Politics is no match for passion.
A lot has changed since Jake disappeared from Madelineâs life without an explanation. Jake works for the Trump campaign, and Madelineâs a corporate lawyer who called in sick the day after the 2016 election. When Madeline is sent by her boss to make sure nothing goes wrong at the Trump rally at the companyâs new arena, sheâs not expecting Jake to show up, or be on the side of her political enemy. Can Jake convince Madeline to give him another chance? Can Madeline accept that political differences disappear between the sheets? A contemporary, enemies to lovers steamy novella where the HEA isn't for the couple alone, it's for all of us tired of living in such a divided world.
Politics is no match for passion.
A lot has changed since Jake disappeared from Madelineâs life without an explanation. Jake works for the Trump campaign, and Madelineâs a corporate lawyer who called in sick the day after the 2016 election. When Madeline is sent by her boss to make sure nothing goes wrong at the Trump rally at the companyâs new arena, sheâs not expecting Jake to show up, or be on the side of her political enemy. Can Jake convince Madeline to give him another chance? Can Madeline accept that political differences disappear between the sheets? A contemporary, enemies to lovers steamy novella where the HEA isn't for the couple alone, it's for all of us tired of living in such a divided world.
Monday, 9 am - Emerson Arena
Madeline
âMaddie?â
Madeline Mathews stopped pouring her coffee. She must have heard wrong. She had been driving since five am to make it to the kickoff meeting on time. A meeting she had to lead for an assignment she dreaded. Now was not the time for her mind to play tricks on her.Â
Nobody had called her âMaddieâ since Jake. She made sure of it, telling co-workers and friends the nickname was too childish, more befitting a doll than legal counsel at Emerson Insurance, the countryâs largest insurance company. Â
In her heart the name would always belong to Jake. Nobody could say it like himâdeep and soft at the same timeâand she didnât want anyone to try. She was saving it for him, just in case he ever came back.
But that wouldnât be today, she told herself, and definitely not here. Not in Trump country, USA, where her job for the week was to make sure nothing âwent wrongâ at the Trump rally hosted at the newly acquired and renovated Emerson Arena. The babysitting assignment was punishment for calling in sick the day after the 2016 election. Â
âIt will be good for you, Mathews.â Thatâs what her boss had said. âYouâve got to put your job before your politics if youâre going to make it in the corporate world.â
âMake itâ meant getting the promotion she deserved and would finally get if she survived the week.Â
âMaddie, is that you?â
Heat rushed through Madelineâs body, a familiar heat she thought sheâd never feel again.
The voice was real, and it was Jakeâs.Â
Jake
You donât get many second chances in life, and Jake knew it. If you are lucky enough to get one, you have to grab it.
But grabbing wasnât an option for Jake, at least not that morning in early May 2018, as his past walked into the conference room and made a beeline for the coffee. Madeline MathewsâMaddie, his Maddie. Â
He fell for her in law school. They sat next to each other in class, then the library, then late night study sessions wherever there was an open table and hot coffee. Jake had a good memory and a natural grasp for law, which let him get away with studying Maddie more than his assigned cases.
All first semester Jake waited for her guard to come down. Sure, they had inside jokes and long talks about justice and the Constitution, but he wanted more.  Maddie had sworn off dating for the first year to focus on school. Jake didnât want to mess up her plan.  Just be patient, he told himself.Â
Then finals were over and he had to catch a flight home the next morning. He showed up at Maddieâs apartment with a six-pack of spiked lemonade, her drink of choice, and take-out Chinese food. Â
They spent the night discovering each other. Her body confirmed what he had hoped, that she wanted him, too. Sheâd been forcing down her feelings until they came rushing out that night. They were uncontrollable togetherâshe was explosive and wild beyond his expectations. He had surprised himself, too, not by how much he wanted her, but by how much he needed her. Â
âHow am I going to leave you?â he asked the next morning.Â
She stood at the door in an oversized t-shirt and nothing else.Â
âDonât,â she said, a playful grin on her face as she pulled his shirt out of his pants and ran her fingers up his chest. They had already made love when they woke up and in the shower, and she seemed ready for more. After all, they had a year to make up for.
Jake moaned. âMaddieâŚIâm going to miss my flight.âÂ
He was heading home for a summer at the District Attorneyâs Office. Maddie was staying in the city to intern with an immigrant rights group. Â
âOkay then,â Maddie said, stepping back. âJust donât make me wait too long.â
âYou made me wait all year,â he said as he threw his bag over his shoulder. Â
âI would have flunked outâŚâ
âWas it that good?â he asked, pulling Maddie close for a kiss.Â
Neither one expected it to be their last. Â
* * *
âHey boss,â Clay said.
Jake shook hands with Clay, a retired electrician who managed the volunteer effort at the rallies. He was reliable and hard-working, an Obama voter who went for Trump in 2016. Like most political volunteers Jake met, Clay wore his views on his sleeve. Today it was a Trump 2020 windbreaker.Â
Politics had become a problem for Jake since 2016. Heâd always been conservative, but before 2016 that was simply a point of view. Now it was toxic. The same people who blamed Trump for dividing the nation didnât hesitate to cut Jake out of their lives. But Maddie knew him from before.
