“We’ll figure it out. We just need a little time for us to decide what to do and then we’ll go public.”
“Brady, I kind of have to insist as your press secretary that you shouldn’t,” Heather said. She was pacing the room at this point. “Think about how this will look!”
Brady was going to respond when Heather’s phone started ringing noisily. She snatched it off the table it was resting on and frowned at the number. “Give me a second. It’s probably another reporter.
“Congressman Maxwell’s office,” she said evenly.
Brady sighed and rested back in the armchair. Heather was going to be difficult about all of this. He just knew it.
“No, the Congressman is out.”
It didn’t matter, though, because the wheels were already in motion. He wasn’t going back on what he had said to Liz.
“Congressman Maxwell has no comment on the matter of Sandy Carmichael.”
He wondered how many calls like this Heather had dealt with while he had been gone. Sure, it was her job, but he wished that it all hadn’t happened quite like this. Of course, if it had happened any other way he might not have gotten back with Liz.
As he watched Heather, her face turned red with frustration. “Yes, Miss Hollingsworth, I know that you want a comment from Congressman Maxwell about your article, but we have no comment. He’s currently unavailable. We’ll reach out to you if we have anything further to say.”
Fuck! That name. Hadn’t Liz just said that Calleigh Hollingsworth had come to see her in Chapel Hill?
“Heather,” Brady snapped. “Did you say Hollingsworth? Are you sure?”
Heather spoke into the phone. “Hold please.” Then looked up at Brady. “Yes, Calleigh Hollingsworth of the Charlotte Times, why?”
“I’ll take it,” Brady said, standing and reaching for the phone.
“What? No you will not. I’m your press secretary.”
“Give me the phone, Heather. I’ll decide for myself if I should comment.”
“Elliott, talk some sense into him!”
“It’s going to happen one way or another, Heather. Just give him the phone,” Elliott said.
She slowly held the phone out with a sigh, clearly looking as if she wanted to jerk it back at any second, but she didn’t. Brady took it from her without any idea what he was about to hear on the other line.
“Congressman Maxwell speaking,” he said into the phone.
“Congressman Maxwell, this is Calleigh Hollingsworth with the Charlotte Times.”
“Yes, Miss Hollingsworth. How can I help you?”
“I’ve recently discovered the identity of Sandy Carmichael and I wanted your comment on the story. Do you have a comment?”
“If you’re trying to bait me into discussing whether or not Sandy Carmichael exists, Miss Hollingsworth, you’ll have to do better than that,” Brady said dryly.
“I’m not baiting anyone. Sandy Carmichael exists. It wasn’t until today that I found out the exact identity of the woman you had an affair with. I personally wanted your comment on the story before I went public with the information.”
“Miss Hollingsworth, I don’t appreciate your games. You just admitted to writing a negative article about me without having any of the facts, and are now claiming to have the facts, though you have shared none with me, and wish for me to comment on that?” Brady asked. He was tiptoeing around the subject as much as she was. He wouldn’t believe she had information until she put it forth.
“No. Congressman Maxwell, I want you to make a comment on Sandy Carmichael actually being the fake identity of Liz Dougherty,” Calleigh said snootily.
Brady was sure that he stopped breathing.
“No comment?” Calleigh practically taunted.
“What source do you have for that?” Brady asked. He had to know.
“Primary source, Congressman. Do you have a comment now?”
Liz had told her. When was she going to tell him? Just as he had the thought, his phone started vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw Liz’s name light up the screen. Fuck!
What was he going to do? Had Liz been ready to do this? She had wanted more time. He had been willing to give her more time. God, was he ready for this? He was used to the public, but the scrutiny it would bring going out like this . . . he didn’t know how he was going to deal with it. All he knew at that moment was that he would deal with it.
That meant he had Liz. That meant they were working on this together. That meant they were together . . . finally. It would all be worth it for that.
“Yes, Miss Hollingsworth, I’ll make a comment. Liz Dougherty is Sandy Carmichael. We were in a private relationship two summers ago, and we’re in a public one now.”
Don’t miss the final book in the Record series by K.A. Linde
Fall 2014
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The campaign is the reason for this series. I could have never written Liz’s story without the knowledge I received from working on the 2012 campaign. I started writing it while holding a clipboard and going door-to-door, at a Delta Rae concert while doing voter registration, out with other campaign workers. They are the life and the soul of the campaign. They secure everything behind the scenes, they make sure things are running smoothly, they are the ones putting together eight-thousand-person events with three days’ notice so that the politician can show up and talk for a few minutes. I hope I conveyed an ounce of that in these books, but they will always mean the world to me because of that time. So thank you for everyone out there who helped make this book a reality: Meera, Gregg, Alex, Maddie, Kane, Greg, Rob, Mary, Susan, Hannah, Daniel, Olivia, Anna, Ralph, Avani, Kathleen, and Kiran.
As always, I appreciate the people who read early versions of this story and helped kick me into gear when I was staring at a blank page. Jessica and Bridget—thank you for being there every night while I delve into my characters’ minds. Also, Trish and Becky for falling in love with my characters as much as me. I’d like to thank my agent Jane Dystel at Dystel & Goderich Literary Agency, who believed in this series and helped me every step of the way. Thanks to my content editor Tiffany and my Amazon representative JoVon for making the story everything it could be. And I could never forget my boyfriend, Joel, who deals with my manic behavior without complaint while I’m writing and helps with our adorable puppies, Riker and Lucy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2014 Claire Diana Photography
K.A. Linde grew up a military brat traveling the United States and Australia. While studying political science and philosophy at the University of Georgia, she founded the Georgia Dance Team, which she still coaches. Post-graduation she served as campus campaign director for the 2012 presidential campaign at UNC Chapel Hill. She is the author of eight novels, including five in the Avoiding series and two in the Record series. An avid traveler, reader, and bargain hunter, K.A. lives in Athens, Georgia, with her boyfriend and two puppies, Riker and Lucy.