by Lee Taylor
“Thanks, boss lady. It was my privilege. BTW, you aren’t the only who’s stroking my ego tonight. I got another text, this one from Mr. Fowler himself. He thanked me for being such a ‘stalwart companion.’ He said that it couldn’t have been an easy event for you, and he appreciated the fact that I was by your side.”
Gia stared at Ben’s text for a solid minute, then deleted the entire exchange. The last person she wanted to think about was Logan Fowler. It was hard enough to continue hating him when he kept inserting himself into her life. Particularly when he said and did the things he’d apparently done tonight. She admitted that she hadn’t missed the fury looming in Logan’s obsidian eyes when Gus said the ugly things he did. But she reminded herself that, unlike Ben, Logan hadn’t taken her arm and led her away from the despicable man. Rather, he’d stood next to that hateful woman, who’d made it clear with her sneer that as far as she was concerned, Gus Underwood was on-target and then some.
****
Knowing that they had only three weeks before the primary election, Gia upped her already grueling work schedule. While her vapid candidate was essentially MIA for the better part of the day, she and her team were working significantly longer hours. When Aiden blew off yet another media event, she couldn’t ignore Ben’s frowning countenance. Not willing to make any more excuses for Aiden, she raised her hands in defeat. “Go ahead, Ben, say it.”
Ben pressed his lips in a hard line and shook his head. “I don’t have to. You know as well as I do why we’re all doing what we are doing.”
She blew out a hard sigh. “What might that be, Ben? That we’re all crazy to be killing ourselves for a guy who can’t bother to show up even when we have a reasonably good-sized group waiting to meet him?”
“Face it, Gia, We’re ground-in-stone political operators, and we can’t give up even when the truth is biting us in the ass.”
“But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there, Ben?” When he shrugged and didn’t respond, Gia said what had been eating at her for way too long. “You’re all killing yourself for me.” When he frowned, she said, “Don’t, Ben. Don’t try to deny it. You know how passionate I am about winning, and you’re all determined to make it through the primary. In truth, that’s what’s driving me. We know the chances of getting Aiden elected to Congress are negligible. And frankly, I’m glad. He doesn’t belong in Congress. It’s a privilege to be elected. And while he likes the idea of being a member of Congress, he thinks he’s entitled to it. That it should be his for the asking.”
“Damn, Gia. I have to say I’m surprised to hear you say that. In that you’re engaged to the guy and all.”
Gia snorted. “Yeah, there is that little wrinkle.”
****
That night, Gia insisted that Ben, Kaila, and Emma take the night off. They’d been putting in fifteen-hour days, and she could see the exhaustion on their faces. Almost ready to call it a night, she studied the latest polls. Not satisfied, she called her pollster and reamed him out for omitting critical segments of the population that she was sure would have shown more positive numbers. Somewhat mollified, she reviewed the schedule for tomorrow and sighed. She knew she could handle the five campaign stops on the agenda without breathing hard. She only wished that she could be sure that Aiden would at least show up.
Scrubbing at the tension in the back of her neck, willing the hard knots to loosen, she thought she heard a sound from the hallway. Knowing that she’d been alone in the office for at least a couple of hours, she assumed it was the cleaning people. When she heard the muffled sounds again, she decided to check and see if one of the staff members was working late. Walking down the hall, she heard a high-pitched sound from Aiden’s office.
In what turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life, she didn’t bother to knock, rather opened the door and walked in. In the cacophony of emotions threatening to crush her, she wished that she could rewind the clock, retrace her steps. If only she’d gone home like she’d intended to. Like she should have. But it was too late. She was here now, and her life would never be the same again.
Chapter 19
Hearing the knock on his office door, Logan didn’t hide his irritation when he looked up to see Arnold in the doorway.
“What is it, Arnold? I thought I made it clear that I was not to be interrupted. I’m not taking calls.”
“I . . . I’m sorry, sir. I truly am. But Mr. Davis . . . he insists that you talk to him. He . . . he says it’s an emergency.”
