not like I ripped your skirt off. Come on.” Jack took her hand and led her into the room.
Abuzz with activity, the space seemed smaller than it was. There were interns in the back going over paperwork, a big screen TV in the corner showing footage of the convention floor, and any number of agitated staffers who looked as if they hadn’t slept in days. Caroline didn’t envy their position. She had never aspired to national office. Too much stress. Too much fatigue. And too much damn pandering.
But she didn’t have time to be distracted by weary politicos. Governor Hendricks spotted them and came over with a friendly smile. He was a nice enough looking man, with kind eyes and dark hair greying at the temples. He was only a few years older than Jack but didn’t look nearly as good. Of course, Caroline might have been a wee bit partial to the silver fox at her side.
Hendricks shook Jack’s hand. “Governor McIntyre. A pleasure.”
Jack laughed. “You don’t need to waste your time on formalities. Caroline doesn’t expect it.”
“Jack,” he corrected. He turned to Caroline and kissed her cheek. “I figured you weren’t the type of woman to get caught up in that nonsense. You can call me Richard, obviously.”
She smiled at him. “Obviously. What have you been working on this afternoon? Seems like your aides are freaking out over something.”
“We’re addressing some of the more problematic parts of this year’s platform. Care to add your two cents?”
In Caroline’s opinion, almost the entire platform was flawed. “Do you really want to know?”
“I’m open to constructive criticism.”
“Governor Hendricks, do you want to know what I did the last time I criticized a Republican running for office?”
His expression led her to believe he was about to guess her punchline. “What did you do?”
She took Jack’s hand, weaving her fingers through his. “I married him.”
Hendricks laughed long and hard, as did Jack. “Do I get to beg for your vote?” he asked.
“You can do your best. Do you always cut to the chase?”
“My wife thinks it’s one of my worst traits.”
Caroline glanced over at Jack. “My husband finds my brutal honesty off-putting as well. Maybe he and Angela should spend more time together.” She scanned the room. “Is she here?”
“Already trying to back out of our conversation?”
She laughed. “No, I just wanted to meet her. Commiserate. Gossip. Complain. You know.”
Hendricks smiled back at her. “You can do that after you hear my acceptance speech. By the way, Lorenzo is here. I believe he’d like to speak with you both.”
Caroline tried to school her features. One of her biggest concerns about voting for Hendricks: his newly selected running mate. Senator Santos was not on the list of people she wanted to encounter during the convention.
Jack squeezed her hand. “That would be great,” he said.
She glared at him as Hendricks went to track Santos down. “I do not want to talk to that man,” she whispered.
“It’s only for a few minutes,” Jack said.
Representative Gerard and Senator Santos had encountered each other very few times during the time they served in Congress together. He was too brash, even with members of his own party. Caroline didn’t waste her time on those who were unable to play nice with others. It wasn’t even necessarily his political ideology, which seemed to be typical conservatism sprinkled with hypocritical faux libertarianism. She had plenty of friends who were devout in their faith, consistent in their ideals, and committed to a robust, classically conservative agenda.
It was how he expressed himself – as if no one else in the world were as smart, as gifted, as worthy of respect. The way he seemed to always be hiding something, his words glossing over what he was really trying to say. Santos was an expert panderer, able to make the most banal statement sound profound.
During his first Senate campaign, he curried favor with some very questionable, borderline radical groups. Not an unusual move, especially in states where the ultraconservatives controlled the primary process. But these groups had gone beyond typical party politics, even beyond most grassroots movements.
One of them wanted to re-criminalize sodomy and overturn Lawrence v. Texas, and believed that Christianity should be the national religion. Another supported the sterilization of citizens on public assistance. A third seemed a little too avid about emphasizing the merits of the South’s ideological positioning during the Civil War. Santos claimed to disavow every controversial and unconstitutional position they held, but Caroline didn’t believe him. Others accepted