Contemporary Corruption - Chapter 3

A/N: You thought I forgot this one, didn't you? No, I've just been wrapped up with the Warcraft one. I hope you'll enjoy!

-------

Selene stifled a yawn as the door shut behind her. Ha-eun's 'few calls' had turned out to be a lot more than what the term few implied. It had also required a lot of cross-referencing hundreds of documents so that they could find all the discrepancies in the last year. They’d even made Excel spreadsheets to organize the information better. It paid off though, as they found a lot of material to work with. They’d also noted that it wasn’t limited to just a few companies of a single councilwoman, although the name Richards did crop up more often than not.

Her keys went into the little stylish holder by the door, and her phone was docked into a charger and a sort of intercom system right next to the keys. As she walked deeper into her penthouse apartment, discarded pieces of clothing made a trail on the floor behind her. She loved the heat of the warm stone below her bare feet. In the summer, like now, the stone was heated by the day’s sun, while in the winter she had heating running below the floor.

She wasn’t wearing anything except her high-waisted lace panties by the time she reached her favorite vantage point, looking over the city. All the outer walls of her home were just floor-to-ceiling windows, and the view was spectacular. She wasn’t worried about anyone peeping in on her. Not because it was impossible though. No, there were several buildings with similar enough height nearby that might offer a view into her apartment if the lighting was correct. She just didn’t mind if someone peeped on her. She’d always enjoyed the thought of someone seeing her. She enjoyed the view of the city, so why shouldn’t someone else enjoy the view of her?

The sudden sound of her phone ringing brought her out of her thoughts. The ringing sound could only be heard in whatever room she was in, as would the voice of whoever was calling her. There were small sensors in her apartment that kept track of her position. “Siri, identify the caller.” She inquired.

“Call from ‘Mother’.” The pleasant voice of Siri replied.

"Answer the call." She had expected this, although it had come faster than she’d assumed. “Hello mum. What an unexpected pleasure.” Her tone was practically dripping with sarcasm.

A gale of laughter could be heard over the phone. “Am I really so predictable?”

Selene left the window and walked towards the room she used to store all her clothes, make-up, lotions, and all such sundry items. Prep room, she called it. The call followed her movements through the rooms, and she idly picked up the discarded clothing before dropping them in a hamper near the door. “Predictable enough for me to guess this much at least.”

“Well, then you know why I’m calling. How was your first real day, darling?” Her mother inquired with a warm voice.

“Quite pleasant, aside from the end perhaps." She sat down at a desk in front of a mirror and pulled out a moisturizing lotion that she started spreading on her skin. Perfect skin required effort to maintain after all. "And the end wasn't so much bad as it was just dull. Just a lot of trawling through files. The usual.”

“You’re no stranger to analyzing information, that’s for sure.” The smile in her mother’s voice was obvious. “That’s not what I was asking though. How are the people working with you?”

“Friendly enough. At least so far, though it’s early." She squeezed a bit of the lotion on her leg, and slowly her hands started gliding across her skin, almost caressing herself at the same time. "Mostly guys, but they seem nice so far. Can't keep their eyes to themselves, but what can you expect? At least they can keep up a conversation, and they're not crass about it."

“Indeed.” Her mother gave a sigh. “A curse we both are quite used to.” She’d inherited her mother’s looks after all. She would also claim that she improved on her mother’s looks, though that was a point of playful contention between them. “And? Did you meet your idol?” She asked eagerly.

Now it was Selene’s turn to smile. She’d known this was why her mother was calling. “I did. She’s quite young, maybe ten years older than me. Very obviously South Korean, as you might’ve expected from the name.”

“Oh? I know how fond you are of Asian girls and Korean girls in particular. Judging by your tone, she’s cute as well.” Her mother knew her well.

“Very.” She admitted freely. “She’s even prettier than Jennifer."

“Your lawyer friend? Oh dear. That is attractive.” Even her mother had admitted Jennifer was close to perfect in looks. And she had very high standards.

“She was also my mentor for the day, and probably for the next few days.” Selene continued. She moved on to spread the lotion on her torso.

“Good for you. I usually advise that you shouldn’t meet your idols, but this time it seems to have worked out. Just keep a clear head. How about the guys? Any men that struck your fancy?”

"Maybe a bit too soon to tell. There's a couple that I wouldn't mind getting to know better." Selene admitted. "One of them recognized me from elsewhere though.” That hadn’t been wholly unexpected, but she still would’ve preferred not to be recognized quite so soon.

