"No," Kasi snapped. "I walked away because I didn't want my reputation tainted by her dishonesty. And then she managed to make sure I couldn't get a job stuffing envelopes anyway." She was grinding her teeth. "Fine, I get it; the enemy of my enemy is my friend—except that you have more than one enemy, and that game isn't going to get you anywhere in this election."
"I know that she's not going to lift a finger for me, and I don't care. Don't think of me as David the candidate; think of me as David the voter."
Kasi glared. "Fine. But I don't work for that guy."
"Actually, you do. You're going to help prep her for her debate with Powers next week."
"The Hell I will!" Kasi said angrily. "And if you try and make me I'll hit you with your own car."
"She's weak on the issues," Charlie said.
Martin chortled. "Lucky her, so is Powers."
"I said we would help her," David said pleadingly. "She reached out this morning."
Kasi gasped. "Because she reads 'head injury' and thinks 'debate prep'. Oh my God. David, you need some prep too, and don't say you've got Charlie, because he was out of town with you, and don’t say Martin—"
"Because issues people care about never come up in academia or around Donnelly?" Martin deadpanned.
Kasi narrowed her eyes. "Because you just got on the ground with this last year."
"That's why they've got me," Len said smugly.
Kasi blinked. "Then you help Paloma!"
"Me?" Len shuddered. "No way, I can't stand her. And besides, Lucy hired me to work with David, not her."
Kasi was ready to scream. "David Hwang, you—"
"Kasi," Charlie said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "You're not seeing the big picture. You help her with her prep, and you basically get to decide how well she does."
Kasi raised an eyebrow. "Now that you put it that way..."
~~~
Emily and Zainab were taking a walk that night near Emily's house. "You got the same text message from Kasi?" Zainab asked.
"Yes," Emily growled. "She wants us at that debate? What about the one for the mayoral candidates?"
"I guess David doesn't have as much to worry about."
"There's something," Emily grumbled. "I'm glad he's back; too bad he couldn't have run for the office I dreamed about."
Zainab looped her elbow into Emily's. "Now, now. Think of it this way; once Paloma leaves to run for the Senate, it'll be so much easier for him to run for Congress."
Emily turned to Zainab in horror. "You know, I hate politics."
"I know."
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Which fat cat donor does this belong to? Kasi thought as she walked into the private home on Charles Street.
"Kasi!" the young, petite woman who opened the door squealed. "It's so good to see you!" she said as she gave her a warm—and genuine—hug.
Kasi hugged the young woman back. "It's good to see you too, Talia," she said when she let go. "What's this I hear about you getting married?"
Talia led her into the expensively furnished home. "December," she said with a grin. "You know, after the elections are over."
"Anyone I know?" Kasi asked as she opened her briefcase.
Talia grinned mischievously. "Remember Roger Downs?"
"Cervino's aide?" Kasi exclaimed. "After all of those shouting matches with him?"
Talia smiled more widely. "He felt bad about being such a jerk so often, so he gave me tickets to the ballet to make up for it; I thought it was so sweet I took him as my date."
"And the rest is history." Talia and Kasi turned to see Paloma Castillon: tall, redheaded and curvy. "I still think it was a ploy by Cervino to get support on the bridge project."
"But he took me to Wicked the week after that, so someone changed their mind," Talia said with a wink.
"Kasi, it's good to see you," Paloma said as she walked over and shook her hand. "You're doing excellent work with Charlie and David; they're lucky they have you."
"And did I hear that you were hit by a car after David got hit with that bottle?" Talia asked before Kasi could recover from Paloma’s compliment.
Kasi tried to brush off any concern. "Yes, but all I have is a cut on my leg, which is why I'll be wearing pants for a little while."
"I don't know what John was thinking," Paloma said disapprovingly. "I really thought he was smarter than that."
"And I can't believe David released a joint statement with him after that," Talia marveled. "That was so gracious."
