Conservative Affairs (7 page)

She set the drink on her coffee table and found a quilt in her coat closet. Covering Madeline with it, she brushed the hair out of her face. Earlier in the evening, Jo had intended to take Madeline home or to a hotel when she was ready. Now, it just felt right for her to stay here.

“Sweet dreams,” she whispered, hoping that Madeline’s dreams would, indeed, be good ones and that she might have a few hours of peace before hell broke loose. She turned out the light, promising herself as she made her way to her bed that no matter what Madeline needed, she would be by her side.

Chapter Seven

Jo left a note on the end table by the couch and snuck out of the apartment the next morning, leaving Madeline peacefully sleeping.

“Help yourself to anything in the fridge or cabinets. I canceled your appointments today. Call if you need ANYTHING,” she had written, hoping that Madeline would phone if she wanted something from the store, a ride somewhere or someone to talk to.

Now that she was at the office she questioned her decision to come in. What if Madeline woke up and wanted to go somewhere? She didn’t have a car at the house, and she probably wouldn’t want to take a taxi when all eyes in the city would be on her today.

She would go home for lunch, Jo decided. There were a few things on her desk she should care of, but as soon as she got the chance, she would go back home and check on Madeline.

She braced herself before she opened the office door, taking a deep breath. She had no doubt that she’d be hit with a million questions. No one had seen or heard from Madeline since yesterday afternoon—no one but her. And even though she was early to the office as usual, the parking lot had been full already.

She had received text messages and emails from almost everyone on the staff asking about Madeline, but she had not answered unless they had come from people who seemed to genuinely care about the mayor. And Ian, of course, who had said he wanted to see her first thing in the morning. Everyone was trying to be helpful, Jo knew, but much of their interest had seemed superficial and gossipy. Even here at the office, where the atmosphere should have been that of a family, there were those who seemed only to care about the latest rumors and whether or not Madeline would be publicly harmed by the incident.

Jo swung open the office door and walked to her cubicle to put down her things. In less than twenty seconds, the entire staff was standing around her desk, hovering like news reporters. She felt much as she had as a child, surrounded by church pews full of thousands whose judging eyes made it clear they were eager to bite into a juicy morsel of gossip about the pastor’s picture-perfect family. She once again understood what celebrities felt like when they wanted to go buy a carton of milk or walk through the park with their kids but were instead swarmed by people hoping to catch the latest scoop.

“How is she?”

“Is she coming into work today?”

“How’d she take the news?”

“Did she watch the television reports?”

“Are they going to get a divorce?”

Jo stared blankly ahead, allowing the questions to swirl around her for a moment. Finally, she raised her hands.

“Stop, please, and let me speak.” The command was stern, but Jo hoped it was not severe. Miraculously, the chatter stilled. She took a deep breath.

“Some of the things that are happening are Mayor Stratton’s personal business—like whether or not they’ll divorce. I understand that we all share the same concerns about her, but we’ve got to give her some space right now. I was with her yesterday, and she is doing fine. It’s a rough situation, though, and it’s likely to get worse before it gets better. I’m sure she’d appreciate us being respectful of her privacy.”

What about me?
Jo wondered.
Should I be being more respectful of her privacy? No, she asked me for help. She fell asleep last night and stayed at my apartment.

She steadied her nerves and gripped the edge of her desk. “She won’t be coming in today,” Jo continued. “She needs some time to sort things out.”

Jo surveyed the crowd in front of her desk. No one had moved. “That’s all,” she said, frustration rising in her tone. Like bewildered puppies, they turned and tried to find their ways back to their respective desks. Clearly, this situation had shaken the entire office.

Finally Gabe was the only one remaining. “Meet me in Ian’s office in two minutes,” she whispered before he could speak. “And bring Jacquelyn.” He nodded and left to find the communications director.

Jo was unsure of what she was doing or how she had gotten involved in this whole mess in the first place. She was not a senior staffer, not by any means at the top of the pecking order, but somehow she was in this up to her neck and she knew she needed to confer with the top staffers. Standing, she walked past Madeline’s office to the office where Ian Thompson, the mayor’s chief of staff, who had flown back into town late last night, was waiting, along with Gabe and Jacquelyn.