“Knowing you, you made sure they didn’t say anything, right?” Her mother teased. “I know you don’t like to advertise your wealth, but sometimes you can get a bit extreme about it.”

“It’s not that. I don’t mind them knowing I have money. I just prefer to get to know people before they realize just how rich I am. You know that kind of wealth changes how people deal with you. Normally, wealthy people are something the inhabitants of this city are used to dealing with. Especially the journalists, as it's an everyday occurrence for their work. However, it’s hard to make genuine friends and form normal relationships once they figure out I could make all their dreams come true with my equivalent of pocket change." People tended to turn into gold diggers when they found out. Or they suddenly wanted to present her with all their business ideas. Or they suddenly had sick relatives.

Even Jennifer, who had at least some idea because they’d known each other for so long, didn’t quite realize just how wealthy she was. And she preferred to keep things that way. She didn’t really advertise her affluence, though she didn’t really hide it either. Hiding it would sort of defeat the purpose of having it in the first place. She didn’t want to pretend to be poor. Relationships built on lies didn’t tend to last either.

"I know, honey. Your uncle wanted me to ask you for an investment in his latest venture again. I refused to help, of course. I’ve tried explaining to everyone, but like you said, money really shows who your real loved ones are.” Her mother was quite well off as well, though only in the normal sense.

“How’s dad?” Selene asked.

"Good enough. He keeps traveling for work, just like always, but it makes him happy. At this point, there's no point in trying to change him. I do wish he was around more, but I understand." Her mother gave a deep sigh of bent-up frustration and exasperation. Her tone got a bit more serious. “You know how he’s been after…”

“I know. I’ve told him many times not to worry about it, but he doesn’t listen.” Selene’s hands focused a bit on her ample bosom, pinching her nipples a bit, an action which didn’t really go along well with talking about her father, but she’d been feeling horny the whole day.

“I am slightly worried about him. There’s something going on that he isn’t telling me about. It doesn’t seem too serious, but I hope I’m right on that.” Her mother’s tone wasn’t too worried, but it did carry an undertone of concern.

“Do you know what it could be about?” She asked, getting more alert.

“If I were to venture a guess, something with work. Don’t know much more than that. I don’t want to overly concern you, just thought I’d mention it just in case.” Her mother dismissed the topic.

“Alright. Your turn to tell me about your day then.” She said, leaning back on her chair, happy to just spend some time conversing with her mother.

------

Selene finished a stretch just as the doorbell rang. She didn't have to take more than two steps to reach the door, and she opened it expecting Jennifer. Thus, she was a little surprised to see a young man with a cleaning equipment-filled carriage on the other side of the door. "And who might you be?" She asked, with clear confusion in her voice.

“I’m Jimmy Jorenson.” The blond twenty-something with clear surfer looks and a lip piercing replied with a bright smile. “I’m here to clean your apartment as scheduled.”

Selene had a regular maid come in and clean twice a week. She didn’t have the time or energy to deal with a three-floor penthouse by herself, nor did she have the inclination to. What was the point of money if you couldn’t use it for purposes like this? Just one problem. “Where’s Barbara?” She asked with clear reticence.

The elevator doors opened with a ding behind the guy, and Jennifer stepped out wearing her exercise clothes. “Selene. What’s going on?” She asked, not really too surprised to see cleaners here, considering she ordered the same service.

“Barbara had a family emergency.” The guy called Jimmy explained, his expression completely genuine. “Our apologies, but we heard about it only this morning and didn’t want to cancel on you in case you had things scheduled, so you got me instead.”

Apparently, this sufficed as an explanation for Jennifer, who looked like she understood the situation now. Selene was a little different. She lifted a single finger in a gesture to have both of them wait. "Siri, call the number labeled 'Maid service' please."

The tone of a phone ringing came over a couple of times before connecting. "Ms. Khalidor! I'm glad to have reached you. I assume from this call that Jimmy got there in time?" A pleasant older female voice came over the speaker.

“He did Mrs. Levitt. That’s not the issue. I’m quite certain that when I made the deal with you, I specified that I only allow those I trust implicitly into my apartment.” She spoke with a reasonable tone of voice.

"Oh, you can rely on Jimmy! He's my grandson and will likely be taking over the company once I'm too old. He's going to be quite motivated to make sure our highest-paying customer is satisfied with his services." The woman on the other end of the line reassured her. "He's a good kid, and I'd trust him with my life."