Kasi shrugged. "We all feel pretty confident that whoever he was, Nelson didn't give him direct orders. This isn't the Eighties."
All of them giggled. "Thank God for that," Paloma said. "And what's this about Powers paying him a visit?"
Kasi smirked. "What's that phrase football fans use? ‘Hail Mary’?"
Talia looked at her watch. "I have to meet with Representative Stanton right now, but Kasi it was so good to see you, and thank you so much for coming."
Kasi gave her a hug. "Good to see you too and congratulations!"
"Send me a text as soon as you're out," Paloma said.
"Yes, ma'am," Talia said cheerfully as she walked out.
Kasi turned to face Paloma and smiled stiffly. "Let's get started then," Kasi said as she took papers out of her briefcase. "I've looked at your most recent public speeches, and I think we should start with education."
"God bless YouTube," Paloma said as she led them to the couches. "But I think I understand what the education needs are in the district."
"Let's hear it then," Kasi said as she sat down.
"They need different things; Boston's a mess, and Lawrence, Everett and Chelsea are terribly underfunded—but that's at the local level. Cambridge is doing very well, but there's a lot of instability. And Somerville may be the new Cambridge, but they need more money in services and infrastructure, including the schools."
"So what will you do about it in Washington?"
"Across the board, we need to hold teachers accountable for their job performance," Paloma answered. "Municipalities have only so much money, so we have to make sure that only the most effective people are working with our kids."
Kasi looked up. "'Effective'? Is this leading up to more testing?"
Paloma raised an eyebrow. "The teachers unions have already given their support to Powers, so there's no reason to stay away from it."
"Actually there's a very good one," Kasi said. "The research supporting it is really lousy, and if you want to pursue that, Powers can easily pull that out. Educators from all over the country are calling foul on the standards. He'll look like someone who would stand up to the Department of Education and the White House, and you'll look like their lackey."
"Really?" Paloma asked coolly. "Because I don't think I will once I start talking about my experiences in public schools."
"If you're going with that, don't lean too heavily on it; Chicago isn't Boston."
"No, it's not," Paloma said quietly. "Boston is like heaven compared to Chicago, at least the Chicago I grew up in." She grimaced. "Why do you think all of those Chicago politicians serve nationally, or elsewhere?"
"The mayor of Chicago might beg to differ."
Paloma scoffed. "Ha! He lived on the North Side, went to private schools and sent his kids to private schools. He would be eaten alive anywhere else. That's not where Kirk and I grew up, I can tell you that."
"That," Kasi said as delicately as she could, "is probably something you and your handler need to discuss. People are going to start scrutinizing your relationship with Kirk more closely than they did—"
"They won't," Paloma said abruptly.
Kasi waited a moment. "I wouldn't be so sure."
"They won't," Paloma said calmly. "Kirk doesn't want anyone to know."
"He has that kind of pull with the press? On his way out?"
"Nobody has that kind of pull," Paloma said brusquely, "but he's made sure no one in Chicago will talk." She looked do
wn. "And not that it's too hard, since most of them are dead."
"Excuse me?"
"Kasi, Jesus. Not like that," Paloma said. She looked back up. "You thought I was his mistress, didn't you?"
Kasi made a choice. "The thought had crossed my mind."
"Don't think you're an original; that thought crossed everyone's mind." She glared at Kasi. "But I'm not." She leaned back in her chair. "You know his story right? Smart kid whose father abandoned the family when he was seven, and his poor, sainted mother who had to make so many sacrifices for him and his brother? Figured out a way to get him sent to Milton Academy up here."
"Everyone has," Kasi said cautiously.
