Page 29 of Presidential Bargain
“You needed me. Don’t ever apologize forneedingme.”
“Fuck, I don’t deserve you.” He devoured my lips, kissing me fiercely. We didn’t stop until long after the waterturnedcold.
I followed Jameson to thepodium. We greeted each of the women who were already on stage before turning to the massive crowd that had gathered. Jameson was nervous. I had never seen him sweat before addressing a crowd, and already he’d used a handkerchief twice to wipehisbrow.
“Thank you so much for coming here today.” His voice was shaky and unsure. I immediately stepped next to him and grabbed one of his hands. Jameson turned and looked at me, surprised. I smiled and he seemed to relax. “Please consider this the only time that I will publicly discuss thismatter.
“Statistically, one in five women will be sexually assaulted. It pains me to tell you that the woman standing next to me confidently holding my hand, Georgina Washington, is a part of that statistic. Recently, photographs of Georgie were published. Disgusting, vile photographs, and people began to speculate whether or not she was cheating. No one bothered to look at Georgie, to look at the terror on her face. Instead, media outlets went right on ahead, slandering her, calling her unspeakable things. What those outlets published were photographs of my fiancée being sexuallyassaulted.
“Before I brought her into my campaign, Georgie was concerned that people would see her as a weakness, as a way to get to me. That night, her fear became reality. The man who did this to Georgie thought she was weak, that somehow he could use her. He was wrong. Georgie is one of my campaign’s greatest strengths. She is one ofmystrengths.”
Jameson paused and then looked at me. I could see that over the last few days, he agonized over this speech. I could see disappointment written all over his face every time he looked at me, and when we were together in bed, when our bodies were free of barriers, his disappointment remained. But he wasn’t disappointed in me. I knew he was upset with himself, that he felt on some level, he failed in his ability to protect me. I tried to reassure him with my words, my lips, and my body, but the guilt and distressremained.
“Far too often, society and the media, and even our justice system, blame the victim. They are asked ridiculous questions like, ‘What were you wearing?’ and ‘How much did you drink?’ as if those choices are the cause of sexual assault. I want to tell Georgie, the women standing behind me, and every other victim of sexual assault that it’s not your fault. There is absolutely no reason why you should beblamed.”
I saw Jameson’s jaw tense, the tick of the muscle as he struggled with his emotions. Then I saw them, the tears pooling in the corners. Jameson turned to me and took both of myhands.
“I want to apologize to you, Georgie, my sunshine, my little darling, because I failed you that night. I left you alone because I was too selfish. I acted only on my own interests that entire day and you were the one who suffered. You are mine and I didn’tprotectyou.”
I knew that my expression mirrored his because I could feel the hot lick of tears as they traveled down my cheeks. Jameson cupped my face in his large hands and looked me intheeyes.
He whispered, “I’m so sorry, Georgie” before kissing me softly. We stayed connected for a while and I could hear the shutters of cameras snapping as they captured this moment, but they didn’t matter. What mattered was that I belonged to someone again and for the first time ever, someone belongedtome.
I cleared my throat and stepped toward the podium. I wasn’t expected to make a statement; Jameson and the lawyers didn’t want me to say a word. I struggled with my silence, but I couldn’t sit back while Jameson blamedhimself.
“Jameson, I don’t accept your apology. I don’t accept it because you did nothing wrong. You did what you were supposed to do and no one should blame you for what happened, including yourself. There is only one person to blame, and that’s the man who thought I was weak.” I turned and addressed the women who sat quietly, stoically behind us. “None of you are weak, either. You all showed great courage in standing up for yourselves and for others.Thankyou.”
Jameson’s hand slid around my waist as he stood next to me. “Today, I am announcing that sexual assault will be addressed in my administration’s first one hundred days. There will be tougher legislation that calls for harsher punishments. It’s time that we stopped silencing the victims of sexual assault with blame and let justice be theirvoice!”
The roar of the small crowd was deafening. I turned back toward the women who stood bravely and held out my hand. They didn’t hesitate in joining us. One horrific bond connected us. The importance of being the First Lady hit me hard. I had to make sure I used the position to be theirvoice.
“You never ceaseto amazeme, Georgie,” I said, once we were in the back of the SUV that would take us back to the hotel. I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips, placing light kisses along herknuckles.
“I’m sorry that I made a statement. I hope you’re not angry,” she responded. Her expression was worried, but I didn’t think she was actually apologetic for speaking up. Georgie was at her best when she was spontaneous. Not to mention, those moments gave credibility to ourarrangement.
“No, I’m not angry. What you said was perfect.” I turned back toward the window and watched the streets pass by in a blur of brick and cement. My mind began to wander back to the investigation and the baffling ghost, RussellAtlee.
“Is there any newinformation?”
“We have a lead that we’re following. I won’t tell you anything more than that because it’s nothingconcrete.”
“Okay. Tell me about myschedulethen.”
Just like that, Georgie and I were back in work mode. As soon as she volunteered to be an active part of my campaign, I put her to work. She worked crowds wonderfully and resonated with people. They related to her riches-to-rags story, to the fact that she had persevered despite the obstacles thrown her way. There were moments when I think people liked her better than me. Which was totally fine. We were both destined for the WhiteHousenow.
Georgie and I had an easy working relationship. Any form of communication went through her before I even saw it. She easily picked up on my idiosyncrasies and I’d often hear her berating my speech writers, telling them things like, “No. Jameson would never say this,” or, “Jameson wouldn’t say it this way. This is how he has said it in the past.” She worked hard; I often found her awake late at night, reviewing one of my past speeches, taking notes, or reading aboutpolicy.
“The shoot with Sierra Simmons is in two days. That’s the most important thingrightnow.”
“Okay. Well, you’re giving a speech to some local trade unions tomorrow. Shouldn’t I bethere?”
“No. I’m sending you to get pampered for the day. You deserve it.” I couldn’t tell her what I was actually doing tomorrow. I was sending DeWayne and Avon to meet with the unions because I was meeting with my opponent, Governor Lamar Huntley. We were trading intel on the mysterious RussellAtlee.
The ride back to the hotel was relaxing and quiet. Georgie and I talked briefly about events coming up or appearances we were scheduled to make. And of course, the first debate was coming up sooner rather than later. Georgie’s favorite game was “Debate Prep” and she took way too much pleasure in playing Devil’sAdvocate.
We arrived at the hotel, bickering over my answer to one of her questions. I loved arguing with Georgie because she knew so much. Our quarrel continued as we made our way through the hotel lobby, into the elevator, and up to our room. When I unlocked the door, it continued until we both conceded. It was then determined that my response to her questionneededwork.
I headed straight for the bar and found the bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. This was what I needed after such a long and emotionally draining day. I took a moment to appreciate Georgie as she scurried around the suite’s living space. She wore a sleeveless navy blue dress that was banded at the waist with a thick cream stripe with a thin red border. Her hair had been styled into some sort of twist and she wore very little makeup. In fact, she looked completely understated but still utterlybreathtaking.
