Courtship

by Carsen Taite

  Ignoring the nagging internal voice that suggested her characterization might be off, she plucked her phone from the nightstand. She started to pull up Addison’s number, but the list of missed calls and voice messages on the screen stopped her cold. Someone from the White House had been trying to reach her since seven that morning. She checked the ringer and then remembered turning it off sometime between the first kiss they’d shared in the kitchen and getting naked in her room. Damn.

  She checked the first message and got Noah’s caustic voice, telling her to call back right away. By the third message, he didn’t try to hide his anger, barking the command for a return call. She scrolled through her contacts and dialed a number that was answered on the first ring.

  “Cindy?”

  “Yes.” She whispered the word.

  “You at the office?”

  “Um, yeah.”

  “Is Noah right there?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Okay. I’m on my way.”

  She wasn’t ready to spoil last night’s memory by tangling with an angry Noah, especially not over the phone. She’d show up in person and see what he wanted. Let him know he couldn’t push her around. Brunch was out, but there were other meals. Maybe once she got things squared away, she’d call Addison and see where things stood.

  When she arrived at the West Wing, she was met in the lobby by a Secret Service agent from the president’s detail. She’d planned to go directly to her office upstairs, but he insisted she accompany him. He led her back to Noah’s office at a fast clip, the sense of urgency almost palpable. When they arrived, Noah was huddled in his office with Jed Reeves, the deputy director of the FBI, and they both looked up when she entered the room.

  “Have a seat,” he told her. “Diane will be here in a minute, but we have a situation.”

  Julia remained standing. “Are you sure you want me here? I’m not big on situations.”

  “It involves you and your little project.”

  Julia ignored the edge in his voice. He wasn’t going to get over the president giving her another chance and putting her in charge of the confirmation, and she wasn’t going to figure out why he cared. It wasn’t like if she were out of the picture, he’d be doing it. Hell, he wasn’t even a lawyer. All she cared about right now was why she’d been summoned. “What’s going on?”

  “Larry Weir took a bottle of pills and chased it with a fifth of whiskey. He’s dead.”

  “Holy shit.” Julia sank into a chair. “When? Where?”

  “His apartment. Not sure when yet, but it’s probably been a couple of days.”

  She ran through a quick timeline in her head. Cindy had talked to him Thursday morning, and he confirmed he would be at the White House for the official announcement about Addison’s nomination. According to Cindy, he’d gushed about the president’s choice and said he’d be honored to support it. Had Addison heard the news? How would she hold up? She’d described Justice Weir as a father figure. Had Larry been like a brother to her? If so, she’d likely be devastated to learn he’d died so close on the heels of Justice Weir’s death.

  “That explains why he didn’t show up on Friday.” She heard Noah’s door open and she looked behind her to see Diane Rollins, the White House press secretary enter the room. She didn’t wait for Noah to speak and called out, “Diane, have you heard about—”

  Noah cut her off with an annoyed expression. “She doesn’t know yet.” He took a minute to fill Diane in.

  She sat on the edge of her chair. “It’s going to break soon. I got a question about why he wasn’t here for the announcement, but I brushed it off. It was Josh Gander from the Times, and if he thinks there’s an angle, he’s not going to let it go.”

  “Give me a break,” Julia said. “Addison was like family to the Weirs. Would anyone believe Larry didn’t show up because he didn’t approve of the president’s choice? Doesn’t his death explain his absence?”

  Noah shot her a withering glance, but Jed was the one to answer. “Actually, ma’am, one might reach another conclusion.”

  “Jed, don’t call me ma’am, and I promise I won’t call you a jackass, okay?” Julia waited for his reluctant nod before continuing. “What’s the other conclusion?”

  “Well, it’s possible he was unhappy about the president’s choice.”

  “Is that so? Then how come he told my assistant we couldn’t have picked a better person for the job?”

  “Well, maybe he changed his mind. We have reason to believe he harbored reservations.”

