The Rebel King (All the King's Men Duet #2) - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,93
nods to the stage. “And Glenn can’t take his eyes off you.”
“What?” I look around, and my glance collides with Glenn’s. He stands a few feet away, but averts his eyes quickly.
“Well, I’m sure that orange bra doesn’t help,” Kimba says wryly.
It’s hot to be only May, and I decided to test drive one of the “Make the Future” campaign tank tops. I didn’t anticipate my orange bra strap sliding down my arm every five minutes.
“He’s been staring at your tits all day.” Kimba laughs. “You do know he’s got a thing for you, right?”
“Who? Glenn?”
“You cannot be that oblivious, Lenn. How can a girl as sharp as you . . .” She huffs a sigh and rolls her eyes. “Lord, you are.”
“Glenn and I have known each other for years. This is our fifth campaign together. We’re friends.”
“Uh, yeah. He heard you were working on the first three and made sure he was, too, and the last two campaigns, Owen’s and Maxim’s, you put him on. Dude’s thirsty. He can write his little ass off, but his nose is wide open for you, honey.”
Shock and chagrin take turns slapping me around. “Maxim said the same thing.”
“Oh, my God. When Glenn called you Nix the other night, I thought Maxim would lose his mind. Glenn probably has a scar from that glare he cut him with.”
“You noticed that?”
“I, unlike you, notice everything, see all the signs, and will interpret for a small fee.”
We clap at a particularly stirring point in Maxim’s speech, along with the rest of the crowd.
“And when do you plan to put all this relationship observational skill to work for yourself?” I ask.
“Mama’s got needs and mama gets ‘em met, but I do not need a relationship.”
“Did you see David at the funeral?”
“Girl, please,” Kimba scoffs. “David was a youthful exploit. Seeing him again, even if it hadn’t been at a funeral, there wouldn’t have been any sparks.”
“When are you gonna find a guy you’ll give more than a night or two?”
A shadow crosses Kimba’s face and she fiddles with the gold ring she wears on her right hand. “Guys like Maxim don’t grow on trees.”
Before I can dig into that, Polly walks up. “Hey, ladies. I think Maxim has to do a little detour.”
“Detour?” I ask. “What do you mean?”
“Jin Lei needs him in Connecticut,” Polly says. “This afternoon and tonight. He needs to leave as soon as this is over. Apparently, it’s kind of a last-minute thing.”
“Tonight?” Kimba shakes her head. “He has dinner with local leaders tonight, and then we leave in the morning for Pittsburgh.”
“Wait. Connecticut?” I ask. “Is it Millie?”
“Yeah. It’s the twins’ birthday and Millie wants things to feel normal for them,” Polly says. “They’re doing a big party at her parents’ place. The kids asked for Uncle Max to come.”
“He has to.” I nod, looking at Kimba. “We’ll cover the dinner with the local leaders. As soon as they hear Maxim had a commitment associated with Owen, they’ll forgive him missing tonight.”
“Jin Lei says Maxim’s dad has the company jet waiting for him at the airport,” Polly says. “Must be nice, huh? You’d never know Maxim’s that kind of loaded. I mean, except for his expensive clothes and that watch that costs more than some small countries.”
I know his wealth is a huge part of who Maxim is. For him, it’s an expression of his independence from his father, of his own innovative spirit. I get all of that, but there will always be a part of me that remembers our week in Amsterdam. Eating crusty bread and drinking wine in bed. Counting tulips in the field. Our bodies seeking and finding each other in a dark alley with rain-soaked kisses. God, things were simple. We were simple and at the genesis of not only our relationship, but our adulthood. Figuring out who we were on our own, in blissful anonymity. Now the whole world watches his every move and he’s running for president.
How is this our life?
“Anyway,” Polly says, “Maxim can catch his daddy’s jet, do the party and family commitment, and fly back tonight. We leave on the bus in the AM. Sound good?”
“Does he know yet?” I ask, returning my glance to him, now seated on a stool and taking questions from the crowd, which has tripled since word spread that Maxim Cade was in the park.
“Not yet,” Polly says, “but Maxim’s used to doing whatever Jin Lei says and going where he’s told. A man like