Page 1 of The Thorne at My Side
PROLOGUE
@MenInSuitsDC
MAGGIE
“Damnit, what now?” I mutter to myself as my phone starts ringing.
I never understood the expression “dead on your feet” until this moment right here. And, can I just ask the universe; why is it that your phone falls to the absolute bottom of your bag anytime it rings? Oh, and why does it ring exactly when you’re trying to open your door after a grueling five day, eight state, campaign swing? When all you want to do is curl up in your chair, eat your frozen dinner, and watch Jake Gyllenhaal do something combative on your laptop.
“Yeah?” I answer after seeing my little sister’s name on the caller ID. If it had been a colleague, I would have masked my annoyance and tried to pull an ounce of professionalism out of the depths of my reserves. But it’s a Monday night, and it’s Liz, so I know she’s having girls night with her friends and if I don’t answer now she’ll just call back in a few hours and be more buzzed than she might already be.
“Whoa, you talk to your mother with that tone?” She jokes. “Actually, strike that, I know you do!” She laughs.
“What do you need, Liz?”
“Can’t a girl just call her sister?” Liz asks innocently. She’s anything but. When I don’t respond she fills in the blank for me. “Okay, fine, I’m calling because I want to know if you follow this account MenInSuitsDC?”
“You know I’m not on social media. So, no I don’t.” I huff as I drop my bag on the floor and slide out of my heels. I shouldn’t have answered this call, I don’t have the energy for this.
“Phew! You should! The girls and I are drooling over some of these guys.”
“Aren’t the three of you in committed relationships?” Liz is engaged to be married on New Year’s Eve later this year. Her best friend Nora got married last month. Their other friend, Angie just started dating her older brother’s best friend. I only know these things because Liz shares. Mom too for that matter.
“Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?”
“You’re looking at an account that creates content with the purpose of objectifying men.”
“So you have seen it?” She accuses.
“No, I’m guessing.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. But we’re just looking. Since when is it a crime to appreciate the male form in finely tailored three piece suits?”
“Jimmy owned one dress shirt when I met him, I need a hit of the financial district every so often,” Nora chimes in from the background.
“Kyle doesn’t dress in suits anymore either and I kind of miss it.” Liz says and I can hear her mind drift off to the summer she and her fiancé met at work in the city.
“Holden still does,” Angie says with a lit of asmirk to her voice.
“Okay, as much fun as this is, I had a good but long day and I need to veg out,” I say and kind of let the sentence fade away hoping Liz will pick up the hint and hang up.
“Have you hired a second in command yet?” She asks instead. In February, I got the job as head speech writer for Senator Melissa Quinn’s presidential campaign. I spent the year before that submitting samples to her team and doing everything I could to get on her radar. I knew I’d be able to grow her campaign and take things to the next level.
And I have, but I’ve been doing the work of two, if not three people, for months and it’s wearing me down.
“Not yet, but I’ve been reviewing resumes.” It’s not a lie, but no one has inspired me to call them. It just feels easier to do it myself instead of explaining my vision to someone else.
“Is Senator Quinn as cool in person as she seems on social media?” Angie asks.
“Believe it or not, she’s even cooler. Especially if you’re into women-centered domestic policy like I am.” I look up at my whiteboard and see the post-its I used to pitch myself as her next speech writer. Colorful squares of notes about maternal health, paid leave, childcare, abortion rights, Title IX, and digital safety of minors.
“How does she deal with the comments about her being a single woman?”
“Honestly, she ignores it or makes a joke about it behind the scenes. But you can’t tell anyone I told you that.” The long day is clearly getting to me if I’m sharing behind-the-scenes insights on the record. And yes, I know my sister and her friends aren’t reporters but these days citizen accounts are everywhere. But the number of times Senator Quinn’s single-childless status has come up and has been used against her in this campaign drives meeven further towards wanting a relationship before I seek office.
It’ll just be easier.
“Meet any cuties out on the road?” Liz asks like she’s reading my mind.
