The Gentleman from Washington State by Betty Smith.pdf

The Gentleman from Washington State by Betty Smith

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5720172/1/

"I have to be honest with you. The numbers don't look great."

Senator Edward Cullen's Chief of Staff, Seth Clearwater, had just placed the

Senator's latest poll numbers on his desk. Edward glanced at the sheets of paper

and turned in his desk chair to look out the window. Everyone in the room was

quiet for a moment, before Edward finally muttered, "Fifty-two/forty-eight is too

close for comfort."

Edward turned back around and looked at his staff. He was grim. "So what else

do you have for me this morning?"

The other two staff members in his private office were both his sisters – Alice and

Rosalie Cullen. It was an unorthodox arrangement having not just one, but two

family members as part of a senator's most senior inner circle. Edward Cullen was

not an ordinary senator though.

He had just won a special election the year before to replace his father, the long-

time Senator Carlisle Cullen, who died unexpectedly. The Cullen family was

historic in Washington State – the Cullen's ancestors were railroad barons,

making them the state's wealthiest and most prominent family. It was always

assumed that Edward would ascend to his father's senate seat, but it was

supposed to be an ascendancy over many years. Edward attended the naval

academy to establish a military career before going to law school. After his years

of naval service as a navy SEAL he went to Yale Law School and then was a King

County assistant district attorney for two years. His father's death accelerated his

life though. The Cullen's wanted his father's seat kept in the family. Edward

would never deny that he won the special election because of his family's name.

And no one would deny that his election was helped by his devastatingly good

looks. Tall and fit with bronze hair and green eyes, he looked like Adonis. But

Edward's good looks were associated with his one political handicap – he was and

always had been a notorious playboy.

Edward trusted only a handful of people. Luckily, his family members, for the

most part, were astute, accomplished people. Alice was his press secretary. A

pixie of woman, she was obsessed with image and perception of all kind. Rosalie

was his campaign manager. She was beautiful, but deadly. Shrewd as can be,

she kept Edward in line.

Alice and Rosalie knew it was their duty to protect Edward and the family name at

all costs. They demanded that they knew everything about Edward before anyone

else. Rosalie always said, "I want to know about every damn woman – from a ten

minute conversation to a fuck on your desk. No bimbo eruptions. PERIOD."

So when Edward asked the room what else needed to be discussed that morning,

Alice had to tell him. She had already worked out how the conversation would go

with Rosalie.

Alice said casually, "Well, there's a new issue that's popped up. I've heard from a

contact in LA that Tanya is up for a new role."

Edward raised his eyebrows. He was currently dating a few women, including

Tanya Hamilton – a gorgeous starlet. He was intrigued by a potential issue with

her, not because he liked her so much. Carrying on a conversation with her

outside of bed was truly painful. But he was just interested in just what problem

there might be with America's Sweetheart, Tanya Hamilton. "So?"

Alice continued, "Well, there's nudity involved in the role – like a lot. And some …

uh … simulated sex."

Edward's brow furrowed. He was thinking through the ramifications, but Rosalie

blurted out, "Listen, I'll be the first to admit, that your relationship with her has

given you some nice press. But …"

Edward chuckled and jumped in, "But the senator's some time girlfriend can't be

seen topless and having sex."

Rosalie said firmly, "Not during an election cycle. You've got to tell her to sit on

her career until next December. Then she can branch out from her wholesome

Disney flicks. If she doesn't agree, break up with her now."

"OK. Done. I'll handle it." He had to go to LA on a fundraising trip this coming

weekend so he would see her then. He had planned on taking Tanya to the event

and then to his bed. She was decent in bed, but really, he was more interested in

her ability to garner press. While Edward was a kind and generous man to his

friends and loved ones, he was innately a craven, political animal. He had no

problem using someone when necessary to get ahead. And everyone knew it.

Seth breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks boss. It's just that … you know … no one

expects you to be the family man, but you need to stick with discreet women.

You know that Black will be playing the morality card."