Acknowledging that Arnold’s usually pale face was flushed and that he was wringing his hands in obvious distress, Logan relented. He nodded at the red light flashing on his desk phone. “Fine, I’ll take Paul’s call, but after I do, please understand I absolutely do not want to be disturbed.”
Arnold stammered. “I . . . I know that, but . . . sir, Mr. Lockhart also called. When I told him that you weren’t taking calls, he . . . he . . . said that ‘was too damn bad’ and to tell you that he is on his way over.”
As Arnold backed out of the room, Logan acknowledged that something was obviously wrong. Arnold was the least easily ruffled man he knew. It took the martinet an effort of will to show emotion, much less allow himself to smile. Punching on the speaker line that was blinking furiously, Logan made an effort to mask his annoyance.
“Good afternoon, Paul. Sure as hell hope the stock market didn’t crash and that you and I aren’t headed for the bread line.”
Paul Davis’s response resounding across the room was crisp, entirely lacking in humor. “No, Logan, we’re as filthy rich as we ever were. But I can’t imagine that either one of us will be worrying about money tonight.”
Now truly annoyed, Logan didn’t hide his irritation. “C’mon, Paul, I’m facing a challenging board meeting next week . . . ”
“Jesus Christ, Logan, are you the only fucking asshole in the state, hell, the country that doesn’t know what’s going on?”
When Logan started to respond, Paul interrupted him. “Damn, man. The fucking Internet, as well as cable news, is blowing up. You honestly haven’t heard the news?”
“What news?”
“About Maxwell?”
Logan’s chest tightened as if a vicious claw had reached inside and squeezed his heart. “Aiden Maxwell? What about him?”
“Yeah, that fucking son of a bitch! To put it succinctly, Maxwell was caught screwing an underage staffer.”
“What the fuck?!”
At that moment, a breathless Elliott Lockhart slammed open the door and rushed into the room.
Paul’s voice over the speakerphone was harsh with concern. “Pull up the breaking news, buddy. Looks like your little Irish girl is taking the heat. In fact, she is about to step into the biggest tsunami any political operative ever has. Let’s hope she has balls as big as her pappy and then some.”
Elliott Lockhart was at his side in seconds. “Jesus, man, I’ve been trying to reach you. That crazy despot Arnold insisted you couldn’t be interrupted. Paul’s right, Logan. She . . . Gia . . . called a press conference. It’s due to start any minute. Christ, man, we know the media are whores, but this time they’re almost jacking off in public they’re so excited. You gotta see it. They’re out for blood now. And it’s clear that Gia is their target.”
Ignoring him, Logan grabbed the remote and strode over to the bank of monitors on the wall. “What channel, Elliott?”
“What channel? Hell, man, it’s on every channel—local and national. They’re salivating, Logan. I’m telling you. Paul wasn’t exaggerating. They’re out for blood.”
Signing off from Paul, Logan clicked through the channels, barely hearing the breathless commentators. Horrified, he watched the panoply of photographs playing across the screen. What looked like a class picture of Aiden was replaced by one of him standing at a microphone addressing a political event. At that moment, the picture of a young blonde girl appeared. Logan felt the giant fist choking off his breath tighten. He muttered, “Jesus God, if t
hat girl is sixteen, it’s a miracle.”
Whirling on his pale friend, he barked at Elliott, “Who is she? Are they sure? Did he admit it?”
At that moment a breathless reporter intoned, “Ladies and gentlemen, the young woman you are seeing on the screen is Sissy Blankenship, a sophomore at Harley High School. We understand that the sixteen-year-old girl was volunteering for the Aiden Maxwell campaign.” The reporter stopped, then obviously hearing something in her earphone, said to the camera, “Just a moment, folks. As we reported earlier, the manager for the Maxwell campaign, Gia Tremaine, called a news conference for 3:00 p.m. Those of you who follow political news will know Ms. Tremaine. A promising young political operator, she is best known as the daughter of Bartholomew Tremaine, or Big Bart . . . ” The commentator’s voice rose in excitement. “I believe Ms. Tremaine is making her way to the microphones now. As you can see, this is truly breaking news, folks, but stay with us. If the crowd of interested newspeople is an indication, this is one of the biggest political stories of the campaign season. It’s a story that has national implications.” The breathless reporter couldn’t hide her excitement. “And, folks, it is happening right here in our part of the world.”