"Here's the thing, Mrs. Levitt. It's not about whether you trust him, and it's not about him either. You could've sent me a member of the Secret Service, and we'd still be having this conversation. Do you know why I originally changed my services to your company?" Selene kept her tone reasonable, as this was not the first time she'd had this discussion.

“I would assume you were less than satisfied with your previous service.” Mrs. Levitt posited the most obvious explanation.

"The previous company did pretty much what you just did. The person I trusted was not available for one reason or another, and they sent someone else. Someone they trusted. Only, this person then went on to install a hidden camera in my bathroom. Such images and videos would fetch a rather nice price after all. Luckily, I have some means to detect such things. The real issue was that the stupid guy had drilled a small hole in a wall to place the camera in, which, of course, had to be removed. And I'm not going to have a patched-up wall in my otherwise perfect apartment to save costs. The wall was waterproof black marble imported from Japan, and it was also a load-bearing wall; the whole thing had to be replaced, plus additional costs to make sure the finishing was perfect. Would you like to take a guess at how much that previous company had to pay me for the repairs?" She asked, still maintaining her reasonable tone.

"I would imagine a whole lot." The woman on the other end guessed with a voice that was a bit choked.

“That would be correct. The entire company went bankrupt trying to fix their mistake. Now. I'm not saying this is the same situation. Your grandson seems like a perfectly nice young man. But the price for such videos and images is only going up, and can be tempting for anyone. There's a reason I'm your best-paying customer, and I don't mind rescheduling if something happens to the person I trust. I can, however, assure you that the next time someone tries to pull something like the previous company, I'm going to have the whole bathroom redone. That's going to cost several million. You said you trust your grandson with your life. I know your business is something you're very proud of and want to leave to the next generation as a legacy. Do you trust your grandson enough to risk your life's work?" She looked the young man directly in the eyes as she asked that question.

To his credit, the man looked back with a firm gaze filled with reassurance. He truly seemed like a good guy. It also seemed like an important moment for him as well. And he wasn’t disappointed. “I do.” The woman stated firmly, not fully aware that her words were heard by his grandson as well.

“Good. In that case, I’ll have my people do a proper background check on him, just to reassure myself as well. If he passes, he can be added to the list along with Barbara. For today, he can go home, and I’ll still pay his fee as compensation for putting you on the spot like this.” Selene stated firmly.

"There's no need, Ms. Khalidor. This was originally our error. I will make sure to take your words to heart. Have a good day.” Mrs. Levitt responded, and after a brief exchange of courtesies, the call ended.

"Well, you heard the boss," Selene said, looking at Jimmy. "Another time perhaps."

“I look forward to it.” He smiled a bit, very briefly glancing down. He’d actually done a pretty good job of keeping his eyes on her face the whole time, which was rather rare. “I’ll have to prove myself worthy of your trust. I shall leave you to it then.”

"A good attitude," Jennifer commented as the elevator doors closed behind him.

“A good start. I trust you can handle the background checks?” Selene requested.

"I'll get our people on it. We have an excellent record of vetting people." Jennifer reassured her.

“I know. That’s why I asked.” Selene ginned back. “Now, shall we? I’d invite you in, but as you just saw, the place could use a bit of cleaning.”

“Bah! I know it’s in perfect condition even without the latest maid service. But as you like. We can go to the nearby gym. I’ve used it enough times to know the ropes.” Jennifer suggested, leading them inside the elevator that had returned. Fast elevators were a real blessing.

Selene wasn’t a big fan of public gyms, as she inevitably drew stares and people trying their luck by approaching her, but she could tolerate it as she knew the gym in question. She’d been there herself a few times, and it was rather exclusive, and at least it was close. In fact, the two of them only had to cross the street.

The place occupied three floors and had everything a modern gym would require. The first floor was open to the public, although even here it catered almost purely to the filthy rich people living in the area. The second floor was more exclusive and required a lifetime membership, while the third floor was dedicated to special training and the true VIPs. While the gym itself occupied the first three floors, the two above were part of the same wellness conglomerate and had a spa and a massage center, among other such amenities.

As soon as the two walked in, they were greeted by a person working behind a counter. “Ms. Jennifer, Ms. Selene. It's a rare pleasure to see you." The woman working the counter recognized them immediately. Not a huge surprise considering they were both on the VIP list, even if they didn't visit often. She also greeted them with their preferred way, as Jennifer was Mrs., not Ms., but being called that made her feel old.

"Hello, darling. In for a standard workout today." Jennifer announced straight away.

