Scandal: The Lies We Tell (Volume 1) by Emma J. King Page A

hands. “Fine.” I sighed loudly. “Who do you need me to schmooze?”
    Eva was the Founder and CEO of Children First, a Washington D.C. non-profit that focused on everything from literacy to gun violence. I had been working there almost a year as the event coordinator/marketing specialist/legislative advocate/whatever Eva decided I should be doing on a given day. One of my primary responsibilities at Children First was to attend any event where politicians might be and shove our cause down their throats.
    “Senator Cooper is supposed to make an appearance.” Eva actually winked at me. “If you can get past whatever escort he’ll be wearing, I need you to push him on Bill 132.”
    Bill 132 was Eva’s baby. It was a gun-control bill that would ban assault weapons and right now it was at least five votes shy of passing in the Senate. Senator Nicholas Cooper was an independent and by all accounts undecided on the bill.
    “Are you sure you don’t want to do this instead?” I was still perfecting my lobbying skills but Eva was a veteran when it came to cornering and convincing politicians. No doubt she would have Senator Cooper voting “ Yay” in a matter of minutes.
    “You’ve got this,” Eva said with a stiff nod. “Just remember the advice I’ve been giving you, and don’t take no for an answer.”
    I started to turn back to my neglected press release when Eva added, “Oh and if Cooper makes a pass at you, your answer should be yes.”
    Washington social events were not my thing. I didn’t like making small talk, hated mingling with strangers and barely tolerated mediocre appetizers and su persized egos. But my job required me to play nice for the night, so that’s exactly what I did.
    I discussed the weather with a Washington reporter, exchanged brownie recipes with a Senator’s wife and debated the merits of affirmative action with a legislative aide. After two hours of feigning interest in the people around me, I was exhausted. I was also relatively certain that Senator Cooper wasn’t going to make an appearance. After slamming one more glass of champagne, my fifth of the night, I tee tered as confidently as possible from the ballroom.
    My heels were high and I was drunk- the combination was guaranteed to lead to disaster. I made it down the long hall to the front entrance of The Capital Hotel, but a group of men blocked my exit. I tried to step around them, but the group was too large. My one recourse was to push through the middle.
    “Excuse me,” I growled, annoyed that leaving had turned into such a challenge. None of the men moved. I cleared my throat and tried again, louder. “I said, excuse me.”
    The man standing directly in front of me finally stepped to the side and glanced over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Miss. Gentlemen, let’s make some room.”
    The face, the voice- I had found Senator Cooper. I now had a clear path to the door, but I was no longer anxious to leave. After standing there staring at the senator blankly for several seconds, he asked, “Did you need something?”
    I shook away my hesitation. My mission had been to corner Senator Cooper, but now that I was standing less than two feet away I couldn’t think of a single thing to say to him. So instead I stuck with my original plan. “No. Sorry.”
    The path that had been cleared was narrow, and I had to step carefully between the men. I felt the warmth of Senator Cooper’s hand on the small of my back as he helped guide me through and I tensed.  I didn’t have time to figure out why his touch made me anxious because at that moment someone yelled, “Gun!”
    Men began to yell and the crowd around me pushed me backward. I stumbled and someone caught me by the arm and crushed me to their body, bringing us both to the ground.
    “Stay down,” Senator Cooper said, his voice steady and certain.
    My heart was pounding in my chest and it took me several attempts to find my voice. “What happened?”
    He was huddled