Page 18 of A More Perfect Union

Zoey looked up at thesound of Margaret’s voice and then over at the counter where a tray of food satwaiting. She had no idea how long she’d been standing here, reading thearticle, letting their food grow cold in the window. “Sorry, I started readingthis article and got completely distracted.”

Margaret glanced atthe paper. “It’s a sad story for everyone involved. That poor girl and nowSenator Newman’s career is ruined over a snap decision made in the heat of themoment. I guess you never know when your entire world will spin out ofcontrol.”

Zoey nodded as shegrabbed the tray of food. Apparently, Rook Daniels lived her life in the eye ofthe storm, and Zoey was grateful she hadn’t allowed herself to be swept away.

* * *

Rook tipped thecoffee mug to her lips, but only a trickle of the caffeinated magic met herlips. She had no recollection of drinking the entire cup, but she was going toneed a lot more if she was going to make it through the day. She swung her legsoff her desk and trudged, zombie-like, toward the office kitchen, collidingwith Lacy as soon as she reached the entrance.

“Lacy, you scared thehell out of me. What are you doing here?”

“I could say the sameto you. Last I checked you own a pretty nice townhouse, but I doubt you’ve seenit in a week. You look like hell, Rook.”

“Thanks for the peptalk, but seriously, it’s Sunday. Don’t you have family stuff?”

“I made pancakes andbacon for the kids and now Ron’s responsible for entertaining them the rest ofthe day. Blake’s already here. I called Harry and Eric and they’re on theirway. You have a team for a reason. Let us help you.”

Rook weighed heroptions. Normally, she’d have no qualms about calling in the whole team to workon a weekend, especially when it was a big case with a high-profile client, butshe’d chosen to pull the overtime on this one by herself for a very goodreason. “You know I’m working on the Newman case, right?”

Lacy rolled her eyes.“Yes, Rook, I read the papers, just like everyone else. It’s a case, just likeany other. What do you always say? Personal is our business. Now we get to testthat, so let’s get to work.”

She crossed her armsand her expression dared Rook to challenge her. The truth was, Rook did needher. The press requests alone for information about Newman’s situation had herburied, and Lacy was much better suited to sorting through and prioritizing whoshe should talk to and when. Every major network wanted to book the Newmans fortheir Monday morning shows, and she needed to make some decisions fast.

But she hadn’t wantedto involve Lacy. Holly, Lacy’s daughter from her first marriage, had been rundown in the street and left for dead as she walked back to her dorm after aparticularly raucous fraternity party. Lacy had to fight the police to find theperpetrator when all they wanted to do was blame her daughter, claiming herblood alcohol content was the reason she was in harm’s way. Her marriage hadbeen ripped apart by the loss of their only child.

Lacy had come a longway since then. She’d remarried, had twins, and embraced a new life, but Rookknew her past grief always simmered just below the surface. Lacy had told hermore than once that she viewed the work they did as a means of revenge—whenthey represented the good guys. But this wasn’t one of those times. Newmanmight have been a good guy in the public eye before—a champion of thedisenfranchised, the poor, a change-maker—but his favorables had plummetedsince this story broke, and Rook wasn’t sure she could save him no matter whatshe did. But she’d taken the case, so she had to try, and if trying was painfulfor the people she cared about, she’d shield them as best she could.

“Okay, to be honest,I could use the help.” Rook handed over a stack of notes she’d scribbled onvarious bits of paper. “Interview prep. If you could type that up and make itlook like a semi-intelligent outline, I’ll be forever in your debt. The Newmanswill be here at five, so I need it before then.”

“Are you doing thefull rounds in the morning or are you putting all your eggs in one basket?”

“Jury’s still out onthat, but I’m leaning toward the one basket approach. The Newman kids are homefrom spring break, and if I can get the whole family to go on camera with afemale anchor, I think we’ll get the best spin.” She ran a hand through herhair. “If it isn’t too late.”

“I have to say, I washeartbroken when the story broke. He’s been quite a force in the Senate.”

“Tell me about it.Never would’ve seen this coming.”

“I’ll have this backto you in less than an hour.” Lacy paused in the doorway. “I’ll order up somefood. Why don’t you grab a shower or a nap or both? You probably have anotherthirty minutes before everyone gets here.”

Rook shook her head,secretly happy for Lacy’s intervention. Her desk was covered with projects, andevery single one was critical. She was a complete hard-ass when it came toevaluating which cases she would take on, but lately it seemed every single onewas impossible to turn down. From old friends calling in favors to the rareinstance, like this one, where her ideology demanded she give her client thebenefit of the doubt. Her appearance at Addison Riley’s birthday party seemedto have rousted a few new clients despite the fact she’d spent most of theparty flirting with Major Granger instead of networking.

She wondered whatZoey was up to. She’d sent her a text to apologize the day after their aborteddate and she’d sent flowers to the hotel, but the florist had informed her Zoeyhad checked out, probably headed back to her base and whatever normalcy shecould find after her week taking center stage on C-SPAN. Rook didn’t envy herthe transition, but she did wish she’d had the full evening to spend with her.Rook had been drawn to Zoey despite her allegiance to the military, butconsidering how her work schedule had heated up over the past week, it wasprobably best Zoey was no longer in town to distract her.

Her phone buzzed andshe glanced at the screen, smiling when she saw it was Julia. “Hey you,” Rooksaid. “Let me guess. Your party went so well, you’re planning another one.”

“You’re hilarious,although I did make a splash inReliable Sourceand not on my boss’sbehalf for once. Helena Andrews said Addison’s party was the ‘it’ place to belast weekend, which means I have a backup plan if my current career doesn’twork out.”

“I hate to be the oneto break this to you, but the clock is ticking on your present position. Youmight want to go ahead and start marketing your event planning business to geta jumpstart.”

“Some days thatactually sounds like a perfect plan. What are you doing right now?”

Rook’s ears perked atthe abrupt change of subject and she answered cautiously. “The usual. Helpingthe oppressed.”

Julia’s voice droppedto a whisper. “I need to see you.”

“Sounds ominous.”

“Today.”

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