Nothing to Lose (9 page)

“What exactly are you being forced to do that is so hard?” Sherise asked.

“One,” Erica began, “go work for Jonah, meaning being around him a lot and letting him be closer to me, which I am scared to death to do.”

“Getting closer to Jonah is dangerous,” Billie agreed. “Although you probably wouldn't be around him a lot. He'll be traveling and working. You'll probably be at staff headquarters.”

“So that's out,” Sherise said.

“Two,” Erica added, “I would be working for Jonah's campaign and betraying him by giving you information. You work for the enemy now.”

“Sherise doesn't want you to give her information about the campaign,” Billie said.

Sherise shrugged. “Well, if she's there, why not—”

“Because,”
Billie said. “That's why not. You only need to get information on his relationship with Sherise and what he's doing to keep it quiet.”

“Then you can quit,” Sherise said, “if it bothers you that much.”

“And then do what?” Erica asked.

“You just don't want to help me, do you?” Sherise asked accusingly.

“Don't be ridiculous,” Billie said. “Of course she does.”

“No, she doesn't.” Sherise's tone became high-pitched as the realization hit her. “She wants my life destroyed. That's it. All this time, you've been fighting with me, and now this is your chance to get me for good.”

“I don't want to ‘get you,' ” Erica argued.

“You think I deserve this, don't you?” Sherise asked, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks. “You like the idea of me just stewing in my own panic and fear, because it's what I get, isn't it?”

“I don't want you hurt,” Erica emphasized. “I just want your problems to stop being mine.”

“Isn't that what friendship is about?” Sherise asked. “Isn't that what we've always thrived on? Being there for each other? This is my life, Erica. This isn't just some random favor that could get me out of a bind. This is my marriage, my family, Cady, this baby, everything.”

“I know what it means to you,” Erica said. “You don't have to keep repeating it.”

“And how much of a sacrifice would this be for you in comparison?” Sherise asked.

Billie didn't like what Sherise was doing to Erica, guilting her like this, but it was true. They were supposed to do anything for each other; and considering what pain this could cause Sherise, it didn't seem as if it was asking too much of Erica. Still, Erica had her own demons with Jonah. This would be forcing her to face them earlier than she'd wanted to, maybe earlier than she was ready to.

“Sweetheart.” Billie reached over and placed her hand comfortingly on Erica's shoulder. “This might turn out better than you think. You're always talking about how much you hate your job. This could open the door to so many things.”

“Jonah already gave me that speech,” Erica said.

“Well, it's true!” Billie urged. “And you don't hate the man. You can be near him at least long enough to find out what Sherise needs to know, so she can be at peace or prepare—whatever the case.”

Sherise moaned as she looked away. “How can someone prepare to have their entire life completely annihilated?”

Erica couldn't contain how apprehensive she felt about this. She felt a sudden urge to get up and leave; but then she heard a noise, a crackling of sound right in front of her. She looked down at the glass coffee table and saw the baby monitor. She could hear Cady making the most adorable sounds. It seemed as if she was laughing a little bit. A smile immediately came to Erica's face at the sound of it.

“Can you do it for her?” Sherise asked, jumping on the opportunity as she saw the familiar softening of the usually hardened Erica just at the sound of her baby.

Billie's phone made a beeping sound and she reached into her purse for it.

“Fine.” Erica threw her hands in the air, giving up. “I'll do my best, but I can't make any promises.”

Sherise jumped up from her chair and leapt toward her friend. She wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tight and thanking her profusely. Erica struggled to break free of Sherise's kung fu grip, looking to Billie for help.

“Can you get this fat, pregnant woman off me?” she asked, laughing.

Sherise slapped her on the arm. “Fuck you! Even pregnant, I'm going to be the hottest bitch in every room, just like I was last time.”

“Oh, dear” was all Billie said in response to the text she read.

Both girls turned to her as Sherise finally released her hold on Erica.

“What is it?” Erica asked.

“It's a text from Michael,” she said. “He wants to have dinner with me.”

“Who's Michael?” Erica scooted closer to her.

Usually very interested in Billie's dating life, Sherise was too relieved at Erica's agreement about Jonah to care about Billie's social life right now. She leaned back on the sofa and took a deep breath, barely listening as Billie told them about her initial meeting with Michael on the train and then again at the office, followed by the flowers and the personal visit.

“Why are we just now hearing about this?” Erica asked.

Billie shrugged. “Because it's nothing. I'm focused on my new job.”

“You need to get some, though,” Erica said.

She knew Billie was having a rough time since Ricky. She wanted Billie to get back in the saddle just as much as she wanted it for herself.

“You're blushing,” Erica said, laughing. “You like this guy. You say he's gorgeous. Sherise, get your tablet. Let's Google him and see what he looks like.”

“No,” Billie said. “Trust me, he's fine. But he's too close to where my bread is buttered.”

“He doesn't work with you,” Erica said. “He doesn't work for the company. He's a consultant. There's no conflict of interest here.”

Billie just shook her head, not wanting to get into it.

“You're doubting yourself now,” Erica said. “That's not good. You made a mistake. Just like you got past everything that happened with Porter, you can get past what happened with Ricky.”

Billie rolled her eyes. “Speaking of Porter.”