Edward nodded. All his life he had understood the importance of discretion for a

Cullen – each one of them did. But as soon as he ran for senate, he had only

been with women for whom discretion was equally important. Surprisingly, it

wasn't that limiting. Actresses needed their stories buried just as much as he did,

and female politicians would never kiss and tell.

His opponent in the upcoming election was Jacob Black – the GOP darling – a full

blooded Quileute who had risen up through the ranks of local politics. He was just

as young as Edward, but Black was all about fiscal conservatism, Christian

morality, and law and order. Edward was untouchable on law and order and was

fiscally conservative. As a Democrat, though, he had different economic priorities

than Republican Jacob Black. But, every supporter of Edward knew, that Jacob

Black was going to exploit Edward's personal life. Seth was more conscious than

most about Jacob because he was a member the same tribe.

Edward replied, "Got it. Next subject."

Checking his watch, Seth smiled and said, "Time for the interns."

Edward nodded. It was September, and a new batch of interns had arrived for the

school year. Edward actually allotted a full hour of his busy calendar to do a meet

and greet with the interns, but that was it for the year. It had been Alice and

Seth's idea. They hoped it would somewhat make up for what an asshole Edward

was to his staff the rest of the year. Edward was a demanding, grumpy, and

irascible boss, and he ignored his interns after this one meeting.

Edward and his inner circle walked into the small conference room. It was packed

tightly with the seven new interns and other senior staff. As soon as he entered

the room, Edward turned on the charm and wit.

Edward greeted the room, "Well, good morning. I hope everyone is doing well

today. It's a wonderful day outside. I had a great run this morning."

The seated group all nodded and said hello back.

Edward continued, "I trust that the permanent staff has already made their

introductions." "So I would like to hear from our new interns. Let's see. What do I

want to know about you? …. Hmmm. Why don't we start with your name of

course? Then I'd like to know your school and major and what issues you are

interested in working during your time here. Let's see what else …. How about

your favorite place in Washington State or what town you're from? And then …

tell me two facts about you that I wouldn't know from reading your resume. So

that would be seven things. Does everyone have that written down?"

All the interns were furiously writing down the questions. At the far end of the

room, out of sight from where the senator was sitting, Bella Swan drew in a deep

breath as she wrote. Public speaking was not her favorite thing. She could do it,

but it was hard. And Senator Cullen was intimidating. Of course, she had seen a

hundred photos of him, but in real life, oh my, she thought. He was … hot – and

obviously smart and charming. She was getting nervous, but she swallowed hard.

The fact was he would never be interested in her because she was too young and

simply not in his league. Not to mention it was well know that he was always

involved with very, very beautiful women. She was not that. She knew shouldn't

be anxious. She should act around him the same way she acted around any of

her father's co-workers or her professors.

Bella saw that the way her fellow interns were being called on, she would be last

to be called. She was relieved. In general, all the interns were of a certain type.

They went to good schools, had good grades, often majored in political science,

and were good kids.

The next to the last intern to speak did not fit the mold. Lauren Mallory was

blonde with a J. Crew look. She was pretty, bubbly, but she seemed a little

calculating. She giggled through most of her answers to the senator. She was a

mass communications major "because it's easy." Her first little known fact was

that she was a Seattle Seahawks cheerleader for two years, until she hurt her

ankle. Her second was that her father owned the largest TV station in Seattle.

Some of the interns looked at one another. Others just thought it to themselves.

Her father was why she got the internship. Edward thought the same thing, but

he was the master of the impassive face. Out of the corner of his eye he looked

at Alice. She saw it immediately and nodded that was the case.

Edward couldn't really see the last intern, and by that time he was bored out of

his mind. He masked his boredom, though, and cheerily said, "And I believe we

have one more today." He craned his head as if he was trying to see the intern,

but it was for show. He didn't really care who the person was. Interns were

inconsequential.

"Um. Hello. My name is Bella Swan. I'm at Georgetown for the year, but I'll

graduate from U Dub. I'm working on my senior thesis. I'm a philosophy major

and …"

Edward wasn't looking at her, but the words thesis and philosophy caught his

attention. He craned his head again and caught a sight of some brown hair. He

interrupted her asking, "And what is this thesis on? I'll warn you that I was a

philosophy major." Everyone stared at Bella. Senator Cullen had only commented

on what the other interns said. He hadn't asked anyone to answer a question.