"Except she wasn't a saint," Paloma said slowly. "She was a terrible person. She wasn't alone, at least not for long. She stole my father from my mother, and he helped support Kirk and his family. And that was fine, right? Because it was just me and my mom. Me and my mom, we could live off of nothing." She looked away. "I know what people say about me; I know what you've said about me. But do you know what people said about me when I was a little girl? Not that I was so pretty, but that I was so smart. No, really. People thought I was a smart little girl and I was going to do so well in school. They must have thought school was...something it wasn’t. Because when I was in school everyone thought I was stupid because of my last name, and that's how they treated me. I didn't get called on to recite the alphabet, and I didn't get picked to show my work in a math problem. And even when I got everything right, I didn't get a gold star. And when I came home from school there wasn't anyone to tell because my mother was working two different jobs because my father was with Kirk’s mother. So I got excited when someone paid attention to me. My teacher when I was eight, the guy at the corner store when I was ten. I was special; someone loved me. And when I realized what that was when I was twelve...well, I didn't want to go to school, and I didn't want to leave the house. But I didn't want to tell my mom, because she worked so hard. So I went back to school, and then it was boys my age who wanted to give me their attention, and that was just a little better. Until it wasn't."
Kasi swallowed. "Paloma, I’m sorry—I had no idea."
"No, you don’t. If you knew half of what goes on, even now, in your own city...but you’re not from here either, are you?"
"I’ve lived in Massachusetts my whole—"
"You’ve lived in the suburbs," Paloma pronounced. "I used to dream that I was just like you: someone who grew up in those nice suburbs and had two parents who loved her with sisters and brothers. And I would never have to know about what really goes on in a town like Chicago or Boston. And I even used to fantasize that I'd have the kind of problems you'd read about in Seventeen or see on soap operas. I'd be so clever getting out of them, because I'd be smart again, not pretty."
Kasi's skin was cold and tingling at the same time. "I'm very sorry," was all she could manage.
Paloma pursed her lips. "Yeah. So was Mrs. Kirk when my mother came to see her my last year of high school. Kirk was already here as a U.S. attorney, and she beamed talking about him. My mother wanted to beam when talking about me, and she told that woman that her son was going to help me find a job out of Chicago." Paloma smiled in satisfaction. "I don't think she put up a fight at all. And maybe it's fair, in a way. She got my father and my childhood, so now she'd give me my future."
It was all coming together. "And he introduced you to Fitzgerald," Kasi said.
Paloma laughed bitterly. "Do you know how many people were introduced to Fitzgerald? Do you know how many people even get a job with him but then wash out? I didn't. I stayed. I worked, and I worked hard. And you know something? I was smart again. Kirk didn't do anything to get me into Kelly's office; that was all me. And I worked my way up by being smart. But something you never understood, Kasi: there's a difference between being smart on the issues and being smart about people. Guess which one counts more in politics?"
"You didn't mind screwing a lot of people as a councilor, Paloma, including your staff."
"Kasi, grow up!" Paloma yelled, and Kasi sat back. "Those guys who wanted the green space resolution, where do you think they were going to spend the money first? Mattapan? Roxbury? Southie? Bull. They were going to spend it in Downtown Boston and Back Bay, for the benefit of the tourists and the people who already have private playgrounds. Cervino was going to spend it across the city."
"But then it didn't get done at all," Kasi said through gritted teeth. "He makes the orders to his own people, so there's no skin off his back if it doesn't go through."
Paloma smirked. "And you think David's going to be any different? You think Charlie's going to keep him honest? You think he's going to work with the Council—you think he's going to be accountable? Why, if he doesn't have to?"
"Really, Paloma? Weren't you just telling me how smart you were about people?"
Paloma regarded at her for a moment. "Oh, Kasi, I still am. Come on, let's talk public education."
CHAPTER THIRTY
Castillon debated Powers just a few hours before Hwang debated everyone, and then everyone got the weekend off to campaign. "My nerves are shot," Kasi blurted out the day of the debates.
"She'll be fine," Len said, looking at his screen. "She tells a story about how his Tough On Crime policy has gone wrong for just one family, and she's gold."
"Good," Kasi found herself murmuring.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Charlie asked with a huge grin.
"Powers is scum," Kasi said, trying to cover.
"He is, but you didn't care about that before." He looked at Len. "You know, she's been kind of Zen-like since her meeting with Paloma, don't you think?"
