we should represent him. We can’t compromise our mission.”
“He may embody our mission. Look, I’m all about putting women and people of color in power as much as you are. You know that, but ultimately, we want changes made in the system to help them. A friend at 1600 Pennsylvania can only help.”
“I just don’t know that it’s the right fit for us.”
“And I just don’t know that it’s only your call to make,” Kimba fires back. “We’re fifty-fity in this thing, boo. My fifty says we do it. In addition to advancing the causes we care about, we will have elected a president. Do you know how much business will come our way if we pull that off?”
“A lot,” I mutter without much enthusiasm.
“A lot. We can’t not consider it.” Kimba props one rounded hip against the makeup table, watching me closely. “Hey, this is me. Let’s talk about the real reason you don’t want to work with Owen Cade. His brother.”
I slingshot a baleful look at her. “That’s ridiculous. You think I’m still in my feelings for that man?”
“I saw you two together,” Kimba reminds me softly. “In the words of m’girl Sade, it was no ordinary love.”
“It was no love at all. It was a week.”
“He was your first.”
“Everybody has a first.”
“Everybody’s first is not Maxim Cade. And you may not have been his first, but it was obvious you were special to him.”
“So special he lied to me,” I spit, clinging to the righteous indignation I wrapped around myself like armor. “He knew how I felt about his father.”
“Ever thought him being afraid to tell you about his dad is an indication of how much he wanted it to work? That maybe he thought you wouldn’t give him a shot if you knew?”
I don’t answer, but just stare at her. It’s too much. Maxim coming to town. Seeing his brother and getting this offer. I’ve studiously avoided all things Maxim Cade for the last ten years. I’ve built the life I dreamt about, and he’s built his. We both got everything we wanted.
A tiny rebel part of me has the nerve to whisper.
Not everything.
35
Maxim
“I cannot overstate the necessity of developing a circular economy—one that minimizes waste and maximizes our natural resources.”
It’s a different way of saying what I’ve been telling this panel for the last hour. This isn’t my first time testifying before Congress, but it may be my last.
“Could you elaborate, Mr. Cade?” A narrow-faced man speaks into his little microphone, peering down at me from his perch.
“Yes. In a circular system we minimize waste, emission and energy leakage by slowing and closing energy and material loops,” I say as patiently as I can. “Not like in a more linear, traditional ‘take, make, dispose’ model. Economic circularity not only reduces resources used, and waste and leakage created, and conserves resources, but it also reduces environmental pollution.”
“According to the studies you provided,” says one congresswoman, glancing down at a sizable stack of papers, “China and Europe are taking the lead in this.”
“It’s true that most of the forward movement in circular economics is occurring in Europe and China,” I say. “Europe tends to focus more on the environmental implications, but China is very much concerned with the economic byproducts, too. Circular economy has been national policy for the Chinese since 2006.”
In other words, we’re lagging behind, guys.
“Concrete examples?” the first congressman asks, one brow elevated.
“There are many,” I answer. “But I think one of the best examples is in the textile industry. In fashion, it’s recycling clothes and fibers so they re-enter the economy instead of ending up in landfills as waste. Designers like Patagonia and Stella McCartney are high-profile examples of how this can work.”
“And you’ve ventured into this yourself, correct, Mr. Cade?” another asks. “You’re making money through this circular economy.” It sounds almost like an accusation.
“Hand over fist,” I confirm unapologetically. “Shoes, leggings, sports bras. You name it, and my company Wear It Again is making it over and over and over. We’re not only regenerating materials, but profit. We need these new ways of thinking if we expect to deliver on the emissions reductions commitments we and our global partners have made.”
“This is all a lot to take in,” one of them says. “A lot to process.”
“Exactly, which is why I’d rather be discussing how we can re-educate America’s populace and retrain our work force for green jobs instead of convincing you the sky is indeed falling. We need to make this