Poll Dancer by Laura Heffernan

Author:Laura Heffernan [Heffernan, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: humor, satire, politics, romcom, chicklit
Publisher: Empress Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Twisted Star: This move is actually a great stretch for your shoulder. I like to do it from the ground at the end of a long workout. But it IS more impressive if you can swing into it from a climb, especially on the spinning pole.

- Push and Pole Fitness Tutorials, Vol. 1

The days blurred together: fundraising event, press event, looking pretty, waving, making small talk. Endless phone calls. Teeth bleaching, waxing, although I drew the line at tanning in the middle of winter, and I flat-out refused to discuss Botox. Nothing Erica possibly said could change my mind about that one. I wasn’t even thirty; I didn’t care if I had laugh lines.

More shopping, buying more overpriced junk no one needed just so I looked the part. When I mentioned using an online service to rent the clothes I’d be wearing for the next few weeks, Erica put one hand over her chest and closed her eyes for so long, I wondered if I’d given her a heart attack.

Her response was direct and to the point. “No.”

“But—”

“No.”

Part of me wanted to argue to see if it was possible to piss her off, but upsetting Erica only hurt me in the long run. After my pole lesson with Daniel, she’d arrived at my door with an Allen wrench to remove the pole from my living room.

I’d called him the moment she arrived, but it turned out, since they weren’t dating like I thought, he had less sway than I’d imagined over her.

“I’m so sorry, Mel,” he’d said. “I’d told her to leave it, but she said you’d get it back once the campaign is over.”

“It’s two against one, though,” I’d pointed out.

“This isn’t a democracy,” Erica called from where she’d been struggling with the pole. “You could help me with this.”

In response, I’d simply snorted and returned to the phone. “Daniel, please?”

“I know it sucks, but she’s not willing to discuss this one,” he’d said. “We still need her. You’re doing great, but we’ve got weeks left and a lot of public appearances.”

The annoying thing was, he’d been right. We did need Erica. People responded to the speeches she’d written for me. They looked at me approvingly at events and interviews. For the first time since this all started, I felt like a political candidate. She also handled press inquiries, and she shone in that capacity. Even if she didn’t excel at her job, there was no time to replace her. But she was the best.

“You owe me,” I’d finally said to Daniel as I watched Erica walk out the door with my most prized possession. I hoped she would drop it on her foot, but no such luck.

Sure, I could buy another one, but battling Erica took a lot of energy out of me. We needed to get along if this was going to work. So I bit my tongue, gave up my workouts temporarily, and bought more clothes that made me look like a senator.

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