The Longer The Fall, Aviva Gat [top 10 books to read txt] 📗

a year of dating before that and this was the first time they had sex outside of a bedroom. It was the first time Madeline had let herself feel dominated by her husband and it was the first time that she let herself go with him. When it was over, Brandon let go of her neck and stepped back from his desk.

She looked at him with new admiration as though she were seeing him for the very first time. Her skin still tingled from feeling him on top of her. She waited a moment before sitting up and fixing her skirt. Brandon had already tucked his shirt back into his pants and grabbed two bottles of water from the mini fridge in his office. “Now what?” he said as he handed her a bottle.

Madeline took the water and opened it for a sip. “Now, I’m going to go home, freshen up and get back to work,” she responded. “And I’ll see you at home this evening.” Without waiting for his reaction, Madeline left his office and walked through the halls to the elevator. Employees were starting to arrive, setting bags down in their cubicles and starting the roar of the coffee machine.

Epilogue

The hotel suite was silent except for the voices on the television. Madeline was sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard and her feet crossed with her shoes still on. She had that feeling, the one where her heart pounded like she was about to get caught, even though there was no reason she should feel that way. She watched the television intently as the newscasters continued talking without saying anything of substance at all.

Next to her, Brandon lay down with his head on the pillow and his eyes closed. He was tired of listening. “Tell me when it is over,” he said and curled his hands under his cheek. Jane and Hunter were also in the hotel suite, sitting on the chairs stationed around a small table under the window. Their eyes too were glued to the TV.

“Early predictions show you’ll be two points ahead,” Jane reiterated for the fifth time that night as though saying it again could make it come true. Madeline would have liked a bigger lead, winning by two points was not the victory she had hoped for. Now, in the hotel room, just minutes after the polls had closed, the team waited to hear if she would serve her second term in the senate.

The newscasters continued showing predictions and maps with Madeline’s and Officer Austin’s faces opposing each other on the screen. There were clips from their election night events, which had started hours before and were still going on, waiting for someone to be announced the victor.

Officer Austin’s event was at the Fraternal Order of Police Headquarters, where uniformed officers were filmed drinking champagne from the early afternoon—when less than 20% of the population had cast their votes.

They deserved to celebrate, Madeline thought. It hadn’t been an easy campaign and Officer Austin had performed better than anyone could have expected. He held rallies in neighborhoods that had previously supported Madeline and had been eloquent when interviewed by journalists who were tough on police. Madeline had tried to focus her campaign on the SAVER Bill, which weeks before the election had passed in the Senate. She had made a few compromises, added a few pork belly line items in the bill, but the overall integrity of the bill had remained intact. It was now awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives, where congress members were trying to stall a vote until after the election. She knew there were congress members against it, who would try to shred the act apart, but with Madeline’s win, she was sure she could rally enough votes to get the bill onto the president’s desk for signature.

Madeline rubbed her hands together noticing the small bruise around her wrist. It made her smile, remembering the evening before. Her arms pressed up above her head, squeezed so tight that she almost lost the feeling in her hands.

The Madeline here was not the same Madeline that had existed months ago. To outsiders it might appear that nothing had changed—she still had her presidential presence, her quick wit, and her guarded smile, but those in the room had sensed the change. They had all changed.

Jane turned a cheek when gray areas were entered, lines crossed, and personal lives interfered with work. Hunter became used to back door meetings and strong-arming negotiations for Madeline’s support. His employment was as professional as anyone’s could be when being paid a large amount with no official title or job description.

Brandon may have been the one who changed the most, but it was the least noticeable. He was still the supportive husband, the strategic thinking CEO, and perfect political partner. But now, he wasn’t just the partner in public that Madeline needed him to be. The enlightenment of their power struggle had added new layers to their marriage, opening doors for them and helping them explore new ways to please each other. Madeline longed for him when she slept in her apartment in Washington DC. She dreamed of his touch, only to wake up covered in sweat. He made her feel submissive, unsure, in a way that she never felt in public. But it was what she needed and it thrilled her behind closed doors. She finally felt like they really were meant for each other.

The pictures, the blackmail, the adultery, it was never spoken of again and any remaining resentment or feelings about it had been blown away by the new dynamic. Hunter understood the dynamic. He too felt dominated by Brandon, afraid of his watchful eye and therefore focused more on his wife, who appreciated Hunter’s new job. Rhonda called Hunter the get-it-done-guy and noticed that he too seemed more in control than he had ever been