Free Fixer: A Bad Boy Romance by Samantha Westlake

lowering his razor and setting it down on the side of his bathroom sink. He really needed to do something to change his situation.
    After that girl from the bar last night (what was her name... Nicki?) went storming off, yelling about how he wasn't paying attention to her, Tanner decided to instead focus all his attention on the remaining liquid in a vodka bottle sitting in his freezer. Mixed with a splash of vermouth, it wasn't awful, especially after he forced down the first glass and made himself a second one.
    Now, however, he had a splitting headache to add to his other problems. And none of this was helping him move any closer to his real goal - killing that damn education bill.
    Tanner looked up at his face in the mirror, picking up his razor once again to finish shaving the other half of his chin. He looked drawn and somewhat haggard in the mirror, he thought to himself. Previously, he'd been full of confidence - but in a matter of days, Alicia Stone managed to take that away from him.
    He needed to take it back from her.
    Maybe it was time for him to act more like his true self, to drop the persona that he'd put on to try and land this job in Alicia's office. After all, she'd seen right through his persona. No reason to keep it going.
    Carefully, buoyed by this idea, Tanner finished shaving. He rubbed one hand along his smooth cheek, nodding. Not bad. He then headed for his closet, where, instead of putting on the baggy, cheaper, coffee-stained suit, he grabbed one of his favorites. The Armani cut and custom tailoring had set him back a pretty penny, but he loved the fit, how it sat on his body as if custom molded to him - which, in a way, it was.
    Even putting on the expensive suit gave Tanner a boost of confidence. He added a faint little hint of cologne, a perfectly tied knot in the red silk tie at his throat, and pulled on his jacket. There. Already, he felt better. He paused in the kitchen just long enough to make himself a single cup of coffee, downed it, and headed out.
    As soon as he walked into Senator Stone's office, Tanner felt more eyes land on him. Sure, he'd been spending most of his days there over the last week, but he'd been ill-dressed, nondescript, just another one of the little pawns who ran around like chickens with their heads cut off as they tried to carry out whatever inane command Alicia, or that idiot Duecent, had given out. Tanner had looked like them, another little servant to bend his knee and scurry.
    Now, however, he carried the aura of power, of control. Tanner held his head high, let a little smirk play about his lips, as he crossed the open area of desks and proceeded straight into Alicia's office.
    As usual, the woman already sat behind her desk, reading over some bill or report. A tiny little part of Tanner did have to admire her dedication, the hours she put in on the job. Most senators, even in their freshman year, quickly learned that they'd never be able to stay on top of the mountain of paperwork that came along with their seat, and soon abandoned the reading to other flunkies while they snuck in a quick nine on a nearby golf course, usually joined by a few enterprising lobbyists and the girl that drove the beer cart.
    Alicia, however, didn't appear ready to take that easy way out of her job. She looked up at him as he entered, her face betraying no indication that she noticed the change in his wardrobe, his attitude.
    "Ah, Mr. Tanner, good morning," she greeted him evenly.
    "Please, just call me Tanner," he replied. "No need for formality, Senator Stone." He drew out her name a little, and was pleased to see the ghost of a smile dart very briefly about her lips before being squashed and put away.
    "Very well, Tanner," she said after a second, nodding to the chair in front of her desk. "We've got a busy day, as usual."
    Tanner dropped into the indicated chair, leaning back to affect an attitude of relaxation. He picked up the folder that Alicia passed across to him and leafed