The Politician's Fake Engagement

By Roxy Wilson

A political strategist, a handsome billionaire, an explosive allegation of racism, and a fake engagement… what could possibly go wrong?

 

Well… everything.

 

Kade Wellington is the picture of privilege. From his handsome, charming, pretty-boy smile to his billions in the bank, he oozes advantages others can only dream of. When he fires his Ethiopian-born campaign advisor, he's accused of racism, just like he was warned he would be.

 

And how does this privileged bastard deal with the mess he's caused?

 

By claiming he and Andrea 'Drea' Daniels, his new campaign advisor, are engaged! Which is an outright lie! She's livid, but she's always been secretly interested in him. Is he just trying to save his public image and his tanking approval ratings? Or is he playing for keeps? Will this scandal sink his campaign? Or will Drea rescue his political career as his fiancée because, in spite of everything, she's damn good at her job?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roxy Wilson
• Release date: Mar 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393241591

Book preview

PROLOGUE

The man seated opposite her desk was staring at her just as thoughtfully as she was regarding him. Drea Daniels wasn’t a fool; she knew why billionaire politician, Kade Wellington, first time aspirant for the US Senate from the Democratic Union Party, was in her office.

Far from the expected, she wasn’t flattered by his presence before her. Or more accurately, she was flattered by his humility to come over, instead of having her come to him but not by the purpose of his visit. She was astute enough to realize that his seeking her out meant someone had recently gotten fired from his campaign staff and she was to be the replacement. She had her facts all lined up.

Kade Wellington, thirty-eight, hometown in Wisconsin, owner of several companies and factories scattered across the state, wealthy, divorced and handsome to boot, was doing poorly in the polls. That wasn’t all; two weeks ago, it hit the news that he had a fall out with his campaign advisor and had fired the woman without much ado. His action had caused a ruckus in the media. Before the ink was dried on the sack letter, the aspirant was accused of racism and bigotry.

Not once had the politician come out to deny the accusations.

Needless to say, the results of his action hadn’t flattered his performance in the campaign. Instead, firing the well-known, Ethiopia-born campaign advisor, Edna Kibebe, had plummeted his standing in the polls further and the billionaire was in more trouble than he began with. Before the scandal, he’d previously been a front runner, displacing Frank Ottoman, one-time Congressman and re-runner in the opposition party, from the electoral race. These days however, he was down in the polls and going downward still.

Drea knew why he was in her office.

She was one of the best in her chosen career, but she did not flatter herself to think it was her skills that brought Mr. Wellington to her door. Far from it; he was seated across from her, looking larger than life in a deep blue three-piece suit and a persuasive cowboy smile because she was African American and ‘chosen’ to be his new campaign advisor. She was familiar with the strategy; the ladle that tipped off the pot of broth always got the unsavory job of picking the spilled broth off the floor.

In her case, one ladle had done the spilling, and a similar one would be employed to rectify the mistake.

Mr. Wellington... she began slowly.

Kade, he corrected, his blue eyes twinkling kindly.

He had a deep baritone that was hugely distracting. Before now, she had been following his progress on TV and always got captivated by the deep, assured tone of his voice. She’d always thought to herself it was almost the only thing he had going for him. She nodded shortly and took to the correction. Kade, at the risk of sounding conceited, I will have you know that I’m damned good at what I do, she said.

He nodded patiently. I know, he intoned. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.

She wasn’t flattered by the acknowledgement. As long as she still had a few things to say about the sudden interest in her as the campaign advisor, she wouldn’t be flattered by any word or action from the man. She knew he used to be a great ladies’ man in his younger days; she wasn’t going to be carried away by a few praises.

I know, I’m aware that you wouldn’t be found ten feet anywhere near my door if you weren’t assured of my ability, but that’s beside the point. I’m a blunt person. You see, Kade, I tell it as it is. I know why you are here.

Hiss eyebrow shot up. Of course, you do, he said with a curious smile. I’m sure that my assistant mentioned it while booking this appointment.

She almost smiled; almost. Those full eyebrows of his gave a careless impression of inattention to its care, but she knew better. Everything about the man regarding her with open curiosity right now was well groomed. From the golden watch strapped on his wrist to his Italian suit and Armani leather shoes. She knew each item and style were carefully selected down to the slightly, tousled crew cut hairstyle on his head. Politics was like Hollywood; one simply did not go on stage with a single hair out of place.

"Did I mention that I don’t like pretentiousness? I expect none from you, if I’m to consider your offer," she said, laying a deliberate emphasis on ‘consider’.

The politician simply grinned.

Sighing, she slid a folder with newspaper clippings out from under the small pile of books and spread them on the table across from him. It was how she was—never unprepared. Let it never be said she’d been caught unawares, she thought as she sat back in her chair to wait for a reaction. There were seven clippings in all, each telling the same story in different words. She did not get what she wanted; no reaction whatsoever was visible on his handsome face as he silently regarded the news articles. However, she knew that he must have seen the story before. He would have to have been dead not to.

Each paper, spread out in front of him, was dated differently and contained articles about him and his former campaign advisor. The paparazzi had a field day with the news when it happened and still did till this very moment. She felt sure if she switched her TV on in her office and tune it in to the mid-day news, there would be something mentioned about the scandal. Several of the articles had hinted to some sexual relationship between Kade Wellington and Edna Kibebe. Many of them had condemned the politician for falsely accusing his former campaign advisor and firing her without proof.

Mercilessly, the press and opposition had summarized his actions in two words; ‘racism’ and ‘bigotry’.

