The Longer The Fall by Aviva Gat (best new books to read txt) 📗

time, when she didn’t think juggling would be so difficult. When Hunter leaned in to hug her, his fingers first brushed her back. A feeling ignited inside her, the same one she felt years ago whenever Hunter would touch her. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt with Brandon, an electricity, a longing to be touched that she was sure had disappeared inside her. For the last seven years, she had convinced herself that she didn’t need that sexual arousal, that her partnership with Brandon was so much more important than the physical. She had truly believed that the part inside of her that ached for touch had disappeared and no longer existed in the mature version of Madeline. But with the simple brush of Hunter’s fingertips on her back, the ache woke inside her. She couldn’t remember who kissed who first, but they kissed. Their lips interlocked and their arms wrapped around each other. Hunter followed her into the Langham, up the elevator and into her hotel room where he made her body convulse and move in ways she didn’t know were still possible. He held her tight over night and in the morning kissed her before apologizing.

“This was a mistake,” he said and Madeline agreed. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and when her 31-year-old self looked back at her, everything sunk in. She felt sorry for poor Rhonda, alone at home with her daughter, not knowing why her husband hadn’t come home the night before. She felt sorry that lack of control could ruin Hunter’s marriage, which she had been so happy to hear about. He was such a good partner, she thought, and surely a wonderful dad. She had hoped she hadn’t taken that opportunity away from him. Hunter put on his clothes and left the hotel.

Madeline stayed in bed. It was Saturday and she had nothing planned until Monday when she would have lunch with the banking company’s CEO to finalize details of the project that she was pretty sure she had won for her firm. She tried to focus on that lunch, instead of the other thoughts that were swirling through her mind.

A mistake, a horrible mistake, she kept hearing in her head. She couldn’t focus on it, otherwise she might tear herself apart. How could she have done that to Brandon? To her kids? How could she have done it to herself? Putting that stain on her reputation that she needed to keep clean for her future. At that moment she promised herself she wouldn’t let one night ruin her life. No, instead, she resolved to be better. She’d be a better wife, a better mom, and she would win her upcoming senate race so she could help millions. This one night would be nothing in the long run, a blip in her otherwise faithful character.

The next time she saw Hunter was five years later. She was a rising star republican visiting New York to give a speech at The WISH List, the organization that supported women like herself in Congress. She gave the speech, wearing her red suit and perfect smile. Back at the Langham, she had gotten a drink at the bar by herself. She had seen Hunter walk in, wearing his short sleeved blue plaid shirt. He took a seat on the other side of the bar and looked at her. By this time, Madeline was already in the spotlight. People were already calling her the future of the country, the change people were looking for. Her every move was watched, to be an example for her supporters and a possible misstep for her opponents. She would never make a mistake again.

She saw Hunter at the bar and she gave a quick raise of her glass to him. He looked at her questioningly, as though asking to move closer, but she shook her head. Across the bar was close enough. She paid her tab and left the bar, feeling both proud of herself and guilty.

Chapter 20

“What do you mean, ‘they know’?” Hunter asked her, standing up to get two mugs of coffee from the small kitchenette in his city council office.

“Someone knows about us and is using it to blackmail me,” she responded.

“Us?” he questioned as though he didn’t know exactly what she was talking about.

“The night we saw Othello,” she reminded him. “Someone wants money or they promise to go to the media with proof that I cheated.”

Hunter returned to the table and placed a mug in front of Madeline before sitting back down on his side. He nodded thoughtfully. “Madeline, that was years ago, who cares?”

“It’s unethical.”

“It was before you were a senator,” he said. “What, is the ethics committee going to investigate you?”

“This will jeopardize my reelection. Voters don’t want to vote for a cheater. And yes, instead of working to pass bills, I’ll be fighting the democrats and journalists who will want to take me down.”

“Can’t they find the guy who’s blackmailing you and stop it?”

Madeline sighed and explained to Hunter that time was running out and the FBI was failing at their job.

“What does Brandon have to say about it?” Hunter asked when she finished talking.

“He doesn’t suspect anything.”

“Uh huh,” Hunter responded as though unconvinced. “What do you want from me?”

“I just wanted you to know,” she said. “I don’t know how much they know. If it gets out, if it gets to the media, your name could get out too. And if Rhonda or your daughter see it, it could be a problem for you too. Or I don’t know about city council politics, but it could also hurt you here. I just don’t know.”

“Rhonda and I aren’t together anymore,” he responded. “We’re on the process for the divorce. She has custody of our daughter, who hates me already anyway.”

“Why?”

“Nasty divorce,” he responded, waving his