Courtship

by Carsen Taite

  Remember? Hell, she’d never be able to forget.

  *

  “Yes, sir,” Julia said. “I remember.” She extended her hand to Addison, embarrassed about the formal gesture, but too uncertain about the reaction she might face from a friendlier move. “Nice to see you again, Dean Riley.”

  Addison winced at the title, and Julia bit her lower lip. She knew where this meeting was headed. Noah had already paid her a visit, ripping her a new one for adding Addison’s name to the short list. She took the scolding in stride, knowing it was easier for him to take his anger out on her than the real target of his temper, Senator Armstrong who, encouraged by the stable Senate majority, was throwing her weight around on a number of issues. Noah had made it clear that her job was to keep the president focused on his moderate choices. Sally Gibbons and Addison Riley were window dressing—added to the list to keep the left happy, but in no way to be seriously considered.

  She’d assured him she agreed and would do everything she could to make sure the president stayed focused. She’d start now. First things first, take the temperature of the room. It was already friendlier than she liked considering Addison had been here for forty-five minutes and the president was just now starting to ask her about issues that were likely to come before the court.

  “Let’s talk about reproductive rights,” Garrett said. “Certainly we can expect—”

  “You mean the right to privacy,” Addison interrupted. “What you really want to talk about is the right to privacy and whether it’s even addressed in the constitution, let alone should it apply to laws enacted by the states.”

  “I’m not interested in discussing a global right of privacy, but I would like to discuss the specific issues for which the court has interpreted certain rights.”

  “And most of them boil down to this one thing. If you take away the right to privacy, many of your specific issues will tumble down like a house of cards.”

  Garrett leaned forward. “I can’t tell if you’re trying to avoid the question, or if you’re just being clever.”

  “Those things aren’t mutually exclusive. A woman’s right to choose, birth control, illegal searches and seizures—all of these things are bound up in a constitutional right to privacy. You know that. You must also know that Justice Ronald believes that because it isn’t specifically enumerated in the Constitution, no such right exists. If the center of the court continues to broaden, many scholars believe the group that votes with Justice Ronald will continue to grow, thereby endangering the cases predicated on the right to privacy.”

  “That sounds vaguely like a threat.”

  “It’s a reality. I’m only telling you what is bound to happen.”

  Julia couldn’t help but interject. “Unless we put an activist on the court.”

  Addison shook her head and then turned her way. “No, Ms. Scott. Activists have no place on the court. An activist is someone who is set on advancing his or her own agenda. The court is no place for that, and if Justice Weir were alive, he would tell you that himself.”

  “Call it whatever you want,” Julia said. “Judges who support abortion rights believe in a woman’s right to choose—there’s no doubting that.”

  “Why is it when a judge is progressive, we call him or her an activist, but when a judge is conservative, we don’t do the same? Are you saying the circuit court judges who decided Citizens United didn’t actually believe corporations should have the same right to free speech as individuals, but only came to that conclusion after a clear reading of precedent? Because that’s clearly not the case.

  “A judge isn’t an activist if he decides an issue based on the law that happens to coincide with his personal beliefs. As long as judges are actual people and not automatons, we will be forced to believe in coincidence or the system must fail.

  “And don’t you want judges that support things like a woman’s right to choose? Isn’t that the beauty of this intersection of politics and lifetime appointments? That you get to select a justice to put on the bench to create a legacy that outlives your time in office?”

  Julia answered for the president. “If only it were that easy.” She stared at Addison, watching while she pondered her response. For this entire back and forth, it’d felt like they were the only two in the room, sparring about the issues. She couldn’t help but be as attracted to Addison’s mind as she was to her body. When Addison finally spoke, the attraction flew off the charts.

  “If you want easy, there are lots of other jobs.” Addison steepled her fingers and stared directly at her and said, “I’m not campaigning for this job, but as a legal scholar, I beg of you to choose someone who can walk in Weir’s footsteps, if not fill them. If you do that, you’ll have a legacy you can be proud of.”

  Julia waited until Addison finally looked away before she turned to Garrett. His curious expression let her know he noticed Addison had directed remarks at her that were surely meant for him. Or had she? Was she talking about Julia’s legacy? If she was, it only exhibited that she didn’t know her very well. The only legacy she cared about was success on Election Day for each of her clients. Once this little side venture was over, she’d find another client and build the next brick in the only legacy she would ever have. That all her accomplishments belonged to other people didn’t bother her in the least.

  Or did it?

  She didn’t have time to ponder the question. Garrett stood, and she and Addison followed suit. He shook Addison’s hand and told her they’d be in touch. Addison took her hand as well, and she lingered with the touch. Warm, firm. She didn’t want to let go.

  When Addison was gone, Garrett asked her to stay for a moment.

  “I like her.”

  “She’s very likable, sir, but likability in a person doesn’t always translate to widespread appeal.”

