Yes, there are times I go directly to him and ask him to handle a situation for me. I do that as much for my own needs as I do Leo’s and Elliot’s. To make sure their power dynamic doesn’t suffer.
And, sometimes, to give myself a desperately needed respite.
The care and feeding of a pet VPOTUS is a lot of fricking work.
Over the next several months, Elliot’s campaign gains ground, takes in donations, and builds a strong volunteer network. We’re hiring staff and, in my free time, I’m studying polling data and working closely with Elliot’s speechwriters and policy advisors.
In a generic poll of Elliot against any GOP candidate, if the election were held today, he’s ahead by nearly forty points. The closest any single candidate has ever gotten to him is twenty-six points down. That number’s fluctuating to the good sometimes, but never any closer than that.
I like his odds, but we won’t get cocky. Not at all.
Cocky candidates make terminal mistakes. Terminal in regards to their candidacy. They do preventably stupid things, like let out a yodeling scream on camera, or misspell the name of a common tuber root in front of a classroom full of kids and TV cameras.
Elliot is attacking this campaign like he’s got a broad field of competitors not just from the GOP, but from his own party. While there were various rumblings from a couple of perennial Democrat bridesmaids, President Samuels had private chats with them and backed them off. Because any challenge from politicians who’ve got a considerable history in DC could prove disastrous in terms of people continuing to take Elliot seriously, and it would divert precious resources at a national level that’ll be needed late next year.
Right now, Elliot’s not just campaigning for himself, but for other down-ballot candidates as well, so he’s garnering a lot of goodwill.
The GOP candidate field wildly fluctuates with candidates declaring and dropping out, never more than four or five frontrunners at any given time, and no one dominating the polls in any meaningful way.
We have our message. Whoever ends up becoming Elliot’s opponent will be chasing us in pretty much every way.
That’s just the way I like it. Make them play catch-up.
Leo was sooo right about living a split life. It’s totally worth it, though. With Leo’s presence, I don’t need Elliot to step into Top mode for me. I get what I need from Leo, he helps me keep Elliot sane and centered, and Leo patiently bridges the gap between his job working for POTUS and his relationship with us.
The few times when the two of us have been alone together, when I’ve asked Leo for his honest thoughts on Elliot being in the race, he’s always demurred and distracted me instead of giving me a direct answer.
Which is in itself an answer, I suppose.
I know he wishes Elliot wasn’t running, but Leo’s a man of his word. Once Elliot’s through this, he’ll have no choice but to confront head-on any remaining issues. He’ll also have no excuses, except worrying what his family will think, holding him back from being with Leo full-time. No worries about winning elections from that point on.
IfElliot wins.
Which… I know Leo’s no idiot. He knows the chances are likely Elliot will win. I don’t even want to contemplate what happens if Elliot loses and then decides to try again in four years. I would have to sit down with Leo for a serious talk about us confronting Elliot and forcing him to come out. I won’t let Elliot put Leo through additional years of standing in the shadows.
Hopefully, I will be enough for Leo to get him through the coming years while we share Elliot with the nation.
Elliot’s sister might not survive the damn election, though. I had to leave standing orders with the campaign staff not to make any promises to Stella about appearances, or bringing guests to events, and that they must refer her to me every time she makes a request.
Hasn’t stopped her from trying to find workarounds multiple times a week.
I also find myself the personal recipient of an increasing number of overtures. A few times, I accept dinner invitations, from women and men, including sometimes when Leo can also go and sit a few tables away. There are times the people make the ask very blatant, overt, meaning it’s easy to deflect.
Sometimes, it’s far more insidious, carefully masked by invitations to other events and to meet other people.
Most of them are garden-variety lobbyists for special interests.
Then…
There’s The Family. Or The Fellowship. Or whatever name they want to call themselves on any given day. Frequent invitations to attend prayer sessions or prayer breakfasts cross my plate, and I’ve become adept at dodging those, too. Fortunately, I can use my official job duties and strenuous schedule as a ready excuse for missing those.
Unfortunately, it’s those very job duties that have painted a very large target on my back from people looking to gain inroads with Elliot.
Then, there’s Representative Grace Martin. Apparently, she’s realized that the only way for her to get to Elliot is through me, and I’ve received overtures from her, as well.
Terrific. Just what I wanted, more aggravation.
But as we make our way into October, I manage to fend most of them off. I only accept the invites Leo instructs me to, just enough to keep from raising any suspicions about me. Our campaign schedule is pretty steady, so saying I already have a full day isn’t that much of a stretch.
