“I certainly hope you’re using more persuasive arguments when you’re trying to convince your colleagues to vote for your bill,” she said.
“There’s literallyneverbeen a lady?—”
“There’s never been a typic elected to Congress in our lifetime, either. Sometimes change is good.”
She smiled. He crossed his arms.
“You have no political experience,” he said.
“Oh, come now, Senator!”
“Fine, you have nolegislativeexperience. You’ve never organized a press conference or researched policy or rounded up support for a measure.”
“Do you recall the excellent coverage in theStarabout how the magiocracy tried to ruin Lydia’s conference? I convinced Helen Hickok to write about it. And the conference itself—the only reason we had a place to hold the all-important vote is because I found it at the last minute. I did most of the research for Lydia about the best way to undo the Twenty-fifth Amendment. And I’ve gone with her to meetings with legislators to persuade them that your bill is in their interest.”
She let that sink in, then added, “I’m basically doing this job already. Don’t you think it’s time to put me on staff?”
Gray said nothing for a moment. Was he changing his mind? She looked at him, heart thudding in her ears.
“I can’t, Miss Harper,” he murmured. “I’m having a hard enough time convincing some of these senators that gettingrid of the Twenty-fifth isn’t a ruse to put ladies in charge of everything. ‘Better wizards thanfemales,’ etc. etc. Think how it would look if I hired one.”
“For one of the least powerful jobs in the General Assembly!”
He gave an expressive sigh. “It’s not about reason. It’s about how it makes people feel.”
She couldn’t very well argue against that. Wasn’t that the way politics always worked? Wasn’t that why women were treated the way they were, generation after generation, for no logical reason at all?
“I desperately need this job,” she said,hatingthat she was doing this—reduced to begging. “Please. If you don’t hire me, Lydia will drop out of Hazelhurst.”
He stared at her. “What? Why would she do that?”
“Because we’re about to run out of money. If she withdraws tomorrow, she’ll get most of the semester’s tuition back.” She closed her eyes, wishing she could block out the entire conversation as easily. “You’re my last hope.”
“Oh—oh, I see. I’m sorry, Miss Harper, I don’t know why I didn’t think about the financial implications for you when Omnimancer Blackwell had to be hospitalized. I’ll … help you find something. One of the assembly’s secretaries is leaving the middle of next month to get married—I’m almost certain I can get you that job.”
She sighed and made herself look at him again. “I appreciate it, Senator, I do. And I will wholeheartedly accept that assistance. But Lydia’s dropping out tomorrow. She justtold me her plan, and I can’t talk her out of it. Either I have a job offer tonight, or she won’t graduate this spring.”
She knew this was neither here nor there to him. He didn’t care whether Lydia finished her education. It made no difference to his Twenty-fifth campaign, and if anything, having the chief instigator and supporter drop out of college would leave him better off with his sexist colleagues.
“Thank you all the same,” she said, turning to go.
“OK,” he said heavily. “You can start tomorrow.”
She swiveled, staring at him. “What?”
“But you will be asecretary, do you understand? Technically you’ll be filling the open position, but you willnotbe my aide, and as soon as we can get you into an actual secretarial slot, you won’t be reporting to me.”
“Yes,” she murmured, thrown by his change of heart—however grudging. “Absolutely.Thankyou.”
“It’s a ridiculous waste of money and time for your sister to withdraw now,” he said, frowning at her as if she had been in favor of the idea. “How do you Harpers get me into these messes?”
With appeals to emotion rather than reason, apparently—not that she’d done it intentionally.
“When should I be at work tomorrow morning?” she asked.
“Eight.” He heaved a deep sigh. Then he gave a groan that made clear how little this plan suited him. “Meet me in the Senate cafeteria.”
“Yes—thank you again,” she said, and hurried off lest he change his mind.
