On His Terms by Rachel Masters Page A

mesmerized.
    “Thanks. It was easy,” he paused, “once I knew you were there with me,” he said, brushing
     her upper cheek with his thumb.
      “I’m really sorry I freaked out on you,” she said.
    “Ally, I’ve moved on. You’re with me right now, that’s all I need to know.”
    “Are you always this forgiving?” she asked, comforted by the image of herself reflected in his eyes.
    “Are you always this apologetic?” he replied, sitting up and adjusting his navy blue
     tie sprinkled with hundreds of tiny American flags.
    The billionaire’s driver knocked on the limo’s rear tinted window. “Mr. Westbrook?
     You all set, sir?”
    “Yeah, Keith. Let’s roll,” Hale said as he checked the time on his phone.
     
    * * *
                          “Ally, Ally, wake up.” Julie continued to shake her from her sleepy coma. “Wake up
     Ally, seriously. There’s some guy at the door, said he has a meeting with you.” Ally
     could barely move, let alone get out of bed. Her sister’s words were like background
     noise at this point.
                          “For real, Ally . Get up. He said his name is Charles. He said he works for Hale Westbrook.”
                          Shit. Charles. Ally sprang from her bed, nearly landing on her back, still feeling so disoriented
     from last night’s events. She paused ever-so-briefly , flashing back to her time with Hale in the back of his limo. Could it all have been a dream?
                          “You’re a mess,” her sister said. “Here, throw this on.” She threw Ally a fleece sweatshirt
     to cover her scantly clad self.
                          What the hell could he be doing here? Did Hale regret last night and send Charles
     here to end things between them?
                          “Ms. Shore, so nice to see you again” Charles was dressed to the nines, as he always
     was. Black suit, dark sunglasses, a handsome leather briefcase, and a toothpick hanging
     out of the side of his mouth. He slid his sunglasses off his eyes and onto his head. “Do you have time to meet?”
     He looked at Ally, then at Julie, then back at Ally. “Alone?”
                          Ally looked at her sister and shrugged her shoulders. Her heart was racing. It seemed
     that anything to do with Hale’s world somehow got her adrenaline going in one way
     or another. “Yes, of course. I just need a minute,” she said.
                          Ally and Charles headed towards Monagan’s Trail, their original meeting grounds.
                          Charles flipped his sunglasses back over his eyes. “I understand you made it out to
     Bakersfield yesterday.” Hale’s 6’5” bodyguard or assistant or whoever he was looked
     down at Ally. She turned away as naturally as she could, hiding her flushing red face.
                          Could he know about the two of us in the alley?   She wondered how much Hale told this man about his personal life.
                          “I’m gonna play this with you straight, Ally.” His voice was deep, and his eyes were polite
     but all business. She was beginning to wonder what the hell was going on.
                          “This election is huge,” he continued. “It’s bigger than you might understand. If
     things go well, his candidacy as the governor of California is just the beginning.
     We’re closing in on Washington, bit by bit.”
                          “You mean that Hale plans on running for the presidency?”
                          “He’s young, powerful, and he knows the right people. And Hale Westbrook’s never made
     any plans he couldn’t execute.”
                          She shook her head. “Fine.   But that doesn’t explain why you’re here with me,” she said.
                          “I’m gonna make this simple for you.” He