“Oh, I see.” Murdock ran a hand through his hair. “This may be tougher than I thought.” He smiled again. “But we have all the time in the world.”
Fuckity fuck fuck. “Take me back to my cell and get back to whatever lackey job Santos has you doing.”
“I told you. I’m here to help the Administration. Believe me, I’d much rather be serving as governor of Pennsylvania, but apparently the voters were less educated than I had anticipated. Fickle. Misinformed. Caught up in a shallow romance between a one term member of Congress and his valiant wife.”
Who was serving as governor now that Jack was gone? Had the lieutenant governor taken over? Probably. A logical choice since he was the second in command. Less suspicious if he took the reins. He was much less moderate and far more ruthless than Jack. Santos loved men who were willing to sacrifice principle for ambition.
Caroline suspected the lieutenant governor may have been the one who sold them out. Although it really could have been anyone. Or anything, for that matter. Including, unfortunately, her own reckless behavior. But she couldn’t dwell on her mistakes. She couldn’t very well undo them now. And Murdock was trying to insult Jack and demean her at the same time. She wasn’t about to stand for either.
“You keep telling yourself that,” she said. “I think the fact that you’re sitting here allied with Santos tells you everything you need to know about why the public thinks you’re unelectable.”
He pushed the bottle toward her again. “You look so parched. Have a drink.”
Caroline knew she shouldn’t trust anything he gave her, but she was so damn thirsty that she didn’t care. She picked the bottle up with shaking hands and choked down the juice. If it was spiked with anything, hopefully she’d go down fast. The taste didn’t appear to be off, but she swallowed it so quickly she likely wouldn’t have noticed.
Murdock laughed when she spilled some of it down her shirt. “Desperation doesn’t become you, Caroline.”
There was something about his tone. The way he manipulated phrases. The way he addressed her. He usually stuck to her last name, as he did with everyone else. To use her first name seemed to grant their relationship an intimacy it didn’t deserve.
Her hands were still shaking. The juice would only take her so far. Damn it, they were starving her to death and taunting her at the same time. She threw the bottle across the table, smiling when he ducked. “Fuck you,” she said.
He pulled his head back up. She’d rattled him, just a little. He hadn’t expected her to go on the attack. “Again with the profanity. You used to have such a way with words. A shame you’ve been reduced to this.”
“I’m not the one who made a deal with the devil.”
“So unnecessarily dramatic. You were always such a goody goody,” he said. “Spouting off about ethics and morality and democracy and freedom, like you’d read one too many Greek or Roman philosophers. The only way you would have been more insufferable was if you’d been a Republican.” He stepped around the table, still eyeing her. “And then you fucking married one.”
She smiled. He wanted a response and she wasn’t going to give him one. A lot of politicos hated marriages between two perceived adversaries, even though such hatred was stupid and misguided. Plenty of non-politicians married their ideological opposites. The elites were clueless.
“Here’s what I don’t understand,” Murdock said. “That guy got more pussy than I could have ever dreamed of. I’ll give him that. You’ve got a nice rack but you’re not exactly a supermodel. And you’re not all that captivating. What was it about you, of all people?”
The juice had given her a little energy. Enough energy to be an ass. Caroline shrugged. “Maybe I have a magic vagina.”
She heard someone suppress a chuckle. Oh, great. She was the carnival sideshow. Perhaps she could play along. Warm them up a little. “Jack is ten times the man you are.” She grinned. “Probably literally.”
She heard a loud chortle and looked up to see Fischer hastily covering his mouth. Her grin grew broader. She should have known the man would appreciate a good dick joke.
Murdock stood up and backhanded Caroline so fast that it caught her off guard. Her head whipped to the side. “Wipe that smile off your face, you goddamn bitch.” He took off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Not a promising sign.