shouldn't press her luck, but also knowing if she spent one more second here, she would go crazy.

"Is everything okay?" The genuine concern in his voice reminded Jo that she wasn't entirely alone in this world, even if it felt like it.

"I'm fine," she managed. "I'm just exhausted and need to catch up on a few things. Now that the mayor is staying at a hotel, I can put my life back in order. I'll be back in tomorrow."

"Take the time you need," he rea.s.sured her. "I appreciate all you've done. Go take care of whatever you need to do."

Jo nodded her head and, with a last fleeting glance toward Madeline's closed door, she forced herself to walk away.

Gabe was waiting for her at the end of the hallway. He obviously wanted to know what was wrong, but she wasn't ready to talk about it yet-or ever. Even so, she valued his friends.h.i.+p.

"What's up, Gabe?" she asked, walking toward him.

"Want to get out of here for a little while? I thought maybe we could grab something at the coffee shop and talk about everything."

Without thinking, Jo glanced back toward Madeline's office. "Actually, I was just...um...going to go home for a bit," she stammered.

"Come on, it'll be good for you to clear your head with conversation over a bagel. Then you can go home."

"You might just be right," Jo agreed.

As they walked to the coffee shop across from the office, Gabe began asking his questions.

"Are you and the mayor still getting along?"

"Of course," Jo answered, a little too quickly perhaps. "I mean, she's a great person, a great mayor. I was just trying to be there for my boss when she needed someone."

"Was?" Gabe asked, noting her use of past tense.

"Yes. She's staying at a hotel now."

"Well, that's good," Gabe commented, nodding his head as if in thought. "How'd you make it work while she was there, though? Isn't your place pretty small?"

His tone was neutral, but that didn't stop Jo from feeling like she was on trial for some crime.

"It's small, but we made it work." Jo added, a slight edge to her voice, "I had my own s.p.a.ce, and so did she."

Gabe took a step back and stared at her. "Why are you acting so defensive?"

"I'm not," Jo retorted before realizing that he had pegged her att.i.tude correctly. She turned to face him. "I'm sorry. It's just that it's all been so stressful lately. I need a break-from the millions of questions and the scrutiny."

"You took the mayor home with you, Jo." Gabe's voice was gentle but matter-of-fact. "Of course there's scrutiny. What did you expect?"

"Friends.h.i.+p and a little privacy would have been nice," Jo shot back.

Gabe sighed and shook his head. "We work for the mayor. Privacy is out the window when you work in politics. You should know that."

Jo shook her head. She was sick of the questions and the curious glances she was getting over and over. n.o.body could accept the fact that she had been the one there when Madeline fell apart and that, up until last night, she had been the glue holding Madeline together.

"You know, I don't think I want anything from the coffee shop. I think our little talk is done." Jo spun around to walk back to her car.

"Jo, come on. Let me explain." Gabe grabbed her arm, pleading.

"Don't touch me," she responded, quietly but with enough intensity to stop him in his tracks. She was halfway down the block when she heard him start to follow her.

"Jo, stop," he called out, chasing her down the street.

Fine, Jo thought. She would stop. She would hear him try to defend his asinine remarks, and then he would hear her out, loud and clear.

She stopped and turned around, throwing her hands in the air. "What, Gabe? What is it you have to say?"

"I was just asking why you two have become inseparable. Why she no longer engages with the rest of her staff. I wanted to know why it has been that way since we got the news. Or was, until today. Today you and Madeline have been acting strange, and your 'save the day' mission is complete. I want to know what the h.e.l.l is going on, and why everything is suddenly better. That's all."

"Really? Because it seemed like you were jumping on the bandwagon with everyone else." She changed her voice to imitate her colleagues. "Why Jo? Jo isn't even one of us yet. She's new and young and doesn't know what's going on here. Why doesn't Madeline turn to someone who has been around for a while? I think Jo's just sucking up. Don't you think it's suspicious how the mayor needs someone like Jo to help her out?"

Gabe had stepped back, but Jo continued to unleash her pent-up fury on him. "What the h.e.l.l was I supposed to do, Gabe? Huh? The woman was in pain. Did you have any suggestions then? Do you have any now? No, you didn't and you don't. And neither do any of the other nosy staffers. You don't care about Madeline. All you care about is who gets the most of her attention, who is on the inside track to follow in her footsteps. Well, f.u.c.k you all!"

She wanted to rein in the anger in her voice, but she was past the point of no return. "By the way, I think the spot for her go-to person is now vacant. So good luck. Go in there and fight for her attention like the rest of the vultures. I'm done with this bulls.h.i.+t. All I want to do is get back to my own life and my career."

Jo stopped to take a breath.

"Besides which, maybe you should take a minute to realize that this is a woman's life-a woman who doesn't have real friends as a necessity. She keeps everyone at an arm's length. I haven't figured out if it's because of the job or because she just doesn't want to get stabbed in the back, but she doesn't have a support group. Her father is too old, too distant, too wrapped up in his own world to get it. He hasn't even called her. Neither has her sister, who's off on some world cruise or something. She's alone, Gabe. Realize, when you're in there battling over who gets her attention, that it's not about you or your career."

Jo waited for a response. If Gabe had anything more to say, she was willing to hear it. He didn't even budge, though. He just stared at his wingtips, a chagrined look on his face.

There's nothing quite as uns.e.xy as a weak man, Jo thought. Not that she regularly thought of men as s.e.xy in the first place-but weak ones were the worst.