“That’s my specialty."
Kendra’s assistant, Maya, who’d been silent for most of the meeting, finally glanced up from her iPad. “Good. Because Merrick just launched an ad campaign calling himself a ‘real Mainer’ who understands working families.” She used her fingers to make air quotes, her tone bone-dry. “Never mind that he’s fought for years to block unionization efforts.”
“We’ll expose that,” I said. “But carefully. Frame it around his hypocrisy, not just attack him for being rich.”
“I like that approach.” Kendra checked her watch, stood, and pulled her blazer from the back of her chair. “I hate to cut this short, but I have a call in ten minutes with reps from the MaineTeachers Association.” Her eyes flicked to Michael again. He dipped his chin, and she turned back to me, a smile lifting her cheeks.
Michael rose as well, gathering his things. “I know it’s fast, but how would you feel about starting on Monday?”
Normally, I’d spend a day or two weighing the pros and cons of taking a job like this. It was a step down in terms of my regular fee. And while there was some regional attention on the race, I was used to operating on a more national stage. Honestly, the list of cons was longer than I liked, but there was one pro I couldn’t ignore: it would give me more time with Taylor.
“Monday’s perfect,” I said.
Kendra stepped forward, her hand outstretched. “Great, welcome aboard. Debate prep is Tuesday, and there’s an important fundraiser on Thursday. Maya will get you a full schedule for the week by the end of the day tomorrow.” Her grip was strong and confident as she pumped my hand once and then dropped it. “Glad to have you with us, Sebastian. I think we can do good work together.”
“I think so, too.”
She and Maya left, leaving me alone with Michael and David.
“Not that I need to warn you,” David began, “but we’re bracing for an ugly fight. Merrick isn’t afraid to get dirty. Kendra’s hesitant to go on the attack, but we’re seeing rumblings from supposed undecideds questioning whether she’s the right fit. Sexist, coded, dog-whistle language, but we all know what they mean.”
“She’s a white woman married to a Black man who also happens to be ‘from away,’ running against a man whose family made their millions in forestry, one of the state’s largest industries,” I summarized, pausing near the door. “They’ll keep trying to frame her as an outsider, even though she’s lived herepractically her whole life. Our best weapon is her record. We show voters she’s been delivering on their values, while Merrick talks a good game and does the opposite.”
I turned to address Michael directly. “Has she considered calling it out explicitly?”
“We’ve discussed it, but she’s resistant. Privately, she’s worried about being accused of playing the ‘woman card’ or being called weak.”
I understood Kendra’s concern, but in politics, sometimes you had to do things that made you uncomfortable. In this case, it just so happened to be therightthing.
“We need to find the best moment to make him defend himself,” I said, though I could tell from each man’s expression I was speaking to the choir. “Frame it as Merrick being too cowardly to say what he actually means. Make his racism and misogyny the story, not her response to it.”
“Hopefully you’ll be able to convince her, because so far, I haven’t been able to.”
“Either way, itisgoing to get ugly,” David added, gesturing for me to precede them out of the room.
“The good news is I’m not afraid of ugly,” I quipped as Michael shook my hand again and peeled off toward the exit.
David turned to me with a grin, giving me a slow, appraising look. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”
Steam rosein whorls around us as Taylor rested against my chest as we lounged in the bathtub.
“This thing is enormous. You could have an orgy in here.”
“It’s one of the reasons I bought the house.”
Realizing how that sounded, he sat bolt upright, causing water to slosh over the edge. “That’s not what I meant.”
I laughed. “Uh-huh.”
“No! I just meant … I’m a big guy. After a game, I like coming back here for a long soak.”
“If you say so.” I grinned, pulling him back down.
“I’m serious,” he protested, tilting his head back and smiling up at me.
My fingers traced idle patterns across his skin, following the curve of his collarbone, the ridge of muscle along his shoulder. When I reached his chest, I paused, my thumb brushing over a dark bruise in the shape of my mouth.
“Sorry about that. Got a little carried away."
