“But you will find yourself with a new family. Brothers and sisters who will have your back no matter what. You will battle together, you will live together, and put your life on the line in the name of America. We all decided to join the armed forces for many reasons. For me, I wanted to go to college and I knew my parents couldn’t afford to send me.” Jackson hopped off the stage and stood in the midst of the kids. “I got my degree. I went to war. Some people say I’m a hero because I spotted a roadside bomb and saved my platoon. But if you saw your family was in danger, wouldn’t you jump into action?”
Two hours later, Jackson was shaking hands and hugging recruits and parents. Everyone he talked to said they’d be happy to support him at the polls. Jackson couldn’t have been happier. People met the real him and they liked what they saw.
Meanwhile, across town, Liza was huddled with Nic and Robert going over the latest poll numbers. He had a slight lead over Jackson and a commanding one over Mavis.
“Mavis is going to drop out,” Nic said. “She’s broke and I hear that she’s going through a divorce.”
“That has to be tough,” Liza said.
“It’s thinning the field, so viva divorce,” Nic replied. Liza shook her head. She was beginning to despise Dominic. The man was abrasive. Turning her eyes toward Robert, she wondered how much longer he was going take this.
“What about Franklin? He’s locked up the military vote, women are charmed by him . . .” Robert shot a glance at Liza and she rolled her eyes.
“I told you a month ago how you could connect with voters,” Liza said as she crossed over to the coffeepot.
“And that is a bad idea,” Nic called out. “Can you bring me a cup of coffee?”
Hell no. Get it yourself, jackass. “Sure. Do you take it black, like your heart?”
“Funny,” Nic said.
“Guys,” Robert said, clapping his hands together. “We’re all on the same team. And I’m not going to lose.”
“That’s right,” Liza said as she walked over to Nic and handed him his coffee. “So, what’s the plan for beating Jackson?”
Nic took a long sip of coffee. “We have to connect with women. Women are into this Michelle and Barack relationship shit.”
Liza groaned and sipped her own coffee. “This is horrible. And, what do you mean calling the President and First Lady’s relationship shit? For the record, Robert’s personal life is something he doesn’t want to talk about.”
“My mother is something I don’t want to talk about. I’m dating a brilliant woman,” he said. Liza shook her head; yes, Chante was brilliant, but she wasn’t a political tool.
Catching the look in Liza’s eyes, Robert said, “But I’m not going to exploit my relationship to win an election.”
“Thank you,” she said, then glowered at Nic. “I think you need to speak on some issues that are important to women in this state.”
“But save abortion until the general election,” Nic cautioned. “One thing about Franklin, he’s been playing it safe, talking to his base—the military, families. It’s time to call him out on the issues. I think he’s a paper candidate.” Nic tossed a newspaper with Jackson on the front of the metro section in the middle of the table.
As much as she wanted to ignore Jackson’s smiling face, Liza picked up the paper and looked at his picture longer than she needed to. After all, the story was only three hundred words, but the color picture of Jackson showed why women were flocking to him. That man was fine.
And those eyes. Soul piercing.
Liza tore her eyes from the picture; Jackson was the enemy. She had to focus on Robert. The Twitter account. They had a hundred new followers, thanks to Liza’s work. Now it was time to take another look at the website and see what they needed to do to make it user friendly and optimized for search engines.
“I’m going to work on your Internet presence. We need to get more pictures of you doing things in the community,” Liza said. “People need to feel that you are invested in what’s important to them.” She nodded toward the paper. “That’s the connection that they have with Jackson. And, Nic, you need to get an endorsement from a coalition of mayors from around the state. That’s going to give Robert a wider base.”
Nic nodded and pushed his coffee cup aside. “That is a good idea.” He pulled a file out of his saddlebag. “It’s already done.”
“May I take a look?” Liza asked.
Nic handed over the folder, and as much as she didn’t want to admit it, she was impressed. Nic had gotten endorsements from some of the most well-known and powerful elected officials in the city and county. “We need photo ops,” Liza said. “A meet-the-candidate gathering where Robert talks about the issues. But we can’t make it seem too elite.”
Nic nodded. “That’s actually a good idea.” Liza fought the urge to say all of her ideas were good. She just listened to Nic go on and on about having the event at one of the city’s homeless shelters so people would see that Robert cared about the community, and though they wanted donations to the campaign, Robert needed to give to the center.
“Since you want to connect with women,” Liza interjected, “you should have the event at My Sister’s Keeper.”
Both Nic and Robert nodded. “Let’s get on that. We need to make this happen as soon as possible.” Nic pulled out his phone and started calling staffers and barking out orders to them to get the session together.
Liza had had enough and decided she was going to leave. “I’m gone,” she told Robert.
“Wait,” he said. “I need to talk to you about something.”
Liza rolled her eyes, thinking that he wanted to talk about this event. “Sure.” He nodded for her to follow him outside.
“You know Chante and I haven’t known each other that long, but I’ve fallen hard for her.”
Liza smiled and clasped her hands together. Though she hadn’t talked to Chante in a while, she figured her friend was happy. “That’s good to know,” she said.