Bella tried to look at the senator, but she couldn't see him. So she looked straight

ahead at the nice, fellow-intern Angela across from her. She answered, "A

feminist analysis of Kant's Critique of Practical Reason."

Edward continued with no expression on his face, but he actually was very

intrigued. "I'm sorry I can't see you. Please stand up."

Bella rose to her feet, but she was petite so she didn't stand much taller than her

those sitting around her. She was blushing as she looked the senator in the eye.

Bella was taken aback a bit by the intensity of his eyes on her. She hoped she

hadn't angered him, and she worried about his thoughts on feminist critiques.

Edward immediately thought Bella was a rather pretty brunette. He could only

see her from the waist up, but he noticed she had a tiny waist and nice sized

breasts for such a small woman. Very nice. He didn't let on that he was checking

her out, though. He jumped to his question as he asked, "So you think there is a

different moral philosophy for men than women?"

Bella could answer a softball like that. "Well, I think that there may be differences

in what the sexes see as the highest good and duty in Kant's deontological ethics.

But, um … I've just started working on it. I'll let you know what I think in a few

months."

Everyone in the room laughed at that, including Edward. He was impressed by

her answer, but he knew he needed to speed things along. "And your answers to

the final questions?"

Bella kept standing as she said, "I'm interested in working on environmental

issues. I'm from Forks so I love the sub-Alpine meadows of Olympic National

Park."

All the other interns had said a neighborhood in Seattle. Edward almost broke his

bland stare upon hearing Bella's response. He loved those meadows too – every

one of them. But he chose not to look at her as he asked, "Which one the most?"

"Oh … um … any along Hurricane Ridge."

Edward nodded. He agreed, but he wasn't going to respond. He didn't like that he

had these things in common with this pretty, young girl – and he was fully aware

that she was only a girl.

Bella sputtered out, "And my facts are I turn 22 this month and my dad is the

police chief of Forks."

Edward nodded again and graciously closed the meeting, while his inner circle

looked at one another anxiously. They followed Edward into his office. He

slammed papers on his desk and ran his hand through his hair. As Seth closed

the office door he turned to his staff and exclaimed, "Who the fuck let Charlie

Swan's daughter be an intern in MY office?"

Seth shook his head. "I'm sorry I delegated it. I should have reviewed the

finalists."

"God damn it!" Edward's face was flaming red.

Alice and Rosalie conferred for a moment. Alice started, "Edward, it's OK. If we

hadn't accepted her as an intern, it would have been bad for us. Charlie Swan

may have said something."

Edward thought about that while running his hand through his hair. "OK. You're

right."

Seth ventured, "You know Charlie and my folks are friends. He's a very stand-up

guy. I can't imagine him letting anyone use Emmett's …. Emmett's transgressions

against you or … uh … anything you might have in your past …"

Rosalie decided to clear the air. "Everyone here is right. I don't want her in this

office at all, but we would have had to take her on because of her dad anyway –

even if she was a lousy student. And, Seth is right. Charlie Swan is known to be a

fair person. He never endorses anyone. He's totally apolitical. That said, I'm

watching that girl like a hawk."

Edward's cell phone vibrated and as soon as he saw the screen say Jane he

waved Seth out of the room. By now Seth knew that the Chief of Staff was only

allowed in on part of the senator's life. Everything else was controlled by the

Cullen family. Rosalie and Alice waited on the couch knowing what sort of call this

might be.

"Hello Jane."

Both Alice and Rosalie rolled their eyes. Rosalie put her feet up on the coffee

table and began impatiently flicking her pen. Alice started reading her Blackberry.

Edward heard on the other end of the line, "I want to see you."

"Ah. Yes. We can do that."

"Nine o'clock your house."

"Fine."

Edward ended the call. He turned to his sisters and said, "I bet this is the last

time."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Good. I can't believe you would fuck a Republican. Well,

I can believe it. It just disgusts me."

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