Chapter Thirteen
Josh
After the successful conference the day before, I was looking forward to a morning off at the golf course. It was a nice day to be outside, and I was tired of being in front of a computer or smiling for the cameras. I loved what I did, but it was exhausting at times. I tried not to complain, though, because I knew how lucky I was, but sometimes it was good to just let off some steam.
I was looking forward to seeing Kason again and catching up. It hadn’t been long, but it felt like forever since we’d last caught up with one another. It was strange not having him in around the office every day, but it was important for him to be out of the limelight for a while until things settled down. I knew that it was probably killing him to be away from work for so long. He might be a lot of things, and some of them less than flattering, but he had always been a very hard worker. If the roles were reversed, I would’ve gone crazy by now already. Just like him, I always needed to be busy.
I made my way to the clubhouse to wait for Kason and saw someone waving me over. When I got nearer, I saw that it was John Steenman, the owner of the clubhouse. He’d always been nice to me, but I generally got the impression that he didn’t like me all that much. I wasn’t sure that he liked the way I handled things in the public eye. We generally didn’t talk all that much, so it was strange that he was calling me over. I hoped he didn’t want to talk to me about Kason.
“Hi, John, good to see you again,” I said. Even though he’d never liked me all that much, I actually liked him a lot. He was great at his job, and I had always admired anyone who was good at what they did.
“Josh, I’m glad to see you.” That was strange. He was acting suspiciously nice toward me today. He was smiling at me in a way that I knew he meant it. “I’ve been kind of scarce lately. I put my back out and it took me a while to find my mobility again. But I’m back on track.”
“Ah, sorry to hear that. You’ve had problems with your back before, haven’t you?”
“I have. It’s all a part of getting older I’m afraid. Enjoy your health while you can, young man.”
I smiled. “I’ll try. And you’re not old.”
“Oh, I’m old. But thanks for saying that. Anyway, I’ve been keeping track of what’s been happening in your world, and I must say, I am very impressed with how you handled that conference yesterday.”
“You are?” That was not at all what I had been expecting him to say to me. His comment completely threw me off guard. He’d never said anything horrible to me, but this was also the first time that he’d ever really said anything nice too.
“You did a great job out there, and it was a pleasure to watch you. I kept telling my wife that you were one of the men that came to the clubhouse all the time. She loved you. She told me that you were a hit with the ladies, by the way. I know Kason is going through a rough time, and I think you did a great job with showing people your human side yesterday. I stand by your beliefs and I just wanted to let you know that you have my vote.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. If there was one person that I thought would definitely not vote for me, it was John. I beamed at him and went to shake his hand.
“Thank you so much, John. I cannot tell you how much that means to me. And thank you for letting me know. That’s kind of you. Things have been pretty tough lately and I’ve been desperately trying to stay positive. So, this was just what I needed to hear.”
“Just keep doing such a stellar job. We need more men like you around.”
That was a good sign, and I reminded myself to let Reagan know when I saw her again. John might only be one vote, but I was certain that before the conference, I didn’t have it. If I had changed his mind, then there was hope that I had changed a few more. He was not the sort of person that I thought would have his mind changed easily, so we must be doing something right.
When Kason walked in, I grinned at him.
“You look happy,” he said. I immediately felt bad because he definitely did not look happy. He looked tired. In fact, he looked like he hadn’t slept since the last time I had seen him. And he’d lost a lot of weight. There was a big difference between someone that lost their weight in a healthy way and someone who lost it due to stress. He’d been telling me how much he needed to lose weight not so long ago, but this did not look on him.
“I just spoke to John and he said some good things to me. Anyway, it’s good to see you man. Come on, let’s head out to the course. It’s a great morning for some golf. That’s another reason why I’m smiling.”
“It’s good to get out again,” Kason said the moment we stepped outside. I watched as he closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air around him. It was like he was breathing in fresh air for the first time. “I’ve been so cooped up lately. Thanks for inviting me out today. I think this is just what I needed. Hey, I saw the conference yesterday. You did great, man. I was impressed.”
“You think? I wasn’t sure if you’d watch it or not.”
“Are you kidding me? Of course I watched it. I wouldn’t miss it for anything. You were incredible up there. And they threw some really tough questions at you. You seemed to take it all in your stride. I couldn’t believe at how well you handled it. I mean, I know you’re good at that sort of thing, but they really tried to get to you this time, and they failed miserably. I think you’ve somehow managed to make a comeback from all of this. In fact, you seem to be getting a better reaction than you did ever before.”
I smiled. “I’m glad you think so. I was very prepared this time. We planned for every scenario, so nothing came as a surprise to me. I’m just glad it went well. I think it’s put us back on track again. And judging from what John said, it sounds like we’ve gained some votes that we didn’t have before.”
“I think so too. I was so nervous at home. I swear it took every ounce of control for me to not reach out for a bottle of whiskey or something. But you did well. Look, I just wanted to say thank you for not making me look like a terrible guy. It means a lot to me. You could’ve easily just turned the blame on me, but you didn’t.”
“Well, that’s because you’re not a bad guy. You made a terrible mistake, but who doesn’t at one point in their lives? So many people make mistakes, and they’re just lucky because they don’t get caught. That’s all. I wouldn’t throw you under the bus. We’re a team. And don’t worry; things are going to go back to how they were before. You’ll see.”
