Page 31 of Primary Season
“Nothing we do is working,” Doug said.
“We still have plenty of time. And we all know the polling across the state is all over the place,” I said.
“The Sayers campaign has also dropped a new ad. We saw it air in the ABC station. They’re hammering you on the womanizing thing and painting you as a cheating philanderer.” Doug took a sip from the bottle of water he’d been rotating back and forth in this hands. “They aren’t letting up. It’s very convincing.”
Kathryn cleared her throat, and I glanced over at her, hoping to see reassurance on her face. I didn’t find it.
“I’m sure this issue will come up tonight during the debate.” Alex got up from her leather chair and paced the small waiting room. “They won’t let this opportunity pass, and when they do, you’ll need to be ready with an honest-sounding, clear response. You can’t dodge it.” She stopped and when she turned to me, I thought I saw pain flicker across her face. “You’ve got to make sure everyone in that room believes that you love Kathryn, and Kathryn alone. You want them to forget all about Amanda-what’s-her-face from Ohio.”
I nodded and took Kathryn’s hand. “I will. We will.”
Alex’s attention dropped to our interlinked hands for a beat. When she looked up again, the skin around her eyes had tightened.
“Everything is riding on tonight.” Heather stopped chewing her index fingernail. “We have a good night here, we have a chance to make it out of South Carolina. We have a bad night—”
“Don’t think that way.” I held up a hand. “I won’t allow that kind of pessimism in this campaign, okay, folks? We’ve worked too hard and done too much for us to throw in the towel and give up before the fight has even begun. That’s not the kind of operation I’ve put together, and that’s not what I expect from you all. The three of you are some of the best operatives I’ve come across in a long time, and we have weapons that we haven’t even used. We’re going to win this primary, and then it’s on to Super Tuesday, and we’ll win there, too.” I broke my grip from Kathryn, raised my hand, and gestured to my team to do the same.
“Are we ready?” I called out, my voice upbeat once all of our hands collided.
“Ready,” five voices said back to me in unison.
“One, two, three, let’s do it!”
We clapped our hands together, then split apart just as a volunteer from USC’s student government burst into the green room.
“Senator Blanco,” she said. “It’s time.”