She entered and closed the door. Normally, she’d wait to be greeted and exchange pleasantries, but there was really no point in doing that this morning. They needed to know what was happening. As soon as she saw Ian nod, then, she started filling him in.

“I don’t know if I overstepped yesterday,” Jo began. “If so, I apologize. I just knew that Mayor Stratton needed someone to make sure that she was okay.”

“No need, Jo, none at all. I actually wanted to thank you for what you did.” Ian waved his hand, dismissing her concern. “A lot has happened while I’ve been gone, and I appreciate all three of you taking the initiative. Under any other circumstances, I would have been here running this show so you didn’t have to pick up the slack.”

The three of them stood silent, unsure how to respond since the death of one of Ian’s family members was involved.

Without waiting for a reply, he took a seat and continued. “The fact of the matter is that I’m here now, and I think that we can proceed without too much of a media circus. How is she doing now?”

“Well, she’s not coming in today. I had Gabe cancel her meetings, because she looked like she needed some rest.”

“That’s probably best. Good call, Jo. Where is she? Did you take her home last night or to a hotel? Does she need a car to go pick her up?”

Jo had hoped not to get into this. “Actually, she’s at my place. She didn’t want to go home last night, and she fell asleep before I could take her to a hotel.”

If Ian felt awkward about the situation, he didn’t let on at all. “Well, I guess that works,” he said. “But what’s her long-term plan? She’ll have to face it all eventually. I’ll cover things on the political front, but she’ll need to figure out what she’s comfortable with as far as a long-term solution for her living situation.”

“Yes, I know, but I think we should give her some time. She can crash with me for a couple more nights if it helps her keep things together right now.”

“What the hell? Are you two roommates now or something?” Jacquelyn’s voice was just short of a shriek.

“No,” Jo tried to explain calmly. “She simply didn’t want to go home.”

“I just think it’s weird, that’s all. You know, the new girl sweeps in and decides to play superhero, leaving the rest of us out of the loop. Don’t you think, Ian?”

Jealousy was written all over Jacquelyn’s face.

“It’s not weird, Jacquelyn,” Ian said. “It’s nice and actually strategic. Jo’s stepping up to the plate and taking care of the boss, all the while keeping the mayor out of the public eye. I think it’s a good solution for the time being.”

“Me too,” Gabe offered.

“Well, I think it’s odd,” Jacquelyn scoffed. “You know, some of us have been with her for years.” She turned and looked pointedly at Jo. “
Years
, Jo. You don’t just get to come in, save the day and keep her from the rest of us.” With that, she stormed out of the office, leaving Jo speechless and the men confused.

* * *

Jacquelyn was sure of one thing—Jo wouldn’t last much longer around here. She’d make certain of that. Before yesterday, Jacquelyn had been the one Madeline turned to if she needed anything. From wardrobe malfunctions —“I left my suit jacket at home, Jacquelyn. Will you run over there and grab it?”—to developing complex strategic grassroots operations for her initiatives, she had depended on Jacquelyn. Other than Ian, she had been on staff the longest, even through the campaign. And now, in the course of one day—one unfortunate turn of events—she seemed to have lost her seniority. She couldn’t put her finger on why it bothered her so much, but she hated being out of the loop, in the dark.

Who was this Jo Carson anyway? She hadn’t even been here a full year, and other than the few times she had gone out for drinks with the rest of the office, no one seemed to know much about her. That didn’t seem to stop them from falling all over themselves any time she entered a room, though. Everywhere she went men’s eyes seemed to follow. Hell, even some of the women stared. They were jealous, no doubt, wishing they looked that much like a supermodel. Jacquelyn sighed, looking down at the extra pounds her midsection was carrying. As for the men, it wasn’t hard to guess what they were wishing.

Jo’s charms, it seemed, had worked even on the toughest of them in the office—Madeline. Jacquelyn was not about to stand idly by, however, and watch the hard work of the last few years go down the drain. Madeline was her ticket to the political career she wanted. As Madeline’s right-hand man, so to speak, Jacquelyn was positioned to move up the political ladder. Soon she’d be able to run for office on her own.