"Will do. Would you require access to our locker rooms this time?" The woman asked, knowing they likely wouldn't, as they never did due to living right across the street. But it was still polite to ask anyway. She got a headshake from both of them, so she moved on. "Your personal trainers will meet you on the third floor. Marcus and Kamal are available right away.”

“They will do fine.” Jennifer nodded with approval. All customers on the second and third floors had their every workout at the gym monitored and assisted by a personal trainer. The cost of the place reflected the service, and the trainers were really good at their job.

The two, already in exercise mode, walked up the rather long stairs as the floors were rather spacious. "Are you familiar with either trainer? I know you come here even less often than I do." Jennifer asked, genuinely curious.

“I think I’ve worked with Kamal once. A black guy that has muscles on his muscles?” She asked, having a faint recollection of the guy. “Soft touch?”

“That’s the guy!” Jennifer smiled teasingly. “I see you’ve made his acquaintance. You can go with him then. I’ll take Marcus. I worked with both a couple of times, so it makes little difference.”

As they reached the third floor, they were met by two men in sneakers, shorts, and tank tops. The other one was a dark-skinned man in his early thirties who was clearly a bodybuilder of some sort. He had short-cropped dark hair, a clean-shaven face, and chiseled features that would cause most women to swoon and get his picture on the cover of magazines if things had worked out a little differently. The other one was an olive-skinned man with only slightly less bulk than his colleague and a dark beard shaved to a short but interesting style. “Greetings, we’ll be your personal trainers today. I’m Marcus, and this is Kamal.” The latter introduced them.

The two women indicated their choices by shaking hands with their trainer of the day. “Just to get an idea, what sort of training would you be aiming for today?” Kamal asked Selene, and she assumed Marcus was doing the same to Jennifer.

“I’m doing work to maintain my current form and condition. I work harder on my lower body, and don’t want to bulk up on my upper body. Usually, I focus on aerobic exercise like running and swimming, as well as yoga.” She explained.

“I can see why. Improving on perfection is counterproductive.” Kamal smiled a bit as he smiled, his eyes roaming a bit. “Let’s get you started.”

They ran through a thorough program, starting with extensive stretching, before moving on to mostly lower-body workouts. They didn't neglect her upper body, but as Selene had explained, she only wanted to maintain her current form and not build more muscle. They ended the program with Kamal revealing his talent in yoga, running her through a surprisingly complicated set of poses that doubled as stretching.

Throughout the whole thing, Kamal was a perfect professional, as expected of someone working for a gym of such caliber. His eyes might have roamed a bit, but there was also a professional element to it, making sure she did the exercises perfectly. He helped her with some of the stretches and exercises, getting tactile when necessary, without getting handsy. Oh, it was easy to see he wanted to, but he maintained his professionalism, which Selene could appreciate.

“Would you two be interested in booking massages?” Marcus asked after the workout.

"I'd love to, but work calls. Again." Jennifer complained, looking accusingly at Selene. "Especially since someone just gave me extra work."

“Heh, I’m not much better today. I just got a message that I’m needed at the office a bit earlier today.” Selene countered. She’d gotten the message from Antonio, the Senior Reporter, with instructions to dress in something that would capture a man's attention. She assumed this would be one of those times when she was needed for her looks.

The two quickly made their way back to their building. “I’m guessing you’re not joining me in the showers this time either?” Selene asked.

“I’d love to, but no. Not enough time. I’ll make sure we can get together with some extra time soon.” Jennifer promised.

Selen gave a small sigh. “I’ll hold you to it.”

She showered and dressed quickly before making her way to the office. A whistle greeted her right away as she stepped out of the elevator. "I know Antonio instructed you to dress to impress, but God damn!" Darius commented as the person sitting nearest the elevators.

She was wearing her usual pencil skirt, but her legs were clad in sheer stockings that stopped mid-thigh, meaning the tops were only just covered by her skirt. She was also wearing a black vest with gold highlights with an Asian motif. The three buttons of the vest were below her bust, which meant she was displaying a considerable amount of cleavage. Even in her usual clothes, she was very, very obviously well-endowed, and the vest put that on full display, moving her into the sex bomb-category.

“Too much?” She asked with a teasing grin.

"Just right, actually," Dom answered in his stead while walking towards her. “Classy but alluring. You'll be with me for the next bit. I'll be meeting with Senator Kent. If we want you to make a good impression with local politicians, this is a great place to start. Understandably, none of the politicians are too keen to talk to us with Ha-eun's great work at exposing their corruption and perversion, hence you." He gestured towards her appearance.

