More Than Rivals (11 page)

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “If you were this successful and an asshole, it would be a different story.”

“Good to know I’m not an ass.” He chuckled and clasped his hands together, as his voice became more serious. “When Jenkins announced he was retiring, I decided I had to throw my hat in the ring even if Kingsley was in the race. Congressional seats don’t open up in California very often. I had to try, and it at least gets my name out there.”

“Me too, for the exact same reason. This could be the only opportunity I ever have to run for Congress.”

“What about you? Has it been your lifelong dream to be in Congress?”

“Lifelong? I can’t say that. I just started thinking about it when Jenkins retired.” She was sheepish. “I thought I might do well.”

“I think you’re right.” He nodded with his eyes set on her in such a way she knew he was sincere.
 

“Thanks.” The moment felt so genuine she grinned and decided to reveal a little more about herself. “I’d like to be in Congress, but I wouldn’t be like Jenkins. I don’t want to spend thirty years there.”

“Because of your son?”

“Yes and no. Luke was really supportive of me running, and I’m lucky to have my parents to help with him when I’d be in D.C., but I don’t want to lead a bi-coastal family life forever. And I also want to do other things.”
 

“What else would you want to do?”

“Professionally? Lots of things. Run for higher office. Lead a federal agency. Maybe work in academia.” She shrugged. “More importantly, I want a personal life. I’ve seen a lot of people on their death beds. Not a single person has ever said to me, ‘You know, I wish I’d spent more time at the office.’ I’ve taken that to heart.”
 

“What kind of personal life?” he asked in a careful tone as if she might decline to answer.

“Well, eventually, I’d like to get married again and have more kids, but that’s not happening anytime soon.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just not.” She chuckled. “And even if I was with someone, I’d wait a few years before having children. I don’t want Luke feeling like he’s being replaced.”
 

“That’s understandable.” Jack was silent for a moment before he sighed. “It’s kind of depressing that it could be my one shot at Congress.”

She stared at his stoic face, which revealed something she knew in her heart—he wanted to win more than she did. She had a full life. Yes, she wanted to be in Congress. She thought she would do well there and could do some good, but she was happy with her current jobs, including being a mom. Jack had the look of someone who wanted to win because it would fulfill a dream.
 

As she was quiet, he winced. “And unfortunately, neither of us will win.”

“But there are other offices … other opportunities, and losing an election isn’t the end of the world. It can lead to better things.”

“I know, I know, and I try to remember it.”

“But it’s true. Good politicians have nine lives, and Congress isn’t necessarily the best place to start.”

“My dad believes that.”

“You could be mayor of San Francisco and run for governor or even the U.S. Senate. And if you ever wanted to run for president it would better having been a governor than being in Congress.”

“You’re right. There are other options,” he said with a smile, though his voice seemed reluctant to agree.
 

The following afternoon in an empty dive bar, Jack took a sip of beer as he waited for his latest fundraising numbers.
 

Bill pulled the important papers out of his bag and placed them on table. “Here you go. It’s all good.”

“Let’s see,” Jack murmured, holding the sheets up to the light. The lighting in the bar was bad, but it was still their favorite place to do business.

“Just look at the bottom row,” said Bill, pointing to the last line.

The large numbers jumped out at once, causing Jack to take a deep breath. “Damn. This has been a great few weeks.”

“We’ve done really, really well.” Bill nodded with pride. “Good work.”

“It’s your work. I just close the deal.” Jack raised his bottle to his best friend. “I couldn’t do this without you.”

“Yeah…” Bill laughed and was cocky. “I know.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.” Jack smiled. “This is going to be a long haul.”

“Indeed. So tell me, how are things going? How was the trip to Mendocino?”

“Good. Good. I … uh … I” Jack hesitated, though he knew this was the perfect opportunity to let Bill know about Lily. The first time he went on a run with Lily he didn’t tell Bill about it because he thought it might end there. The second time he saw her, Jack kept quiet about it because he thought he might not see her again. But since their run yesterday, he knew he had to let Bill in on what he was doing.

“Jack…,” Bill said warily. “What’s going on?”

