get a chance to elaborate on that before she takes the garment bag from me and drapes it over an armchair like she owns the place, which is ridiculous because technically the house belongs to the state of New York and—
Oh.
Oh, no.
“Well, it’s complicated for Warren too, obviously,” she continues without missing a step as she starts down a hallway while I stand frozen in some side door entryway inside the governor’s mansion. “And you’re perfect. Exactly what he needs! I have a good feeling about the two of you and my good feelings are always spot on.”
Warren Russo. Governor of the State of New York. Is getting set up by his mother.
With… me?
“Audrey? Are you coming?” Mrs Bianchi pauses when she notices I’m not following. “We only have a few minutes before he’s leaving town for a meeting with the mayor. I wanted to squeeze you in today so you could meet before the wedding this weekend.”
“You’re the governor’s mother?” I whisper the question. I’m not sure why exactly, it just seems like whispering is the appropriate voice level right now.
And okay, yeah, she mentioned something about a wedding as I was shoving her out my front door. I remember thinking it sounded like the most boring date in history, but it also sounded like a free dinner in a public setting so I chalked it up as a win.
“Did I forget to mention that?” She frowns, head tilted a fraction to the side, and I don’t know her well but I’m already certain that the expression she’s wearing is the one she wears to feign innocence when she is anything but.
“Pretty sure you forgot to mention that, yes,” I respond, still in a whisper but with a bite of sarcasm.
The thing is, my crush on the governor is of the normal variety. Meaning I haven’t stalked him on the internet. Much. Just the regular run-of-the-mill socially acceptable kind of stalking. So I don’t know a whole lot about him, like what his mother looks like. Or that her last name is Bianchi, not Russo.
That information would have been way more helpful than knowing what his dog looks like. Duke. I know what Duke looks like because I’ve scrolled the governor’s Instagram in a totally normal, non-creepy way and there’s a bunch of pictures of Duke between the artfully curated posts about political issues and shots of the governor signing legislative bills into law.
Yeah, he probably doesn’t post any of that himself now that I think about it. Duke is really, really cute though. Shepherd-husky mix, if you’re curious. He’s the kind of dog who looks like he could, in the case of an emergency, single-handedly paw the fire alarm, evacuate an entire building and grab a blanket on the way out the door to keep everyone warm while waiting on help to arrive. He came from a rescue in Great Neck and I’m a little smitten.
I should have dedicated a few of those internet searches to his mother.
In any case, this is not going to work.
Mrs Bianchi’s intuition is way, way off.
Which I try to explain to her as I edge my way back towards the door, but Mrs Bianchi? Not much of a listener, because she just continues to steer me down the hallway while trying to sell me on Warren.
Mothers, am I right?
“Listen, I know he seems a little cold,” Mrs Bianchi continues as we enter into a hideously decorated parlor of some kind. “Once he warms up though, he’s a gem.”
It’s not that. I honestly find the stern demeanor really sexy. The bossy, take-responsibility vibe really does it for me.
But in any case, this cannot be happening.
These are… not my people. I’m a clothing designer. Not a famous one, a struggling one. I’m not even sure I’m a designer, more of a re-designer. Or a flipper. My ex hated it. Called it a hobby, not a career. It’s hardly like you’re a doctor, Audrey. Or even something passable like a dentist.
Jackass.
But jackass not withstanding, the idea of this match is beyond ridiculous. Sure, his mom isn’t wrong in that dating must be impractical for a single politician. The internet is definitely out. There is no swiping up, down, left or right for Warren Russo.
Dating a co-worker would be impossible because he’s the boss. He cannot hook up with an intern. He can’t even hook up with his chief of staff without it potentially turning into a political hot potato.
But surely his mother knows a nice