Bad Girls Finish First (10 page)

“What sort of plans?”

“What do I specialize in, Doc?”

“Dirt,” Dr. Laverne said. “Poking around in closets and airing dirty laundry.”

Dudley grunted and went back to digging through the M & M's. “Damn right. And it looks like Raven stirred up a bit of dirt when she was in law school. I've got a buddy who works there and according to him, a guy that Raven was doing got mixed up in a scandal with her, then went missing.” As an aside Dudley added, “At the same time she was doing Michael, balling his brains out to make him leave his wife. She'll make some First Lady.”

“What happened to the guy who went missing?” Dr. Laverne asked. He vowed to throw out his M&M's, candy dish and all.

“Nobody knows, but I intend to find out.”

11

“T
his state stands for equal opportunity for all citizens. How can you say to a young boy or girl who studies hard, ‘I'm giving your college spot to a student who doesn't work as hard as you, just because of the color of the other student's skin.' It's just not fair.” Jeff Sweeney finished on a high note and received a robust round of applause.

“Senator Joseph, two minutes for a rebuttal,” the debate moderator said.

“I agree with my opponent. I wouldn't want to tell that to a child because I'd be lying. The young person Jeff Sweeney is talking about is going to get an opportunity for a college education just like she got an opportunity to attend a very good public school or better yet, a private school. The truth is we owe an explanation to the child attending a dilapidated public school with outdated computers and no lab equipment who doesn't get a shot at a college education because he happens to be born poor and black or Latino.” Michael looked from his podium to the one where Jeff Sweeney stood. “I understand that child because once upon a time that child was me.”

The audience was silent, hanging onto Michael's every word.

“Obviously, when I was in school we didn't have computers. I'm from back in the day when we used carbon paper.” Scattered laughter. “But when I tell you that my school was so poor we had hand-me-down books from the white school across town, believe it.” Michael looked directly into the camera as he tried to reach the trucker in Fulshear, the soccer mom in Plano, and the hair stylist in Fifth Ward. “Under the plan advocated by my opponent, I wouldn't have had a chance to become the man I am today.”

Michael began his crescendo, his voice ringing with sincerity. “I hope you don't think I'm being arrogant when I say,
I deserved
the chance to become the man I am—an honest, taxpaying, productive member of society!” His voice rose with emotion. “And
every
Texas child, irrespective of who they are, what they look like, what their parents do for a living,
deserves
that same opportunity!”

The audience forgot about the rules established at the beginning of the debate. David Capps was one of the first persons to stand on his feet. He clapped so hard his palms turned red. Erika Whittier was seated two rows behind David and she stood also, with a plastic grin spread across her face. She was furious over Michael's comments about gun control. Erika decided it wouldn't do to show her anger now. She'd deal with Raven later.

Raven, who had been seated in the first row, bounded onto the stage and gave her man a hug and a kiss. She was pleased with the audience's response, but when she'd scanned the auditorium just before the lights were turned down, her eyes had met Erika's. It had not been a heartwarming experience.

“This was it, baby,” Michael whispered in Raven's ear as they embraced. “This put me solidly on top.”

Raven leased the lobby of the Dallas Anatole Hotel, and threw a debate after-party for Michael. She went all out, spent STRAPPED money like it was free water. Caviar and smoked salmon for the upscalers, barbequed ribs and potato salad for the people keeping it real. Michael gave an emotional speech, then worked the room, accepting congratulatory hugs and kisses.

Later Michael and his inner circle; Raven, Christopher, and Dudley, retreated to the presidential suite, where they enjoyed a champagne toast.

Christopher took off his tie and laid it on the coffee table. “Dad, are you ready for feedback on your performance?”

Raven was standing at the bar next to Dudley. She nodded her head slightly so that only Dudley could see and thumbed toward the door.

Dudley took her cue and said, “It's late, Chris. We can put it off until tomorrow.”