“I’m to be eye-candy then?” She asked, having expected it.

"Yes. As a sort of peace offering. However, don't mistake me. This isn't just about dangling you like a piece of meat in front of an old pervert. This is also your opportunity to get a foot in the door, so to speak. Make an impression and get him interested in you, and you’ll get further invitations. You also need to start building your connections somewhere, and a senator is a great place to start. They don’t work directly with City Hall, so if you bungle things a bit, it won’t be too bad. He’s also often busy in Washington. On the other hand, senators are right up there as far as power is concerned, so having him on your side would be really useful and could make your path at the City Hall a lot smoother.” Dom guided her back inside the elevator as the two descended towards the parking level.

“Anything I should know?” She asked, eagerly. The Chief Editor had warned her they’d utilize her in this capacity, so it wasn’t shocking, even if it was a little unexpected to happen today.

"This is mostly a meet and greet to re-establish cordial relations after what happened before. We'll, of course, ask his comment on the whole debacle, as well as some general questions on his future plans and policies. If we want to get saucy, we might ask what the city might do with the soon-to-be-vacated positions, but we won't push if he doesn't seem receptive. Don’t worry, I’ll handle the questions. You’re mostly there to introduce yourself and to make a good impression. To make sure he remembers your name. If it seems he likes you, then you’ll likely handle things with him in the future.” He explained as they got into a fancy and expensive grey car. She still didn’t recognize the model as she knew jack about cars, just that it was expensive.

“Also, I’m there as a distraction and to make sure he’s in a good mood and maybe answer questions he might otherwise decline to answer.” She added knowingly.

“Exactly.” Dom smiled a bit. “Though you’ll accomplish that by just being there.”

As they drove for a while quietly, something occurred to her. “I thought it was still undecided which of us, me or the other new girl, would be the new City Hall person? Further, I still haven’t even seen her.”

Dom cleared his throat a bit. “Well, it stopped being undecided yesterday. Ha-eun gave you a glowing review, and not to be crude, but you have certain assets that the other new girl does not. Assets that should be especially helpful when dealing with City Hall. There’s a reason Ha-eun had that job before, and not just because she’s a real pro.”

“She’s not…you know.” Selene gestured to her tits.

“Oh, she’s perfectly fine and adequate for the job. In both looks and…well, you know. However, and again, not to sound too crass, why use a 7 or an 8 when we have the option of…well, you. And while she has plenty of other great qualities, which is why she got hired in the first place, they aren’t best applied for this particular job. She’d be great at doing something similar to Ha-eun’s current project. From what I’ve seen so far, she can be like a dog with a bone when she sets her sights on something. She’s got spirit, that’s for sure. A great quality for a reporter. Unfortunately, she also has a bit of a temper, which can be detrimental when dealing with politicians, especially when she’s not great at hiding it. Having strong principles can be great, keeps you on the right path, but less great when those principles conflict with the politician you’re trying to interview, and it shows on your face. Challenging politicians can be important, but it should be done with the correct timing and in the correct way. So, assuming things go well today, you’ve been picked for the City Hall post.” Dom explained.

“And why haven’t I seen her?” She asked, digesting his words.

“Oh, that one’s easy. She’s been this week to deal with…well, matters that are not mine to talk about. She can tell you when you meet her on Monday. Ah, here we are.” Dom parked the car in front of a large office building surprisingly close to her place. She would be able to see her building if she peeked around a corner.

As they were walking inside, Dom spoke again. “I must say, you’re taking this whole thing quite well.”

“What do you mean?” She asked in genuine confusion.

“Well, most female reporters tend to get rather…huffy when asked to use their assets in such a blatant way. Especially the younger ones. There are exceptions, but…you don't give the same impression those exceptions usually do, if you catch my meaning." He elaborated. "I know others already broached the subject with you, but still.”

“Ah. Let’s just say that I’m not a stranger to the idea of using my looks to my advantage. I know it’s one of the weapons I’ve been blessed with. I work hard to maintain my looks, so it would be odd of me to get offended when someone appreciates my work. I get why I’m along for this job, and I don’t mind. Now, if you had asked me to suddenly suck some stranger’s cock, then I would mind. Just looking though? That’s fine. Like you said, I’m getting something out of this as well. I’ll let you know if you’re asking me to do something I’m not willing to do.” It wasn’t the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last. Her mother had taught her that looks were a weapon, and she had taken those lessons to heart.

