Knight (Political Royalty Book 1) (7 page)

It hadn’t taken as much nudging as Haven expected to get the secretary to agree to introduce Walker. Johnson had never been much of a party man and there was no love lost between him and the president. But it was the lure of private sector money that closed the deal. Johnson had been a public servant long enough to feel the pinch. He was ready for a fatter bank account and more time on the golf course.

When he learned there was a consultant’s job with the company that bought Aqua Biofarms, he was ready to make a move. It only took a gentle nudge from Walker and the job belonged to Johnson. Introducing the senator was a public fuck-you to the administration and a thank-you to Walker. And a guarantee to Haven of the kind of publicity she needed to give Walker’s
feed the world
message an audience.

“None worth worrying about,” he said with a wink.

“The senator and his family are waiting for you through here, Mr. Secretary.” Haven motioned to the doorway the Walkers had gone through and Secretary Johnson started up the passageway with Haven and Justin falling into step. Behind them, the last few security officers made a wall of black-clad muscle across the doorway.

The governor noticed them first, and the slight widening of his eyes let Haven know he hadn’t been a hundred percent sure she’d actually be able to get the secretary to show up. Later, when it was only her and Justin and a glass of cabernet, she’d indulge in a fair bit of gloating, but for now she kept it all hidden behind her smile.

“Secretary,” said the governor, offering his hand. “This must feel like a world turned upside-down. Let’s flip it completely on its ass. I’ll introduce you and then you can introduce my son.”

Secretary Johnson looked wary, and Haven stepped between the men, flashing her best reassuring smile. The governor had been on edge since the first time she suggested someone other than him should introduce the senator. But Walker had been insistent on minimizing his family legacy and she’d agreed. The secretary of agriculture had been a slice of genius. One the philandering old goat could fuck up with a few misplaced words.

“Travis’s going to introduce the secretary, Governor,” she said, speaking slowly so she could keep the frustration out of her voice. “I’m sure you and Mrs. Walker want to be able to stand back and enjoy this moment.”

It was bullshit. In the short time since she’d met him, she’d come to realize the only thing the governor liked more than pretty secretaries was the spotlight. And power. Hopefully he’d be able to see that the long-term power outweighed a brief time in the spotlight.

“It’s better that way, Daddy,” said Walker, taking his father by the arm and gently nudging him to the side.

Taking his place in front of the secretary, Walker hit him with the smile that hadn’t dimmed no matter how many times Haven saw it and offered his hand to the other man. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you, Secretary Johnson. Despite our obvious policy differences, the way you pushed to have tobacco indemnification money go to alternative energy startups was an inspiration to me.”

It was sucking up, plain and simple, but with enough truth and genuine feeling to smooth feathers, not ruffle them. Haven couldn’t have done it better herself.

The secretary shook his head and Walker’s hand. “You’re going to do just fine, son. What say we put this to bed?”

Walker nodded to Travis, who walked through the door and out to the podium. One of the security detail held the door open and the roar of the crowd filtered into the alcove. Travis gave the canned two-line introduction they’d rehearsed and then the secretary of agriculture walked through the open door, waving his hand to the crowd. Haven doubted he often had a chance to speak to screaming throngs of excited people. The senator had been right when he said agriculture wasn’t sexy. Hopefully, the bipartisan uproar would generate enough interest to merit Walker more than just a mention on the morning shows.

“I imagined most of you are surprised to see me here today,” said Secretary Johnson. “To be honest, when I got the call to do this I was a bit hesitant myself. But hunger and food security are too important to get crushed under the weight of partisan politics. By the year 2050, we’re going to have to feed twice as many people with the same amount of land. That’s not a Republican or Democrat problem. It’s not even an American problem. That’s a human problem and one we all need to be engaged in solving. The man getting ready to take the stage has done more than pay lip service to the challenges facing our country and our world. His company Aqua Biofarms has been instrumental in moving us toward a new kind of agriculture—one that supports our expanding population as well as our planet. Since then, he’s faced the challenges of government.” He paused, tipping his head to the side in a you-know-what-I-mean gesture. The crowd laughed and Haven thought for a moment he might have missed his calling. The secretary knew how to work an audience. “The senator is ready to take on an even bigger challenge and I can’t imagine anyone more uniquely qualified than he is to do it. Ladies and gentlemen, Senator William Shepherd Walker.”

The secretary raised his arm toward the open door and the crowd went crazy, waving their
Moving America Forward
signs over their heads in a sea of red, white, and blue. Senator Walker looked over his shoulder, catching Haven’s gaze and holding it for precious seconds. When he glanced at his family, she felt as if someone had turned off a light. She was going to have to get control of her reactions or she’d end up mooning over him like Abby did. The thought made her shudder.

The senator took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and walked out to face the crowd already cheering his name. Haven glanced at Justin, who nodded and smiled. It never hurt to seed a crowd. Less than a handful of undercover staffers, and her partner could have the crowd chanting whatever he wanted.

Sandra Walker smoothed her skirt and triple-checked the girls’ dresses and together they followed the senator to the dais, already looking every bit like the first family. Haven wouldn’t have to paint a picture for the press. The magazines would be tripping over themselves to write profiles of the adorable children and their beautiful mother. Haven’s problem would be getting the senator to say yes. A glance at the way Sandra Walker beamed at the crowd made Haven rethink her concern. The woman loved the spotlight as much or more than her father-in-law. She’d handle the convincing all on her own.

The senator thanked the secretary and cameras flashed as the two men shook hands and clapped each other on the back. If they were lucky, the bipartisan lovefest would be the headline of every major newspaper in the morning and the lead story on all the morning talk shows. It might ruffle some party feathers, but it was more than worth it for the attention it would shine on the senator’s campaign.