  “That’s pretty vague. Care to elaborate?”

  Jed flicked his eyes at Noah before answering. “Not at this time.”

  Julia waved a hand at Diane. “Help me out here. Can you explain to them that if there’s an issue that could cause a shit storm for Addison Riley’s nomination, we need to know what it is, and we need to know right now if we’re going to have any chance at containing it?”

  “She’s right. If Larry Weir was against the nomination, we need to get out in front of that, and we need to start right now.”

  Noah shook his head. “You’re going to have to find a way to put Gander off for now. But Larry Weir’s suicide is not the only thing that’s going to make the news today.”

  “Big news day for a Saturday.”

  “That’s for sure. How much do you know about Addison’s girlfriend?”

  Noah’s question landed like spikes to her brain. “Girlfriend?”

  “Don’t act so surprised. Surely your little committee knew about this one.” He tossed a picture on the table between them. “She’s a looker, that’s for sure.”

  Julia looked down. She knew about this woman, had met her even, but she didn’t remember her name. What had she called her? Dark and mysterious. This beauty had been Addison’s date the night she’d run into them in the restaurant at Judge Landry’s hotel. She vaguely remembered some mention of her in the preliminary background check. A professor at Jefferson, and, except for the night she’d seen them together, she’d never been seen socially with Addison. What had Addison said about her? She implied they weren’t serious. She forced calm into her voice. “Do you really think it’s a problem that Addison may have dated a professor at her law school?”

  “They are colleagues, aren’t they?” Noah said. “Grown people can date whoever they want, and if you insist on putting a lesbian forward, there’s a better than even chance she’s going to be dating a woman. No, that’s not the problem. Here’s a copy of a report about your pretty little future Supreme Court justice’s lady friend that’s going to run on Drudge this afternoon. They’d like our comment.”

  Julia picked up the paper and started reading. As the words blurred on the page, she flashed back to another time when she’d let her personal feelings get in the way of her judgment. How could this be happening again?

  *

  Despite his insistence that he would take a cab, Addison drove her father to the airport. It was the least she could do after staying out half the night. He hadn’t mentioned anything about it, but she knew years of military training meant he always woke up at the slightest noise.

  There wasn’t a sound in the car for the first few miles to the airport, neither one of them prepared to say anything about the night before or willing to discuss the many ways that Addison’s life was about to change. As they drew within sight of the airport, her father finally spoke. “Guess you’ll be too busy to come home for Christmas.”

  “To tell you the truth, I hadn’t even thought about it.” She should have. Jack wouldn’t be able to come home again so soon, and she didn’t have a clue if she could schedule a trip away with the confirmation hearings drawing near. She reached a hand across the console and squeezed his arm. “Maybe you could come back here. They’re predicting lots of snow. Come back and have a white Christmas with me.”

  He smiled and his eyes were full of mischief. “I have a feeling you won’t be spending much time at home.”

  “What
’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I think you know. I’m surprised you can keep your eyes open after getting in at three this morning.”

  She detected no judgment, only teasing in his voice. “I’m sorry. We had a lot to talk about.”

  “Addison Riley, you’re no teenager and you don’t live in my house. You can do what you want with your life, and if you’d rather spend the night with a pretty lady than get a good night’s sleep, that’s not only a respectable choice, it’s none of my business.” He paused and his voice cracked a bit when he spoke again. “I only want you to be happy.”

  Knocked off kilter, Addison wasn’t sure how to respond. Before now, these were the kind of talks she would’ve had with her mom, never her dad. She’d always known he cared about her, but she couldn’t remember the last time he’d said so. “I want you to be happy too.”

  “I’ll get there. It’s hard, but knowing you two kids are living a life that would do your mother and I proud helps.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I’ll make time over the holidays. The Senate will be shut down.” Now at the airport, she pulled over to the skycap and turned to face him. “I’m sure I can escape for a couple of days.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I was thinking of visiting your aunt Donna and uncle Charlie. I’m sure they’d love to see you, but if you can’t get away, I’ll be well taken care of.”

