Chapter Ten
One whole week had passed since they'd left D.C. and hit the campaign trail. Meredith had been growing increasingly restless. She was still trying to cope with the sudden change in the lifestyle she'd known in college.
Sure, she was no stranger to sleep deprivation back in New York. But that had been due to late nights spent partying or studying. Here, her lack of sleep was all because of work. Being on the road constantly hadn't helped either.
Stepping off the bus, she dug in her bag for her phone and dialed Mitch, her editor. She needed to check in with him and report on all the information she'd gathered about Elijah Scott so far. It wasn't much, but maybe Mitch would find some of it useful.
Wheeling her suitcase into the hotel, Meredith’s expression turned sour when she heard Mitch's only question for her.
“Have you heard anything about Elijah's love life?” he asked. She almost tripped and stumbled.
“Can't say that I have,” Meredith replied, careful to keep her tone neutral. But her face must have given away her distress, since Sosie looked at her and frowned. Meredith quickly plastered a smile on her face and nodded as Sosie handed her the key to her room.
“Oh come on, Meredith. You have to have heard something by now. A guy like that is irresistible to women,” he replied as she got in the elevator.
Of course he was irresistible to women. She had firsthand knowledge of that fact, not that she could tell Mitch how she'd come by that knowledge.
“I know, Mitch. But I haven't heard anything about it yet,” she said apologetically. “Besides,” she added, “I hardly even see Elijah.” She hoped he would just drop it.
She got off the elevator on the fifteenth floor and quickly headed straight to her assigned room. She was so tired she just wanted to collapse into bed and sleep until tomorrow.
“Dig around some then, would you? See if you can get him alone. Do whatever it takes to make him talk. You know, use your charms,” he suggested as she stopped in front of her room.
Meredith scowled, completely offended. What did he take her for?
She bit her tongue to keep from swearing at him. But she knew he hadn't meant anything by it. He was just doing his job, and part of that job was nagging the field reporters. God, she couldn't wait for this summer to just end already.
Meredith took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.
“I'll do it my way, Mitch. And you know as well as I do you wouldn't have suggested that if I were a guy,” she grumbled.
He laughed, and she grit her teeth in annoyance.
“Don’t take it personally, Mer. It’s just part of the job. I know that every editor is asking their reporters the same thing.”
“I know. And I understand. Look, I'll call you when I get something, okay?” she said, then hung up. She couldn't stand to hear any more nagging, especially when she already knew what needed to be done.
Getting inside her room, her mood lightened somewhat upon seeing the freshly made bed. Finally, she'd have some downtime alone. Forget about grabbing a shower and dinner – that was time she'd rather spend getting into pajamas and sleeping.
She checked the time, then flopped onto the bed. It was five in the afternoon. She thought she'd call Lily and see how she was doing. It had been awhile since they'd last talked.
After a few rings, Lily answered, sounding very hoarse and tired.
“Hello?”
“Hey. Is this a bad time?” Meredith asked when Lily’s face registered on her screen. She looked disheveled, but still beautiful.
Lily yawned.
“No, no. I’m just about to go to bed, actually,” she said, settling against a pillow.
“What? Didn't you just go to your yoga retreat?” Meredith asked. How late – or early – did her friend intend to stay awake?
“Hah! No. Bali is like… party central, Mer. Tonight, I went to this party on a billionaire’s yacht… it was craaaaazy!” Lily informed her, her expression completely changing. She looked excited just by the thought of said gathering.
Meredith couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. She should be there, living it up with Lily, not spending her summer working her ass off.
“Really?” she asked excitedly, wanting to hear about more of her friend’s getaway trip.
“Yeah. Gosh, I’m going to need a yoga retreat after all this partying! It’s exhausting,” Lily replied after an exaggerated sigh, making her smile. “But enough about me, what about you? How’s the life of a journalist?”
She rolled her eyes. She didn't want to talk about it. It wasn't like there was anything to brag about, unlike Lily's trip.
“Well, I’m on a presidential campaign…”
“And?”
“And… well, you absolutely can’t say anything…”
“You already hooked up with someone, didn’t you?” Lily interrupted.
“Let me finish, will you?” Meredith said, irritated.
“Okay,” Lily responded, giggling.
“Hmm… remember your goodbye party?” she started out, not really sure how to properly spill the beans about Elijah Scott.
“Yeah.”
“You can’t tell anyone. Swear,” Meredith said.
“I swear! Now tell me already!” the redhead ranted impatiently.
This wasn't going to be easy. But at least she had someone to talk to about it. She really needed someone to confide in, because the whole thing was driving her crazy.
Or more accurately, Elijah Scott was driving her crazy.
“I recognized someone here from the party,” she said.
“What? Who?”
“The candidate. Elijah Scott,” Meredith answered after a moment of silence. And she wanted to take back her words when Lily bolted up in bed. Her best friend was the one of the worst gossip girls she had ever known.
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah,” she reaffirmed.
She'd thought about telling Lily that Elijah was the man she'd given a drunken lap dance to, the man she'd almost slept with that night. But Meredith decided not to say anything after all.
“No way. No freaking way! That’s… what do the papers call it?” Lily said, completely losing it as she tried to search for the proper words. “A big scoop!” she said finally.
She rolled her eyes.
“Right, because I'm totally going to tell the world I was at a secret sex party,” she said sarcastically. She added, “My dad would kill me, let's be real, Lily.”
“Whatever,” Lily said, pouting. Then she perked up. “Is he at least sexy?” she asked.
Meredith fell silent, picturing Elijah. His devastatingly handsome smile, his muscular physique.
Sexy didn't even begin to describe him.
“Holy shit! He totally is! I can tell by your expression!” Lily crowed.
There was no point in lying. Lily knew her all too well.
“Shut up.”
“Ooohhhh, Mer and Elijah, sitting in a tree –“
“Okay. Okay. He’s hot! But don’t forget, you promised not to tell a soul. I mean it, Lily,” she warned. Lily grinned.
“Cross my heart, hope to die,” Lily replied, doing the corresponding hand gesture then yawned.