âJakeâs takeâ is what she called it in law school. He could tell from her face that she enjoyed the intellectual challenge to her liberal views. Call him Devilâs Advocate, but he loved to get her going. Heâd watch her eyes narrow, the hint of a grin suppressed by her habit of biting her lip when deep in thought. Theyâd go back and forth, point for point, never agreeing but it didnât matter. It was more fun to disagree, at least back then when the stakes werenât so high.Â
If anyone could see the real him, it was Maddie. He had to connect with her now, before she discovered why he was there. He had to remind her of what they had, not what they lost.Â
Jake extended his neck to keep Maddie in sight. She had the corporate look, from her suit to her tied back hair. She wore it well, but it didnât fit the woman he once knew. Â
âIâll grab seats,â Clay said with a nod to the conference table.
âThanks.â
Jake stepped towards Maddie, certain of one thing.
He wasnât going to let her go again.
Madeline
âReady to start, Ms. Mathews?â a woman asked from across the room.Â
Madeline filled the rest of her cup with coffee and turned around.
Jake stood in front of her with an innocent smile, as if he hadnât walked out of her life three years ago. He looked good, even better than in law school. He was muscular yet lean, a soccer body more than football. Not the body youâd see on the cover of a romance novel, but sexy just the same.
âJake?â Madeline squinted, pretending he was a distant memory.Â
âHi Maddie,â he said.Â
He seemed happy to see her. It didnât make sense. He was the one who disappeared. After that night together he hadnât returned her calls, emails or texts. She searched for an explanationâplane crash, car accident, lost phone. It was inconceivable that he could be so thoughtless, that what they shared meant nothing to him. Â
Madeline spent the summer stewing, rehearsing what to say when he came back to town. He had to come back, if not for her, then for the second year of law school. Â
But he didnât, and thatâs when she knew it was really over. Classmates asked where he was. Even the professors seemed sad to lose such a star student. Madeline had no answers for them. She checked with friends at other schools. None reported a handsome new second year in class.Â
Time passed, and his name was forgotten. Life went on, but Madeline was never the same. Â
I should be angry, she told herself, staring into her black coffee. Be angry.
âYou two know each other?â asked a woman in her mid-thirties with a Cleopatra haircut and dark brown eyes to match. Her name was Yazmin, Yaz for short, and she was a legal assistant in Madelineâs department.Â
âWe went to law school together,â Jake said.
âKind of,â Madeline corrected him.
âOh, wow. Itâs a little reunion. Sweet.â Yaz leaned into Madelineâs ear and whispered, âToniâs getting restless.â
Madeline followed Yazâs eyes to the conference table, where a woman with oversized breasts and cake batter makeup sat with her arms crossed, one penciled eyebrow raised.
âReady when you areâŚâ the woman called out to Madeline.
Toni was Head of Operations for the arena, a holdover from the acquisition by Emerson. Madeline only knew Toni by her voice on conference calls, but the picture she had formed in her mind was spot on with the woman she saw before her now.Â
The rally was a victory for Toni. She had lobbied for months to book it, arguing it was the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the arena to the public. Madeline disagreed, and said so. Â
âAny association with Trump is bad for business,â Madeline said during one of their conference calls. Â
âThese are his people,â Toni responded.
âI thought presidents worked for all of us,â Madeline shot back.
âOh come on, Iâm trying to help you out here. This event will put the arena on the map.â
Event. Thatâs what Toni had been calling it since she first pitched the idea. She never called it a rally. Rallies were undignified, unbecoming a sitting president. Â
Madeline wasnât surprised her boss sided with Toni. He belonged to the âno publicity is bad publicityâ school of business. Â
âYou ready?â Yaz asked. Â
Not for this, Madeline thought, and she didnât mean Toni.
âAfter you,â Jake said, stepping out of her path. Â
As she walked, she felt Jakeâs eyes on her. She was suddenly thankful she had on a flattering suit and heels. Was she wearing makeup? She couldnât remember.
Madeline took her place at the head of the table. About twenty faces stared back at her, waiting for her to begin. She had a job to do. She was a professional. She got her head back in the game.Â
âThank you all for coming,â she started. âI apologize for any delay.â Madeline sipped her coffee and scanned a document Yaz handed her.Â
âItâs the agenda,â Toni said.
âI see introductions are first, so Iâll start. Iâm Madeline Mathews, a member of the legal department at Emerson Insurance. Iâm here to oversee the events weâre hosting this week, to help out any way I can. Yazmin works with me.â
âIâm not a lawyer,â Yaz clarified. âAnd you can call me Yaz.â
âIâm sorry, whatâs that?â Clay asked, leaning in as if he hadnât heard right.
âYaz,â she repeated. âY A Z, like jazz.â
Clay made a note of it and leaned back in his seat.
