Page 51 of Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl
“I’ve always been a good judge of character.” Except that wasn’t true. How could it be when I’d let myself believe that Gentry was the person I should spend the rest of my life with?
“I had the video removed, by the way. Consider it a gift.”
“Sounds more like a favor,” I tell her. “And I really don’t like being in the red.”
She nods, and I can see that my response tickles her. “I’m looking for a fresh face to take over a House seat in four years.”
“So this is just window-shopping?” I ask. “Checking out some far-fetched possibilities before the party settles on the same old white-bread wonder boy?”
“First off, I don’t work for the party. Any party,” she says with disgust.
I lean back in my seat, establishing some distance. I don’t know that I ever do want to run for office, but getting mixed up with backroom, unsanctioned politics before whatever career I choose has even begun feels like a really sketchy start.
Veronica rolls her eyes, seeing right through me. “Don’t get your ethically made period panties in a bunch. My work is legal. Technically. I am hired by donors to... acquaint myself with up-and-coming talent in the political arena. If a donor happens to like something I’ve found, then it’s completely aboveboard for me to take the party chair out for coffee and talk shop. Drop a name or two.”
“So your job is to find candidates that donors want to throw money at?”
She measures me for a moment as she chooses her next approach. “Maddie, don’t pretend like you don’t know how the sausage is made, or even that you find it distasteful. I’ve met plenty of idealistic prospects in this line of work. While I was highly impressed by the work you did with the Wade Foundation and even with the papers you wrote for your school’s law review, you know that most victories require someone’s hands to get dirty. Let’s say I rub my hands in the dirt so that no one else has to.”
“And what’s in it for you? I’m guessing this wholehardly put togetherlook of yours is by design too?”
“Blending in is underrated. And even though this meeting is about you and certainly not about me, I’ll tell you that the only thing greater than being the king is being the kingmaker.”
Her words send goose bumps up my arms, and I think that what she’s saying should feel seedy. Immoral. But I appreciate her frankness. I might even find it a little bit sexy. “How did you even get my name?” I ask. “I am literally a footnote in Gentry’s campaign, and I definitely haven’t made any connections since I moved back to Kansas. Actually, never mind,” I tell her. “It was nice meeting with you. You can send your little report on me up the chain. We both know that this first meeting is likely to be our last.”
“The House campaign is in four years, Maddie, but next fall we have a state house seat and a couple of high-visibility municipal offices with wide-open fields. I think it would be a great chance for you to get your name out there before running for higher office. If everything pans out, the state campaign would kick off in January in the lead-up to the primaries. It wouldn’t be much, but you’d be compensated out of the campaign funds. My donors own real estate. Some own law firms. We could get you a place and an employer to get you through until you would hopefully win your seat and take office. All of that is phase two.”
“And what’s phase one?”
“Donor support and party support. Then you launch your campaign.”
“You don’t strike me as the type of person to put all your eggs in one basket, Veronica.”
She grinned that same wicked grin. “You know, you’re almost too smart to be a politician. Just on the cusp, really. But yes, I’ve got a few horses in the race, though I’ll admit that you’re my current favorite.”
“I’m your current favorite? Really? Some recently graduated law school student who hasn’t even passed the bar and has no experience running for office?”
“A clean slate is a good slate.” She pauses for a beat. “Miranda Salazar, by the way. Your department chair. That’s how I got your name. She mentioned you at a dinner the other night. Miranda isn’t easy to impress, so if she name-dropped you, I figured you’d be worth a look.”
My chest flutters at the thought of someone like Miranda, who I am possibly starting to idolize, even thinking of me when I’m not in her presence. Let alone mentioning my name in conjunction with running for office. To stop myself from grinning like an absolute nimrod, I bite down on my tongue until I can taste the sharp, metallic tang of blood.
“And what if I’m interested?” I finally ask when I can almost trust myself to play it cool.
“Keep your head on straight. I see you’re nannying right now on the side.”
“Do I even want to know how you know that?”
She stands and tucks her phone in her pocket along with her car key. “Don’t do anything stupid like fuck the dad.”
I freeze, and she watches me for a moment, the crease above her nose pinched together. Then she laughs.
“I’ll be in touch, Maddie. You really brought the heat with that lecture today, by the way.”
“Veronica. Wait.”
She turns back to me.
“I might be a realist, but I do have some very firmly held beliefs. Things I won’t waver on. You should know that.”