“I’m going to ask her to marry me. And don’t say a word about it.”
Liza was cautiously excited. There was a part of her that wondered if this was a way for him to capture the women’s vote. No, she told herself.He wouldn’t do that.
“I’ll keep my mouth shut. But you’d better be sure and mean it!”
“I wish I had met her years ago,” he said with a smile on his lips. “We’d already be married and you wouldn’t be questioning my motives.”
Though she wanted to ask more questions, Liza decided to trust her friend and just be happy for them. “So, when are you going to pop the question?” she asked with a smile. Robert relaxed and returned Liza’s smile.
“Soon. I want to sweep her off her feet.”
As she clasped her hands together, ideas started flipping through her mind. There was a balloon drop, a champagne toast with a three-point-five diamond engagement ring in the bottom of Chante’s glass. Then she thought about an intimate dinner party with a covered dessert dish and the ring waiting for Chante when she opened it. Before she poured any of her ideas out, Liza realized that she was an outsider to their love. She needed to keep her planning to Robert’s campaign and let them run their love life.
“I have to get some things together for the event at the shelter and I can’t take another moment with Nic, so I’m going to my office. Call me,” she said, then tapped him on the shoulder. Hopping into her car, she tuned the radio to the local NPR station. When she heard Jackson Franklin’s name, she turned the volume up.
“Jackson Franklin isn’t your typical politician, and in this race for North Carolina senate seat forty-five, there are a lot of players in the field. But Franklin stands out,” the reporter said. “Here in the studio with us this afternoon is senate hopeful Jackson Franklin.”
Liza pounded her steering wheel. Why isn’t Robert on this show? By the time Election Day comes around, people are going to remember the name Jackson Franklin. He’s always on the radio, on TV, or in the paper.
&nb
sp; “Thank you for having me on your show.” His smooth baritone flowed through the airwaves.
“Why did you decide to run for office?” the reporter asked.
“Well, it was a decision that came to me after seeing the lack of support our troops face when they return home from serving their country. North Carolina is home to several military instillations and it seems as if we’re failing our men and women when they come back. But that wasn’t all that I found wrong with our state. We’re failing our students, the poor, and the middle class. We’ve turned into a government for hire that only serves special interests, not the people our politicians were elected to serve.”
“Whoa,” Liza mumbled. “Nic and Robert should be hearing this.” She pulled over and called Robert.
“What’s up, Liza?”
“Turn to NPR,” she said.
“Why?”
“Just do it. And for the record, Jackson Franklin isn’t going to be easy to beat. I hope Nic’s listening too.” Liza hung up, then turned her attention back to the radio as she pulled back on the road.
Jackson was smooth, but not in a rehearsed way. He was persuasive and passionate. He’s connecting with voters, she thought as she slowed her car and focused on the sound of Jackson’s voice. Her thoughts soon turned from what he was saying to how good he sounded saying it. A bedroom voice that would put Barry White to shame. She almost closed her eyes as she imagined his lips against her ear.
“Get it together,” she muttered as she returned her eyes back to the road. She snapped the radio off and reminded herself that Jackson was the enemy. Fine, but the enemy.
Jackson shook hands with the reporter as she walked him out of the studio. “Thank you for the interview,” she said. “You certainly earned my vote.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have time for a cup of coffee?”
Jackson looked at his watch. “Unfortunately, I have an interview with WBTV, but after the primary, I’d love to have coffee.”
“And anything else?” she asked seductively.
Jackson smiled and kept quiet. “See you later,” he said as he walked out the door. He was used to women flirting with him, but he knew better than to deal with a reporter in a personal manner while he was running for office. He planned to keep his focus, even if he had yearnings and the reporter was fine as hell.
He walked briskly to the WBTV studio and read over his talking points. So far, things had been easy and he was even beginning to like campaigning. Still, Teresa’s warning echoed in his head. “This is just the calm before the storm.”
Chapter 7
The day of Robert’s rally for the homeless event, Liza found herself stuck on the phone with Claude. She was beginning to hate this man and his drama. But because she loved the paycheck she got from dealing with his drama, she did her job.
“I don’t want to get married,” he whined. “I don’t want to have a baby, either. I told her that I’d pay for the abortion and everything else if . . .”
“Have you ever heard of a long engagement? Listen, Claude, you can’t have this girl selling the story to the media that you wanted her to have an abortion. You made your bed, so sleep in it.”
“But you said . . .”
“Claude, I’m trying to keep your reputation intact. I’m pretty sure after she sees that you’re dragging your feet on the marriage, she’s going to get tired of the relationship and dump you. Then she looks like the bad guy.” Liza stroked her forehead, she really did hate leading him to mislead his child’s mother. But the NBA had a bad enough reputation and Claude was every stereotype that she wished to fight against. Maybe that was why she rode Claude so hard. I am not his mama, she told herself as he droned on in her ear.
“Claude, stop,” she finally said as she glanced at her watch. “I was wrong for trying to force you to be responsible, when it’s obvious that isn’t what you want. Marry her or don’t, but you’d better do right by that child or I’ll go to TMZ my damned self.”
“Liza, I thought you were on my side.”
