Page 190 of The Charlie Method

Grabbing my own coat, I shove my feet in my boots and pull a pair of gloves on. The morning air has a bite to it as we head down the sidewalk. It’s fucking cold out, but Tessa doesn’t seem to mind it.

“So what’s on your mind?” I ask, stuffing my gloved hands into my pockets and wishing I brought a hat.

She gives me a sidelong look. “I’m going to be blunt, Will. I have a proposition for you.”

“Okay?”

“I’m leaving the magazine.”

My eyebrows soar. “Really? What happened to paying your dues?”

“It’s not necessarily a permanent leave. We’re calling it a leave of absence for now, but it depends on how the campaign pans out.” She grins at my puzzled look and continues. “I’ve been offered a position on Harper Wozniak’s staff as a campaign speechwriter.”

“Oh. Cool. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I’m excited about it.” She smiles at me, a teasing gleam in her dark eyes. “I want you to come with me.”

I stop dead in my tracks, turning to face her. “What?”

“There’s an open position on the staff. Assistant to Pamela Kerry, Wozniak’s campaign manager. I floated your name out for it, and Pam said the job is yours if you want it. No interview necessary.”

“You’re serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

This is thelastthing I expected to hear this morning, and now my mind is racing, trying to remember what I know of Harper Wozniak. Her name sounds familiar, but I can’t figure out why.

“Is she my father’s opponent in the primary?” I ask, frowning.

Next fall will be the first time in more than a decade that someone is primarying my dad, which is another reason he’s been so up my ass about maintaining the perfect “image.” Over the holidays, he was ranting and raving like a lunatic about it. Howdaresomeone in his own party try to push him out! Thenerve! I thought he was going to have an aneurysm.

“No,” Tessa replies. “That’s Sandra Donaldson. Harper’s running in another district. With that said, she’s not a fan of your father’s. She’s been quoted in the press criticizing your father’s policies before.”

“And you want me to, what, switch sides? Work for a lady who’s against my father?”

“I think you’d really like Harper. I sat down with her for three hours the other day talking through her positions and everything she’d like to get done. And it lined up with everything you and I talked about during our interview. In fact, she reminded me so much of you that I flew to Boston just so I could do this in person.” Tessa smiles ruefully. “I had a feeling you’d need a lot of convincing and that my sunny disposition might win you over.”

I manage a grin, but I can’t stop staring at her, my mind reeling. I don’t know a thing about Harper Wozniak, but even if everything she’s hoping to achieve lines up with my own beliefs, there’s no way I can work for my father’s rival. It’s a massive betrayal.

“I don’t think so,” I finally say, the words thick in my throat. “That’s big.”

“Huge,” she agrees. “And I don’t expect you to decide right away. All I’m asking is that you think about it.”

I chew on the inside of my cheek. “Tell me more about this position then.”

Tessa offers more details, including about her own job. She’ll be one of Wozniak’s speechwriters for the campaign, and if Wozniak wins, Tessa will be part of her staff full-time. Apparently, there could be a full-time position for me too, if not with Wozniak’s office, then with Pamela Kerry on another campaign.

“I spoke to both of them about you in length,” Tessa says. “They’re intrigued.”

“Yeah, because they’re thinking of how they can spin it. Look, voters! Representative Larsen’s own son doesn’t support him.”

“You can still support your father in his primary. Harper isn’t trying to unseat him. They’re not even in the same district. The two things aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“When would I start?”

“In May, after graduation.”

We walk in silence for a few more minutes. The offer continues to run through my mind, and by the time we circle back to the townhouse, I’m a jumbled mess of conflicting emotions.

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