Page 24 of Primary Season
Iwoke the next morning about five minutes before my usual alarm. We didn’t have anything on the schedule until eight thirty but I’d planned on working out and getting a head start on the constant emails, the pile of which grew larger with every passing day.
Instead, I turned on the light and stared at Patrick for a long time. He slept fitfully, turning, twisting, and frowning as he dreamed. I shook him a few times, but he didn’t stir until I turned on the TV.
“What time is it?” he asked in a sleep-coated voice. Seeing CNN’s morning show on the screen, he straightened up in bed.
“Around five.”
“What are they saying? Anything important?”
“Nothing about you.”
“Good, I guess.” Patrick stretched and yawned. “I didn’t plan on waking up here.”
We kissed.
“You probably need to head back to your room before someone notices,” I said.
He nodded and turned his attention back to the TV, which currently showed a countdown to the South Carolina debate. “I’m not ready for that at all.”
“Of course you are. The key to the whole thing is just to be yourself. And besides, we have debate prep scheduled for tonight from seven to nine.” I got up from bed and wandered over to the bathroom vanity, where I plugged in my hair straightener. As I did, I watched him in the mirror. I wanted to savor these small moments with Patrick. Everything about it seemed so natural.
I liked having him in my room. I liked waking up next to him. I liked seeing him unfiltered and unpolished.
He didn’t show those sides to very many people.
“Our first event is a breakfast with the Junior League of Columbia,” I said to him as I walked back into the suite’s main room. “Coffee and croissants. All of the candidates will be there asking questions.”
“Never met a Junior Leaguer I didn’t like.”
I smiled. “I’m sure.” My attention turned to Patrick’s still naked body, wrapped from the waist down in a large section of the sheet. “Do you plan on going like that?”
He looked down and grinned. “Of course. Thought I’d win them over like this. You know how those socialites are. They love a naked guy, even if they don’t want to admit it.”
“Well, they’ll love that naked guy even more if he shows up wearing a suit.” I walked past him, took my phone off the charger, and checked my email. “Oh, my god.”
What I saw made me drop the phone.
“What? What is it, Alex?”
“You got it,” I squealed. “You got the endorsement!”
Alex handed me her phone and I read the email, one sent from Dwight Jameson himself, right around midnight. Not only would he endorse my candidacy, but he wanted to appear with me during my lunchtime visit to Oliver’s Diner, a small joint somewhere in between Columbia and Spartanburg known for sweet barbeque and milky cornbread.
“Do you know what this means?” I asked, looking from the phone, to her, and back again. “We’re going to control the news cycle. This is major. He’s one of the most respected senators in office right now, and everyone will want a piece of this.”
Alex nodded and took the phone from me. “I’ll get started on the press release, and we can leak a few hints to some of the reporters we trust. I owe Janet from MSNBC a favor. What if I text her?” Alex sat in the office chair, and within the course of three sentences, her usual “all business” demeanor had returned.
“No, don’t text her yet.” I moved around the room, picking up the rest of my clothes and belongings. “Wait until we’re at the Junior League. More punch that way.” I put on my shirt and pulled on my underwear. “Like I said last night, I got this because of you. Because of what you said.Youdid this.”
“I’m sure it’s also because of Howard Sayers. Dwight doesn’t like him.” Alex wrinkled her nose. “I’m still concerned about the polls. We’re not rising as fast as I would like.”
“Forget the polls. The voters in South Carolina don’t know Howard Sayers. I do. I’ll destroy him at the debate.”
“Promise?”
I yanked on my slacks and buttoned them, then decided to forgo tucking in the shirt. It was only a short walk from Alex’s room to mine. Wouldn’t hurt. “You’re talking to an Ohio high school state debate champion, four years straight.” I winked at her. “Nobody debates like me, honey.”
She cleared her throat. “I’ll have to remember that. And you need to make sure you brush up on our opposition research before it, okay? Howard is going to bring a lot of things your way. You have to be ready.”
“That starts today.” I walked over and kissed her on the lips. “Thank you.” I kissed her again. “I mean it.”
“You’re welcome.”
I let myself take another long look at her, half-naked, beautiful, and focused. Alexandra Jones. The best thing that had happened to my campaign and my life since—
Since Kathryn.Damn it.Kathryn Van der Loon and the Van der Loon billions. I shook my head. What had I gotten myself into?