"Good attitude." Dom nodded as he led them to the reception area.

"Greetings. What can I do for you?" The receptionist, a professional-looking white woman wearing a blue uniform, asked.

"Hello, darling. We're from the Los Yorkeles Herald, and we have a meeting with Senator Kent.” Dom explained confidently, showing his press credentials. Selene also flashed hers, pulling the laminated card out of her phone case. Hers didn't have the Herald's logo on it yet, but that wasn't uncommon, as freelancers could work for multiple publications.

The woman checked something on her computer before looking up with a welcoming smile. “The senator is expecting you. You will find him on the twelfth-floor conference room. He just wrapped up another meeting. Just take the middle elevators and go straight once on the correct floor.”

They followed the instructions, and it wasn’t hard to notice the large, broad-shouldered bodyguard dressed in a black suit and sunglasses by one of the doors. The man seemed to be mixed race, but clearly of military background, just by his bearing. The man didn’t even ask any questions, simply knocking on the door behind him, before opening it up for them. While Dom just walked past the man, Selene thanked the man and gave him a small smile, which he obviously appreciated, judging by the small twitch in his expression.

“Ah! The intrepid members of the fourth estate! Do come in!” A booming voice met them as soon as they stepped inside.

Senator Kent was large in all meanings of the word. He was tall, broad, and strong-looking, but also had a hefty belly, and large hands and legs that bordered between muscular and chubby. He was in his fifties, entirely bald, though whether by choice or genetics was hard to determine, and clean-shaven. As befit a senator, he was dressed in a fine navy-blue suit and wore a red tie over a white shirt. Very patriotic color choices, likely on purpose.

He stood from his comfortable-looking chair, next to a laptop that showed the last vestiges of an online meeting. "Take a seat!" The man had a voice that easily filled the space, as he gestured towards the chairs opposite to him around a long oblong table. The office itself was the usual fair and otherwise empty, clearly only designed for meetings.

“Senator Kent.” Dom walked closer, extending his hand for a handshake. “Dom Richards, Los Yorkeles Herald.”

“Nice to meet you.” The senator’s booming voice almost managed to cover the fact that he wasn’t quite as pleased to meet him as he was letting on. He turned towards Selene, giving her an appreciative once-over. “And who is this image of perfection?”

Dom was the one to make introductions. “This is our newest member, Selene Khalidor. If all goes well, she’ll be our new City Hall reporter.”

"Pleasure to meet you, senator." She extended her hand for a shake as well.

The senator’s hand completely engulfed hers as he brought it gently towards him to give her knuckles the faintest kiss. “Oh, believe me, the pleasure is all mine.” The man’s voice was very genuine, as was the admiring glance he once again gave her. “The name sounds familiar.” He pointed out.

“Perhaps you’ve seen some of my TV appearances.” She suggested with a slightly mysterious tone.

“I have, though I don’t think that’s it. Oh well, it’ll come to me eventually.” The senator didn’t dwell on it.

They all got seated again, and Dom placed his cellphone on the table to record the conversation. “You don’t mind, senator?” he confirmed, just in case.

“Not at all, but if Ms. Khalidor is going to be the new City Hall reporter, I think it would be appropriate for her to conduct this interview, don’t you agree?” The man smiled at Dom, clearly testing the waters.

“That’s fine by me.” Dom agreed without losing a beat.

"Thank you." Selene could roll with it as well. "Senator Kent, you've recently been re-elected. What can the people expect from your second term?" She started with a real softball question, giving the senator the chance to launch straight into his platform.

The senator prattled off some of his more popular policy issues, staying away from anything too controversial, and he was rather skilled with his words, making all his thoughts sound reasonable. She asked a couple of clarifying questions, but kept the whole discussion safe, avoiding pressuring him on anything specific. That was not why they were there.

“Senator, you’re known as a family man. How is your family faring, generally and with your political career?” She lobbed another softball, although this one was more of a setup, allowing him to reinforce himself as the ‘good’ and ‘principled’ politician, especially in the light of the recent scandals.

"Oh, my wife is loving it. Mary is a wonderful woman, and the light of my life. She enjoys the opportunity to travel, and she also likes that we can make a difference. My son and daughter are all grown up, and at the university by now. They're good kids, though I wish I could see them more often." The senator gave his spiel. Incidentally, there had been rumors some years ago about him fathering an out-of-wedlock child, but she purposefully didn't broach the subject. Family values candidates often had skeletons in their closets for some reason. Overcompensating for something, most likely.