“I went for a run with Lily,” Jack blurted out.

“Lily? You mean Ursula Robles?”

“Yes, Lily. I mean Ursula.” He waved his hand in frustration. “Whatever you want to call her.”

“Why?” Bill asked, dumbfounded.

“Because I like her. We’ve gotten to be friends.”

“When?”

“Over the last few weeks.”

“Whoa.” Bill took a drink and looked around the empty bar. It was a dive in the Inner Sunset with only a few old Chinese gentlemen engrossed in a game of pai gow poker. Despite the apolitical company, Bill lowered his voice and leaned forward. “I thought you told me she turned out to be a bitch.”

“She was … a real bitch … but then we started talking again.” Jack shrugged. “We’ve just gone on a couple of runs.”

“Who asked who to go on a run?”

“I asked her.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to get to know her better.”

Bill’s eyes widened. “You want to sleep with her?”

“No,” Jack said emphatically, but only seconds passed before he admitted the truth. “Well … actually yes, but you know … that’s not going to happen right now.”

“And it better not.” Bill picked up the papers and waved them in front of Jack’s face. “You’ve got a lot of people counting on you. You see these names? These are names of people who have donated money to your congressional campaign because they believe in you. You can’t let them down just because you’ve got the hots for another candidate.”

Jack held up his hands to calm Bill down. “I know. I promise I know. I’m not going to fuck anything up.”

“So tell me about Lily. Is she into you? What’s the vibe?”

“I don’t know. She’s complicated. She’s not like any other woman I’ve ever been with.”

“How so?”

“She’s this savvy politician and a widow and a single mother. She seems a little skeptical of me.”

“Smart woman.”

“But there are other times when she flirts with me. There’s this side to her when she’s just a cute girl who’s really funny.” Jack raised his eyebrows. “With a nice ass.”

“I bet with all that running.” Bill laughed. His smile remained as he began peeling the label off his bottle. “So she’s ‘different,’ is she?”

“Exactly.”

“I gotta say. Different is dangerous.”

Jack was defensive. “She’s not a bad person if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“No, I don’t think that at all. She sounds great. I mean she’s different in a good way.”

“She is.” Jack smiled.

“But Jack, she’s still your opponent.” Bill’s expression issued a warning.

“She is,” Jack said again, though this time his smile faded.

“What happens if you need to go negative on her in the campaign?”

“I really don’t think that’s going to be a problem, given Kingsley’s lead in the polls.” Jack sniggered. “Besides. I said I was going to run a positive campaign.”

“And does she say the same thing?”
 

“We haven’t really talked about it.”

Bill rolled his eyes. “Why do I want to bang my head against a wall?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“Oh, I know!” Bill said as he pretended to hit his forehead in realization. “Because my candidate has gone loco on me.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m crazy simply because I’ve become friendly with another candidate.”

“Friendly ….” Bill muttered.

“Come on. Nothing is going to happen.”

Bill wagged his finger. “If nothing happens, it will be because of her—not you. That’s the only reason why I’ll let you continue on these little outings of yours.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she seems smart and knows what she has to lose. She’s not going to get involved with you. Guys like you are the ones who get in trouble.”

“Are you saying I’m stupid?”

“No. I’m saying you’re a typical guy who has it all and can have even more and so he has enough hubris to fuck everything up for himself.”

“That’s harsh.” Jack scowled.

“Sorry. I just wanted to get it out there.”

“Okay. I’ve heard it, and I told you I’m not going to fuck this up.”

“Good because …” Bill shook his head in thought and began to chuckle. “Because it would really suck. You’re my best friend. I’ll stand by you, man, whatever you do, but damn … that would be a mess.”

“I swear. Lily and I are just friends.”

“Friends?” Bill snorted. “Does Bev know?”

“What does Bev need to know?”

“Well, you just answered my two questions with your one question.”

“What do you mean?”

“If Bev doesn’t know, that means that in some way you already consider yourself more than friends with Lily.”

“Why do you say that?” As the words came out of his mouth, Jack heard their stupidity, and Bill was quick to point it out.
 

