DC Affairs (2 page)

As she took her seat, I noticed her glance at her laptop screen before she slammed it shut and faced me again with cold green eyes.

I cleared my throat though my gaze never wavered from hers and she looked away first. “I’ve seen your résumé and know the basics about you. You’re impressive: you graduated from Harvard with a Political Science degree, Magna Cum Laude, and you recently graduated from law school at Georgetown, Summa Cum Laude. Tell me, do you plan to take the bar exam this summer?”

“Only if I don’t get this job. There is a good chance I can be hired in my field if this doesn’t work out.”

Kylie raised a perfectly manicured brow in my direction though she said nothing.

“I mean, if there aren’t any jobs here in the political arena then I might as well continue with my backup plan of corporate law.”

“Oh? Corporate law? It doesn’t seem very civic duty to me, Ms. Stewart.”

“Well, actually it is. Most of the lobbyists have some form of higher education and personally, I would like to work for one of the pharmaceutical companies.”

I cursed myself inwardly.
What a stupid fucking answer!

“A
pharmaceutical
company?” Kylie bit out. “Tell me, how does that help the average American? They hire you at a starting salary of say, one hundred thousand dollars per year, do you think Joe and Jane America are truly going to benefit under Nyongo-Rice Health Insurance? No, they aren’t because they’re going to raise the price of their already outlandish drugs to help pay for your salary,
Miss
Stewart.”

I took a deep breath before I continued. I knew it no longer mattered what I said because this shark was going to jump on everything and make me out to be some money hungry extremist.

“Actually, my father is a doctor at Johns Hopkins and he thinks they need more people like me in corporate law. He’s always been very supportive of my efforts. You should know my wish to work at a pharmaceutical company has nothing to do with money and everything to do with helping the average American who is paying through the nose for prescription coverage and out of pocket costs.”

A total bullshit answer to this bitch before me but what was I supposed to say? I was part of the iPod Generation and damn right I wanted to make money, if only to pay back a year’s worth of school loans my excellent grades and scholarships didn’t cover entirely. Did this cunt think they would disappear by osmosis?

Kylie smiled again. “Interesting. However, we aren’t here to talk about your backup plan, we’re here to speak about your wish to work for the Coburn Campaign. So, I have to ask you a question you might be strongly opinionated or ambivalent about. Why Peter Coburn? Why not Elaine Riley? She is a woman after all.”

What kind of answer did she want to hear?

I didn’t know exactly, and I was tired of guessing therefore I decided to tell her exactly how I felt.

“To be honest, I wasn’t crazy about her husband, President George Riley. He was an egotistical megalomaniac who seemed to only care about keeping this country out of wars and playing under women’s skirts. That is not an admirable trait in any president—Democrat or Republican. I care even less for his politically ambitious wife or their stuck-up socialite daughter.”

She smiled rather slowly while nodding her head. “My sentiments exactly. We already had eight years of the Riley fiasco, why would we want another eight again? I’m glad you feel open and honest enough to discuss this with me, Ms. Stewart. At least I know you’re trustworthy and forthright with your opinions. This campaign could use more people like you who aren’t afraid to speak their mind.”

I smiled brightly and with genuine warmth for the first time since the interview began. “Thank you, Ms. Miller.”

“Well, now that we have gotten that out of the way, do you have any questions for me about the Coburn Campaign?”

“What exactly does my job consist of?” I felt stupid but campaigns were like politicians, purposefully complicated and obtuse. One was never told their responsibilities until you were thrown into the deep end.

The scowl returned to Kylie’s face as she pursed her lips. “We’ll get to that
if
you get the job. Please sign this NDS and you can be on your way. Expect a call within the next few days whether you get the job or not.”

Typical! An interview required a Non-Disclosure Agreement? Paranoid much?

“Is this just to make sure I don’t spill any secrets?” I questioned sarcastically before I scribbled my signature.

“Actually it protects both you and us. If you
do
decide to work for the Riley Presidential campaign, we will not leak this interview to her people. We record everything so we’re kind of like the National Security Agency.” Kylie stood after she snatched my NDA and filed it in a security-encoded file cabinet.

I stood up and smoothed my dress down. “It was nice to meet you, Ms. Miller.”

“And you as well, Ms. Stewart.” She held out her hand and I shook it ever so briefly again before I turned and left her office in record timing.

My right shoulder felt heavy with the weight of my designer hobo bag while all I could think about was how I’d fucked up the interview. I would now have to make an appointment to meet with the Riley people as well and to be honest, although my father’s connections would get me an interview, it might turn out similar to this one.

I still didn’t have a low-paid campaign job and no experience in real world politics. It looked like I’d be taking the bar examination this summer after all.

A man grabbed my arm and rustled me out of the way in time for me to look up and realize
the
Peter Coburn stood mere feet from me.

“Ease up, Eric. That’s not necessary.”

The hypnotic timber of a sensual male voice with a deep east coast accent—cultured of course—tickled my ears. My face burned crimson with embarrassment as I met the eyes of the governor. His eyes were gorgeous and unusual, steel-gray, which easily expressed kindness, empathy and sexual attitude.

Eric let go of my arm abruptly yet I still felt breathless as my heart thundered from excitement in my chest. “Thank you, Governor Coburn.”

He looked me up and down though I couldn’t say I minded. I checked him out as well—how could I not? He was tall, an inch or so over six feet, and well built, good looking with chiseled features and not one bit smarmy. I’d met way too many politicians in my lifetime and the ones who weren’t unattractive man-whores were either alcoholics or the holy-roller types. Washington, D.C. had always been the Hollywood for the pseudo-intellectual, not-quite-intelligent and not-so-attractive but over the years, politicians had become younger, distinguished and sexier. Peter Coburn definitely fit this category with ease and expertise.