"On that note, as a family-oriented man, I'm sure these recent revelations have shocked you." She brought the subject up with care. They both knew she had to ask, and she'd purposefully given him an opportunity to distance himself from those involved.

An opportunity he took with a knowing smile. "Of course. It's horrific what's happened. How could public servants be involved in something so appalling? It's a tragedy, I say! And those poor girls! This whole ordeal must have been a nightmare for them and their families. These kinds of predators should definitely be purged from the sacred halls of government. They have no place making or enforcing the laws." He was practically oozing with righteous indignation, although they all knew he was mostly just playing it up. He probably did judge those who had been caught, but not with such vehemence.

Selene noted an opportunity with his words though. “Is there already a plan on how to deal with those implicated in the scandal?” She asked.

The senator looked meaningfully at the phone on the table. Selene stopped the recording. "Off the record," he confirmed, though he hedged his words with a hesitant tone. "This is a bit sensitive information."

She leaned forward, faking eagerness, and giving him the perfect view down her cleavage. A view he was clearly enjoying even more than he’d already been staring at her tits through the interview. “Of course. We can say anonymous but reliable sources close to the City Hall, and run that story separately in another day’s paper so it cannot be tied to you.” She answered conspiratorially. “I would consider it a personal favor if you could offer us any insight.”

The senator clearly liked his answer and looked towards Dom. "Well done. This one's a keeper. I'm sure the City Hall will be pleased to have her as the reporter for them. She knows how to play the game.”

Dom smiled slightly. “We are quite happy with our choice as well.”

“Alright. As a favor to my new contact with the Herald as well.” His slightly questioning tone got a nod of agreement from Dom as well. “Those implicated have already been placed on administrative leave. Can't do much more until they either resign or there are some actual trials. The City Hall is in a bit of a pickle when it comes to replacements though. As new names are still getting tied to the scandal, they can't be certain who else might still get implicated. All those in important enough positions, like the governor and the chief of police, have a second-in-command that they could have assume the job at least until a new one could be elected. The problem is, if they announce the second taking on the job, and that second then goes on to get implicated right after, that’s even worse. It would drag down the entire institution. So, they’re playing for time for now, while those seconds handle the day-to-day business for now. Once they’re reasonably certain no more comes of the scandal, they’re going to make more permanent arrangements. The chief of police might be different, as that vacancy needs to be fulfilled as soon as possible, and as a safety measure, they’re likely going to get someone out of state who can’t be implicated into the position. The governorship needs elections to fill, really.”

“I’m assuming there’s a lot of pushing and pulling when it comes to who to name for the position of police chief?” She asked, while running her pencil, which she hadn’t used even once during the whole interview, along the edge of her vest and along the curve of her breast. That very effectively distracted the man.

“Of course. Everyone has their own favorites, and there's a lot of backroom politics about who gets the nod. There's no definite frontrunner yet." The senator admitted, his eyes practically glued to the pencil.

She took a deep breath, emphasizing her bust even more, as a sort of reward. “Thank you, Senator. This has been a very enlightening conversation. I hope we’ll have many more in the future.” She had pushed as much as she dared in the first interview. Digging for information wasn’t the purpose here, just a bonus.

The senator seemed to come back to his senses. “It has indeed, Ms. Khalidor. I’m sure we will meet again, and hopefully soon.” His smile was wide and pleased as they all stood up and made their goodbyes.

As the two got back to the elevator, Dom couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Very well done. You played that perfectly. You pushed enough to get his respect and interest, but not enough to annoy him. He also very obviously enjoyed the interview, and we achieved our goal. You’re invited back, and I’m sure that will extend towards the City Hall as well. We also got a bit of extra information as well. I couldn’t have asked for more.” He considered for a moment before continuing. “Since you did the whole interview, how about you write up the story as well. I’ll check it afterwards, and if it’s even half as good as your interview, then you’ll have your first story in the paper. It’s not exactly a front-page story, but we all start somewhere.”

"Alright. Thanks, Dom. I'll make sure not to disappoint." She was confident in her writing, but it was still up to the reader to judge her writing, not herself.

As they reached the office, they were greeted by a pouting Ha-eun. “Dom! You stole my newbie while I was in the bathroom!”

"I needed her for the meeting with the senator." Dom defended himself with a grin. "She did great, by the way. So great in fact, that she can write the story."