Logan watched in horror, seeing the crowd of reporters and cameramen rushing the entrance to the building. They parted enough for him to see Gia emerge with Ben at her side. It would be a miracle if they could reach the podium through the ten-deep gaggle of media.
Logan grabbed for his cell phone. Hitting a key, he barked into the receiver. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing? Goddammit, who is protecting her? Well, find out and get back to me. As in now!”
Elliott frowned at him. “Who the hell was that, Logan?”
“Someone we both know. He’s on loan to the local police department. Later. For the moment, all I can say is he better get his fucking ass in gear and get her protected.”
Watching Gia try to make her way through the crowd with Ben doing his best to push back at the reporters and cameramen, Logan was relieved when several large men came from behind her and began shoving at the reporters threatening to crush her. Logan thought he recognized the beefy men surrounding her. Remembering the claque of fierce bouncers he’d seen at the HT&M, he caught the only full breath of air that he’d had since Paul crashed his afternoon.
****
Oblivious of the cacophony surrounding her, Gia stepped onto the makeshift stage and faced the crowd. Seeing what looked like hundreds of people all shouting her name, she forced herself to be calm. The fact that she was as numb as she was made it easier. After what she’d been through since her world as she knew it blew up in her face, the ravenous media was almost a relief. She was grateful when Ben stepped up beside her and said in a clear voice, “My name is Ben Knight. I am—was—the assistant campaign manager of the Maxwell campaign. Ms. Tremaine wishes to make a statement, then she will answer your questions. Please give her the courtesy of making her statement.”
When the crowd quieted somewhat, Gia stepped forward and positioned the microphone in front of her. She was relieved that when she spoke, her voice was reasonably strong. She credited her seeming composure to the fact that she had survived a body blow and was still standing. For an instant, the hideous events of the last twenty-four hours streamed before her eyes.
After surprising Aiden and the young girl in flagrante, she had stumbled back to her office and stared unseeing at the wall for what seemed like hours. When Aiden burst into her office, pale-faced, tears running down his face, he beseeched her. “You don’t understand, Gia. It’s not what you think.”
“What do I think, Aiden? What I know is that I saw you fucking a sixteen-year-old girl, a volunteer for our campaign, in our campaign offices.”
Sobbing incoherently, he wailed, “I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll never do it again.”
Gia was impressed that she responded as calmly as she did. “Be here at ten o’clock in the morning. For now . . . go!”
When he appeared the next morning, Aiden seemed under control. “I know it looked bad, Gia, and I guess it was. But we both know that if it gets out, the campaign, and both of our reputations, will be ruined.”
She frowned slightly, then said quietly, “The campaign is over, Aiden.”
Aiden was startled, then frantically appealed to her. “Please, Gia. Don’t do that. I . . . I promise I’ll never do it again.”
“You can do whatever you want, Aiden. Including spending a good bit of time and money getting in and out of jail.”
“God, Gia, you can’t report this. Not to the police. I’ll . . . I’ll be dead.”
“I already did. Oh, and I met with the Sissy’s mother and father this morning. I told them what I saw and convinced them to press charges. I also recommended that they file a civil suit against your parents for damages.” Ignoring his sobbing pleas, she concluded, “Finally, I sent a note to the party leaders and the press. I announced that you are withdrawing from the campaign and called for a news conference at 3:00 p.m. I wanted to be sure that we made the evening news.”
****
She and Ben huddled together as she was preparing to address the ferocious crowd. Ben was pale and looked as haggard as she felt. He shook his head and blew out a hard sigh. “I don’t have to tell you, Gia, this is going to be brutal.”
