Under Glass

Chapter 47- Arrangements

Caitlin dug through her new Kate Spade bag she splurged on after she began taking on clients. That's right- she'd started shopping for a few other members of Congress and it was so much fun. August in DC was miserable, she was already sweating and she'd been outside for maybe two minutes. If it weren't so hot outside, everything would be perfect. Fall was a few days away, it was her favorite time of year. The weather was crisp and biting, football came on TV and the legislative session was in full swing.

She hit Traylor's number on the directory.

"Yo," Traylor answered on the first ring.

"Hey."

"What up?"

"You know just working my ass off. How about you?"

"Working my ass off."

"Did you ever hear from Travis?"

Caitlin inadvertently made a noise.

"What?"

"I'm hoping to see him this weekend."

"So why did he ignore you for over two weeks?"

"He went out of town unexpectedly."

"He couldn't tell you that? Phones work when you're out of town."

"Tray, we're not dating. He doesn't owe me anything."

"Still," Traylor badgered.

"He said it was an international trip. I'm still not quite sure what he does yet."

"He could be a spy for the CIA?"

"He could work for MI6 and was sent here to spy on the US," Caitlin played along.

"He could be researching how to bed women all over the world and writing an article about it."

"I'll give him some research on that."

"That hot, huh?"

"That hot."

"You haven't really been..." Traylor cleared her throat. "Interested in anyone other than Chris in a while."

"Well, I had to end that since he has a girlfriend now. His secretary, how cliché is that?"

Traylor sighed. "End end? Or end until he no longer has a girlfriend?"

"End, end. I want to move forward and sometimes when I'm with Chris I feel like my feet are in quicksand."

Caitlin hadn't told anyone that she was sort of scared of him too.

They talked for a few more minutes to catch up on the week's happenings. She was loosening up and steered the conversation to Chris again.

"He was like, 'Just tell me you love me and I'll leave you alone.' That's all he's worried about. It was really weird. Is it an ego thing?"

"Maybe," Traylor answered slowly. She'd been here before where Chris was concerned. Then they got back together and Traylor didn't know what to say.

"Well, hopefully he'll get preoccupied with his secretary and not need anything from me."

"Oh Caitlin, I don't think it'll be that easy. He moved to DC because you're there."

"He did not." Caitlin waved at someone she knew as she walked in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Of course he did."

*****

At lunch that day, Michelle made her way to the table through the rows of chairs at Union Station. "Hey," she greeted as she fell into the only open seat at the table in between Caitlin and Jenn. "My hearing ran over. People love to hear themselves talk."

"No shit," Jenn agreed. "How are you Michelle, I love those pants." Jenn pushed her chair back from the table and slung one long tan leg over the other, smiling at an older guy sitting behind Michelle.

"Good, tired of hearing Congressman Gold blow his own horn. How about you?"

Caitlin took a bite of her salad. "Jenn has some news."

"Well, you guys know that I've been missing in action trying to get that reauthorization of the FFA bill through the Senate."

Caitlin glared at her, that wasn't the reason she'd been MIA.

"And I've been seeing Sam."

Caitlin coughed.

Michelle cleared her throat. "As in Samuel Waters, Senator of the great state of New York?"

She flung her hair over her shoulder and winked at the man behind Michelle.

"What are you doing?" Caitlin blurted. "Stopping winking at that old man, you're going to give him a heart attack."

"How did I not know you were having an affair with the Senator?"

"I'm very discreet," Jenn answered Michelle's question.

"And..." Caitlin prodded.

"His wife came home last night while I was there."

"Shit, are you kidding me?" Michelle almost choked on her sandwich. "What happened?"

"There was a whole scene. Then he calmly took my leg off his shoulder and explained to her that I am his new personal assistant and we were going over his schedule for tomorrow."

"She was not happy, of course. I can't help arrange his personal calendar. He told me she wasn't even in town this week. He's a grown ass man. It seems to me like he wanted to get caught, or didn't care if he did. Any who, I got the fuck out of dodge you know? It seemed very "House of Cards."

"Did you hear from him last night?" Michelle had put her sandwich down and was now paying very close attention.

"No, but when I got to the office this morning, this was on my desk." Jenn shook her raven hair behind her shoulder and put her wrist up for them both to examine, showing a gold cuff with diamonds in the shape of stairs on either side of the clasp.

"It's Tiffany's."

Caitlin and Michelle were both speechless. Caitlin was totally looking up how much that bracelet cost when she got back to her office.

"The card apologized for the inconvenience and promised to make it up to me."

Caitlin laughed, "Can you believe that fucker? His wife is probably devastated and he bought you that and wants to apologize for the inconvenience." She shook her head in disbelief.

"What can I say?"

"Your vagina must be encased in gold or magic?"

"I have heard that I have a magic pussy," Jenn admitted.

Caitlin almost spit her water across the table. "Stop."

"You're too much."

They talked about random things for the last five minutes of lunch. When they got up to leave, Jenn dropped her card in the lap of the man with whom she had been flirting.

"What are you doing?" Caitlin eyed her wearily.

"That guy looks like he could use a little magic." She shook her hips a little, but never looked back as they made their way up the stairs.

"You have problems," Michelle laughed.

"No, I used to have problems. Now, I have none. I have arrangements."

They made their way out of Union Station and Caitlin surveyed the people sitting on or near the fountain. "I don't see Face Lady," Caitlin whispered, almost to herself.

"Face Lady?" Michelle looked around too, not sure what she was looking for.

Jenn chuckled. "Caitlin is scared of a homeless lady that has her face tattooed."

"She yells at me. I mean, I am broke too. She gets in my face and asks for money that I don't have," Caitlin explained. "Face Lady probably makes more money than I do."

They all laughed as they crossed the street toward the Russell Senate Building.

"Bye girls, it was good to catch up. Let's go out soon. I have a feeling I'll be in between... arrangements."