The Perfect Candidate

by Sterling, Stephanie

  Ashley chewed her lip anxiously. When a woman was thinking about her baby’s genes she could do a lot worse than Michael Reese that was for sure. As if on cue, the telephone started to ring, and when Ashley reached across to her beside table to grab the receiver she saw Michael’s number flash up on the screen.

  “Hello? Michael?”

  “Yeah. Hi, Ash. I thought I’d phone to see how you’re doing. So, how are you doing?”

  Michael’s deep, rich voice drifted down the line and Ashley’s toes curled into the carpet as it caressed her ear. It took a second for his question to sink in, but when it did, it brought a puzzled little frown to her brow.

  “I’m… fine,” she said, trying not to think about the little drama that had just unfolded in her bathroom. “Why? Is something wrong?” she asked.

  Ashley had known that Michael was meant to be out of the city on business all evening. She hadn’t expected to hear from him at all until at least the following morning when he got back to Chicago. She wasn’t complaining! She loved the fact that he had called her for no other reason than to see how she was, apparently, but she was curious.

  “I ugh- well, I just-” Ashley listened as Michael cleared his throat. She couldn’t remember ever hearing him sound uncertain before- it was a little unnerving!

  “Michael?” she said. “How are you doing?” she demanded, baffled by his behavior. “Is something the matter with the campaign?” she asked anxiously.

  “Well…” there was a slight pause. “Not exactly, but I do think that we need to make some revisions to our plans,” he said, all of a sudden falling back into his natural, easy rhythm of conversing.

  “Plans? What plans?” asked Ashley.

  “Our wedding plans.”

  Michael held his breath and waited to see what sort of a response his statement would provoke from Ashley. She was silent for a few seconds, before echoing him uncertainly.

  “Our wedding plans? What do you mean? What kind of ‘revisions’ do you want to make?”

  Michael cleared his throat again. I want it to be real, he thought to himself, but couldn’t yet make that confession aloud. “I think we should move the ceremony forward,” he revealed, wondering if this might help prompt Ashley into making a revelation of her own.

  It didn’t.

  “Move the date of the wedding forward?” Ashley gasped. “But- but what for?” she demanded.

  Thankfully, Michael had come up with a way to explain away his suggestion if Ashley didn’t confide in him about the baby. He was rather hurt that she still showed no inclination to tell him the truth about things, but he was determined not to show it.

  “I just think we need to be concentrating solely on the campaign when we get closer to the election date,” he said easily. It wasn’t a foolproof reason, but he hoped that Ashley would buy into it.

  “I… see?” Ashley said doubtfully. She didn’t exactly sound convinced.

  “Do you?” Michael sighed.

  “Yes, of course. You want me out of the way sooner rather than later,” Ashley murmured, her voice was oddly neutral. Michael couldn’t tell what she was really thinking- or feeling, for that matter.

  “What? No! That’s not what I mean!” he barked. He couldn’t manage to be quite as unaffected as his lover; this was the mother of his child he was talking to- of course he didn’t want her out of the way! He wanted to marry her.

  “Well, I don’t see how else to interpret what you’re saying,” Ashley said quietly. “I’m not angry!” she added quickly. “It’s better if people elect you knowing that you won’t have a real First Lady. They are liable to be rather put out if they find that out only after you’re made President,” she said, adding a small, humorless little laugh to the end of her sentence.

  Michael was scowling on his end of the telephone. How was he meant to make Ashley aware of the fact that the rules had changed? He didn’t want a sham engagement any longer. He didn’t want to be jilted at the altar. He wanted Ashley to be his wife. He wanted them to bring up their child together.

  “Michael? Are you still there?”

  “I’m here,” he murmured. Why couldn’t she just tell him that she was pregnant, he wondered bitterly. Surely she knew him well enough to know that he would do the right thing by her? But then again, he could imagine that Ashley would think that she would be a burden to him… foolish woman. “I’m going to talk to Norm about all of the arrangements that need to be changed,” he added slowly. Surely Norm would be on his side? The campaign manager would see the sense in making Ashley marry him as soon as possible.

  “Oh, okay,” said Ashley sadly.

  “It’s going to be okay, Ash,” Michael blurted, wanting her to realize that things had changed- that he knew what was wrong and was willing to take care of both her and their child. Their child… something warm and powerful spread through Michael’s body, starting in the center of his chest and moving outward… he was going to be father.

  A slightly lopsided smile spread across Michael’s face. He was going to be a father.

  It was completely impossible for him to thinking about anything else at the moment! He couldn’t even concentrate properly on the campaign. He just wished that Ashley would come clean about the baby so that he could be excited about it all out in the open. Well, possibly not too obviously excited to begin with at least. Ashley might take that the wrong way. It seemed to be rather clear to Michael that she was reluctant to tell him that she was pregnant. Perhaps she was afraid of what his reaction would be?

