O Body Swayed to Music
III
Of Nothing, Of Zero
This was the moment where she could tell him he intrigued her, that her Google search had turned up empty, words he would expect. But Marlena never did the expected, and with this man, any woman who did, or who used a trite phrase like intrigued, would watch his gaze go out the window, and within the minute hear his excuses as he left.
Better to offend than bore. “I’m going to be blunt and ask what you want of me. The businesses that choose to associate themselves publicly with a political position in most cases require at least the appearance of an open book. Exposure, name recognition, are everything. Funding a legislative cause is a moral statement, another form of advertising. You’re not advertising anything.”
He laughed. She wasn’t sure she liked his laugh. In fact, she didn’t. It made her uneasy.
She pressed. “I couldn’t find anyone who actually knew what you do — ”
“A little buying, a little selling, being at the right place at the right time, never being too big to be too noticeable.”
That was no answer, and he knew it, although obviously one he had given more than once. Instinct told her not to call him on this. She waited. A pause often brought forth more than a question…