  Her dad’s sister, Donna, and her husband, Charlie, lived in Montana. A nonstop to Dallas might be possible, but traveling to a remote area of Montana for a two-day hop was probably out of the question. “You should definitely go see them. We’ll catch up later. No matter what happens, when this is all over, I’ll come back out to Dallas and buy you a real Texas-sized steak. Deal?”

  “Deal.” He reached over, gave her a hug, and said with a gruff voice, “Love you, kid.” He grabbed his bag out of the backseat and took off toward the airport doors.

  Addison drove off and considered her next move. It was only seven thirty a.m. She really wanted to call Julia, hear her voice and the flood of memories it was sure to bring back, but she couldn’t bear the thought of waking her so early.

  Her office beckoned. She had a ton of paperwork to clear out before end of the semester, especially since she might not be back for the spring term. Who was she kidding? She knew she wouldn’t be back. Even if she didn’t get confirmed, she’d go forward with her plan to resign as dean. She’d help out until they found someone to take her place, but she was going back into the classroom, where she could use the talents she had spent a lifetime cultivating, instead of raising money and pushing paper.

  When she pulled into the law school parking lot, she was surprised to see several cars already there. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one trying to get a jump on semester’s end. She parked in her reserved spot and started to head into the building, but stopped when her cell phone rang. Hoping it was Julia, she answered on the first ring without taking time to look at the number on the screen. “Hello?”

  “Addison, it’s Roger. I saw your car pull up. Are you in the building yet?”

  “No.” She glanced around. Roger’s whispered voice made it seem like something clandestine was about to go down. “What’s the matter?”

  “A couple of reporters have been by. One was Josh Gander from the Times. I just got here a few minutes ago, and they were wandering around. I told them you weren’t here, but their cars are still in the lot and they’re probably still on campus. I’ll meet you at the door and walk you back.” He hung up and she stared at the phone, puzzled about too many things. What was Roger doing here on a Saturday morning? And Josh Gander, White House reporter from the Times? Saturdays were generally slow news days, and there’d been a ton of articles about her nomination that ran the day before. Why would a big shot reporter like Gander be trolling around, looking for her at her office, early on a Saturday?

  She didn’t have time to consider it further before Roger cracked open the door and waved her in. When she walked through, he locked it behind her.

  “I should’ve had it locked to begin with, but I never imagined anyone would show up so early.”

  “Why are you here bright and early on a Saturday?”

  “I figure we have a lot of work to do, now that you’re headed off to Number One First Street.”

  Addison laughed at his reference to the famous address of the Supreme Court building. “Don’t. You’ll jinx it. What did the reporters say?”

  “He was vague.” Roger held up finger quotes. “Big story, wanted to get your side of it.” He shook his head. “I mean, I expected you would get inundated with requests for interviews after yesterday’s announcement, but it’s Saturday and it’s kind of early.”

  Addison nodded, a nagging feeling beginning to take hold. What exactly did “get her side of it” mean? “I’m going to head back to my office and see if I can plow through at least one pile. Don’t bother answering the phone if anyone calls. And let me know when you’re ready to take off. I’d appreciate it if we could leave together.”

  “You got it.”

  When Addison entered her office, she shut the door, picked up the phone, and dialed. Five rings later, she reached Julia’s voice mail. Of course, she was probably still asleep. Addison listened to the sound of Julia’s smooth and confident professional voice, but hesitated when the time came to leave a message. She knew Julia would want to know she was being stalked by reporters, but she didn’t want the first words she spoke after the intimacy they’d shared the night before to be all about business. She settled on a vague, “Good morning. I can’t wait to see you again. And I have something I need to talk to you about. Could you call me as soon as you get this? Thanks.”

