Page 14 of Primary Season
“She’s a senior at Miami of Ohio,” Doug said. “A co-ed. Alpha Gamma…something. Some sorority.”
“Oh god,” Heather murmured. “Of course. Probably one of those rich millennial types. A whole lot of money, nothing to show for it, and a fixation on taking selfies with narcissistic hashtags.”
Patrick shook his head and gripped the bedding.
“Think about it. Look very closely.” Doug narrowed his eyes and, once again, showed Patrick the girl’s picture on his phone. “Are yousureyou’ve never met her? Think very hard, Patrick.”
Patrick stared at the screen. We all waited for his answer, and he gave it after a long sigh. “I remember her now. She had tickets to the reception ahead of graduation. I met her as I posed for photos with those guests.”
Doug cursed.
“That doesn’t mean I slept with her,” Patrick said. “I didn’t. She’s lying about that.”
“We’ve got to come up with some way to respond,” I said, not sure if I believed him. He and Kathryn had a fake relationship, and he’d kissed me the night before. Plus, Patrick was apolitician, and one of the most handsome men in DC. Men like him could have any woman they wanted. Why wouldn’t he have been indiscreet with some college co-ed?
“The media will want an answer,” I said, thinking out loud. “They’ll ask a lot of questions. We got away easy this morning over at WCHS, but we’ll hear about this, and sooner rather than later.”
Nodding, Doug scrolled through his phone. “Man, this is rich. Says you all met when you gave the commencement speech at the school during December graduation, just like you said, and that you spent one ‘glorious’ weekend together before ‘breaking her heart.’” Doug tossed the phone on the bed. “But I say we ignore this flat out. It’sDaily Mail, notThe Washington Post.”
“We can’t. We’re already behind. Besides, how many other articles are out there? I’ve seen at least fifteen.” My annoyance grew as I spoke, but I couldn’t figure out if I was mad at myself, Patrick, or the situation in general. Whatever it was, I wanted to leave the room, and fast. I wanted time to think, and time to clear my head. This situation wasn’t giving me either. “That doesn’t include the chatter on Twitter, Facebook—”
“We’re not going to make an official statement.” Patrick raked his hand through his hair. “A statement just gives this whole thing credibility.”
“I agree with Alex.” Heather began pacing the room. “We should prepare something, deploy it once, and refuse to answer questions about it later. And we probably need a paternity test.” Heather stopped, her gaze meeting each of ours, one person at a time. “That way, we’re hedging our bets a little bit. Ready for anything.”
Doug and I both nodded.
“I like that,” Doug said.
Heather leaned against the TV stand and nodded in agreement. “What do you think, Patrick? After all, it’syoursex scandal.”
Patrick stood and regarded all of us. “I wouldn’t call it a sex scandal. I would hardly call it anything. Like I said, she’s a liar. And while I am guilty of many things in my life, one thing I don’t do…is hook up with women who could be my daughter.”
Patrick’s attention zoned in on mine, and energy briefly flickered between us.
“I agree with this idea,” I said. “It meets it head on, and hopefully ends it. But what you’re saying better be true. This better not have legs.”
Doug, Heather, and I agreed I’d draw up a small statement on the drive from Charleston to Columbia. They were eager to end the meeting; this less-than-small hiccup had delayed us an hour, and we needed to meet with the Columbia Women of the Democratic Party at one. We’d be lucky if we made it on time. The three of us excused ourselves, gathered our things, and rushed toward the door. Patrick followed us, mumbling things about campaign loyalty, how much he appreciated our hard work, and how the campaign wouldn’t be the same without us on staff. Doug and Heather thanked him, then left.
When only I remained, Patrick leaned across me and shut the door.
“Don’t leave yet, Alex.”
I turned back to him. “Why? I have things I need to do. We’re checking out in fifteen minutes.”
“Just give me a second to explain.” Patrick grabbed my shoulder. “One minute.”
“Counting.”
He sucked in a deep breath. “This is going to happen. It’s a national campaign. We’re in the big leagues here, and a lot of people have a lot at stake. People are going to say outrageous lies to sway the voters in their direction.”
“I know that.” I pulled away and backed up until my shoulders and butt pressed into the door. “And I expect that. I’ve worked on campaigns before. I’ve seen people go negative plenty of times.”
“But this is different.” He cupped my jaw. “And I want to make sure that you know how to handle it.”
“I’m your communications director. Of course I know how to handle it.It’s my job to handle it.”
“I’m not talking about business. I’m talking about everything else. Everything between us.”