Unless Jo got in the way, of course. To prevent that, Jacquelyn was going to find out whatever she could about her and make sure that she didn’t disrupt the natural flow of the office—or of Jacquelyn’s career.

* * *

The place smelled like a frat house. That was Madeline’s first waking thought.

“Where the hell am I?” she whimpered, praying there would be no reply. Cautiously she opened her eyes—slamming them shut immediately afterward when she felt the pounding in her head increase.

Something licked her in the face. She jumped, knocking a dog onto the floor. It took a moment before she recognized him.

“Oh, sorry, Jaws,” she said, rubbing her eyes. It was all coming back to her now.

Shame swept over her as she remembered how much she had drunk last night in front of Jo. And, even worse, why she was here.

John had cheated. As if hearing it for the first time, she let the news wash over her again, staining her body and her mind. She let herself sink into the feelings of failure and betrayal it generated.

Tears fell from her eyes, and Jaws climbed back into her lap.

“Thank you, little one,” she said, ruffling the hair on his head. She took a deep breath, steadying her emotions. Looking around, she wondered again what she was doing here. Refusing to go home—that had been the correct decision. But she should have asked Jo to take her to a hotel instead of barging into her apartment and crashing on her couch.

Jo
had
invited her, though. Madeline remembered the compassion in Jo’s eyes, the way she listened intently and saw to it that she had everything she needed last night. The tender way she had wiped away her tears and held her close when she broke into tears in her office.

Taking her time, she assessed the situation. There was no need to feel ashamed for staying here last night. She had been drunk, and Jo had offered her friendship. Although she normally wouldn’t have liked to have been such a mess in front of a staff member, under the circumstances it was understandable.

Tonight she would stay in a hotel and regroup. Right now, though, she was stuck. Her car was at the office. As was Jo’s probably. She had no way of going anywhere.

Dizzily, she stood and saw the note Jo had left her. Her meetings had been canceled for the day, and she could take some time to delve into her feelings and consider how to move forward. Jo’s kindness made her smile.

Madeline made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water. Perhaps she would watch some television or read a book. She never took the time for those kinds of leisure activities anymore, and she needed something to occupy her mind. She perused Jo’s shelves of DVDs, spotting the case for
The L Word
, Season One, again, complete with its provocative cover.

She laughed. That brought back a few memories. “Why not? Right, Jaws?” she asked and then laughed again. She was losing her mind, talking to a dog and getting ready to watch a show about out and proud lesbians.

* * *

Jo had had every intention of sitting down to plan Madeline’s week with Ian, Gabe and Jacquelyn, but after Jacquelyn stormed out of the office, everything had seemed off-kilter somehow. She knew it shouldn’t bother her, but the way Jacquelyn had stared at her when she left had unnerved her. “You’ll be sorry,” Jacquelyn’s icy glare had seemed to say.

Once she was gone, though, they managed to sort things out for the most part. Ian, in his usual brilliant way, had developed an all-encompassing plan for differing scenarios. Informed by as much information as he could grab from quiet sources—and without causing a bigger flurry in the media—he had covered almost every possible angle. Per Ian’s instruction, unless Madeline specifically wanted to keep any of her previously scheduled appointments, they were canceling the rest of the week. Gabe and Jacquelyn would attend events in her place and read a letter from the mayor.

Media calls would be handled as always, except those related to John’s infidelity. To those calls, the answer was still “no comment.” If the media sharks persisted—as they had been doing relentlessly—calls would be directed straight to Ian.

Their strategy was to move ahead full force, just without the boss. Since Ian also served as her campaign manager in his “off” hours, he would handle all campaign communications—should any arise. Anything that needed her signature would simply have to wait until next week. Everything else they would tackle as a team, taking one day at a time. Ian would handle everything the mayor usually called the shots on, and Jo would draft the letters or statements that needed to be sent out. In addition to appearing in the mayor’s stead, Jacquelyn would handle all media queries and Gabe would figure out how to deal with important meetings that needed to be rescheduled in the midst of Madeline’s personal tragedy.