“But by then we may have forgotten some of our immediate impressions,” Christopher said.

“I'd kind of like to hear what you have to say tonight,” Michael said. He hated being criticized and normally fought to delay his performance reviews for as long as possible. But Michael was riding the wave; he felt confident that the group was about to tell him lots of good things about himself. “You're the one who always insists on doing it right away,” Michael added to Dudley.

Raven yawned. “I'm so drained I can't think straight. Let's wait.”

Christopher grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. If Raven said wait, that was the end of it. “Breakfast, then? Eight o'clock?”

“Sure, son,” Michael said as he walked Christopher to the door. He embraced Christopher and the young man was surprised to find that his father, though shorter and lighter than him, was strong enough to rock him back and forth. “I appreciate everything you've done for me. I love you.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

Christopher got onto the elevator and looked at his reflection in its mirrored walls. He quickly sliced the air between the closing doors and headed back to the presidential suite.

Evidently Michael hadn't completely closed the door when he let Christopher out, so the young man simply walked in.

“You were pretty good with dividing your attention between the studio audience and the people watching TV, but for the next debate I think you—” Dudley was saying as Christopher walked into the room.

Michael, Raven, and Dudley were huddled in the suite's living room critiquing Michael's performance.

“Forgot my tie,” Christopher said curtly as he stepped around Dudley's chair to get it.

“Christopher, this isn't the formal debriefing,” Michael tried to explain. “Raven just mentioned—”

“A formal debriefing?” Christopher slung his tie around his neck. “There's no such thing. There's just us, getting together as a
team,
Dad.”

“Well, you're here now, pull up a chair,” Michael said in a pleading voice.

Christopher looked at Dudley and Raven, neither of whom had said a word since he walked in. Raven wore a slight smirk.

“No, thanks. You started without me, finish that way,” he said and stormed out of the room.

Raven picked up their conversation as though they hadn't been interrupted. “Although Sweeney hates guns as much as you do, probably more, considering what happened to his father, he's not able to tap into public emotion the way you do,” she said. “The woman sitting next to me crossed her arms when you first started talking about guns, but halfway through I could tell from the look on her face that she agreed with every word you said.”

Michael sat back with a satisfied grin on his face. He was the happiest he'd been in a long time, so he quickly forgot about Christopher's hurt feelings. Getting the best of Sweeney had been so easy. Of all the questions the panel had asked Michael, only one caught him off guard.

“How do you think I handled the question on the faith-based initiative? They came out of left field on that one. Did I do okay?”

Raven sat on the corner of Michael's chair and rubbed his back. “Sure, honey. What else can you do but divvy up the money between the major religions and denominations? If you give one group more than the other, you'll be accused of favoritism. You handled it flawlessly.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss that most women served up only in private.

Michael took the kiss as his cue. “Time for the next governor of Texas to turn in. He walked over to Dudley, who had moved to his usual spot—the bar—to do his usual thing—nurse a drink.

“Can't thank you enough, man.” Michael grabbed his chief of staff's hand and pumped it up and down. “We're on our way, Dudley, straight to the top.”

Michael turned to Raven, “Honey, you ready?” He looked at his wife and thought:
I hit the jackpot! After tonight, I'm destined to be governor of Texas. I'm married to a woman who's been through a hell of a day and still looks like she just stepped off the pages of
Essence.

“Not yet, Michael, I'm still amped. I'm going to sit here and talk to Dudley for a little longer. We won't be too long.”

After Michael left, Raven walked over to the bar and told Dudley, “Fix me whatever you're drinking.”

Dudley handed her the drink and then toasted her. “Congratulations. Michael's showing tonight coupled with those commercials and David's swing through the state put us over the top. All paid for by STRAPPED. Getting their money was smart. Very smart.”

Raven took a sip. She could see her reflection in the full-length window next to the bar and had roughly the same thought her husband did.
Twenty hours nonstop and look at me, I look perfect. I am perfect.

