With her hair pinned back and gold hoops as big as bracelets on her ears, she was sure to attract attention tonight.
Dee shot a worried glance to her straining cleavage. “As long as you don’t bend over, it’ll be fine. Couldn’t you have worn something more…conservative?”
In her blue sheath dress and matching pumps, she herself had opted for the classy and understated look. It fit in with the hotel ballroom’s Neoclassical design, modern art, and blue accent lighting.
“It’s this or jeans,” Rhonda said as she snagged a glass of champagne. “I don’t have a lawyer’s salary. Besides, I’m looking.”
“For what?” Dee quipped, sipping her own champagne.
“Something tall, handsome, and hard.”
“Just behave yourself, okay? I have a lot riding on tonight.” Although she was still employed, her job lay in tatters.
Rhonda craned her neck toward Ted who was shaking hands with some town bigwigs across the room. In a navy-blue tux, he looked flawless as usual.
“He’ll do.”
“He’s off limits,” Dee said. “I’m depending on him to help me get elected, and I don’t want anything to mess it up.”
“Good. It’s about time you did the nasty with him and got your mind off dixie boy.”
The mention of Rodney doused Dee’s champagne glow with cold water. She’d never get her mind off him. He’d burrowed into her heart and transformed it. Hopefully, time would heal her wounds, though. Running for office, at least, kept her mind occupied with other things besides romantic baths and showers.
When Ted turned and waved her toward the podium, her fingers tingled.
She gripped her pearl necklace for good luck. “Here I go.”
“Knock ‘em dead, and may your deodorant be strong,” Rhonda said with a giggle.
Once she joined him, he spoke again. “Dee Dobson is a civil rights attorney with Willis and Greene. She’s been practicing law for years and served as a public defender in Ohio County, West Virginia. I’m pleased to announce her candidacy for district attorney of Washington, D.C.
Cheers erupted around the room, including a ballfield whistle from Rhonda that made everyone’s head turn. When Dee took the microphone, her blood surged with adrenaline. She wanted this. Was made for it. But she hadn’t even realized it until now.
“Good evening and thank you for coming.” So far, so good, but the rest of her speech disappeared in a blur. “I’m sorry.”
She backed up a step from the microphone, ready to run out the door.
Rhonda pantomimed rolling film. “You got this,” she mouthed.
Ted gave her elbow a gentle squeeze, but nothing helped. And, then, she thought of Rodney. Holding her in his arms in that old-fashioned bathtub at her parents’ house. Feeling his strong chest behind her made her feel he’d always have her back. But she’d been wrong. He’d left her.
Well, she wasn’t going to let the Rodneys and the Barrys of the world screw her over. The time to take her career to new heights had arrived. The Wheeling flood was just a reminder she had parents to take care of.
“We all have passions, don’t we?” she began.
The audience perked up with attention, and Rhonda added, “You got that right.”
“Mine has always been equal rights. It came from my parents. They defied racial prejudice by forming an interracial relationship. They took in kids who’d been rejected by society and gave them a home. And when they spotted injustice, they protested it.”
The room had grown silent with rapt attention. One could have heard a pin drop.
“Sometimes, it cost them. They lost one of their own, but they didn’t let it kill their passion for fairness.”
She smiled, feeling more comfortable in the spotlight with each word. Did Rodney feel this way each time he performed onstage? His passion was music and his Southern heritage. Passion made her think about a few other things like their first shower together. Kneeling between her legs and making her his while the steam created a dream world around them…
Her panties grew hot. Lord, mixing those hot memories with the intensity of her speech might give her an orgasm right here.
“They’re a lot older today,” she continued, “but they proved themselves again in Wheeling’s flood. Even though their home was in danger, they still ventured out to help others. My father saved a life with no thought to his own.”
The memory of clinging to Rodney while the rapids flung them downstream made her rock on her heels.
Finally, she paused for effect. “It lives on in me. If you elect me, I give you my passion and all the positive changes it will bring Washington. Thank you for your time.”
The room exploded with applause, sending tears of triumph down her cheeks. She hadn’t even won yet, but it felt as though she had.
Ted’s hand brushed her back as he led her away from the podium. “Great job.”
“Thanks. Uh, what now?”
“Mingle like you’ve never mingled before,” he said. “Try to shake every hand before you leave tonight. Each one could be a vote.”
Speaking of hands, she took his. “Thank you, Ted. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said with a wink. “We have a long, hard road ahead of us still.”
“I’m up for it.”
His blue eyes sparkled with approval, respect, and…desire. He was too polite to be obvious about it, but clearly he still wanted her. She merely had to say the word. Maybe someday she would, but she had to get over Rodney first. Even though they’d been together only a short time, getting over him would probably be a longer, rougher road than getting elected. And a lot less fun.
“Girl, you kicked it,” Rhonda exclaimed as she pushed her way through the crowd. Then she smiled at Ted. “Have we met?”
Dee made the introduction, but after nodding and smiling at her friend, he turned back to Dee. “Come say hello to Mayor Bowser. You definitely want her on your side.”
She took the arm he gallantly offered and strolled to the other
