Conscience (The Bellator Saga Book 2) (20 page)

Such language usually meant she’d get many, many more than one. “Can’t wait for that. Should be very illuminating.”

He trailed a finger down her neck to her cleavage, slipping it under the top of her bra. “Indeed it will be.”

The Past

It should have been a run of the mill Homeland Security hearing but as it progressed it turned into more. Committee hearings were broadcast on C-SPAN, if at all. Usually no one paid much attention to them. Once word got out that Representative Gerard was repeatedly laying into Representative Murdock, the press jumped all over it.  Caroline had to field questions from a number of reporters after the hearing ended and was getting a bit bored. She looked over at Katie, who gave her a giant thumbs up while typing frantically on her phone.

Caroline was chatting with a young reporter from
The Hill
named Paul, if she remembered correctly. After standing there being bombarded with the same questions over and over, she hoped he would soon run his course.

“Congresswoman, was there anything personal behind your exchange with Representative Murdock this morning?”

How many times had different members of the press asked her that in the last twenty minutes? Hadn’t he been paying attention? “Nothing personal about it. Just doing my job.”

“You’re not normally that aggressive with a member of your own party,” he said.

“That’s not true.” Caroline tried not to sound too sharp. She had to start improving her tone. She’d been slipping lately. “I’ve made it clear during my time on this committee that given the sensitive nature of what we discuss and the potential ramifications of what we decide, I will not stand for other members or their staffers providing false information to Congress or to the American public. I’ve called people out before and I’m sure I’ll do it again before my term is up.”

“So this had nothing to do with the Murdock ad containing footage from your speech endorsing your husband’s opponent during the last election cycle?”

The ad had come out the week before, and Caroline still occasionally seethed about it. This kid was too antagonistic for his own good, but she assumed he didn’t know how he sounded. “Nothing at all,” she said calmly. “Although as I’m sure you know, that ad was incredibly deceptive.”

“Is that why you finally appeared in an advertisement for your husband’s campaign?”

Caroline was determined not to lose it with this kid. She glanced over at Katie, who motioned for her to wrap it up. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out why she issued the response, but she refused to give Murdock any more ammunition. She remained hesitant to take a larger role in Jack’s campaign, but the summer had taken a vicious turn. 

Jack was bound and determined to stay away from negative campaigning, but Murdock took it upon himself to sling every bit of mud he could. After the
Inquirer
article gained traction, he contacted more old girlfriends, business partners, and former employees…anyone who had anything harmful to say about their experiences with John McIntyre. He claimed no responsibility at all but Caroline knew better.

Using Caroline’s speech against Jack had been the last straw. She demanded to appear in an ad by herself, responding both to the accusations posed by Murdock and to finally explain why her speech was in error. Jack hadn’t wanted to put her in that position but relented after Greg convinced him that it would provide the campaign with a nice bounce.

“It was the right time.” She gave him a charming smile. “Can’t hide me away forever. You know how I love attention.”

Paul actually laughed. “Fair enough.” His tone turned serious again. “Are you concerned about any blowback you may receive from engaging in what appeared to be a heated argument with a fellow member of the Democratic Party?”

“Not concerned at all,” Caroline said breezily. “I call it like I see it. And you know that, Paul. Don’t go searching for something that isn’t there.”

“How’s the gubernatorial campaign going?”

“I can’t say too much.” An outright lie; she could say whatever the hell she wanted. Always had, always would. But what she wanted and what was best for the campaign were often different things. “The poll numbers look pretty good from where I’m standing.”

“Is it easier to be the spouse than the candidate?”

A half-truth wouldn’t hurt. Maybe if Paul spent more time in Washington he’d start to recognize them. “Infinitely easier,” she said. “Although hearing the criticism is sometimes hard. Jack has the experience necessary for the role and would make a very competent governor. And I’m sure the voters of Pennsylvania will make the right decision in November.”

