He’s literally slack-jawed. “You’re fucking serious!”
“Damn right I am. Just because Susa’s my wife doesn’t mean I won’t fuck you over. You’re a pain in my ass, until I know you’re going to do what I tell you to do. Would you rather be sitting in jail and knowing I not only put you there, but that I own your daughter’s affections? Or would you rather keep your freedom? You’re an attorney. I don’t need to tell you that there’s no statute of limitation on premeditated murder.”
“I can’t endorse an Independent for my Senate seat!”
“What do you care? You’re term-limited out now and will have already moved on. After one term as a state senator, Owen’s going to file to run for governor, with Susa running as his lieutenant governor. Play your cards right, it’ll be at the end of your second term as governor.” I pause. “Or, you can be doing time in Starke by then. Your choice.”
He sits back in his office chair and stares at me for several long, silent minutes. “You’re a crazy fucking bastard,” he finally says. “You know that?”
I grin. “Yeah, I’ve been called worse, though. I take that as a compliment.” I let my smile fade. “I put myself between a car bomb and three of my guys.Youdon’t fucking scare me, and you never have.”
He rocks back in his chair as he reappraises me. “Why not run him for a House seat instead of Senate? That guy in your district is term-limited out, too, and there really isn’t anyone good to run in his place.”
“Because that Senate seat wasyourseat.Yourendorsement and active support will have more impact that way, especially later on. You were popular, had good poll numbers. It’s going to be lost to a Democrat this time around, anyway. It’ll be a GOP bloodbath in the primary, when they frag each other trying to win it, and it’ll stay blue next time around when they do the same shit again.”
“Bullfuckingshit, it’ll flip blue this time!”
I slowly shake my head. “I’ve already run the numbers, Benchley. You won the seat because of your strong Hillsborough county ties, and the bulk of the voters in that district are within the county limits. They remembered your name. This county traditionally trends liberal in voting, and you damn well know that, too. Between a heavily split GOP primary field shredding each other, and the Dems only putting forth one candidate in their primary, you’re going to have a populace who will be happy to check the box under the Democrat rather than any of the GOP assholes.
“Your endorsement ofanyof the GOP candidates will not only be lost in the blood mist of them eviscerating each other during primaries, it’ll cheapen your reputation. Especially if your primary candidate loses. Your best bet is to not endorseanyof them and sit this election out. Means your future endorsement of Owen, an Independent, will be even more powerful. Doubly so if you’re serious about running for governor. Means you’re serious about bringing people together and working for unity across the aisle, not just tribal partisan politics.
“Then you can run for a second term as governor, endorse Owen for his state Senate run at the same time, and when you’re term-limited out, Owen will run for governor and you, the incumbent, will endorse him. Again, it looks good, a GOP bigwig endorsing an Independent? Must mean you know some serious shit about the GOP candidate, if you won’t endorse them. It’s what youwon’tsay that will have as much impact in those races as what youdosay. Add to that fact Susa will be Owen’s lieutenant, and no one with half a brain will question why you’ve endorsed him for governor. You’ll have people tripping over themselves sucking up to you, thinking you can get them access to Owen through Susa.”
He stares at me for a long, angry silence, his lips pressed in a tight, thin line.
He knows I’m right. Maybe he was in denial, or hoping he could pull a miracle out of his ass, who knows?
He’s already run the numbers but didn’t realize I had, too,andthat I see the writing on the wall far better than most pols do. Having someone he despises as much as me put it all out there means he can’t ignore the facts any longer.
The moment he breaks he slumps in his chair and blows out a long breath. “Fuck you, Carter,” he grumbles.
“I take it we have a deal?”
He scrubs his face with his hands. “Yeah, fine.Fuck.”
“You know I’m right about this. Consider it a karma chip.” I stand, pulling my phone from my pocket like I’m checking the time. “This works out perfectly. You’re governor for two terms. If you don’t fuck up, that is. Then we slide Owen in for two terms, followed by Susa. Think aboutthat. Twenty-fouryearsof solid influence in Tallahassee, if you count two terms for each of you. With both you and Owen stumping for Susa, she’s guaranteed the win no matter who runs against her. Meanwhile, you run for national office, if you want.”
I smile. “There’syour legacy, Benchley, and one you can be damned proud of. First father-daughter governors. Add in Owen, and it’s a true political dynasty the Bushes and Kennedys would kill to emulate. Plus, Susa wants to go national after two terms in Tallahassee.”
“What’s she going to run for first? Before Owen runs for governor?”
“I’m probably going to put her in for a term in the state House after Owen runs for the state Senate. Meanwhile, she’s going to be building lots of connections. She won’t need to waste time running for a bunch of lower offices before her gubernatorial run if she’s already spent eight years as lieutenant governor, and has both her father’s endorsement as well as Owen’s. Your buddies will back her, Independent or not, because they’ll know you can deliver juice to them.”
“That’s a lot of ifs, Carter.”
I shrug. “Call me an optimist.”
“There’s a lot of things I’d call you,” he darkly says, “but an optimist isn’t one of them.”
I head for the door. “I know you wish she’d married Owen, but let me tell you something.” I turn. “If she had, you could pretty much forget about her being elected toanyoffice. Admit it—you know damn well you wouldn’t have supported her over a stronger male GOP candidate, your daughter or not.”
He looks like he’d rather punch me, but he finally nods, and I continue. “Theonlyway this works is the way we’ve set it up.” I tip him a two-fingered salute from my temple. “You’re welcome.”
I smile as I close his office door behind me. As I show myself out, I hit thestopbutton on the video camera, where I’d been recording our meeting from right after I played him the video.
Stupid fuck.
I don’t give a fuck how pissed off he is at me. All that matters is he’s agreed to go along with the plan. I won’t tell Owen about this, and I won’t tell Susa.
