Chapter Twenty-Nine
Monday after Thanksgiving
When the doorbell rings, I’m working alone at the DC townhouse late on that cold, damp, dreary afternoon. I needed a little breathing room to myself to answer e-mails after a weekend spent busy with DC parties and social events with Shae and Chris, so I left work early.
As a bad feeling coalesces at the base of my spine, I recognizeI’m sensing a theme. I rarely receive visitors. My doorbell rang for Lauren when she visited me after my meltdown, then again when Shae and Christopher approached me.
Is this an unholy hat-trick?
It won’t be a delivery because protocol dictates Secret Service receives all mail and deliveries and screens them first before bringing them to us.
And Secret Service won’t allow anyone near the houseif they weren’t already screened or pre-approved.
It can’t be Lauren, because she’s still in Montana until Wednesday. She spent Thanksgiving with her parents before the crazy really kicks in. I know it’s not Shae, because she’s at her office on the Hill—and wouldn’t need to ring the bell, hellooo.
Christopher and Leo are in meetings with staffers and the White House Chief Usher about movinginto the White House, nailing down the logistics. Plus, ditto not ringing the bell for Chris.
I walk over to the front door and look through the viewfinder, shocked and stunned at who I discover standing there.
My father.
Maybe Hell really has frozen over. Sure feels like it.
Ofcoursethey’d allow him to walk up to the front door. He’s my father, and he’s a fricking congressman. And Shaeand Chris aren’t in residence right now.
I’m honestly shocked he hasn’t contacted me before now.
With a heavy heart, I open the door and stand aside so Edwin Markos can sweep through the doorway. In truth, the man really is a stranger especially after the last two years. Therefore, I will not have whatever confrontation this will devolve into in public, where telephoto lenses can capture it.
He storms into our foyer as if he lives here, looking around as he strides past me.
I close the door before I speak. “Get it out of your system now, Dad, because I’m not quitting.”
When he wheels on me and jabs his finger in my face, I’m surprised I don’t flinch. “Don’t you fuckingdaresmart off to me.”
Takes every ounce of resolve I have not to retreat, but I give no ground. In my mind, Christopherstands directly behind me, staring him down from over my left shoulder, and Shae’s on my right, needing to be held back by both of us.
Before I realize I’m doing it, I run my right thumb over the ring on that hand. I also shake that hand a little, so I feel the weight of the bracelet I’m wearing there. They’re always with me when I have them on me.
I force myself to keep my tone calm and low.“Do I need to call one of the Secret Service agents in here to escort you out? Or are you going to behave yourself?”
His jaw gapes. “How could you go to work forher? She’s a fucking Democrat!”
I bite my tongue not to say something like,You should see how she loves it when I fuck her, because I can’t guarantee the fucker isn’t recording this, hoping to obtain dirt to use against Shae.
I optfor, “Because she has principles, unlike you.”
Thunder and fire fills his expression. “Howdareyou!”
“Youshowed uphere, stirring up shit. What are you asking of me? Because I won’t apologize for doing a damned good job getting our next president elected, and I’mdamnsure not apologizing for working for President-Elect Samuels.”
From the way his face turns red, he might be about to strokeout. “Don’t youfuckingcall her that!”
The realization takes a few seconds to slowly seep into my mind. Between the moment I held my ground, and now, as I stare at him, it sinks in that my dadfinallycomprehends he has zero control over me or any message I publicly portray. This is his frantic, irrational, and ineffectual last-ditch attempt to exert some kind of control over not just me, butover a world that is rolling on without him and leaving him floundering in its wake.
This latest election cycle, fortunately, continued the inexorable trend of more women and people of color being elected to office, and he barely squeaked through his primary. He literally won the general election by less than five thousand votes, a narrow margin unheard of during his previous terms. It wouldn’tshock me to learn he rigged the election in his favor. That is, by far, his lowest winning marginever.
Then, adding insult to injury, not only was he not floated as a possibility for Minority Whip, or Minority Leader, he wasn’t nominated foranyposition. They even removed him from two of the committees he was previously a member of.