  “Michael? Michael, have you gone again?”

  “No! Sorry, I’m here,” said Michael quickly. He would have to stop letting his thoughts wonder. However, it seemed that that was no longer going to be a problem, as Ashley told him that she should be going anyway.

  “It’s getting late, and I have to be up early tomorrow,” she explained.

  Michael frowned. He glanced at his watch. It wasn’t that late, but then, hadn’t he read something somewhere about expecting mothers being tired a lot of the time? And morning sickness, he wondered if Ashley was suffering from that.

  “Okay, well I’ll let you go then,” he said gently. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Take care of yourself, Ash,” he added huskily.

  “I- um, yes? Okay, Michael, well goodnight!”

  Ashley put down the phone and stared at the receiver with a puzzled frown etched across her face. Michael had sounded so odd. Not at all like his usual, confident self, he had seemed so very distant and distracted. Maybe he was bored with her already? Ashley thought miserably. That would explain why he wanted the sham marriage ceremony brought forwards.

  Ashley sighed heavily and slowly got changed for bed. She felt weak and battered- even though she now knew that there was nothing physically wrong with her- well, nothing more than a mild touch of flu or the like. She feared that was why she felt so bad however. It had given her a guilty thrill to imagine carrying Michael’s baby.

  Now it seemed that he was in a hurry to disentangle himself from her completely. Of course, she had always known that it was all only pretend! In her head at least. Her heart had been having problems since the very beginning of their phony relationship.

  She had thought that Michael felt it too, but she must have been mistaken. It was all just sex and politics to him. Ashley didn’t have a clue how she was going to be able to carry on working for him once they were back working together strictly professionally. Was she even going to be allowed to stay?

  Panic swept over Ashley. She hadn’t asked Michael what was going to happen to her once their public affair was over. If she was to jilt him though, it hardly made sense for her to keep her job as his speech writer.

  “Damn,” she whispered, reaching for her phone. She toyed with it for a moment, contemplating phoning Michael immediately, but first she needed to come up with some sort of a plan.

  Anything would do. It just needed to ensure that she didn’t lose her job! Ashley was disgusted with herself for becomi
ng so swept away by her own passion and not realizing that there was a very real risk of being dismissed after everything was over. The position that she found herself in, because of her special “relationship” with Michael, was precarious to say the least!

  She didn’t suppose that Michael would treat her unfairly. He would undoubtedly help her to find a different position- that or pay her off handsomely. Ashley suppressed a distasteful shuddered at the latter idea. It made her feel dirty. She wouldn’t accept any extra money from him, she decided. She was very loathed to give up her position as the (with any luck, next) President’s speech writer though, even if it would be hard to continue working with Michael. Why hadn’t these consequences occurred to her before?

  “Because you’re an idiot!” Ashley growled at herself.

  That was certainly how she currently felt! She should never have agreed to play along with Michael’s little game. It had been impossible to refuse him though… and it had felt so real that she had stopped thinking of it as being wrong.

  Romanticizing everything that had happened wasn’t helping. She needed to be hard and practical. She needed to make it impossible for Michael to dismiss her once he was in office!

  23

  “What do you mean, you want the wedding pushed forward?” Norm asked, as he frowned at Michael.

  “I mean just what I said, Norm, I want the wedding pushed forward,” Michael said calmly, looking over some of the papers on his desk.

  “Why?” he demanded suspiciously. “You can’t possibly be bored with Miss Kendall already. Can you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “No,” Michael growled, hoping that the heat he could feel rising to his face wasn’t showing. He couldn’t imagine ever becoming bored with Ashley. She held his interest more completely than any other woman before her ever had done.

  “Well then, I don’t see any necessity to move the ceremony. The closer it happens to the election the greater the public sense of sympathy will be when they go to vote,” Norm pointed out sensibly.

  Michael winced, and wondered how he was going to admit to Norm that there would be no public sympathy to count on? The other man hadn’t finished speaking however.

  “Besides, if you rush into marriage- or seem to be rushing into marriage- you know very well what the media will say.”

  “I do?” Michael muttered, spirits sinking somewhat; he could guess what Norm was driving at…

  “Of course you do! They’ll all be saying that you’ve got her into trouble,” he snorted. “And by the time it becomes apparent that this isn’t the case, it will be too late and the damage will have been done.”

  Michael clearer his throat awkwardly and loosened his tie. Norm watched the uncomfortable behavior, suddenly paled and sat down opposite Michael.

  “She’s not-?” he croaked. “You haven’t- you wouldn’t be that stupid?” he implored Michael desperately.

  Michael shrugged his shoulders helplessly and managed a sheepish smile. “It was an accident?” he said lamely.