What are you driving at, Andrea? he asked smoothly, still not betraying any emotion.

She had to hand it to him. He was good, damn good. She idly wondered if he ever considered a career in the movies; he certainly had the looks. You tell me, she said, just as calmly. If he was willing to play cat, she wasn’t willing to play mouse. He either came clean with her or he stopped wasting her time.

They stared unblinkingly at each other. She didn’t move a muscle as she bore into his eyes. There was a challenge in those depths that she couldn’t resist rising up to. There were also secrets in them, secrets that she was going to know before she stepped a foot into the turbulent waters of his political ambitions.

Heather never mentioned that you were this stubborn and impertinent. Kade sighed at last, raking a hand through his hair.

Heather Lowe was the personal assistant who’d been sent over to her from Kade Wellington’s party to contact her personally. That meeting had been short-lived. Drea had insisted on seeing the main man or there would be no deal. When Heather called to confirm an appointment, Drea had thought she would be meeting with him at his office. She’d been surprised when Heather corrected the impression and told her the senatorial aspirant was coming down to her.

She gave him a silent look that said she was still waiting for his answer.

What do you want to know? he asked her at last, laying his hands on the edge of the table and staring directly into her eyes.

Finally, they were getting somewhere.

I already know you chose me to become your new campaign advisor to neutralize the ongoing allegations about your racial preference, she started slowly. What I would like to know is why you didn’t come out with a public statement about the accusations. And while you are at it, you might want to tell me the real reason you fired Edna Kibebe; everybody knows, and I’m not ashamed to say it...that she is damned good at what she does too.

And if I don’t say anything about all this? he asked quietly.

His question got her shaking her head. It is the truth or nothing, Sir, she replied just as quietly. I can’t grope around in the dark and be expected to make a miracle. It is the whole truth or nothing.

Silence reigned in the office for another minute as his blue eyes bore into her brown ones. Again, she didn’t do as much as blink. He needed to know she meant every word she said.

I will sue you for every penny you’ve got if a word of this goes out without my say-so, he said in a quiet voice that resonated with power.

Since he came into her office, he’d been the epitome of charm and charisma. Right now, he looked every bit the shrewd businessman and powerful politician he was reputed to be. Those eyes of his were hard and unblinking as they let her know he didn’t trust her—at least, not yet.

She nodded without a word, still holding his gaze. Trust was something they both lacked right now and it was just as well. Trust had to be earned and she was willing to work to earn his if he would return the same courtesy. She said nothing, letting him see her answer in her eyes.

About two months ago, Edna told me she wanted to get married, he went straight to the point. The groom was none other than Joseph Turner.

The weight of his words wasn’t lost on her. She nodded slowly, understanding settling in as he spoke. Joseph Turner was in the enemy’s camp; he was Frank Ottoman’s lead media publicist and the African American took great pleasure in maligning the opposition every chance he got. The guy also worked from the background and few people knew of his real identity. Drea nodded again and Kade continued.

I’m not going to lie; I was disappointed, at first; but she said she would wait until the elections were over before the wedding took place. I heard her, but I couldn’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop; and it did. Two weeks later, Edna said that darling Joe couldn’t wait to have her as his wife. For all her experience, she couldn’t see she was being played and she wouldn’t listen to me when I suggested it. She quit.

Surprise did not begin to cover how Drea felt. She knew better than to believe everything she heard and read from the media, but she’d never imagined that Edna had been the one to quit her job, instead of being fired. She now began to understand why both of them—Kade and Edna, hadn’t come out to say anything about the whole thing.

From my calculations, all this happened well over a month ago and there’s been no wedding to date—at least, none that I heard of, she observed.

Good point and well noted, Kade said admiringly. The wedding didn’t take place. Only a few people knew of the incident, so it never got out that she quit. A week later, Edna came back to me, wanting her position back. Darling Joe suddenly decided that he wanted to wait until the elections were over and he was doing so, in her words, ‘to avoid a conflict of interest’. I didn’t take her back. The news hit the media the following morning. We both know who was responsible.

But that wasn’t very professional of Edna, Drea cried defensively. She opened you up to the predators.

She regretted her actions after the first accusation hit the morning news. She came back to me again, begging me to forgive her. She was upset that she’d been used by darling Joe like that, but she had a reputation to protect.

As did you, she interrupted.

Yes, we both did, he acknowledged with a soft smile. It was she who suggested that I come to you. She knew she couldn’t come back and was of the opinion that the best way to stop the wagging tongues was to employ the services of a black woman.

True, Drea allowed. "That would effectively put a damper on the allegations about the racism part, but it will do nothing to explain to the world why you suddenly fired your campaign advisor and took on another."

As for that, we’ll simply have to let them wonder indefinitely. I have no intention of destroying a young woman’s career simply as a means of advancing mine. More so, Edna said that you are so good that within a few weeks, people would forget about all the rumors and focus more on other good things about our campaign.

Drea observed him thoughtfully for a while. As a rule, she never created an impression about an acquaintance’s character on first meeting. However, Kade was making a very great impression on her. He’d given his side of the story so casually that she almost believed he wasn’t hurt by the entire saga. She could nonetheless, tell that he wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted her to believe. The incident had hurt his performance at the polls and he was lagging in the senatorial race where he had been leading before. His campaign advisor’s actions had negatively affected him and he must have been hurt and disappointed, yet he didn’t even issue a public statement to protect himself. He preferred to take the painful way out, instead of tarnishing