Chapter 96

My heart stops for one solid second before it abruptly starts again, beating quickly out of control.

Miles just… blew a kiss at me?

Everyone saw the action. The reporters around me are buzzing, their heads turning this way and that. Their eyes scan over the crowd behind us. They don’t look at me. They don’t even consider me a potential.

With amplified cheers, the crowd gives Miles their love. He gestures back to them with a small bow as he makes his way off the stage.

Just like that, this hyped event comes to a close.

“Who could he have blown a kiss to?” one of the reporters asks.

“I didn’t see. It could be anyone…”

“I need that footage. Now!”

Even with video evidence, even if they line everything up and see me standing directly in the path of that blown kiss, I know our secret is safe.

These reporters were standing right next to me. All they had to do was turn their heads and they would see that kiss was meant for me. They did, and they still missed it.

People see what they want to see. Alternatively, they don’t see what they don’t want to see. No one in that reporter area could fathom Miles flirting with me, so no one even thought of me.

Well, almost no one.

As the reporters begin to file out, eager to start their articles and reports, Jessica gives me a strange look. It’s guarded, so I can’t totally discern it. But something about it rankles my nerves a bit and leaves me unsettled.

As quickly as I spotted Jessica, however, she turns away and disappears into the crowd.

On my way out of the arena, I overhear the chattering of the people around me. They can’t stop talking about the blown kiss.

“Who do you think it was for?” someone asks her friend.

“Didn’t he say he was in love with someone? Maybe it was her,” the friend replies.

“I doubt it. He said that love was unrequited.”

“What if it’s not anymore?”

They both giggle.

Another woman says, “Everyone knows that kiss was for me.” She’s clearly joking and it makes the group around her laugh.

“Dream on,” someone tells her.

They laugh again.

Walking by the group, no one gives me a second thought. If the reporters, who had an eagle-eye view of what was happening, couldn’t place me as the recipient of the blown kiss, then I suppose it’s no surprise that the public can’t either.

I don’t know how I feel about this. On one hand, a little thrill rushes through me, at having been so obvious in public only for no one to know. It feels special, like a secret just between Miles and me.

On the other hand, this was needlessly dangerous. We could have our secrets without risking exposure.

I’ll need to speak to Miles about this and ask him not to take a chance like this again. If we are discovered, both of our reputations could be tarnished. The bigger scandal would be for him. I’m not about to let him potentially ruin his campaign over a silly fling with me.

Later. We’ll have to talk about this later.

For now, I make my way back to the office. TV’s are on in the cubicle pit. Almost everyone is replaying the speech either on the televisions or their monitors.

“Esther!” one of my co-workers shouts to me as I approach. “You were there. Who do you think Representative Hamilton was flirting with?”

I hesitate. I don’t like to lie but no way in hell can I give him the honest truth.

“I couldn’t tell,” I say. “The lights were down. It could have been anyone.”

“Shame,” the co-worker says. “An interview with the recipient would make for a hell of a story.”

“Yeah,” I say, laughing lightly. “It’s really a shame.”

“Esther,” Hugo says, suddenly standing at the doorway of his office. How long has he been there? I didn’t notice him before. “I need to speak with you privately for a moment. In my office. Now, if you have the time.”

Setting down my things at my cubicle, I shuck off my coat and then walk to his office. By the time I get there, he’s already further back away from the door, nearer his desk.

Crossing his arms, he leans against the side of his desk. “Close the door.”

I do, then walk farther into the room, stopping halfway between the desk and the door. “Is something wrong, Mr. Harbinger?”

“You have the rest of the office fooled, Esther. Maybe even the entire nation. Everyone except me,” Hugo says. His voice is low and serious, his face severe. His eyes bear into mine with a harsh intensity. “I see you in the crowd when no one else knows where to look.”

“I don’t know what you mean…” I try to say but it’s clear he’s not buying it. He doesn’t bend one inch. He doesn’t even blink.

“Esther. Miles blew that kiss at you,” Hugo says.

Immediately, I check the door behind me, making certain it’s closed even though I was the one to close it. Fear strikes me hard. If anyone overhears, it could ruin everything.

“No one else knows, as far as I can tell,” Hugo says. “And I have no intention of telling anyone, despite how good of a story it would be.”

I look back at him in wonder and confusion. He has every right to blow the lid off of this story. That he hasn’t, that he doesn’t, speaks to his gentlemanly behavior.

“Hugo, I… I can’t begin to thank you,” I start to say. Weaving my fingers together, I walk closer to him. This isn’t a conversation that I want to be having at full volume. I speak softly now, and so does he.

“Thank me by not putting me in this position anymore,” he says. “If you intend to continue your relationship with Miles Hamilton, then you have to be more careful in the future. If others discover that you are sweet on each other, they will not hesitate to exploit that. Against you. Against him.”

“We’ve been careful,” I say weakly.

“Have you?” he asks, slightly more forcefully. “Because him blowing you a kiss on national television is not the definition of subtle.”

“I’ll speak with him,” I say.

Hugo looks at me a moment longer. Then, sighing, he stands up from the desk.

“I’m not telling you to be careful just for the sake of your career,” he says. “There’s more to this than that.”

What more could there be? Hugo seems earnest, but I have a hard time understanding him. Unless he’s speaking of Miles’s career. Honestly, I didn’t think Hugo cares that much for Miles or his position.

“I won’t jeopardize Miles’s campaign…” I start to say, uncertain.

“You think I care what happens to him?” Hugo asks.

Okay, so I wasn’t as off the mark as I thought. Hugo isn’t warning me to protect Miles’s reputation either. Then what is the cause of his concern?

“I don’t understand, Hugo,” I say and give him a hopeless kind of shrug.

“Miles is selfish, Esther,” Hugo says. “Yes, he’ll destroy your career without a second thought. But he’ll also break your heart.”