Tell No Lies by Julie Compton

it'd be so easy to lean over and kiss her. He mentally chided himself for the thought. She was still talking; she couldn't know what he was thinking.
 
    "I had no idea, when I said what I did Thursday night, that it was this real. I had no idea. I knew you could do it, I meant that, but I had no idea that Earl was thinking the same thing, and that he was already working to make it happen for you. And then when I saw your name being mentioned in the paper . . . It's yours."
    "Yeah," he said, admitting it out loud for the first time. "I guess it could be."
    "Could be? What do you mean, could be?"
    "Jenny, I can't just lie outright. What am I going to say?"
    "You'll say whatever you said to those party guys to convince them. Sounds like it did the trick."
    "It's not that easy."
    "Bullshit it's not. It's only hard if you make it hard." She shook her head in disbelief. "What more do they have to do for you? Dispense with the election altogether?"
    When he didn't answer, she said, "You're a fool, Jack Hilliard. I think that's what Earl's been trying to tell you."
    "Well, I've been called worse." As he said it, he spotted Frank Mann and Andy Rinehart walking toward them.
    She tracked Jack's eyes; Frank and Andy came closer.
    He leaned close to her ear, lowering his voice as they approached. "What I told you is just between you and me." Her familiar scent filled his nostrils.
    "Well, if it's not the dancing queen and her escort," quipped Frank when he reached them. Jack wondered what Andy must have told him about Jenny's suggestive performance in the bar. He glanced at Jenny; she glared at Frank.
    "Good to see you again, too, Frank." In a more pleasant tone, she said, "Hi, Andy."
    "Did you two close down the bars across the river last week?" Andy asked, trying to make up for Frank's rudeness. He sat on the step in front of Jenny.
    But Jenny wasn't buying it. "No, having a real job, I had to work the next day."
    "Dodson, from what I hear, you weren't in any condition to be doing work, at least not the legal kind." Frank laughed at his own comment. Jenny looked as though she were about to explode.
    "We came over to see if you wanted to get a pizza with us," Andy said. Maybe he believed that, but Jack was certain Frank had torment on his mind.
    Jenny held up her empty lunch bag. "How unfortunate. I've already eaten."
    "So what did you two do when you left that night?" Frank asked, raising his eyebrows.
 
    "What do you think?" Jack said. "We went home."
    " You drove?" Frank said to Jenny, ignoring Jack.
 
    "Oh, you gonna report me to the police, Mr. Mann?"
    " I drove," Jack said, figuring it'd be better to admit it than have Frank catch them in a lie.
 
    "Really? Mmm, interesting." Frank turned away and faced the middle of the plaza.
    Jack thought of the car in the garage, wondering if it could have been Frank's. But he'd left the festivities much earlier than the rest of them, so Jack decided that Frank just wanted to give them trouble.
    "Look, if you guys don't mind, Jenny doesn't have much time today and we were in the middle of a discussion" —he looked at the back of Frank's closely shorn head, hoping he knew the statement was directed at him— "a private discussion."
 
    "Is she helping you plan your campaign strategy?"
    Andy stood. "Come on, Mann. You're being a jerk. Can't you tell when you're not wanted?"
    "Frank?" Frank turned around at Jack's voice. He was oblivious to the imminent ambush. "I didn't know he had me in mind for the position. I'm not trying to take something from you."
    Frank's eyes dropped for a moment and then he looked back up again. "Yeah, I know. I was just needling you. I didn't mean anything by it." He stood. "I'm sorry if it came across wrong." He really did sound repentant, as if he realized for the first time that Jack could be his boss in a few months.
    As they walked away, Jack glanced over at Jenny; she pretended to be occupied with the cap of her bottle. It occurred to him that they'd just