die on the hill | a. hotchner

prologue.

all according to plan.

Cody Myra Morgan is the youngest of four siblings, but the youngest by a long shot. She was eleven years younger than her oldest sister, Sarah; nine years younger than her only brother, Derek; and seven years younger than her older sister, Desiree.

Cody had been working for Vice President Rena Henries since her second term as Senator when Cody had just graduated from law school. Both the woman had been sisters in the same sorority at Columbia University for undergrad and Rena had chosen Cody over an equally qualified candidate.

Cody got the call giving her the job when she was home visiting her mother and Sarah. Cody was twenty-four at the time and was going to be working in the office of a female senator. The Morgan women had celebrated with champagne and cupcakes.

Then Cody moved to D.C. and started working her ass off. She made few friends in the new city and spent most of her time in the Capitol Building. She hardly ever spoke to her older siblings -- especially Derek -- but tried to call her mom back as much as possible.

Then Rena started running for President and dropped out. Then another candidate asked her to run as his Vice President candidate. And the ticket won. Rena asked Cody to serve as her chief of staff, a thank you for being the only staffer to stick with her for five years.

Everything was going according to her life plan (with only one major hiccup on the road).

And that brings us to now.

When Cody is in a bar with her coworkers, Lessa and Colton. Drinking. And she sees quite possibly the hottest man she's ever seen in her life.

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"Go talk to him!" Lessa shouted over the music, sipping her drink through the tiny straw. "He's super hot and he's been checking you out all night!"

"Lessa, you're relentless!" Colton yelled back. "Coco, shots!"

Cody and Colton did two more rounds of shots, while Lessa leaned back on the bar, sipping on her cosmopolitan.

"He's still staring," Lessa told the two in a sing-song voice.

Colton tapped the shot glass that was resting on Cody's lip and she tossed it back.

"Okay, okay," she said. "I'll go, you mad woman."

Lessa cheered and Colton rolled his eyes.

"Good luck, sweet thang," he told the woman.

Cody made her way to the older man who had been checking her out across the bar. His friend -- another older man -- grabbed his drink and walked away.

"Hey, handsome."

"Hello, beautiful. Will you let me buy you a drink?"

Cody cocked her head like she was thinking about it. "Why don't you tell me your name first, then I'll think about it?"

"You first."

"I asked first."

"And I want to buy you a drink, gorgeous."