  “She doesn’t have to appeal to everyone. Connie Armstrong says she can get her confirmed.”

  “Senator Armstrong has a tendency to overestimate her strengths. We managed to hold a majority in the Senate only because of your strength at the top of the ticket. If you hadn’t won, those down ticket races would have gone very differently.”

  “And you don’t have to remind me that my win was pure luck.”

  “Well, that doesn’t say much about my abilities. Yes, we had a lucky stroke at the end, but the point is no one has a mandate, and that includes the Senate. Unless Armstrong and her pals are willing to exercise the nuclear option, Addison Riley’s name may never come to a vote. That empty seat could sit idle for God knows how long. What kind of legacy would that be?”

  The minute she asked the question she was sorry she had. The word legacy had triggered his curiosity about the conversation she’d just had with Addison, and she braced for the question on his lips.

  “You two seem to be acquainted. How long have you known her?”

  She scanned his face, trying to determine if his was an innocent question or whether he already knew the answer and was trying to catch her in a lie. Her instincts told her he knew nothing about her personal relationship with Addison, such that it was. If ever she was going to say anything, now was the time to do it. Later, it would seem, well, unseemly.

  But what would she say? I’m crazy attracted to her, but we disagree about practically everything? She’s got an incredible brain, if only she would be more practical, we might have a chance?

  Nothing she came up with sounded plausible, so she went with a vague response. “We’ve had coffee, dinner. I’ve met with her several times to discuss the possibility of an appointment. She has a lot of interesting things to say about the court.”

  “Most of which you do not agree with?”

  “Most of which are not politically expedient. Sir, you knew when you asked me to do this job, what you could expect. I’m here to get you what you want with as few casualties as possible. If you choose to nominate Addison Riley and Senator Armstrong doesn’t deliver, then you will have used up any residual goodwill you might
have had before you even take the oath again. If that happens, you can take your legislative agenda and throw it in the trash. And if the Republicans are successful in blocking Riley, it’ll be blood in the water as far as the rest of your judicial appointments. Mid-terms will be hell.”

  “For the rest of your clients, you mean.”

  She shook her head. “It’s your party you’ll be tanking. Meet with the rest of the list. Your instincts about Landry were right. He just wasn’t the right guy. There are other names on the list that should sail through committee. Armstrong will come around when she realizes Burrows and his clan aren’t going to confirm someone like Riley without a fight.”

  “Do you like her?”

  “What?” The question threw her off.

  “Riley. Do you like her?”

  “I don’t see why that matters.”

  “It’s a simple question. Either you like her or you don’t. I’m just curious. Indulge me.”

  But it wasn’t simple. Yes, she liked her. She more than liked her—she wanted to get to know her better. Reel back the heated topics from their dating attempts and start over with something innocuous, something that had nothing to do with politics. But since politics were her life, that wasn’t likely. Especially now that the president seemed intent on putting Addison’s name on the short list of potential Supreme Court candidates. No, there was nothing simple about her relationship with Addison, but judging by the set of his jaw, he wasn’t going to let her go without an answer.

  She cleared her throat and answered his not so simple question. “Yes. I like her. I like her a lot.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Addison looked up at the knock on her office door and called out, “Come in.” When Roger appeared in the doorway with a cup of coffee, she smiled. “Thanks. Guess I’ve been in here a while.”

  “You could say that. Working on secret plans to take over the world?”

  “Maybe.” She pointed at a chair. “Have a seat.”

  He set the coffee on her desk, shut the office door, slid into the chair beside her desk, and waited while she contemplated what she was about to ask. Since yesterday’s meeting with the president, she hadn’t been able to focus on anything but being short-listed for the high court.

  Except Julia. Truth was her sleepless night had been split between thoughts of a judgeship and the possibility of a relationship. Stupid really, since if one happened, the other wouldn’t. Couldn’t. If the president nominated her, she’d probably be spending a lot of time with Julia, but none of it would be about them and, judging by their interaction yesterday, most of it would be spent arguing.

  She shifted in her seat at the memory of their heated exchanges. She seriously needed to focus.

  “I need some help, but it’s not university related and I hate to ask.”

  “I’m yours. Whatever it is.”

  “First, don’t laugh if I tell you it’s top secret.”

  Roger drew a finger across his lips. “Agreed, but I should tell you that I know about the lesson plans.”

  “What?”

  “The lesson plans you’ve been working on. I ran across them when I was sorting your files and mail the other day. Are you thinking about stepping down from administration?”

  “I was considering it. I planned to take on a couple more classes and see how it went. I miss the classroom.” She waved at the stacks of paper on her desk. “I miss doing something besides all this.”

  “Nothing wrong with that, but did I catch the past tense there? Is there some reason you’re not thinking about that anymore?” His eyes lit up. “Did it have something to do with your last-minute trip to the White House the other day? Let me guess, Garrett wants to replace his solicitor general, and since you have experience in the job, he’s looking at you?”

