Political Relations (Book I of the BWWM Political Series)

Boundaries

It had been 3 weeks since Lucille had taken over as Oliver's campaign manager, hence earning Rebecca a demotion. For Lucille, her humdrum life was finally picking up.

Aaron was home more often. She'd started attending church and bible study again regularly. Last but not least, her work-relationship with Oliver Reed had blossomed into an odd type of friendship.

They'd even gone on two double-dates with one another and their partners. Maybe Lucille planned these outings as a public relations stunt but this deep down it was something more.

In the following days of Lucille's promotion, she did a lot of things. One was assuring that she had the support of the wife. Lucille needed Anne-Katherine on their side. No politician can run without a Jackie by his side. Of course he can, but he won't win. All Lucille needed of her was to smile and look pretty for the close-ups but Anne-Katherine said that unless Oliver proved he could create a separation between his private life and his work, she wouldn't cooperate.

Lucille laid it out plain and simple: His work will become his life and his life will become his work. What she needed to know was what Anne-Katherine wanted from this campaign.

"I want my life back", was her answer.

Lucille was confused. "Your life back?"

"I didn't bust my ass all those years in undergrad at Brown and then at Yale Law to become a mother. I did it to be someone."

Lucille's brow rose at the confession.

"Don't take this the wrong way, I love my son", Anne-Katherine expressed. "But when I signed onto this I wanted more than to just be the strong woman standing behind the strong man."

Lucille understood exactly what she meant by signed on. It's just as common as one would think for people who foresee a career in politics to look for the best suitor or debutant.

From the research Lucille had done on the Reeds, Oliver and Anne-Katherine's fathers were pals. Basically this meant that their marriage was forced in a sense. She just needed confirmation and now she had it.

Lucille perked up. "A career in law?"

"What?", Anne-Katherine asked.

"What do you want?", Lucille urged. "After the election, what is it that you want? I'll make it happen. I promise."

"I'll let you know."

And that was the end of their meeting.
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Lucille sat on the edge of Oliver's desk. He leaned back in his chair obviously frustrated.

"Well what if we move the meeting with Miller to Thursday at noon?", Lucille suggested.

Oliver sighed. "Thursday I'm visiting the women and children's shelter in Beaumont."

Lucille scrolled around on the iPad once more. "Just calm down, we'll figure something out."

Oliver's parents were flying into town from Florida. His father demanded he make it to a 4 o'clock tee-off at the old country club and his mother demanded dinner with him at 7.

"I'll meet with Miller then", Lucille stated.

"No, we talked about this already."

Oliver looked up at Lucille as she was in deep thought. This was how most of their meetings took place. He sat at his desk. She sat on the desk with her legs crossed as if chairs were non-existent in his office. He never dared ask her to take a seat. He loved the smell of vanilla that filled the air nearby. It grew stronger every time she flung her hair over her shoulders. He noticed she did this when she was overthinking something.