Paul made some notes. “One final question, Representative Gerard. Any comment on how the Cubs are faring this season?”

She avoided all sports websites just so she wouldn’t be tempted to read about her beloveds at the bottom of the division. “You’re treacherously close to crossing the line,” Caroline said. Kathleen waved at her and pointed at her watch. Finally. The perfect out that she’d neglected to think of earlier. “If you’ll excuse me, I do have to get going.”

“Thank you for answering my questions,” Paul said.

Caroline made a mental note to put him on her list of acceptable press people. He was young and a bit too pushy sometimes, but was cordial and polite. She liked that. “No problem,” she said. “Have a good one.”

Kathleen smiled as she walked over to her. “Nice job, boss.”

“What the hell were you doing all the way over there?” Caroline asked, trying not to lose her temper. “You’re supposed to come bail me out when shit like that happens. These small time recent J school grads are like fucking vultures sometimes.”

“You know how to handle yourself. Calm down,” Kathleen said.

Easy for her to say. She’d been playing on her phone for the last couple of hours. “I could have used that watch trick about ten minutes ago.”

“You were fine. You’ve convinced the entire press corps that you went to charm school. I’ve been busy responding to some of your Twitter followers who, curiously enough, made the same observations as those reporters just did.”

The room was almost empty. Caroline could vent. “There usually aren’t that many members of the press at these routine hearings.”

Kathleen squeezed Caroline’s shoulder. “Most of them filtered in after the first time you criticized Murdock. Word gets out fast when there’s a juicy bit of gossip or personal conflict for them to write about.”

She didn’t need that. Bad press for her translated to bad press for Jack. She’d been butting heads with Greg Keller for the past few weeks and didn’t want to poke the bear. “Was it that obvious?”

Kathleen stepped closer to her. “Depends on who you’re talking to. It looked personal to me. You have to be careful, boss. Although you did a pretty good job regardless. I was live tweeting the entire thing. From your official account, of course.”

“I hope you made it clear that I wasn’t the one doing the tweeting. What’s the verdict?”

“It’s pretty evenly split between people who think you’re a giant bitch and people who think you’re the Second Coming. Oh, and there’s also a large contingent of people who think you’re now a DINO.”

A Democrat In Name Only. Putting a demeaning label on her because she did her damn job. How clever and original of them. “Good, just the reaction I was hoping for.” She lowered her voice as the other members and staffers filtered out of the room. “You don’t think I went too far, do you?”

“Hell no,” Kathleen said quietly. “That was fantastic. You made Murdock look like a total idiot and caught him off guard. I’d bet dollars to donuts there’s a giant teddy bear at your desk by the time we get back to your office.”

“Jack knows better. I’m wagering on chocolate or flowers.” Her breath caught in her throat as Jeffrey Murdock made his way to the door, followed by a very harried young female staffer. Caroline told herself not to smile but failed miserably, and she could tell Kathleen was holding back a laugh as Murdock pushed past them.

He whirled around and headed toward Caroline. “Nicely done, Gerard,” he said. “Your husband must be proud.”

“I’m sure he is, generally speaking,” she said. “I was just doing my job.”

“Going head to head with a fellow party member is part of your job?”

“No. Calling you out on your bullshit is, though. Next time make sure you bring accurate information to your committee hearings. Unless you were being purposely deceptive.” She smiled at him. “And I would never want to accuse you of that.”

“You’ve had an eventful couple of months,” Murdock said. “I saw that footage of you and Jack at the Fairmont. I bet you get around. Any chance we get to see you sucking some random guy’s cock in the elevator at the Dulles Airport Hilton? I’d hate to see you limit your skills to just one man.”

Kathleen stepped forward. “Hey, now.”

Murdock gave her a patronizing look. “Stay out of it, Ms. Thalberg. It’s not like you know much about male anatomy anyway.”

“Don’t speak that way to her,” Caroline snapped.

He scowled. “Oh, are you going to defend everyone’s honor today? Too bad you forgot about the ranking member on the committee.”