She nodded. “I know. That’s why I gave them two hours to work through the frenzy, all the speculation. Now I will tell them what actually happened.”
Ben was clearly shaken. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, boss lady?”
Gia shot him a weary smile. “No, but that doesn’t much matter, does it, Ben? Looks like whether I’m ready or not, it’s showtime.”
Chapter 20
Seeing her standing straight and tall, Logan held his breath. The only sign of the pressure she was feeling was when she reached for the sides of the podium for support. Ben looked incredibly young when he introduced her to the crowd, but in Logan’s eyes, it was as though he’d gained ten years in stature.
Gia blew out an audible breath. When she spoke, her voice was clear and strong. “Thank you. As Ben Knight indicated, my name is Gia Tremaine.” She hesitated for a brief moment, then said, “This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to do . . . in my life. I’m here to report a grievous crime that occurred on our campaign. First, the facts. As the campaign manager, I have suspended the Maxwell campaign. Mr. Maxwell is no longer a candidate for the auspicious office of Second District Representative to the Congress of the United States. As the manager of the now defunct Maxwell for Congress campaign, I’m here to answer your questions.”
The clamor of shouted questions was overwhelming. Gia visibly swallowed, then held up her hands. “Please, as I indicated, I’m here to answer your questions, all of them. But I can only answer one at a time.” She glanced into the crowd and spotted Tyler Gunderson. Pointing to him, she said, “Tyler, do you have a question?”
“Thank you, Gia. Is it true that Aiden Maxwell had an illicit relationship with a staff member of his campaign?”
“Yes, regrettably, that is true.”
“Is it also true that the young woman is sixteen years old?”
Gia pressed her lips together in a straight line and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Maxwell has admitted that he was involved in an illicit relationship with a member of our volunteer staff. And yes, the victim is sixteen years old. Lamentably, I see from all the breaking news that the media has identified the victim by name. Please know that was a despicable thing for you to do. And know that I will not speak her name, rather I will do what I can to protect her privacy. This morning I went to her parents and informed them of the crime. I recommended that they file charges against my former candidate and told them that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the perpetrator is punished.”
Elliott blew out a whistle. “Goddamn, if she isn’t the toughest political operator I know. God, I can only imagine what Big Bart is doing at the moment. He hated that pr
ick Maxwell from the get-go. Insisted that Gia picked the fucker just to spite him.”
Logan didn’t respond, just shook his head, unable to take his eyes off the screen.
Another reporter yelled, “Is it true that you were the one who reported Maxwell to the police and forced him to resign?”
“Yes. This morning I met with the police department’s Special Victims Unit and reported the details of the crime. And yes, at my demand, Aiden Maxwell left the campaign.”
“Didn’t you hire the young girl? Don’t you share the blame for what happened?”
Gia hesitated. “If you are asking if I am responsible, please know the fact that this hideous crime happened on my watch is something I will never forgive myself for. As for who is to blame for the crime—that is Mr. Maxwell’s cross to bear.”
Elliott groaned and shook his head. “Phew. I’m not sure her pappy would have recommended she say that, at least the part about not forgiving herself. But in my mind it is a class act all the way.”
Again, Logan shook his head and didn’t answer his friend. Instead, he continued to stare at the screen.
“Is it abuse when a twenty-six-year-old man has sex with a sixteen-year-old girl?”
“Absolutely. It is also a crime.”
“Even if the woman, the girl, consents?”
“Absolutely. A minor cannot give consent to a crime perpetuated on her.”
Logan didn’t know how much more he could take, but to his chagrin, Gia continued to answer the onslaught of questions. While she answered question after question directly, he could see that she was clinging to the podium, and in his mind, she looked exhausted. He was relieved when Ben stepped up to her side and said forcefully, “One more question and then we’re done.”
Logan knew the question had to be coming but promised himself that he’d confront the bitch who posed the challenging query.
“You must feel compromised. After all, you and Aiden Maxwell are engaged. Correct?”