Ha-eun’s pouting face turned more serious. “Oh? You did good then. Dom isn’t easily impressed. Want to go grab lunch, and you can tell me all about it? We also need to talk about what we discovered yesterday.”

Selene was happy to accept. “Sure. I could use a bite.”

"Excellent. I'll show you my favorite deli while we're at it." Ha-eun declared and led her back to the elevator. Selessa had entered the office twice today without getting more than a couple of steps in.

"Bold choice of attire," Ha-eun commented with a broad smile as the elevator was going down.

“I got a message in the morning to dress sexy. I thought this was both classy and sexy enough to qualify.” She looked down at her vest. It had certainly worked well with the senator.

“Oh, it’s definitely sexy enough. And I would qualify it as classy, especially with the gold patterns. Just a bold choice. A good choice, but bold. You’ll be causing traffic accidents in that.” Ha-eun was only half joking. She literally watched a man almost walk into a light pole, too busy staring at Selene.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t generally go out like this. It served the purpose though.” She nodded to herself.

“Oh, I’m certain it did. Here we are.” Ha-eun guided them into a small deli not too far from the office. The place wasn’t cheap, nothing this close to the core of the city was, but the quality was excellent.

They placed their orders and sat down at the back, Ha-eun wisely deciding that sitting by the window would just attract gawkers. "Incidentally, I managed to do some investigating. It seems Councilwoman Richards is in charge of approving most of the projects the city takes on. She's the treasurer after all. With her workload, I'm not so sure she can really dedicate too much time to studying the ins and outs of particular projects."

“That coincides with what I’ve heard.” Selene nodded.

“Oh? Do elaborate. You managed to hear something overnight? Or did you ask the senator?” Ha-eun got curious.

“No. I thought that might’ve been inappropriate for our first interview and would’ve been pushing things. For all I know, he could be involved. It also would’ve drawn attention to the fact we’re looking into her.” Selene explained as their food arrived. She’d taken a salad with iced tea, while Ha-eun had picked a sandwich.

“Ah-ha! So, you’re the one who ended up conducting the interview! I suspected as much with Dom praising you. I didn’t expect him to throw you into the fire right away like that.” Ha-eun pounced on that nugget of information. She was good at pouncing.

“I did, though Dom was supposed to. However, as he introduced me as the likely future City Hall reporter, the senator decided that it was more appropriate for me to do it.” She revealed. “It was a very basic and polite interview, with no real probing questions. A puff piece basically.”

“You must have gotten something interesting at least, for Dom to be in such a good mood. But I understand. Off the record. Yes, yes. So, you heard something about Councilwoman Richards?” Ha-eun jumped quickly to the original topic.

"Yes. I have some contacts within City Hall already, mostly due to business reasons. I sent a few of them a carefully worded message, asking them for their impression of Richards. Anyway, the general gist of it was that while skilled and smart, she's only a second-term councilwoman, and hasn't quite shaken off that new kid on the block feel. She's eager to please, and while she tries to do a good job, she's overworked. Partly because of her need to prove herself and please those more senior than her. As this was masked as just a ‘casual inquiry’ they didn’t really go into more detail.” She explained before taking a bite of her salad. It really was quite good.

“It’s painting a picture, isn’t it?” Ha-eun muttered quietly. “It wouldn’t take much to slip her some projects to approve, and she wouldn’t have the time or the knowledge to question which particular companies are handling the projects. I wonder if she’s even aware of all the double-dealing? Assuming for a moment she’s not the main driving force here, we’ll need to figure out who is. Other members of the council, or some people working for her?”

"It's a pickle, isn't it?" Selene joked, noticing Ha-eun's sandwich had a pickle in it.

The other woman snorted. “Well done. It seems dad jokes are also in your repertoire. sniff I’m so proud!”

“Thanks, mom!” Selene retorted with a happy voice.

Ha-eun theatrically grasped her chest over her heart. "Oh, how quickly the kids grow up these days. If only your father were here to see you. At least you've inherited his sense of humor."

Both of them burst out giggling. “Let’s get to it. You have an article to write, and I have some thinking and snooping to do.”

They finished their lunch and went back to the office. “Selene!” Darius called out as soon as they entered.

“Seriously?!” She exclaimed. “I’m not going to actually get inside the office today, am I?”

Ha-eun just cackled. "You're popular today. The most popular newbie I've ever seen, in fact."

Darius looks serious though. "This is important. Smitty contacted me, and she wanted to meet Selene specifically. Apparently, they've uncovered something, and it's all to do with that app you gave her access to."