“Sigourney Stewart I presume?” Governor Coburn questioned softly.

“H-how do you know my name?”

“I read your résumé and you’re extremely intelligent, having graduated from Georgetown and Harvard. That is quite the accomplishment if I may say so myself. How could I
not
know about you? I wanted Kylie to interview you personally.”

Oh. My. God. The man was hot and although he had to be over thirty-five, he wasn’t talking down to me. Yeah, I had youth for and against me in this case. Not even Generation X thought much of us—mostly because they were usually our parents or could have been. I had to be honest, we were part of the “No Child Left Behind” culture, which produced more dim bulbs than future Einsteins or Eisenhowers. Oh, well, it’s the way of the world I guess.

“Really?” I smiled again. “Well, I hope Ms. Miller was impressed. I would love to be on your election campaign. I really do believe in you and I haven’t felt this strongly about a candidate since President Nyongo-Rice.”

“Yes, two thousand eight was indeed a…miracle year. Our first woman President who happened to be black—”

“Actually the President’s ethnically mixed,” I interrupted. “It’s important to me because my dad’s half white, a quarter Japanese and a quarter black…”

Wait?
Why was I telling a complete stranger my whole freakin’ biography?

“Yes, you’re correct, actually.”

I smiled back but I didn’t feel any better for correcting the Governor. For God’s sake, he held a position only fifty people in the country had at any given time, and now he was going for the position only forty-three men and one woman had ever held. The big picture put everything into perspective and I shouldn’t have said anything. I could be so stupid sometimes.

“Listen, it wasn’t my place to interrupt you or…correct you. I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Governor Coburn’s smile grew again. “You didn’t do anything wrong. And your response is the kind of opinion we need. You’re bright, have a good head on your shoulders, and most importantly, you represent the growing demographic changes in this country. We need
more
people like you.”

“Thank you. Well, it was very nice meeting you, Governor Coburn.”

I began to walk around him and out of the campaign office.

“Expect a call back tomorrow.”

I turned back to the governor and grinned. “I look forward to it.”

My day definitely looked brighter than it did when I’d woken up this morning.

Chapter Two

Peter

P
eter waited until Sigourney left before he turned toward Eric. “You ever manhandle a woman like that again and I will fire you myself.”

“Governor, I thought she was a groupie approaching you for your autograph and a chance to shove her phone number in your pocket—”

“In my campaign office?” he cut off his lead bodyguard. “How would she have gotten past Kylie? For fuck’s sake, think!”

“What’s with all the melodrama?” Kylie slunk out of her office and faced him with a casual smile plastered on her face.

Despite being such a mega-bitch, no one could deny her beauty. She truly was gorgeous with her natural auburn hair, pale freckled skin and green eyes that could darken as quickly as they could be filled with light and merriment. Kylie was also a dangerous creature, a political aficionado and the real meaning of a human shark. There was a reason why she was his campaign manager. She had the ability to smell blood in the water and beat a dead horse until it was beyond expiration.

The woman didn’t have a kind bone in her body and everything—from the way she conducted herself during sex to her career, itself—was done with precision, aforethought and a vast bank of knowledge.

“Nothing,” Peter replied before he smiled at her. “I’m really going to like the new campaign aide. She’s intelligent, witty and not afraid of expressing herself.”

Kylie rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, Peter. Don’t you want me to interview some more people? I rather liked that Carl fellow. He was intelligent, witty and not afraid of expressing himself either. Not to mention he was a bit brighter than the dim bulb you’re placing all your hopes in. She’s not right for this campaign.”

He strode over to his campaign manager and slid an arm around her waist. “I think you’re being too hard on the young lady. Besides, she’s not that dim, she corrected me for calling Nyongo-Rice a black woman.”

“Big deal. The world sees her as a black woman, despite her white father, and the only reason why someone like Stewart would correct you is because she is a
white
version of ‘post-race America.’ I know where you’re going with this, and I must ask, is this your twenty-first century version of affirmative action? She has the right credentials because her mother is a Norwegian immigrant and her father is one of the best neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins? If it is, you’re not being very funny,” Kylie explained in a sarcasm-laden voice.

“No, she isn’t because I try not to reduce people down to mere government boxes and statistics. I would like to think I am the best presidential candidate for the job, not because I’m a white male, but because I understand this country’s issues and I govern a state that has already seen what twenty-first century America will look like. I was also mayor of Baltimore, a minority-majority city. I know better than most governors what America will look like and I have the vision to make us still shine as bright as we do now—”

“Argh! Saved the canned speeches for the talk shows on MSNBC and CNN, will you? Or better yet, write them down and use them on the campaign trail. I’ve got no time for your great ‘love’ for this country, or any other patriotic bullshit you want to spout, all right?”

Peter sat down and glared at Kylie with bemusement. “I’m rather interested in why you don’t think she’s good enough for the job? If you say anything what so ever about her intelligence then I’ll be very disappointed in you.”

“I never said she wasn’t good enough for the job—I said she wasn’t the right person and there is a
big
difference.”

“Fine. Why isn’t she the right person?”

“You’re attracted to her, Peter. You’re married
and
you’re running for President. Do you really want a repeat of George Riley’s antics and another ‘Ovalgate’ situation?” Kylie sat next to him. “What happened between Riley and Sarah Brinkman cost the man
two
years to legislate. He became a lame duck President for Christ’s sake. Do you really want the same thing to happen to you?”