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with them, get along with them. So as he followed after Duecent, he peeled off his jacket and slung it over his shoulder to better reveal the coffee-stained shirt.
    "And here we are," Duecent said, stopping at a door. "Senator Stone's office." He glared up at Tanner, a full foot shorter but scowling ferociously. Tanner had to shake off the illusion that a bulldog had managed to crawl into some formal clothes and now stood before him.
    "Great, thank you," Tanner said. Duecent was one of those types who prided himself on his prickly, asshole attitude, he guessed. So instead of a smile or a handshake, he just gave a short little nod, flashing his teeth in more of a grimace than a smile. He wanted to convey the impression that offering up thanks was physically painful.
    Duecent didn't smile, but his glare lessened slightly, which Tanner took as a good sign. "Head on in - she'll call me if she needs anything," he said, and turned away.
    No offer of coffee, no warnings about Alicia's current mood, no introduction on his behalf. Duecent might prove to be a tough nut to crack. Tanner made a mental note to ask around about what the chief of staff might like, so he could bring him a present to crack the ice.
    For the moment, however, he needed to focus instead on Alicia. Charming Alicia was most important; everything else was secondary. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly as he shook out his shoulders. He could still feel a comforting little residual burn in his muscles; the sign of a good workout the day before.
    And then he turned the knob and stepped into Senator Alicia Stone's office.
    Not bad, was his first thought as his eyes quickly took in the interior of the little room. And that went for the woman behind the desk, as well as the decorations.
    Alicia's office was small, of course; junior Senators always received the worst accommodations. Unlike the outside rooms, however, Alicia had either brought in a designer, or taken the time and effort to make her new office feel a bit more comfortable. Dark cherry bookshelves lined one entire wall; running his eyes over the titles, Tanner observed that, along with books of law and history, Alicia also had some newer thrillers, biographies, and even a couple of romance titles among the older and dustier hardcovers! She'd rolled out a thick rug over the floor, and an oil painting of the Rocky Mountains, done in an Impressionist style, hung behind her chair. Some senators chose to cover their office walls in photographs of themselves, smiling and shaking hands with various important or famous people, but Tanner only saw a few small pictures on Alicia's walls - and he didn't recognize the faces of the men and women standing next to Alicia, smiling and shaking her hand.
    After the quick sweep around the office, Tanner focused his eyes on the woman now rising up from behind her desk. "Hello there, Senator Stone," he said, putting on his carefully chosen smile (confident but not too haughty, interested and open, self-assured but not yet straying into arrogance). "It's good to meet you."
    "And you too, Mr. Tanner," Alicia returned, accepting his handshake across the desk. She had a good grip, despite the delicate fingers, Tanner noted. It wasn't the politician's overly hearty handshake, however; it suggested interest, but also a slight detachment. "Mr. Perkins spoke highly of you."
    "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me," Tanner replied, brushing off the compliment. "Indeed, I've been watching your campaign with some interest. You've done quite the exemplary job, so far."
    "Oh?" Alicia asked, leaning forward a little as Tanner took a seat across from her desk. He crossed his legs but leaned forward; interested but not threatening.
    "Yes, you've done an amazing job," he went on, doing his best to walk the line between too much praise and too little. "And I've also been quite interested in your platform - very audacious!" He chuckled, showing that he didn't mean this as a slight. "But