Lauren greets Shae with a tight smile and a professional handshake. “Senator Samuels, thank you for doing this today.”
“I’m happy to be here.”
“Maybenow,” Lauren says, “but we’ll see how you feel after the interview.” The smile means it’s supposed to be taken as a joke, but Lauren’snotjoking.
“Lauren, can I have a word in private with you real fast?” I ask. The Secret Service agents willstay with Shae.
“Sure. She’s got Green Room 1 to herself. Why don’t you show her to it? We can go up to my office.”
I know she still occupies my old office. I point the agents in the right direction, but I catch Lauren’s hand before she can turn and head to the elevator.
“What’s going on?” I ask in a whisper
“I don’t know, Kev You tell me.”
I catch her elbow and ease her into the elevatorwith me when the doors slide open. We have the car to ourselves. Once I hit the button, and the door closes, I turn on her. “Talkto me.”
“I don’t like being lied to, Kev.” The tense set to her jaw isanger. I know that sign. ?Especially not by you.”
“Lied to you aboutwhat?”
“No proof, but the scoop of a lifetime. Your candidate will have to explain herself and the rumors about her secretoffice romance, which has apparently been going on for a while now.”
My stomach drops. I wonder where I fucked up, who saw us. I know damn well Leo wouldn’t rat us out. I thought we’d been careful. “I—” but the doors slide open again, and there’s someone waiting to step inside. So I’m forced to follow Lauren down a familiar hallway to what had once been my office, where I follow her inside.
I close the door to my former office and turn. “Don’t do this, Laur.Please.”
“Nothing’s off-limits in a campaign, Kev. You know that. What kind of journalist am I if I don’t go there?”
“Youreallydon’t want to do this. She’s the best candidate for the job. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think so.”
Okay, so that’s not exactly the full truth, but it’s close enough.
Regardless of how I endedup in this position, Idothink she’s the best candidate, Democrat or not, and not just because I’m fucking her.
She’s proven herself to me.
Iwanther to win, and will work my ass off to help her bring it home.
“A candidate’s private life is fair game,” Lauren insists. “You know that. Unless they’re a minor child, they’re part of the equation.”
I shake my head. “That’s beneath you. Sincewhen do you sift through someone’s life when there aren’t any allegations of improprieties? That’s fucking tabloid shit.”
“Thereisan allegation, that she was having an workplace affair with a guy, and out of the blue, now she’s married to a Secret Service agent? Uh,hellloooo? Isn’t that a little too neat and tidy?”
“It wasn’t an affair, because they were both single. He wasn’t assigned toher. There was nothing improper. Why are you doing this? If she was accused of harassment or something, yeah, I get it. This was a consensual relationship between consenting adults. What’s going on?”
“Funny how no one mentioned Secret Service to me, but what’s different isyou’reworking for her.” Lauren folds her arms over her chest. I don’t know why things are suddenly…difficultbetween us.I don’t know where my friend went. “How is she, hmm?”
I don’t understand the bitterness in her tone, and I blink in confusion. “What?”
She drops her voice. “I see how she looks at you, Kev. I’m not fucking blind. Word on the Hill is the Senator’s a whole new woman since you joined her campaign. No, you weren’t named, but I can do the math. Supposedly it’s a staffer of some sort.I’mnot goodenough for you, and you divorce me because you say you’re gay, but you’re so desperate to get back to work that you’llfuckyour way into a campaign manager and chief of staff job? What happened to dignity and ethics? Talk about something being beneath someone. And now she’s fucking married, to your best friendandshe’s still screwing around with you?Really?”
I’m finally tracking.
I need amoment to formulate my answer, though. This woman knows me, my tells, my behavior. Over twenty years of friendship between us, and I’ve only ever outright lied to her one time. Other than that, I never lie to her, so I don’t know how. She might very well recognize it if I try.
I force myself not to move as my mind runs through all the possible options that won’t break my promise to them, or hurtLauren.