“I don’t know if I can be on your side anymore,” she said. Money be damned.
“Are you dropping me because I don’t want to be tied down to some—”
“You just aren’t someone I want to represent. I could see if you were unable to care for a child, but you simply don’t want to. Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you . . . Look. You need a new publicist, I quit.” Liza ended the call, rose from her desk, and shook her head. She was now twenty minutes late for the event. She grabbed her purse and tossed her phone inside, then dashed out the door. Driving to the shelter, Liza hoped for a great turnout because the last polls that she saw had Jackson with a one-point lead over Robert. He’d been doing a number of media interviews and impressing a lot of people. Hell, Liza was impressed as well, but she’d never admit it publicly. Her alliance was with Robert. He deserved this seat because he’d been prepping for it his entire life.
Jackson, in her opinion, was a cause-of-the-moment candidate. Sure, he was hitting the hot topics, but did he have what it really took to be in it for the long haul? What if he got bored? The new district deserved better. Robert had been studying politics for years. He sat on the right local boards and, in Liza’s opinion, this seat had his name written all over it.
Once she arrived at the shelter, things were in full swing. Cameras were everywhere and Chante was by Robert’s side with a bright smile on her face. They look so good together, Liza thought as she headed toward them.
“You’re late,” Nic said, grabbing her arm before she reached her friends. “I thought you were going to help me coordinate the media arrivals and interviews?”
“Nic, I have a job, you know? Clients who pay me.”
“As I recall, you volunteered to do this. You’re supposed to be here for your friend.”
She glanced at Nic’s hand but stopped herself from pushing it away and making a scene. “Look and listen, Nic. I’ve had Robert’s back for longer than you’ve known him. So, don’t you ever question my loyalty to him! Now, if you’re done, I’m going to greet my friends.”
He dropped his hand and nodded as Liza strode away. She fumed but pasted a smile on her face as she hugged Robert and Chante.
“Where have you been?” Chante asked. “You missed the excitement.”
“What excitement?” she asked, immediately going into crisis mode.
Chante tapped her shoulder. “Nothing bad, but a lot of excited people ready to elect Robert as their next senator. We registered a lot of voters and . . .” Chante held up her left hand. The diamond engagement ring on her finger sparkled in the sun. “Robert asked me to marry him.”
Liza squealed and hugged her best friend, then punched Robert on the shoulder. “You sly dog,” she teased.
“Hey,” he said, “where’s my hug and congratulations? I get punched. What kind of sense does that make?” Liza hugged him tightly.
“Congratulations. You two are going to be so happy,” she said.
“I know,” Robert said when he and Liza parted. He took Chante’s hand in his and kissed it. The beaming smile on Chante’s face warmed Liza’s heart and she pushed her thoughts of the engagement being a political stunt deep down. Robert wouldn’t do that. Maybe love at first sight really does exist.
“Hey, Robert,” Nic called out as he rushed over to him. “Senator Patrick is here.”
“Senator Patrick?” Nic nodded and pushed Robert in the direction of the retired and revered senator. Liza and Chante just smiled and waited for the men to leave so that they could dish.
“How did he ask you to marry him? Was it romantic?”
Chante smiled and stroked her ring. “We were unloading the donations that I’d gotten from the office of business clothes for the women and he pointed to this box on the floor. He said, ‘Babe, you dropped something.’”
Cornball, Liza thought while smiling.
“I picked it up and I’m thinking someone messed up. Rob was
like, open it. And there was this ring. Then he got down on one knee and said, ‘Marry me.’”
“Were there cameras around?”
Chante slapped her hand on her hip. “No, Liza! Everything is not a media event.”
Liza threw her hands up. “I was just asking.”
“I wonder about you sometimes.” Chante raised her eyebrow at her friend, then smiled.
“I’m a sucker for whirlwind romances,” Liza said. “You have to let me throw you two an engagement party.”
“Something small with no cameras or Twitter updates?”
“Of course. I’m sorry I missed it, but I was stuck on the phone with Claude. I had to drop him as a client today.”
“Really? Why? I thought he was a profitable client.”
Liza sighed and then explained her problem with him. “I couldn’t create this fairy tale for him when he didn’t really want to be with that woman.”
“I can’t believe you’d even considered it.”
“I couldn’t have him getting a reputation as the guy who told his woman to get an abortion. How would the child feel when he or she does a Google search and finds that out?”
Chante sighed. “At least your heart was in the right place. There’ll be other clients, maybe ones who aren’t slimy bastards.”
Liza nodded toward Robert. “I think he needs you.”
“He needs us,” Chante said as she linked arms with her sorority sister and started in his direction.
The event turned out to be a success for Robert and led all of the evening newscasts. A few of the local blogs had written glowing stories about Robert, and when the Raleigh News and Observer’s political columnist called Robert while the trio was at Hometown Delights having drinks, Liza knew the tide was turning in her candidate’s favor.
“This is awesome,” Liza said. “And I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you have to show people your personality and your history.”
Chante glanced at him. “She’s right.”
Robert rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why you two think I have to tell a sad-sack story to gain voters.”
Rumor Has It Page 5