  She hung up, wishing she hadn’t sounded like a sixth grader with a new crush. Nothing to be done about it now. Determined to make the most of the time spent waiting to hear back, she dug into her work. When Roger knocked on her door, she looked at the clock, surprised to see it was almost noon. She glanced at her phone, surprised she hadn’t heard from Julia yet.

  “Come in.”

  Roger poked his head in, but kept the door pulled to.

  She cocked her head. “You ready to head out?” Feeling a little silly for thinking she needed an escort, she made a snap decision to stay now that she was swept up in her work.

  “Uh, no, but Professor Monroe is here to see you.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “She doesn’t look happy.”

  Eva. The events of the past few days had been such a whirlwind, she hadn’t discussed any of it with Eva, and, after last night, she wasn’t at all sure what she would say. Hey, in case you hadn’t heard, the president nominated me to be the chief justice of the United States. That woman who came over and talked to us while we were out on the one date in public we’ve ever had? Well, she’s going to walk me through the confirmation. Oh, and we’re sleeping together.

  Right. Eva would certainly already know about the nomination by now, and Addison wasn’t about to say any of the rest. Sometime in the last week, she’d known that she and Eva were over, but she owed her the courtesy of making it official. “It’s okay, Roger. Send her in.”

  Eva swept into the room, arms waving. She didn’t wait for the door to close before launching into an interrogation. “What the hell were you thinking? You give my name to a reporter? You tell her we’re in a romantic relationship? I’ve barely seen you in the last week. You think if I were your lover, you would’ve at least told me that you’d been nominated to the fucking Supreme Court.”

  Addison had been prepared for angry, but Eva’s words didn’t make sense. She hadn’t talked to a reporter, and she never would’ve given Eva’s name or characterized their relationship as romantic, even if they were still sleeping together. She reached out and touched Eva’s arm to try to stop the spiral of emotions. “Hey, let’s talk about this.” She jerked her head toward the door. “Quietly, okay?”

  She motioned to a chair and waited until Eva took a seat. “First of a
ll, I didn’t give your name to a reporter. I haven’t talked to the press at all besides a few comments at the press conference yesterday, and I can promise you that your name did not come up. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was going on. It was all very hush-hush until the official announcement, but you’re right. I should’ve given you a call.”

  “I sort of understand the not telling me part. I know things have been rocky between us for a while. But the reporter told me she spoke to you last night. She was very specific.”

  “What was her name?”

  Eva pulled a business card from her pocket and handed it over. Addison scanned the card. Emily Pierson, Washington Post. She recognized the name, but it took her a moment to place it. The reporter from the restaurant last night. She looked up at Eva. “I saw this woman last night, but I assure you I didn’t talk to her. Julia, the woman who is working on my confirmation, sent her packing.” Addison justified the half-truth about Julia’s role in her life with the very same right to privacy Eva apparently wanted for herself.

  Eva sighed. “I’m sorry. I should’ve known you wouldn’t talk to a reporter about me. Besides, her questions were more about me than you. I’m just so upset, I needed to lash out.”

  “Is the prospect of being linked with me really that upsetting?”

  Addison smiled to show she was teasing, but Eva shook her head and said, “You don’t understand. A long time ago, when I was young, I experimented with different things. One of them was men. I was in college, drunk, at a party. We had sex. It was fun, but it wasn’t for me. Figures that the one and only time I have sex with a man, I got pregnant.”

  Addison braced for Eva’s next words, already sure what she was about to say.

  “I had an abortion.”

  “Which you’re legally entitled to do.”

  “Legally entitled to doesn’t grant you immunity from societal judgment. Even those who say it’s a woman’s right to choose, usually only mean it in the abstract. You know, for rape victims or those poor people who don’t have good access to birth control. But I was a trust fund kid, attending an Ivy League school. My parents wouldn’t have cared if I’d shown up at spring break, baby on the way. They would’ve loved it. But I didn’t want a baby to interfere with my own dreams.”