of her biggest cheerleaders and most devoted friends. “Do you know why I hired you?”
“Are you talking to Jen, or me?” Kathleen asked.
“Both of you, really.”
Jen laughed. “You hired us because we were the only ones who wanted to work for you.”
Caroline had been picking at table scraps until Jen had come along, towing Kathleen with her. Accidental good fortune, she’d decided. Serendipity, as Jen put it. Kathleen called it dumb luck, with an emphasis on the dumb. Pretty much the same thing, all things considered.
“Well, there’s that,” she said. “But it’s also because I knew I could trust you. I knew you got what I was trying to do. I knew that this was more about doing something meaningful and forming lasting relationships than about career advancement or something less altruistic. Despite our jokes to the contrary, I knew you were committed. That you would take things seriously.” Caroline swallowed the lump rising in her throat. “And I’m so grateful that I got two wonderful friends out of the deal.”
“You could have dumped us once you got elected,” Kathleen said. “But you didn’t.”
Applications had come pouring in, and Caroline hadn’t even advertised for the positions that Jen and Kathleen would eventually fill. When sharks smelled fresh meat they wanted in, especially if they’d alienated other members of Congress. Once you burned bridges in Washington they were theoretically gone for good, but some staffers still tried to put one over on the newbies.
Caroline shook her head. “No. I thought that would be disloyal.”
“Other people do it all the time,” Jen pointed out. “You didn’t.”
Insecurity poked its ugly little head out of its shell. “Is that why you haven’t left me?”
“That’s part of it,” Jen said. “Haven’t you noticed that hardly anyone has left? This is a fun place. Most of the time.”
“I owe you two so much,” Caroline said quietly. “I wouldn’t have gotten through what happened to Nicky without your help. I hope you know what that means to me.”
Jen and Kathleen didn’t say anything. Caroline didn’t expect them to. They’d gone through enough without needing to talk about it. It would be impossible to get through the day without crying, but she wasn’t going down easy.
She cleared her throat again. “Anyway, there’s something we need to talk about. I’m sorry, Jenny, but Katie and I talked about it a couple of weeks ago. Please don’t be hurt.”
Jen’s unease was apparent. “What is it?”
Caroline leaned forward on the desk, resting her sling on the polished wood. “We need to set up a press conference. Soon.”
“For what?”
“I’m not running for re-election.”
Jen frowned at her. “You have got to be kidding me.” She turned to Kathleen. “This is a joke, right?”
Kathleen shook her head. “See if you can talk her out of it. I sure as hell couldn’t.”
“Why wasn’t I let in on this little secret?”
“Because I want you to run in my place,” Caroline said.
Jen started laughing. “Okay, now I know you’re kidding.”
“I’m not.” Caroline gave her a steady look.
Jen’s face fell. “Oh, shit. You aren’t.”
“No.”
“Is this because of Jack?”
Caroline glanced over at the door. It was still shut. The chances of someone barging in were close to nil, but still. She always worried. “What I’m about to tell you does not leave this room. Understand?”
Jen and Kathleen nodded.
“Jack is going to run for governor of Pennsylvania,” Caroline said.
Kathleen laughed. “You think we didn’t know that?”
Jen smiled. “Everyone knows that.”
Kathleen turned to Jen. “Does she get points for being overly dramatic? Jesus.”
Caroline rolled her eyes. “Fine. But it’s not official. Not until next Friday.”
“Did he ask you not to run again?” Jen asked.
“No. I came to that conclusion on my own. After running it past Katie, I told Jack.”
“Oh, wow. How’d he take that?”
Caroline grinned. “I told him right after he proposed. It threw him off a little.”
Jen looked impressed. “Maybe you do have a good sense of dramatic timing.”
In hindsight, his reaction had been pretty hilarious. “He wasn’t all that upset that I told Katie first. But he understood why I came to that decision. Although it took him about five minutes longer than our dear press secretary over there to figure out that I was serious.”
“I’m going to give him such a hard time about that,” Kathleen said.
Jen was the queen of the piercing gaze, and she always knew the best times to engage it. Caroline shifted in her seat as her chief of staff spoke again.
“Are you sure about this?”
Any doubts had yet to appear, and Caroline