Free The Marriage Agenda by Sarah Ballance Page A

suddenly regretted her avoidance of all things Knox—for a DC reporter, her lack of knowledge of the finer details was almost embarrassing. But she didn’t need to rehash the destruction of their relationship. Moreover, her focus of late had been on Rex, and for good reason. “So why hasn’t anyone who can actually beat Rex taken him on?”
    “For all his personal faults, Rex is a damn good politician, and he’s got a strong record and appeal across the aisle—both parties love him. That makes him really hard to beat, so no one really wants to run against him.”
    “So why aren’t they all jumping in now? The usual reasons?”
    Knox shrugged. “Someone might, but I put my foot in the door the moment Rex cracked it open, and I’ve been polling well. You don’t have as much time to prepare for a special election as you would a general election, so the money has to be there. You know how things work in this arena. A successful campaign requires a lot of cash, and a few weeks isn’t much time to launch a campaign, secure backers, and put the money toward winning votes. I’ve got the advantage of the family name—not just my father, but my grandfather before him—and Jackson has been after this seat for years. We were both in a position to strike. Jackson has a better chance of defeating me than he did Rex, but it’ll be hard for him to pull off.”
    They’d just turned back to the TV when the doorbell rang. Knox tossed the remote on the coffee table and stood. “That would be Toby.”
    Toby Russo, campaign manager extraordinaire. And, because he’d likely pushed Knox to fall in line with the poll results, probably a big part of the reason she had a ring on her finger.
    “Nice place,” Toby said as Knox led him into the room. “You must be Chloe.”
    Chloe stood. “It’s nice to meet you.”
    “And you. It’s good to have you on board.”
    On board?
    Knox pointed toward the TV while Toby helped himself to a slice of pizza. Knox glared over the pizza theft but didn’t mention it. “Chloe and I were just discussing the many qualities of my opponent.”
    “None of them worthy, I presume.”
    Knox shrugged. “He puts up a good show.”
    “He’s really playing up that like-father-like-son angle. It’s a good thing you found someone quickly.”
    Chloe winced. Apparently Knox’s Only-You speech meant more to her than she’d realized. She could have done without Toby’s blunt assessment.
    “Hey, man. I told you…if Chloe had said no, we’d be having this same old conversation about me needing a wife all the way up through election day, win or lose.”
    “More likely the latter,” Toby muttered. Clearly they’d gone rounds on the subject.
    “So be it, then. I have no intention of being elected on a deception.” He graced Chloe with a smile that turned her knees to mush. “What am I, if not my word?”
    Toby snorted. “Channeling Shakespeare, from the sound of it.”
    She wasn’t sure what to make of Knox’s campaign manager. He seemed…analytical. But to navigate the turgid political waters of DC, a person needed to be wired a little differently.
    Toby turned to Chloe. “Did he tell you we met at Yale?”
    “Excuse me,” Knox said. “Are you hitting on my fiancee?”
    Slack jawed, Toby turned to Knox. “Because I went to Yale?”
    “No, because you want her to know you went to Yale.”
    “Well, hell, earlier today I was at a bus stop. Am I now trying to get her to have my baby?”
    Chloe cleared her throat. “I’m pretty sure that wasn’t in my contract.”
    “I’m glad someone knows the difference between business and pleasure.”
    Oh, the irony. Because that person was so not her.
    “Back off,” Knox growled.
    Toby raised his palms in surrender. “Done. You keep this up and I’m bringing a tranquilizer gun with me next time. Big game.”
    Chloe laughed. Turning to Toby, she said, “Yale, huh?”
    He blinked. “Are you trying to get me killed?” Then in a stage whisper he