“I fantasize about the governor when making love to my husband,” a woman yelled. “I completely understand why Dakota did it.”
“Gross, but I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear it. The larger point remains. Would you want to be written off just because of your one mistake? No. Think about that the next time you call for Dakota’s head.”
There. I was done. One last glance at Ben as a treat. His hand was covering his mouth, but I could tell he was laughing, because he was shaking and his face was red and his eyes were sparkling. Well, okay. Not the performance review I was hoping for, but then again, that was really up to Dakota to decide.
I stepped away from the mic and faced her. Shit. She looked pissed.
“Dakota, I’m sorry. I just couldn’t let you—”
“Thank you,” she said crisply. “For teeing me up.”
I blinked, and it hit me: shewaspissed, but it wasn’t at me.
In stunned silence, I watched her step behind the podium, twist the mic down to her level and turn her blazing eyes on the reporters. “Hello. After that, I don’t really think I need to introduce myself. So, let’s get straight to the point.”
She raised an eyebrow. “As my colleague Ms. Stone just reminded me—rather colorfully—my personal relationships have nothing to do with my company or my work. So I am here today to offer two apologies only. The first is to my husband, George, and our two children. The second is to the staff at Lise and in the governor’s office, for whom I’ve made life difficult.”
When she straightened her spine, the sharp lines of her suit settled like armor over her shoulders. “To the rest of you, I do not apologize. As an engineer, I’m a big fan of logic, and the logic here is as follows. I owe you nothing when it comes to my personal life, and so I have nothing to be sorry for. Instead, I will offer you a few promises.”
The reporters crowded close to the bottom of the stairs. She had them in the palm of her hand. She was so good. I loved her.
“I promise,” Dakota said, her voice echoing through the space, “that I will continue to drag this country, kicking and screaming, into a greener future. I promise I will continue to create the best damn electric vehicles in the world, bar none, to give us a shot at rolling back what we’ve done to our planet. And if any of my critics or my competitors or even my investors want to try to use my personal mistake to wrest away the company I’ve built or the bill I support, then I promise a fight. To them, I offer these immortal Texas words—Come. And. Take. It.”
She turned to face me, still wearing her warrior face, then remembered her talking points and spun back to the microphone. “Oh. Thank you. There will be no questions at this time.”
29
Favorable Numbers
The instant I stepped into the state capitol the next day, I regretted it. Once, I’d walked these halls lamenting the way all the important people buzzed past me. Talking fast into their phones, not giving me a second glance, all my email requests for meetings to talk about climate change secure in their deleted folders. Today, those same people stopped and turned as I walked by, their eyes and whispers tracking me down the long terrazzo floors. No doubt about it: this way was worse.
I finally made it past the central rotunda, which one staffer clearly forgot was a whispering gallery, since I heard, “Can youbelievethe spectacle she pulled?” loud as a bullhorn. When I spun around, a woman jumped like an electrocuted cat on the other side of the room. I left her with her small heart attack and continued to the governor’s office.
The junior aide I remembered from the day the affair broke popped out of the double doors, his eyes glowing. “Ms. Stone! You’re here!”
The warm reception threw me. “Uh, I guess I am.”
“Will you sign this for me?” The aide thrust a pen and a copy of theAustin American-Statesmaninto my hands. “You’re famous.”
I looked down at the headline. “Sex Club Spokeswoman Takes Political and Media Worlds to Task for Alleged Sexism.” Well. I supposed Sex Club Spokeswoman was an upgrade from Sad Crawler and Princess Fountain Oops. It was at least a little bit professional. I uncapped the pen and slashed my signature across the large picture of me standing at the podium. They’d caught me midblink, and the caption below read,Eyes Wide Shut: Passionate Lise Motors employee argues women should have the right to participate in politics by day, orgies by night.
Well played, media. This would explain why my phone had been ringing off the hook.
“Thank you,” the aide gushed. “I believe in everything you said, by the way. I thought it was great.”
I blinked at him. “You do? How did you even see it, if most of the coverage is like this?” I waved at the newspaper.
“A bunch of the left-leaning stations played your whole speech,” he said. “And a ton of reporters uploaded it to their personal social accounts.” He waved theStatesman. “It’s just the old guard that doesn’t like you.” He winked. “Which honestly makes the rest of us like you more.”
Had I just fallen in love with a junior staffer? I shook myself.No, Stoner, focus.
“Well, I appreciate that more than I can say.” I nodded toward the office. “But I’m actually here to see Ben Laderman. Is he in today?”
The aide’s face turned grave. “You didn’t hear? Ben resigned. He flew out of here afterward, saying he had to get on the road to do something important. The governor’s even more pissed at him than he is at you and Dakota.”
Ben had warned me. He’d told me this was exactly what he was going to do. The problem was, by the time the press conference ended and I’d searched for him in the mayhem, ignoring the shouted questions from reporters, he was already gone. I’d called and texted, but so far, he hadn’t answered. I’d never even been to the house he’d moved into after splitting with Sarah, so I couldn’t sit on his front stoop until he appeared. His office had been my last resort, and now my hope of seeing him was swept away like dust in the wind.
A road trip? Where in the world was Ben Laderman, and what was he up to?