Len smiled back at Charlie. "A dramatic shift. Almost like she's an adult, not a high school junior."
"This would be a good time to shut up," she said to the both of them. Charlie tried to hide his laughter. "Besides, what I'm really nervous about is David; who knows what you told him to say."
Charlie sighed contentedly. "Don't worry; David is going to present himself as the candidate with a vision, the plans and plenty of anecdotes to prove his experience. He's also going to be able to explain why everyone else fell down in their previous races."
"And how are we getting around your stints in New York City?" she asked.
Len winked at Charlie. "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere!"
"Get a room already, you two!" Kasi murmured.
~~~
"You were terrific!" Zainab said as she ran to give David a hug after the debate.
"Thanks, Zainab!" David answered before he hugged her and Emily.
"Nice job," Emily said, then let go and turned to Kasi. "Both of you."
Kasi bit her lip. "You watched the other one?"
Emily nodded. "That was an amazing performance; my compliments to whomever wrote her script."
"Does that mean you don't hate me now for running for mayor?" David asked cheerfully.
Emily shrugged. "I guess you can serve Boston better here than you could there...right?"
"You better believe it," David said, then bumped her fist.
~~~
Lucy sat in her office on Monday afternoon. David was going to win handily in the primary according to every private poller she'd employed. Nelson was going to come in a distant second, and only just edging out Clarke. She felt a twinge of regret for a moment; Clarke might have made a good mayor, and Lucy knew exactly what she would have done in office. But it wasn't her fault that she wasn't selling herself, and she was young enough that she could run again...when David was done.
Lucy nodded with satisfaction. She did enjoy watching an investment pay off.
~~~
It was seven o'clock the night of the primary. Kasi was with Kevin and Ray at the office. "Where are Charlie and Martin right now?"
"Charlie’s making the rounds at the polls in Southie and Dorchester to make sure everything is copacetic," Ray said. "And I think Martin’s in Fenway."
"And where is David right now?"
"He was shaking hands in Chinatown and Back Bay, and now he's moved on to the Fenway. In a few minutes he should be headed to Allston," Kevin said.
"And then he's in Mattapan," Ray said with a smile.
"Good, good, good," Kasi said. None of the other candidates were going to be in Mattapan or Allston, and David had already made his appearance in the southwest side of the city hours before.
"Len called to say there were some 'irregularities' with the signs in the South End," Ray said. "Sounded like he had it taken care of, but that man has a mouth on him!"
Kasi snickered. "Glad he's on our side." She turned to Kevin. "And we have all of our people in place to get the vote count?"
Kevin nodded. "And Ray and I will leave in a few minutes to get the ones we don't have covered."
"Good," Kasi said. "But try not to come too late for the party."
"Whatever," Ray said. "It'll be going on for a while."
~~~
Kasi arrived at the ballroom of the Park Plaza at seven forty-five, fifteen minutes before the polls closed. "Hello, gorgeous," Len said, then handed her a drink.
"What's this I hear about the South End?" she asked as she took it.
"John Nelson is the definition of a small-time loser," he said. "His people were taking down our signs when I got there."
"Right in front of everyone?"
"They stopped when I pulled out my camera and threatened to send it to the press. I made them put the signs back up before they left."
"Unbelievable," Kasi said, sipping her drink. "And how do you know it was Nelson?"
"The 'Vote for Nelson' shirts and hats gave it away."
"Losers," Kasi muttered.
"In every sense of the word," Len said, then clinked her glass with his.
At eight o' three Kasi and Len's phones started beeping nonstop. "This is why I told them to use the spreadsheet," Len said, more to his phone than Kasi. "Read me the numbers as they come to you and I'll enter them."
Three minutes later Len threw his arms around Kasi. "Yes!"
"Oh my God!" Kasi exclaimed, jumping up and down.
The Golden Boy Returns (The New Pioneers Book 5) Page 20