“Huh?” Bill said like he misunderstood. “Aren’t you the one who prides himself on telling Bev about every other woman you date? You always say that’s what has kept things going between you two even if you’re dating other people. And here you haven’t even told Bev anything about your little runs with Lily.”

“That’s right,” Jack said sheepishly. “I suppose I should say something to Bev.”

Bill’s brow furrowed, and he shook his head furiously. “No fucking way.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ve always been able to tell Bev about other women only because you weren’t that into them.”

“And?”

“I can tell you’re really into Lily. You say she’s ‘different.’ Bev will figure that out. If she gets pissed, I don’t want her screwing the campaign. She knows enough people she could do that with just a little gossip.”

Jack was quiet until a small smile appeared on his face. “You know Bev well, and you know me even better.”

“That’s why you pay me the big bucks.” Bill laughed.

“I don’t pay you a dime.”

“That’s right!” Bill pointed a finger at him. “I deserve a raise.”

“You do.”

“Now, I can’t wait to meet Lily. I guess I’ll get to meet her at the state convention.” Bill’s eyes widened. “Uh oh. You’re taking Bev to that. What are you going to do when these two meet? It’s bound to happen.”

“Luckily, Lily isn’t going.”

“Why not? She needs to be there.”

“She’s got to work at the hospital that night and can’t get out of it.”

“You dodged a bullet.”

“I have.” He looked down at his fundraising numbers again and tried to reassure himself. “But maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal. Actually, I bet it would be fine. Lily knows I’m dating Bev, and she’s too smart a politician to tell Bev we’ve been out.”

***

A week later, Lily peered out the window of the Eureka community center. It had been a long day of campaign events, only to end in a November pelting rain. Jordan had already left with a friend, and her hand immediately moved to her bag in desperate hope she remembered an umbrella. She didn’t have a long walk to her hotel, but the intense storm would drench her in a matter of seconds.
 
When she came up short, she looked again at the sheets of rain and decided even an umbrella would’ve only helped so much.

“Charles and I have umbrellas.”
 

She recognized Jack’s voice at once and turned to see him standing with Charles Kingsley. They both held large golf umbrellas, offering at least some protection from the rain. She smiled. “Are we going to the same place?”

“We’re at the Doubletree. Everyone else seems to be at the Holiday Inn. What about you?” said Charles returning the smile.

“I’m also at the Doubletree, and I’d love an umbrella.”

Jack nodded toward the door. “Walk between us, and we’ll see if we can keep you dry.”

“What gentlemen.” She laughed.

“It’s the least I can do for my favorite opponent,” said Charles. He turned to Jack. “No offense, of course. Lily’s just nicer to look at during all these boring panels.”

“No offense taken.” Jack chuckled. “I’d have to agree.”

Lily took both compliments in, but Jack’s was the one which had the effect on her. She caught his eye which seemed to twinkle, and she quickly looked away. “Aw, thanks, guys.”

The three battled the downpour as they walked the few blocks to their hotel. In true, North Coast weather, the rain came at an angle that made the umbrellas obsolete. By the time they entered the hotel, they were all soaked.
 

“There’s no way I’m going back out in that,” said Lily as she felt a chill to her core.

“Me either,” said Jack. “I’m ordering room service.”

“Unfortunately, I have to,” said Charles, swatting the water on his pants.

“Do you have an event?” asked Lily.

“Yes, a little donor reception.”

Lily looked at Jack, and it was obvious they shared the same thought. Unlike them, Charles had support up and down the coast.
 

Jack patted Charles on the back. “Good for you. Let’s go get dry.”

Later that night, Lily sat in bed flipping channels on the television. She tried to ignore the numb feeling in her feet. Despite covering herself in every blanket in the room, she’d never warmed up from the drenching. She frowned when a commercial came on for a Hawaii vacation. Everyone looked warm and happy at the beach.

Her eyes brightened when she got an idea. Moving aside the plate of room service leftovers, she found the hotel directory. She flipped to the fitness section and smiled when she saw the hotel had exactly what she was looking for—a hot tub. The directory said it was only open until ten o’clock. She checked the time, and with less than half an hour to enjoy the hot tub, she scrambled to her suitcase.