“Can we not?” Sherise finally asked, her ears perking up at the sound of Billie's ex-husband. “Nothing good ever comes from a conversation about that asshole.”

Billie told them about her first case and that the firm had hired Porter. Erica looked a little cautious, but Sherise managed to form a big smile on her face.

“Oh, it's on now,” Sherise said.

“What do you mean?” Erica asked.

Sherise leaned forward. “This is your chance to make his life a living hell for all the mess he did to you. You're the client now. He's the servant boy and you can whip him to your own delight.”

“She doesn't want to do that,” Erica said, looking at Billie. “Right?”

Billie hadn't thought of it like that. She'd been so busy worrying about the awkwardness because of the current status of their relationship.

“No,” she said, not at all convincing. “I mean, I definitely saw it as a dynamic that would favor me, but the last thing I need to do is allow my personal and professional life to conflict again. That's never gotten me anywhere good.”

Both women looked at Billie with very concerned faces.

“I can handle it,” Billie insisted. “Trust me. I'm not someone who doesn't learn from her mistakes. I can handle working with Porter.”

“You mean having Porter work
for
you,” Sherise corrected.

“So,” Erica said, “you can handle this thing with Porter, but not Michael? Because it seems like Porter would be the complicated one. Michael, on the other hand, sounds like a win-win situation.”

“There could be complications,” Billie said.

“As with anyone,” Erica said. “Fine, just ignore me. Ignore Sherise. What do you want to do? Do you want to go out to dinner with him?”

Billie opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. She stopped trying and just let the smile, which wanted to come, naturally form on her lips.

“Okay,” she said. “Just dinner.”

“You got this,” Erica said reassuringly. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Now that this is settled,” Sherise said, “let's talk about this bitch in my husband's office, Elena.”

Sherise had a great poker face, and she made sure that poker face was in full form when she walked into Jerry Northman's office at the campaign headquarters in downtown
D.C.
While she had been on the phone with the office and had attended meetings via Skype, this was the first time she'd been face-to-face with him since announcing her pregnancy.

She wasn't stupid; she knew there was doubt. She knew they probably resented giving her the offer, but the truth was she was still the best at what she did. Plus, the baby would be born before the general-election swing began. The preliminaries, when the party candidates did all their infighting to find out who would come out on top, was the focus now. Northman was the clear leader. The hard work, the general election, when he would run head-to-head with Matthews and now Jonah, would come next year. They had to know this; if they didn't, Sherise would be sure to remind them.

So she had to bite back her paranoia and beat her value and worth into them until every doubt they had went away. She walked into Northman's office, with head held high and looking like a million dollars—a million healthy, ready-to-do-miracles dollars.

“You look good” was the first thing Northman said from behind his desk.

“I feel great,” Sherise reassured. She took a seat across from his desk and nodded toward LaKeisha, who was sitting in the chair next to her. “All that bed rest was to make my husband happy.”

“And is he?” LaKeisha asked. There was a pointed tone in her voice.

“As a clam,” Sherise responded quickly and tersely, before turning to Northman. “I feel great. I've done this before. It's nothing. What I'm really excited about are the talking points I've been working on. You got those, right?”

“If you need help,” LaKeisha continued, “you can just let me know. We'll add to your staff.”

Sherise slowly turned her head to LaKeisha. With a stone stare and a bulletproof smile, she said, “The two staff members I have now are all that I need. I won't need more—”

“The talking points are amazing,” Northman interrupted. “Nolan has weaknesses that most people don't know about.”

“I learned a great deal about him during our short work together at the Domestic Policy Council.” Sherise crossed her legs and leaned back confidently in her chair. “He's strong on defense, but he has some political weak points. I think his party switching makes him an easy opportunist target and verifies that he's not someone who can be trusted.”

“We need to work this angle hard,” Northman said. “Right now, a man who looks very strong needs to be made to look very weak.”

“That's exactly what we're going to do,” LaKeisha assured. “Meanwhile, Sherise will be reminding everyone of what a loyalist you've been to the Democratic Party.”

Northman pointed his finger to his desk and tapped a few times as his brows centered in frustration. “He's very popular. That's a problem. With the sympathy for losing Shaplin and Nolan's popularity, this isn't good. I think we'll need more.”

“We're working on that,” LaKeisha boasted.

Sherise blinked for a second, but she regained her composure as she looked at LaKeisha, trying her best not to give anything away. “What do you mean?”

LaKeisha tilted her head to the side with a self-assured grin. “Nolan is a very rich, very handsome, very powerful man. He's been married for twenty-five years. There's something out there.”

As Northman made a muddling sound, like a moan suggesting he wasn't comfortable with this conversation, Sherise gripped the edges of the folder she held in her hands. She should have just quit. She was greedy, not wanting to pass up this opportunity to ride to the White House. No, if she quit, it could come out still; but the shit storm that followed wouldn't be as bad.

It was too late. She had her chance. Sherise was in this for better, for worse, or for life-ending, apocalyptic disaster.

“Do you think that's a good idea?” she asked. “Getting so dirty, so early, generally backfires.”

“We'll deal with it later,” LaKeisha said. “For now, on the subject of your pick for vice president, we won't announce anything until after the primaries are finished, but I've been researching probable—”