As the applause began to die down, Abby crept forward and took the children’s hands, leading them out of the spotlight while Sandra Walker and her in-laws soaked it up. As soon as they passed through the doorway, the little girls’ relief was palpable. Abby pulled a pair of tablets and drink pouches out of her oversized handbag and the girls grinned up at her happily. She ate it up, clearly relishing the extension of the senator’s attention, which given how she felt about him, made sense. What didn’t make sense was the disconnect between Walker and his wife, but she didn’t need to solve that puzzle now.

Walker started in on his opening remarks and Haven let her attention drift to the faces in the crowd. She knew every detail of the speech. They’d gone over it for hours, trying to hit exactly the right tone—serious but not fatalistic, homeland centric without being xenophobic. She’d felt confident they’d gotten the words right and that Walker could deliver it. She hadn’t been sure of the rapt attention she saw on the faces in the crowd. They were quiet, almost unnaturally so, but it was clear looking at them that they weren’t bored. They hung on the senator’s words, nodding when he detailed the coming challenges facing the planet and breaking into applause at the line about Americans’ exhaustion at military conflict.

“We will continue to be vigilant about terrorist attacks and threats to ourselves and our allies, but we as a people have broader priorities. It’s time for us to move from being the world’s policeman back to being the world’s bread basket. During World War I, our farmers saved a war-ravaged Europe.” The senator paused, his gaze scanning the audience, and the crowd held still, waiting for him to take them along for the ride. “We can do that again—in this time. We are a country of great resources, the best of which are our people and our humanity. Just like a century ago, we are ready to meet the challenges facing us and lead the world into a brighter day for all of us. A day when children don’t go to bed hungry and families don’t have to choose between food and other necessities.”

He held their attention so completely that when he got to the more science-driven parts of the speech—the parts that really weren’t sexy—the crowd leaned forward, straining to understand him. There might be a better outcome then the one staring back at her, but Haven couldn’t imagine it. As far as she was concerned, this blew the doors off her best-case scenario.

“I believe we are all called to do everything in our power to leave the world a better place than we found it. I have tried to live my life that way.” He stopped, winding the anticipation incrementally tighter with every breath. “It is with that goal in mind that I declare my candidacy for president of the United States of America.”

The crowd went wild, cheering and waving their signs. Justin took a step closer to her and leaned in so only she could hear him.

“He’s the real thing, isn’t he?” he asked, his gaze searching her face for the answer.

Before the speech, she’d have said she thought so, but watching him wind up the crowd and get them excited about his agenda and his candidacy removed any doubt in her mind. Turning her attention back to the man who held the cheering crowd in the palm of his hand, she nodded.

“Yes, he is, and we’re going to make him president.”

T
HE HIGH LASTED LESS THAN twenty-four hours. Sandra had been so obsequious after his announcement speech; he should have known the fall would come hard and fast. It wasn’t like this was the first time he’d been through a campaign with her. She rode the wave of the crowd’s adulation for as long as it lasted and then looked to him when it faded to replace the adoration. His attention was never enough. It couldn’t be and a long time ago, he’d simply given up trying.

He sipped his too-hot coffee to avoid having to speak and tried to concentrate on the Sunday morning news show. If he didn’t feed her latest complaints, she’d eventually run out of steam—hopefully quickly—and move on to putting on her layers of war paint and self-righteousness before church.

“I don’t know what you were thinking, letting that woman call the shots. They’ve spent almost the whole hour talking about that stunt she pulled with the secretary of agriculture,” she said, waving a hand at the television. Even in her boxy sleepshirt with her face bare, she was a beautiful woman—more beautiful even than the day he married her. But now, instead of the fresh-faced girl he’d grown up chasing around the beach at Hilton Head, there was something nasty behind her eyes. Maybe it had always been there and he just hadn’t noticed. It was unmistakable now. “Bipartisan, my ass. That man couldn’t care less about building a coalition. You must have promised him something. I can only hope it doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass. You should have had your father introduce you.”

“Because there’s no downside to that?” He wouldn’t call the mother of his children an idiot or a vindictive bitch but goddamn she made it hard sometimes. “You’re right—they have been talking about my announcement almost the whole hour.” Every morning news show had played the secretary’s introduction as well as the bread basket snippet from his speech. The focus had been on the secretary jumping party lines but the visuals had been all him, and they’d all been good. “If the governor had announced me, I’d have barely gotten more than a mention and the talk would all be about family dynasties and entitlement. Believe me. This is better,” he said, wondering why he still bothered. His wife moved in whatever direction served her self-interest at the moment, logic be damned.

She didn’t say anything but the way she tossed her hair clearly telegraphed
whatever
.

“I’m going to check on the children and get ready. Don’t be late,” she said, turning with a flourish and strutting from the room like she wore her red-soled heels instead of socks.

He ignored the irony of the comment. He could wait until she was completely dressed before starting to get ready and he’d still end up waiting for her. In the beginning, he’d thought her taking so much extra time to get dressed was kind of charming, almost like a ritual from another country. He’d grown up with a brother, a sister so reclusive he’d sometimes forgotten she was there, and so many bathrooms there wouldn’t have been a line anyway. Living with Sandra and her endless time in front of the mirror had started as a novelty; now it irritated the crap out of him. He’d had to leave her behind on more than one occasion, taking separate cars to events to avoid being late. She never missed a chance to stand beside him and be recognized as the candidate and later senator’s wife, but she so rarely showed up on time. After a while, he’d stopped expecting it.