  Norm’s eyes flashed. He couldn’t seem to find his voice for several seconds. Unfortunately that didn’t last. “I don’t think that’s going to wash with the electorate!” he bellowed. “Oh my God, this is- oh my God-” he groaned, rubbing his temples and shaking his head. “Well, you know what she’s going to have to do, don’t you?” he demanded.

  Michael looked a little confused. “Marry me?” he suggested, hoping that he didn’t sound too self-satisfied.

  “Fuck no!” Norm swore. “She’s got to get rid of it!”

  Michael blink, and stared dumbly at the other man, convinced that he must have misheard what Norm had said- until Norm actually started naming clinics where the proposed abortion could take place.

  “Ashley can have an abortion over my dead body!” Michael snarled viciously.

  Norm looked up at him in amazement. “Michael! Think about what you’re saying?” he implored. “Your political career will be dead if anyone finds out about this- this scandal!”

  Michael’s face was thunderous. “Not if we’re married,” he barked.

  “People can count Michael!”

  “I don’t care what you say, Norman, some things are just more important than winning elections.”

  “I- I can’t believe what I’m hearing!” Norm cried. “You can’t have thought this through? What does Miss Kendall say?”

  Michael opened his mouth, but promptly shut it again. He could hardly now tell Norm that Ashley hadn’t actually confirmed that she was pregnant. He had taken the idea and run with it, but he wasn’t prepared to now give it up.

  “Ashley agrees with me,” he said quietly.

  Norm shook his head. “If she had any sense at all she would have dealt with the matter before telling you,” he muttered under his breath. Michael wondered bitterly if Norm knew how close he was to getting a broken nose?

  “Look, I just need you to arrange the wedding,” he snapped, becoming distracted when the telephone started to ring. “I need to take this,” he grumbled, reaching for the receiver reluctantly, unwilling to let Norm go before everything was settled between them.

  “I’ll speak to you later,” Norm said coldly. He nodded his head and excused himself from the office.

  24

  Ashley looked over the speech that she had just finished putting together, and smiled at it with no little satisfaction. She was to give a talk at the local orphanage, and was really rather pleased with how everything had pulled together.

  “Come in?” she called, as there was a tap on her office door. She smiled uncertainly when Norm, Michael’s campaign manager, barreled into the room. “Hello, Norm, is there something I can do for you?” she asked.

  “Yes! No! I don’t know-” he said wildly.

  Ashley gaped at him. She didn’t think she had ever seen the man in such a state before.

  “What’s wrong? What’s happened?” she gasped. She was confused when he glared at her accusingly.

  “As if you don’t know!” he snorted. “I came here to tell you- but perhaps- it’s not my place, and Michael will be furious,” he said, muttering almost to himself. “But if I don’t say anything…” he murmured, seeming to reach some sort of conclusion. “You do realize that this is going to kill his career?”

  Ashley blanched. “What are you talking about?” she demanded. “What has happened to Michael?”

  “Oh please! What do you think I’m talking about?” Norm spat. “Your pregnancy of course!”

  “My- my what?” Ashley choked. She had stood up when Norm charged into the room, but she sank back down into her seat as his accusation sank in.

  “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about! Michael’s told me everything!”

  Ashley just blinked at Norm blankly. What had Michael told him? Why did he think she was pregnant? She glanced at her calendar. It wasn’t April first. She glanced down at her stomach. It was still (she was a little smug to see) toned and flat. This didn’t make any sense! Yes, so she had been afraid that she might have been in trouble, but there was no way for Michael to know that!

  Ashley licked her lips. “Norm, what, exactly, did Michael say to you?” she asked.

  “That he intends to let you keep the baby!” Norm snorted. “That he is going to marry you!”

  Ashley gasped again. She couldn’t believe her ears. It was lucky that she was sat down, because she really would have fallen this time if she hadn’t been- Michael would have married her- really married her!

  She could have been his wife, but there wasn’t any baby. What would that mean to Michael? Well, obviously there would be no real marriage. Ashley tried to ignore the pain that tore at her heart. Surely he would be relieved? He had only been going to marry her out of a sense of duty and a desire to limit damage to his campaign after all, hadn’t he?

  She had to tell him the truth. Immediately! Didn’t she? For a moment, just a second, Ashley wondered what would happen if she did nothing- if she let Michael c
ontinue to believe that she was carrying his child. Ashley pushed aside that dangerous thought almost as quickly as it had occurred to her.

  “I-” she started to speak, but then faltered. Should she tell Norm the truth too, or keep it between herself and Michael? She leaned towards the latter course of action. “I’ll talk to Michael,” she said softly.

  Norm stared at her suspiciously for a moment, but he must have approved of whatever it was that he thought she was going to do, because he smiled grimly and nodded his head.