“Hold on, Brad. I might have time for a cold one after all.”
At that moment, the door opened and Senator Andrew Estevez appeared. Bradley jumped and I fully expected him to throw himself on the carpeted floor and worship at the lap of his idol.
“Well done, guys.”
“Thanks Senator,” Bradley answered dutifully.
Andy’s attention focused on me. “Josh, I’d like a word with you.”
“Of course.”
It took a few seconds for Bradley to take the hint.
After he finally left, Andy Estevez sat on the chair opposite me. “I’m going to cut to the chase. I was out for dinner with my wife last night and bumped into someone you know very well. Bruce Carrington.” I knew where this was going, so I stiffened in my chair. “He doesn’t like you,” Andy added.
“We had our differences,” I answered non-committedly. Lenor’s father had wanted me to help him keep his daughter on a tight leash but I’d declined. To him, that was a worse crime than proposing to his daughter while still being married to another girl. That in itself should be the most valid reason to hate my guts.
“He told me an intriguing story of intended bigamy and a secret child.” I didn’t comment so he continued. “You never mentioned you were married—not that it’s any of my business.”
“Well, technically, I don’t have a son. He was adopted by another family at birth.”
Estevez’s eyebrows arched in a way I’d seen him do when attending a hearing. It was his way of saying ‘Don’t bullshit me.’
I’d spent the last week working my guts out for this guy, taking power naps under the table so that he could have his mark-ups ready for the next hearing. “No offense, Sir, but I’d like to keep some parts of my private life… well, private.” Cassie and Lucas were mine and mine only. However screwed-up our story was, it was precious to me.
“In politics, Joshua, there’s no such thing as ‘private.’”
“I’m not naïve, but my background wouldn’t matter at this stage of my career if I wasn’t on Bruce Carrington’s black-list.”
Estevez rested against the back of the chair. He was a handsome man, dark and brooding, and it’d worked miracles with his female constituents. As far as I knew, he was also a family man with a solid marriage. It was one of the reasons I’d wanted to work for him. Andy kept staring at me in silence, sizing me up. I didn’t shuffle, I didn’t blink. I had nothing to hide, but had nothing to add either.
“Did you at any point do anything illegal with regards to this business Carrington was rambling on about?”
My boss was entitled to an answer. “Nothing illegal, but I should have handled myself better and treated Eleanor Carrington with more respect.”
I remained the subject of Estevez’s appraisal for another minute and I hated to admit it, but I started feeling antsy. Finally, he broke the silence, “Don’t fuck it up, Josh. I’m impressed with you, especially after our stint in Europe. I’d hate to see you throw your future away because you managed a situation badly, even once. So I’ll give you two words of advice today: Damage control.
“Whatever is happening in your private life right now, think about when it’ll be dug up by a journalist ten years from now when you run for senate. Make sure it doesn’t make you look too bad, or doesn’t cost you an election.”
He was looking far, far into the future, and I hadn’t allowed myself to think so big. Yet.
“I can’t stand Carrington anyway. Hearing him attack you won you some brownie points with me.” Estevez stood and headed toward the door. “Come and join us for a drink.”
“I will, sir. Thanks for giving me a chance to explain.”
Estevez nodded at me. “You’re welcome. However, please handle yourself in a way becoming to this office. And be smart about it.”
“I will.”
Once I found myself alone, my fist struck the table top. I hadn’t felt the anger boiling up inside me until it exploded. If, one day I made it high enough in this city, Bruce Carrington would be first on my hit list.
In the meantime, I had to take my girl out for dinner if she ever managed to make it out of the D.C. subway. I headed to the bar and my team. I was still pissed off by Carrington’s attack and, once inside, didn’t manage to cool down until my second beer was half-way down my throat. I sent a text to Cassie telling her where I was, asking her to call me when she made it out of the station.
I wanted to get away from my work crowd ASAP. Hewitt kept sucking up so hard to Estevez and his Chief of Staff that it made me want to throw up. Schmoozing wasn’t my thing. I took a break from the group I’d been talking to: the over-keen Scheduler, Legislative Director, Policy Advisor and the short-skirted press intern who’d been hired for the fall semester.
I was on my way to the restroom when my cell vibrated in my suit’s inside pocket. I checked the ID. An international call. France?
“MacBride speaking.”
Five seconds of silence when I heard the light buzzing of the line.
“Josh, it’s me.” Her voice had that familiar melody I’d liked so much.
“Hey Lenor. How are you?”
“I’m fine, but I’m worried about you.”
“What for?”
“I had the displeasure of talking with my father this morning. One of his usual inquisitions into my life… but, anyway, that’s not the point. He got angry and that was when he mentioned meeting Andrew Estevez last night. From what I understand, my dad lashed out on you to your boss.”
“I know. Andy came and talked to me about it. It’s all fine. It just so happens that my boss can’t stand your father anyway.”
Lenor’s laugh resonated in my ear. “And yet another on the long list of Carrington haters. That’ll make Zach happy.”
Zach, Lenor’s first love.
I hesitated for one moment, not sure what the etiquette was between exes. I asked anyway, “How are things going with Zach?”
She sighed. “Complicated. Amazing. Painful… I’m not sure, it changes every day. I’m not—, I don’t,” she stammered, “Second chances don’t come easy.”
“They don’t. That’s why they’re worth fighting for.”
“Maybe… or maybe it’s a sign it was never meant to be. At least him and me.”
“That’s for you to decide, Lenor. You must do what’s good for you.”
Another silent stretch. “How are Cassandra and Lucas?”
“She’s on her way back in D.C. now. We’re trying to speed up the adoption as much as we can.”
“Good luck, Josh. I hope you’ll be a family soon.”
“Thanks, Lenor. Don’t settle for less than you’re worth. And that’s a lot.”
I got the crystalline laugh of Lenor, the Socialite. She reverted to that role as soon as she was insecure. “You’re a sweet talker, Joshua MacBride. It’ll work miracles on the Hill. Take care!”
“Take care, Lenor.”
The line went dead.
In the restroom I splashed some water over my face. The mirror threw back the image of a man in dire need of sleep. I made my way back to the bar and checked my cell. There were no messages from Cassie, but I froze because she stood in the entrance, the revolving doors swirling around behind her. Her hair was pulled into a pony-tail and she was wearing skinny jeans which molded to her shapely legs. The T-shirt she wore had The Libs written on it. She was hot and totally out of place.
All I wanted to do was swinging her over my shoulder and get her the hell out of there.
Cassie checked out the room, oblivious to the men sitting by the bar that were checking her out. I bolted forward and, in a few strides, stood between my girl and the oglers.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“Nice to see you too!” She threw back at me. “You told me the name of the bar and all I had to do was ask around. I’m not completely clueless.”