Chapter Seven
The world felt a little safer when Jackson pressed his forehead against the surface of his desk. He tried to block out all noise, all thought, all memories of kisses, all bullshit.
He heard his office door open and close but he didn’t look up. Penny was a good enough sentry that the only people who would enter his office without warning were herself, who already knewhe’d had a rough morning, and Reed, who came and went as he pleased.
“It’s going that well, huh?”
Jackson just made wheezy sounds.
He heard Reed move through the room and settle into his usual chair. “Update me on the Livingston case.”
Jackson picked up his head and looked at Reed. He felt briefly dizzy as his blood rushed back to its proper place. “Well, let’s see. I have to goback to the hotel soon so that I can approve the statement the campaign is sending to the press to reiterate Park’s innocence and suspend the campaign. In the meantime, Gavin is convinced beyond all reason that Park is involved in the murder somehow and he came up with some evidence that admittedly doesn’t look good for Park. And when I confronted Park with said evidence last night, we had a bigfight, and then we kissed. So that’s where I am right now.”
“Ah. So things are goingreallywell.”
“Christ.” Jackson stared at his desk, wishing that if he put his hands in front of his face, Reed would go away, too.
“You, my friend, are in over your head.” Reed scooted closer to the desk. “Look, I have to be in court this afternoon, and I’ve got a few things to wrap up on the Foremancase, but I can make some time in my schedule to help you if you need it.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Jackson considered. “I’m too sleep-deprived to work out what the next steps are, beyond today, although part of the issue is that the police haven’t made an arrest, and it’s hard to prepare a defense when Gavin doesn’t have much of a theory of the crime beyond that he doesn’t like Park.”
“Why doyoulike Park? Because I read some of his speeches yesterday, and I gotta say, he’s slick and has some funny ideas on economic policy.”
Jackson shrugged. “Last time we really talked about it, his grand governing theory was that, if he became a Republican, he could reform the party from within, shifting the focus from social issues and far right causes to conservative solutions tothings like health care and low wages. Park’s interest in the economy stems mostly from the fact that he is the youngest son of an absurdly wealthy old-money family, but I can grudgingly admit that there’s some logic to some of his policy positions.”
“You’re not persuading me.”
“His heart’s in the right place. When we met, he was the most down-to-earth rich person I’d ever met. He wasconscious of the fact that my family had less, so he tried very hard not to ever make me feel like I was lacking or that he was better than me because he had money. And he’s always been kind of tightfisted, so he wasn’t the type to lavish me with gifts anyway.” Although there had been the time they’d spent an afternoon walking into the most expensive stores on Fifth Avenue, pretending they belongedthere. Jackson had tried very hard not to balk at the price tags at Barneys, but he noticed soon enough that Park was unfazed by how much everything cost. Park hadn’t been pretending to belong there; hedidbelong. And he’d bought Jackson a gorgeous Ermenegildo Zegna tie that cost more than Jackson had spent on all of his textbooks that semester. Jackson still had that tie, though he rarely woreit because it reminded him of Park. He sighed. “He was more liberal when we were in college and was a member of the College Democrats until graduation.”
“That’s all very nice, but that’s in the past. And what are you doing kissing our clients anyway?”
Jackson’s stomach flopped over. He leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. “I know. I know what the risks are. I know it was adumb thing to do.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have taken the case, but here we are.”
“We’ll figure this out,” said Reed. “Tell me about the facts so far.”
So Jackson spent the next fifteen minutes going over everything he knew about the case. He concluded with, “I don’t see Gavin ordering his arrest unless something more tangible comes up. I know that prosecutors try cases on circumstantialevidence all the damn time, but Park is too high profile. And I know Gavin. He won’t act unless he’s sure, and so far, all he’s got is a hunch.”
“So you’ve talked to Gavin quite a bit.”
Reed’s tone pulled Jackson out of his Park-related reverie. He met Reed’s gaze. “I have, yes. You jealous? I know you have that weird man-crush on him.”
Reed rolled his eyes. “I do not. I like him becausehe’s a straight shooter and we agree that Madonna peaked in the nineties.”
“See, you say things like that, and I can’t help but wonder—”
“It’s possible to be a straight man and thinkRay of Lightis a masterpiece. Madge is not the exclusive property of the gays.”
“Okay, fine.”
“And I’m just open minded, is all. He’s not hard on the eyes, Gavin. Which I’m not saying because I wantto bang him, to be clear.”
Jackson didn’t want to picture Reed and Gavin in any kind of sexual situation. “We’re not talking about this anymore.”
“You brought it up.”
“I regret that now. How’s your wife anyway?”
Reed grinned. “Julie is as much a delight now as she was when I married her.”