âIâll go next,â Toni volunteered. âIâm Head of Operations. My team runs this place.â Toni introduced the faces to her right. Jake was absent from the lineup, which didnât surprise Madeline. Jake was too good to be one of Toniâs minions.
But why was he here? If he didnât work for the arena, then he was from one of the groups with an event that week. Madeline scanned the agenda. There were three events plannedâthe United Way on Tuesday, a concert by The Axes on Wednesday, and the Trump rally on Friday. Â
âWeâd like to thank the United Way rep,â Toni smiled. âYouâve been a solid supporter of ours for years.â
âWell, itâs mutual,â said an older, distinguished lady in pearls and a cardigan. âAnd we hope it will continue.â
âThatâs up to the new ownership,â Toni said with a glare at Madeline.
âI certainly hope so,â Madeline said.
That left the band rep. Was Jake in the music business? Was that why he disappeared? Sheâd never seen him with an instrument in law school, thank goodness. Jake strumming a guitar or playing the piano would have made him even more irresistible.Â
Madeline felt a kick under the table.
âThe rep from The Axes is on the line,â Yaz said with wide eyes that screamed, Get it together, girl!
âRight,â Madeline said. âSo, nobody is here from the band?â she asked, panic setting in.Â
âIâm here,â came a husky female voice from a speaker sitting on the table. âWhere you been?â
âSorry, Iâve been up since four.â
âThatâs when my band went to bed,â the voice said with a laugh. âIâll be on site tomorrow, checking things out. The setup team gets goinâ on Wednesday morning. Will they have access to the venue?â
The band rep and Toni went through the specifics. Madeline rested her hands on her lap and squeezed them tight. As soon as Toni finished Madeline asked, âWho is here from the Trump campaign?â
She was overeager, and it showed. The group looked at her with confusion.
âItâs the next event,â Madeline tried to explain. âOn the list.â She pointed to the agenda.
They didnât seem convinced.
âFirst I want to say something,â Toni announced, poking the air with a painted claw. âThis event, itâs special for me. Never in all my years at this place did I think Iâd be working an event for the President of the United States.â After a dramatic pause, she continued, âWe are so honored that the President chose our venue for his event. You know, this place would have closed for good without him.â
Madeline knew she was right. The upswing in the economy was the only reason her company closed the deal.Â
âItâs just amazing, and historic,â Toni went on, beaming like a proud grandma. âDonât you agree, Ms. Mathews?â
Madeline shifted in her seat. It was a setup. âOf course,â she said. âItâs a great arena, especially with the renovations.â Emerson had spent close to a million dollars updating the place, and Madeline didnât want them to forget it. Â
âSo thenâŚwho is the rep for the Trump team?â Madeline asked again.
âI am,â Jake said.
With that, a sheet of ice fell between them.Â
âReally?â Madeline blurted out before she could stop herself.
The group laughed awkwardly. Yaz kicked Madeline under the table again.
âAnd youâre right,â Jake said. âThis is a great space. Itâs beautiful.âÂ
BeautifulâŚhe stared directly at Madeline as he said it. She caught his stare but quickly looked down.Â
âWeâre lucky we found it,â he said.
This is lucky? Madeline fumed. The only man she ever loved found her again and heâs on the Trump team? Madeline sat on her hands to contain her fury. She didnât know which betrayal was worseâJake dropping out of her life or taking up with Trump.Â
Toni handed out floor plans and resumed talking. Madeline didnât care anymore. She just wanted the week over as soon as possible and Jake back where he belongedâin the past.
When rookie lawyer Madeline Mathews travels to Emerson Arena to make sure nothing goes wrong at a Trump rally, she runs into Jake, an old flame from law school. He disappeared after a night of passion with Madeline, leaving her confused and broken. But what she doesn't know is the true reason he vanished and started working on the Trump campaign.
What follows is three days of politics, secrets, and Applebee's visits. Through a barking therapy dog and campaign groupies, Madeline and Jake come together again. But can they find love again in this cross-political romance?
The Rally tackles the sensitive topic of politics in a great way. Madeline and Jake bicker over politics but never cross a line to personally attack one another. Adams also captures the reality of an out-of-control political rally. When I started this book, I was worried there would be a lot of debate about politics and that it would overpower the story and characters. Instead, Adams worked political debate in so seamlessly, that it moved the story forward rather than back.
I wish that The Rally was longer. There was so much buildup in the beginning and it hit a glorious high far too soon. That high crashed to an all-time emotional low almost immediately, which can be both good and bad. The tension and suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was too jarring. The climax and ending were predictable, though romantic.
Readers who enjoyed Meg Cabot's All American Girl and want something a little more adult will definitely enjoy The Rally. I also recommend this to readers who enjoyed Falling for Gracie by Susan Mallery.
Overall, it's worth the read. At 30,000 words, you can comfortably get through it in a day or two. I recommend this to anyone looking for a fun easy read to get through on a weekend.