Raven tore herself from staring at her own image and focused on Dudley. “Let's set the record straight—if I hadn't gotten Jerry Minshew on our side, we could've run a million dollars' worth of commercials and still been the underdog. After the
Austin American-Statesman
gave Michael its endorsement, newspapers from all over the state tripped over themselves to support him. That's what pushed us out front: the newspaper coverage, not the TV ads. STRAPPED's money was nice to have, but in the end, it wasn't much of a factor.”

“Erika won't see it that way. She'll expect Michael to pay the piper, one way or another. I wouldn't disappoint her if I were you.”

Raven felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. All the attention she received at the party and the self-congratulatory atmosphere inside the suite had helped her to forget about Erika. She'd have to figure out a way to deal with Erika, but she wasn't about to let Dudley see her worry.

“Dudley, Dudley, Dudley.” Raven put down her glass and turned to her reflection in the window. She rubbed her hands across her cheeks, enjoying the feel and look of her own smooth skin. “Sometimes I think you know me so well, and then you say something stupid. Who gives a shit what Erika expects? Don't you realize she's no match for me?” She gave Dudley an indulgent smile. “Can you think of anyone who is?”

 

 

After Christopher got his tie, he headed not to his own room, but to Genie's.

“Hey, hey, hey, slow down,” Genie mumbled to Christopher as he barreled past her after she'd stumbled to the door in response to his loud banging. She sleepwalked, her arms groping for him. Genie put her arms around Christopher and laid her head on his chest. “I fell asleep waiting for you.” She squinted at the clock, then burrowed closer to him. “Still, it's not that late. The feedback session didn't take as long as I thought it would.”

Christopher disentangled himself from Genie, “The session's still going on, but I wasn't invited.” He walked over to the bed and fell back.

Genie crawled onto the bed beside him. She stroked his head and asked, “Why not? Your dad values your input.”

Christopher flopped over onto his stomach, and as he did so, moved away from Genie's caress.

“It wasn't him who excluded me. It was her,” he said. “You know he goes along with whatever she says.”

Genie straddled Christopher's back and began massaging his shoulders. “Why would Raven do that?”

“Who knows why the bitch does half the stuff she does? Probably because she hates the idea of anyone being close to my father except for her.”

Genie was quiet for a minute, then she asked, “How did it happen? Did Raven come straight out and tell you that she didn't want you doing the debriefing?”

“No, she and Dudley acted like they were too tired to talk to Dad while I was with them, but that was a lie. As soon as I left they started the meeting. I found out when I went back to get my tie.”

“Dudley was there? Well heck, Chris, Raven wasn't trying to keep the senator to herself. If she were, Dudley would have had to leave too.” Genie laid flat on top of Christopher. She was tired of talking about the campaign. “Sounds to me like you're being paranoid,” she said as she reached underneath Christopher to untuck his shirt.

Christopher, who had relaxed to give Genie better access to his shirt and zipper, stiffened and grabbed both her hands. “I'm not paranoid, Genie. You think you know my dad's wife, but you don't. She'll push other people aside in a heartbeat to get what she wants. You should have seen the way she walked all over my mom to get to my dad.”

Genie wrenched out of Christopher's grasp. “You can't put all the blame on Raven. If your parents' relationship had been strong, no woman would have been able to come between them.”

Christopher bolted up, causing Genie to move before she got thrown off. “Genie Dupree, the know-it-all. You got some nerve trying to speak on my parents' marriage,” Christopher said as he grabbed his jacket and tie. He looked Genie up and down. Her robe had fallen open and she didn't have on anything beneath it. Christopher reached over and yanked the lapels of Genie's robe together and pulled the belt tight. “Since you know so much, figure out how you're going to get what you want from me tonight once I walk out that door.” He opened the door and turned to her. “Oh, I forgot. You're a superwoman, just like Raven. I'm sure you can get the job done without my help.”