“Yeah. I worry she’s going to wake up one morning and realize she’s making a huge mistake marrying me.”
“But Annie loves you so much.”
Zoey looked at me. “I know. I really do. But the fear is natural. All this stuff is terrifying, you know? Caring about someone is such a risk. We shove our hearts in their hands and all we can do is hope they don’t crush us. I’m an artist. I make things. I like control. Love is the opposite.”
It was actually stunning that Zoey—beautiful, talented, confident Zoey—shared my insecurities. “You are one of the most magnetic people I’ve ever met,” I said. “One in a million. You’re worth lifetimes of loving.”
She squeezed my legs. “See, this is why I volunteered to come talk to you that day Lee needed someone to fill in. I always had a feeling you and I could be good friends if we gave it a shot.”
My throat grew thick. “Thanks for believing in me.”
“You’re worth lifetimes of loving, too,” she said. “Talk to Logan.”
33
The Rug Pulled Out
I didn’t have to wait long to see Logan. The next day after school,as I dug in my closet for my old laptop full of story ideas, my phone dinged with a text from Nora. I scrambled to open it.
Please come to the office. We have a situation.
My stomach sank. That sounded dire. I thumbed back,On my wayand immediately googledThe Watcher on the Hill. If news had broken, Daniel Watcher would have it.
It was the top story. In big black letters, the headline screamed “TEA Flips: Teachers Union Recants Arthur Endorsement in Favor of Mane.” In the picture, Governor Mane stood between a beaming Sonny and Kai, hands clasping their shoulders.
It made no sense. The teachers union was one of Logan’s biggest allies—they should’ve been unequivocally on our side, given what Logan was prepared to do with the budget. And they were the peopleI’dbrought in. Why had they betrayed us? I squinted at Sonny’s and Kai’s faces and remembered how oily they’d been at the rally, how they’d angled for preferential treatment. That had something to do with this, I knew it.
I grabbed my bag and raced out the door.
“I won’t lie to you,” Anita said. “This is bad. We were counting on teacher support. Even worse, we’ve positioned Logan as the working-class champion. The fact that a massive labor union switched its allegiance to Mane is, in technical terms, a disaster. Our polling shows a sizeable dip in Logan’s credibility rating.”
Nearly the entire campaign team was stuffed into the large conference room at headquarters, most of us standing in rows against the walls. Nora had offered me a seat at the table, but I’d declined. A real staff member could have it. Instead, I pressed into a corner of the room. Logan had swept in at the last minute, his face grave, and the second our eyes met, my adrenaline spiked, remembering kissing him up against the stacks. But he’d only given me a small, grim smile before sitting at the head of the table, and then it was time for business. The mood in the room was funereal.
“Okay,” Nora said. “That’s hard to swallow, but our job now is to counter the blow with new wins.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” said Cary, not sounding sorry at all. “But do we know what happened? How Mane was able to snake the TEA away from us? In the words of our fearless leader, what the fuck?”
The room broke into murmurs.
“I don’t know if we should dwell—” Nora started, but Logan held up a hand and the room fell silent.
“I just got off the phone with friends who are close to Mane’s campaign. The rumor is Sonny Yarrow and Kai West cut some sort of deal with the governor. He’s not going to change the education budget, but in exchange for the endorsement, they get some sort of personal kickback. No one knows what yet.”
Protests broke out.
“But that means they betrayed every educator in the state,” I burst, and all eyes turned to me, Logan’s included.
He nodded. “We knew they were trouble, remember? Our instincts were right. It’s my fault for taking my eyes off them.” He looked down at his hands, which were clutched on the conference table.
“We should tell people,” I said. “The rest of the union will be livid.”
He shook his head. “We would need proof, and that’s hard to get. I think Nora’s right. There’s no time to dwell on things we can’t change. Election day is in three weeks. Right now, we have to focus all our attention on new wins.”
“Logan’s going to reach out to the head of every major association that hasn’t already chosen a side,” Nora said. “For the next few days, he’s going to be physically attached to the phone, so if you need him for something, don’t. Everyone else, I want you knocking on doors, making personal connections with voters. Don’t let Mane signs in front yards stop you.” She shot a look at Logan and he nodded. “All right, people. Let’s bring this home.”
She and Logan rose and hurried out, and the rest of us filed after them. Once I’d made it out of the conference room, I stood in the middle of the bullpen and bit my lip, eyeing Logan’s closed door. He was obviously busy. I probably shouldn’t bother him. But Zoey had told me to insist I was important, too, worth prioritizing. Besides, there would always be one reason or another not to have this conversation with Logan. I just had to go for it.
Resolved, I marched to his office and knocked on the door. “Make it quick,” he barked.
