The Lying Season (Seasons #1) - K.A. Linde Page 0,30
had come to shove, I’d called Sam.
Sam wasn’t needed, but in some way…he was necessary. He didn’t look put out when he realized that he’d driven all the way down from Brooklyn for nothing. He’d just silently taken care of me and handled the campaign while I shook like a leaf on a park bench.
It was the first time in my career I hadn’t been able to handle my job. It wasn’t because of Court’s arrest. I’d seen many a friend get arrested and immediately leave the police station because we all had wealthy parents who could make things disappear. It was the worry that Leslie had. The worry that said…this one would stick.
Sam had taken care of me. We’d walked back to my apartment. Me in my ridiculous ballgown. Him in a rumpled suit and messy hair.
Friends.
Or at least, sort of. Closer to that than anything else. Closer to that than we’d ever been.
I’d always thought we were either in love or we weren’t. There was no in-between for us. Especially not with him having a girlfriend. But last night, he’d been my friend when I needed one. Just like I had been Penn’s because he needed me. It had been a relief.
I hadn’t seen him today. I’d been stuck in this meeting since the dawn of time. I wondered if last night would stick for us too.
“That’s fine. That’s all fine, Christine,” Shawn said. “There’s another announcement. Leslie has brought on Jay Neville for strategic consulting after this.”
My ears perked. “He agreed?”
I knew that Leslie had been courting him for months now. That she’d wanted him last election too. He’d said he wanted to stay in Texas and remain near his family. But this Court situation must have been serious enough for him to finally get on board.
“He did,” Leslie said. “Which is wonderful. I think we need him. He’s working with his own pollsters to see how this will look. But we won’t know until the end of the week. In the meantime, I’m working on finding someone else to…handle Court full-time.”
“That’s smart,” Shawn said. “We should have had that last election.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. Court tended to cause trouble wherever he went.
“Yes, well, nothing was this serious,” Leslie said. “I have a few people in mind. They’ll be another paid staff, and we’ll need to onboard them in the campaign and in Court’s lifestyle.” She turned to look at me. “I hate to put more on your plate, Lark, but do you think you can be in charge of that aspect once we find a person? I realize most people who were even trained in PR don’t quite get the Upper East Side like they do other celebrities.”
“Of course,” I agreed immediately. “I’d be happy to.”
“Great. Once we can get him a handler, we’re going to have to put together messaging for him joining the campaign in some capacity. I think it’s the easiest way to deescalate this situation at this point. Jay agrees with me.”
“We need him on message,” Shawn agreed.
Leslie nodded. “Yes, we’ll figure it out.”
I leaned forward as something clicked in my brain. “I know someone who is a fixer—Anna English. She’s a celebrity publicist in LA with Poise PR. She already knows Court and has some understanding of the Upper East Side. She’s the best in the business.”
Leslie arched an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Well, bring Anna out. We’ll interview her for the position.”
My smile broadened. This was perfect. English had just been complaining about her job. This might be the break she needed to get away from the less pleasant aspects.
“I’ll do that.”
“All right,” Leslie said, standing to her considerable height. “You all have your assignments. I can’t stay much longer. Still have a city to run. Let’s look at this as a small setback and not a death sentence. It will be fine. It’s far enough away from the election that we can manage this. We can still win. So, let’s go out there and do it.”
Everyone sat up a little straighter as she spoke. She had that effect. Like her words were almost a glamour. The force of her charisma pushing into us. It was one of the things that I loved about her.
We all stood up and stretched our aching muscles as Leslie walked out of the room. Back to City Hall to deal with her mayoral duties. Leaving us to try to pick up the mess of her son’s debacle.