Page 30 of Power Games

Callum King called him one evening, to tell him, "Hey, so, we had a fundraiser for you at The Tower."

The Tower. A name from another time. He hadn't been there in well over a year now. Practically two.

"Wait, what?"

"A fundraiser," Cal repeated. "When you were ever-so-slightly inhibited, about twenty-six months ago, I'd say, you mentioned you were considering running for president, right? Well, you know how we like organizing auctions. We raised about nine billion for you."

He opened his mouth and closed it again. His attention outside of work had been solely focused on Izzy; he hadn't thought about any presidential run. Certainly not in the 2020 race.

"Thanks, but I can't run in 2020. We're at the end of 2018, the race starts in less than a year. I've had some personal issues."

"No problem. The cash's ready when you are, let us know."

After hanging up with Cal, he found himself calling the one person who came to mind: Vanessa. He blurted out that a private club he belonged to had raised funds for his campaign, then proceeded to say that he wasn't ready, hadn't given it a thought at all for ages.

"I can't do this, not next year."

"You're right, you can't."

He hadn't expected that answer from her, somehow.

"With that frame of mind, might as well wait, or give up altogether. My brother will run, and let me assure you, his head is going to be in the game, one hundred percent. He's been raised for it. Everything he's done in his adult life has been accomplished in order to be a suitable candidate. There's one way you beat that. With passion and determination. If you don't have that right now, you can’t win."

He'd been right to call her. Nothing would have motivated him like those words.

Passion and determination.

The last few months had dragged. He'd felt restless, aimless. The prospect of redirecting his energy toward a goal that seemed almost unattainable energized him like nothing else. He went home to ask Izzy if she'd support him through a presidential run. Izzy said yes. She went to buy a slightly more suitable wardrobe. She made an effort to appear next to him when he was on a photo op. She even tried to make friends with socialites, although that wasn't going well.

In short, she did her very best. But what he needed were the quick phone calls to and from Vanessa in the next two months.

He wasn't going to announce his intention to run for president until next year, but there was work to do right now.

One thing presented itself. He knew exactly who he wanted to run with him as his VP. Another phone call to Callum King, and that side of things was underway. If all went well, he’d run with the elder King brother, Desmond. A magnetic, controlled, influential force known around the world.

Charles still had to get to know some people, put his team together, and find himself a campaign manager. Barrett was very enthusiastic, but he had no experience. As an Independent, Charles didn't have everything set up for him the way a Democratic or Republican candidate would.

"Karen Warner?"

"No, your views on gun reform are too different to even think about her. She could be in your corner, but she wouldn't manage your campaign as efficiently as someone who believes in you one hundred percent. I think you should reach out to Aiden Bones, test the waters there. He has the experience, his family made him help my dad's second campaign. He was just twenty at the time, I remember because he was the only guy who didn't seem like a dinosaur to me at the time. I was just eleven."

"You're a baby," he said, smiling as he was reminded of their age difference.

She was twenty-seven, almost ten years younger than Charles. It didn't seem to matter at all when they spoke.

"No, you're just ancient. Anyway, he's about your age. Two, three years later he turned his coat, went Independent, and started to poke his head right into the touchy issues no one wants to talk about. His family owns a successful advertising firm, and he's worked there for over ten years. He sounds ideal, if you get along."

"It does," Charles admitted. "I just want to have a few options."

"Meet him first, and we'll talk options later."

Of course, he and Aiden hit it off right away. Charles didn’t plan to bring up the election the first night, but he did engage the man in a conversation about the future of the country, and was happy to hear over beers that their views matched. By the third pint, Aiden was done beating around the bush.

"We've succeeded in making ourselves look like clowns to the rest of the world for a few years, so my guess is America is ready to wake up. Ready to act, make a change. We're at that crossroad when we'll either show the world that we're a nation of misogynistic bigots, or we'll switch gears. I think we need the right face leading a campaign that promises change."

"I think so, too."

Aiden nodded. "Which is why you'll run. And why you want me to lead your campaign."

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