Fuck it. Her professionalism could afford to take a short holiday. Especially after his disturbingly perceptive insinuation about her conduct in Pittsburgh. “You don’t deserve shit,” Caroline hissed. “You got exactly what you had coming to you, and you know it. I don’t like when people try to deceive the public. About anything. But especially national security.”

Murdock sniffed the air. “You and your quixotic quests for truth, justice, and the American Way. Damn, but you’re naïve sometimes. I’m surprised you didn’t bake us all a fucking apple pie. It’s not my fault you can’t handle the big time, Gerard.”

Caroline knew not to get in the mud with pigs but sometimes she couldn’t resist. “Jack is going to wipe the floor with you. And I can’t wait to see it.”

“I hope you keep making ads for the McIntyre campaign,” Murdock said. “Your tits looked really nice in the last one.”

She was about two seconds away from throwing down and rolling up her sleeves, and her chief of staff knew it. Kathleen grabbed Caroline by the arm and started yanking her out of the committee room. “This conversation, if that’s what you want to call it, is over,” she said, pushing Caroline out the door in front of her.

Caroline shook Kathleen off once they were in the hallway. “You could have at least let me kick him in the balls,” she muttered.

Kathleen straightened her jacket. “Believe me, that would have definitely come across as too personal.”

“Jeffrey Murdock is a colossal turd.”

“Can I stitch that on a sampler and put it on Etsy?”

“Sure.”

Kathleen glanced down the hall at Murdock’s retreating figure, the young aide slinking along behind him. “I think he might have issues with women.”

Caroline choked back a sardonic laugh. “You think?”

“I feel very bad for his female employees.”

Caroline thought of the glum look on the aide’s face as she lagged behind Murdock in the committee room. She couldn’t imagine the type of work environment that existed in his office, especially for those who weren’t male. A culture of silence pervaded his employment practices and he had a huge amount of turnover, so there had to be a slimy fire hiding somewhere in the smoke. “So do I.”

Kathleen patted her shoulder. “You okay?”

As if she were the only one who’d caught one of his barbs. “I’m fine. I’ve heard worse. He didn’t offend you, did he? Fucking ass.”

“Nope, I’m fine.” Kathleen grinned. “He’s yet another reminder of why I most often prefer the company of women.”

“If he’d used stronger language with you, I might have kicked him in the balls then.”

Kathleen pressed the button for the elevator. Murdock and his aide were long gone. “You know he wanted to. He might be a homophobe as well as a misogynist.”

“No doubt.” Caroline’s expression turned serious. “Don’t tell Jack, or anyone else, what just transpired here. Okay?”

Kathleen frowned at her. “Caroline, people deserve to know what an asshole that guy is.”

Jack was hyperprotective enough. If Kathleen told him about the confrontation with Murdock, he was liable to send Caroline to committee hearings with a bodyguard, a pit bull, or both. “I think they’re starting to figure it out. He’s letting them know all by himself.”

“You just don’t want Jack to retaliate.”

“You’re right, I don’t. It would look very, very bad if a Republican candidate got arrested for pummeling his Democratic opponent. Jack almost did it last year when we first started dating, after Murdock made some icky remark to him.”

“I remember. I think it’s sweet that you married a man as hot tempered as you.”

Caroline smiled at Kathleen. She and Jack got into arguments more often than she cared to admit, but never about anything critical to their relationship.  They argued mostly about policy issues or with regard to Jack’s fiercely protective behavior toward her. Their heated quarrels always led to some pretty intense making up, so she wouldn’t dare complain about it. Jack had been quick to anger lately. She was starting to understand why some people thought he was a jerk, but knew it was because he was eager to defend her. The campaign had taken its toll on both of them, though she escaped it more often by correctly claiming that she had a responsibility to serve out her term. Jack was more likely to blow off his congressional duties while Caroline was still in Washington or her district on at least a weekly basis.