  “Good guess, but that particular job never came up in conversation.”

  “But he did want to talk to you about an appointment?”

  “Yes.” She paused. She had to trust someone with the news. “Apparently, Judge Landry is about to ask the president to take his name out of the running, and there’s a very slim possibility that I’m about to be vetted for chief justice.” She waited for his reaction and she wasn’t disappointed by his astonished look.

  “Justice Weir’s seat? Holy shit, really? You’d be the first female chief justice. Wow, that’s amazing!”

  “Before you get too excited, you should know it’s still very much up in the air. I’m sure there are many more qualified candidates, and I’m only window dressing, but I have been given these questionnaires to answer.”

  She slid a folder across the desk. The large envelope had arrived at her condo the evening before, and she’d spent the evening parsing together the information requested before the White House would even begin the vetting process. Roger picked up the folder and started skimming through the contents.

  “I could use your help compiling all this information. They need names and contact info for references, plus a ton of detail about work history, but it’d have to be outside of normal business hours. And totally secret. I’ll pay you for your time.”

  “You’ll do no such thing. I’m happy to help. Who knows? I might be helping make history. When will you know more about whether you’ve made the short list?”

  “I don’t have a clue. These things have a life of their own. I assume Julia, I mean, Ms. Scott, the search committee chair, will let me know about the next step.”

  Roger stood. “Well, we better be ready. I’ll go through this tonight and fill in the details.” He started for the door. “I know you want to keep this a secret for now, but what do we do when the FBI starts showing up to do their background check? People are going to notice.”

  “I doubt it will ever get to that, but if it does, I assume we’ll have plenty of notice.”

  Not even five minutes later, Roger was back at her door. Addison looked up from the lesson plans she was now only half-heartedly interested in. “What’s up?”

  “Turn on your TV. Any of the news channels.”

  She swiveled in her chair, switched on the cable, and flipped through the channels, landing on Fox News first. When she saw the image on the screen, she stopped. George Landry looked pale and lost.

  “It is with much regret that I must withdraw my name from consideration for chief justice of the United States. Family issues prevent me from giving this position my full attention, and I have told the president that, while I appreciate his confidence, I will remain on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals where I can still accomplish the great work envisioned by our forefathers.”

  “So, he’s not quitting the bench, just not accepting a promotion? That’s odd. It’s not like he’d be in for more work on the Supreme Court, just more prestige.”

  Addison considered Roger’s words. Landry’s reasoning was vague, but it wasn’t her place to question such a personal decision. The chief justice was not only the head judge of the Supreme Court, but of all the federal courts. He ran the court’s conferences, the hearings, and the entire Supreme Court docket. He was the public face of the court. And the he had never been a she. Would she be the first woman to hold the position?

  Before she could think about it further, the phone rang. Roger reached for the receiver. “I’ll get that.”

  Addison shook her head. “That’s okay.” She punched the line and picked up the handset, almost positive she knew who was on the other line.

  She’d barely said hello when Julia asked, “Did you see the announcement?”

  “I did.” Julia sounded out of breath, but Addison couldn’t tell if she was excited or exerted. She wanted to ask, to enjoy a moment of plain old political gossip with this woman who so intrigued her, but Roger was sitting mere feet away. “I guess things will start to move quickly now.”

  “Understatement. The president has asked me to let you know that you’re officially being vetted for the position of chief justice. He’s in a meeting with the French ambassador right now,
but you’ll receive a call from him personally later today.

  “We’ll need your completed questionnaire by tomorrow, and you should expect people close to you to start getting contacted by the FBI for your deep background check. You should go ahead and clear your schedule for the rest of the week. We’ll be scheduling a press conference with the president and prep time here followed by your interviews in the Senate. We’ll get back to you with specific details, but right now, do you have any questions?”

  Addison barely heard what Julia said, instead trying not to read too much into the formal, straightforward tone. Of course, Julia was focused. Finding the next Supreme Court justice and getting that person confirmed was a daunting task. Julia would have a lot on her plate, and the last thing she would want was to be distracted by the undeniable attraction between them. Time for her to focus as well. She’d confine her questions to the process. “Who else?”

  “What?”

  “Who else is on the list?”

  Julia laughed. “Well, it’s a pretty short list. You’re the only one on it.”

  Addison tried to hide her gasp, but she was pretty sure Julia heard her surprise. In an attempt to hide her shock, she kept silent.

  “Addison?”

  It was the first time in a while Julia had called her by her first name. Her voice felt silky nice, making her name sound like an endearment. She barely managed to snap out of her reverie long enough to say, “Yes?”

  “You’re the president’s choice, and it’s my job to get you confirmed. I’ll do everything I can to make that happen. And that means…”