Page 127 of Hurry Up And Wait
“It doesn’t matter what your plans are,” she said softly. “Kavanaugh, I never planned to be with you. It just happened. And now…now this is all too complicated.”
“I’ll uncomplicate it. I swear to you. Just…don’t give up on me.”
“We don’t even know each other anymore.”
I grasped the air around me for words. There had to be a way out of this—something I could say or do to make this work in my favor, but as the seconds ticked by, I found it harder and harder to think of a single thing that wouldn’t make me sound like the asshole I was.
“Isla…please, remember who I am.”
She sighed heavily, making me lose even more hope.
“Please, for all that’s happened between us, remember who I am. I swear, I will not let you down.”
The door opened behind me and Olivia called out before I could cover the phone. “Sweetie, our guests are waiting!”
I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth. “I’ll be right there. Isla?—”
“Go. Your fiancée is waiting for you.”
A dead weight sank in my stomach as the call ended. I wanted to yell at Olivia for interrupting me when I was so close to getting Isla to give me time. But it wasn’t her fault. She was just playing the game like I was, dragged into the senator’s machinations and forced to abide by his rules.
That was all going to end now. The gamble might not work, but I had to try. It was the only way to get back to my life with Isa. Maybe I would have gone along for the ride for longer if it weren’t for her. But she was here, and I wasn’t going to lose her because of the senator.
I slid my fingers through my hair, making sure I looked presentable, then headed out into the living room with a smile. I clasped the senator on the shoulder and squeezed hard so he would know I was about to do something he would hate.
“Thank you all for coming tonight.” The room quieted as I stared at all of my father’s greatest supporters. “I know you all saw my less-than-stellar performance the other day on the stage. It was…not at all what the senator needed to boost his numbers. However, after discussing it with him,” I said, shooting him a side-long glance that had him narrowing his eyes at me, “we’ve decided that a huge part of his platform should be about helping veterans like me.”
I caught the senator just as he was about to take a sip of his drink. I could swear he choked on it, but nodded along, pretending like he knew what I was doing.
“As he said at the rally, coming home was extremely difficult for me. Thousands of veterans are struggling right now, and with the senator’s firsthand knowledge of the struggles going on in the world, there is no denying that he can be the face of this new movement, pushing for our military families and veterans to get the help they need.” I paused for effect. “This campaign promise means more to me than I could possibly ever explain, and I know he is doing good work not only on my behalf, but for others in need.” I picked up my glass and raised it. “To Senator Kavanaugh.”
They all mimicked me, raising their own glasses. “To Senator Kavanaugh.”
The room burst with excitement at my announcement, but it was the senator who dragged me away, gripping my arm way too tight as he ushered me into the office and closed the door.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“Moving our plan forward.”
He stabbed his finger at the ground, pissed at what I had done. “This was not something we discussed. You do not get to tell me what platform I’ll be running on.”
“You should be thanking me. Most candidates don’t announce anything they’ll be running on this early in the game. I just gave you a leg up.”
“I planned to reduce military spending!” he practically shouted.
“Well, I guess you’ll have to change your strategy,” I said simply.
“If you think for one second I’ll give you what you need?—”
I cut him off, getting in his face. I lowered my voice, making sure it was just as threatening as I intended. “You will give me everything we discussed. I just handed you a win, and it’s up to you to make sure to follow through. You wanted me to stand by you and support you. Well, I gave you something better. You have the footage of me running off the stage. As much as I don’t like the fact that you’ll be politicizing my issues, I’ve given you something you can actually use to your advantage. The damaged veteran angle should really rally yoursupporters. And in return, you have to pretend to be a human being and actually care about helping those serving your country. I know it’ll be a struggle for you, but believe it or not, it’s a very good cause that people can get behind. No one gives a shit about what you want. They want to know you care about your constituents. Now’s the time to prove it, as hard as that might be.”
He was quiet for a moment, but I knew the wheels were turning in his head. He was considering all the ways this could help his campaign. “I’ll consider it.”
“No, you’ll fucking do it. And to be sure you follow through, OPS will be taking on all advisory roles in your campaign on this issue. We will tell you what you support and what you don’t. We will guide you on what kind of funding you need and how to help veterans. God knows none of the politicians in this country can get it right.”
“And if I don’t?”
“If you don’t, I walk away. I don’t care that I’ll never get the information I need. You already tore apart my life with your stunt on stage the other day. Don’t think I won’t walk away. We do it this way, or I don’t lift a goddamn finger to help you.”