“I hope so. I’m just glad that everything went well yesterday. That at least makes me feel better. I’ve been feeling so guilty about everything. I mean, if it wasn’t for me, you all wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. I was such an idiot. So . . . well . . . thank you.”
“Kason, don’t worry. It’s going to be fine. People have done worse things than this. You made a simple mistake. And, like you said, it’s not really like you cheated on your wife. The two of you weren’t in a proper relationship to begin with. How are things going, by the way? Have you spoken to her?”
He sighed. “No. I’ve tried, but she won’t return my calls right now. I don’t blame her. This scandal has really turned my life upside down. It’s made me look at things in a whole new way. I was walking around with far too much cockiness. I looked at every woman that walked my way without ever thinking of how it might make my wife feel. It’s not right. I . . . I didn’t realize what an idiot I was. I’m not a bad person, like you say, but I definitely made some bad choices. I have to live with them now.”
We spoke a little bit more about his situation, but the more we spoke, the more the mood seemed to go down. I hadn’t seen Kason like this before, and it was heart-wrenching to see it. I knew that if we continued to talk about the situation, it would only make him feel worse. I needed to change the subject before he got too depressed. I needed him to get his mind off what was going on in his life. I knew time was a healer, but I was sure that it was dragging for him. And the upcoming election was probably a constant reminder to him of what he had done.
“So, did you notice anything different about me yesterday?” I said.
“Yesterday?”
“At the conference.”
“Hmm . . . yes! I did, actually, and I was going to ask you about that. You were wearing a suit. Very different from what you normally wear. For a few seconds, I didn’t even realize it was you.”
“What did you think?”
“Yeah, it looked good on you. I was a little surprised, though.”
“Too much of a change?”
“No, it wasn’t a huge change. I only noticed because I’m your best friend. And I know how much you hate wearing ties. That thing must’ve annoyed the hell out of you.”
I chuckled. “No, it wasn’t all that bad.”
“So, why the change? Did Ralph suggest that? I could imagine it was something that he would try and convince you to do. I just didn’t think you’d actually listen to him.”
“No, it wasn’t Ralph, although I’m sure he was very happy to see me wearing it. Actually, we hired a public relations officer to come in and help us sort everything out. She’s working on our image. She’s doing a lot of behind-the-scenes things for you too, by the way. Making sure that certain press releases go out and shining the spotlight on all the good things you have done. She’s also focusing a lot on me and making sure that we get the votes. She has some wacky ideas, and most of them seem pointless to me. But she assures me that she knows what she’s doing and that all these little things are all building toward the greater good.”
“A public relations officer, huh? Well, judging by how well the conference went, it sounds like she knows what she is doing. What’s she like?”
An image of Reagan floated to the forefront of my mind. I had so far tried not to think about the way it had felt to have her so close to me when she was adjusting my tie before the conference, but it suddenly came to my mind then. I hated that I was even remotely thinking of her in that way, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. “She’s . . . she’s interesting,” I said because I knew that I couldn’t admit to her being beautiful right away. Kason would know that something was going on then. Not that anything was going on. Only in my head, of course. “She is not even slightly intimidated by me.”
Kason laughed. “That must be an unusual feeling for you.”
“It is.” Kason was my best friend. I could be frank about these things with him. He had known me for long enough to know that most people found me intimidating. He also knew how much I liked that fact.
“Is she hot?” he asked.
I couldn’t help but laugh. After everything that Kason had just been through, the last thing he should be thinking of was whether or not my public relations officer was good looking. But he just couldn’t help himself. “Oh yeah. She hides in her business clothes, but it’s pretty obvious that she has an incredible body. And she’s very pretty. Beautiful even.”
“Uh oh.”
I laughed. “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked even though I knew what he was going to say. I probably shouldn’t have added that part about her being beautiful. I very rarely called anyone that.
“A hot public relations officer has been hired to help you? Make sure you don’t get too involved with her. Keep your guard up, just in case. Just now she ends up being someone on the other side hired to spy on you. This sounds to me like another scandal just waiting to happen.”
I thought of Reagan and chuckled at the thought. There was no chance that she was a spy. “Spy on me? No, I don’t think so. Ralph is the one that hired her. He knows her from his college days. I highly doubt that he would hire someone that he didn’t trust. You’re just paranoid.”
“Oh yeah, I’m paranoid all right, and for all the right reasons. You can never be too sure of something like this anymore. That’s something that I learned the hard way. Or, maybe she’s not a spy. Maybe she’s someone like the maid was to me. Maybe she’s just after your money. I know it seems crazy, but I would never in a million years have guessed that the maid would’ve done that to me. She seemed like the sweetest woman ever. Just be careful. You were the one that warned me, and I didn’t listen to you. So now I’m warning you. You’re doing so well at the moment, and the election is very close. Don’t let anything get in the way of that. Especially not a woman.”
I laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s very clear that Reagan is not interested in me that way, and I have no interest in her that way, either. It’s impossible that I could get close to her. Trust me, nothing and nobody is going to get in the way of me winning this thing.”
I thought of the way she’d looked at me when she’d done up my tie. There had been a small little spark that had run between us, I was sure of it. I wasn’t getting too close to her, was I? I shook my head. No, Reagan found me annoying, as did I with her. I hated a woman that wanted to change me. And she was far too close to Ralph to be on the opponent’s side. She might not know me all that well, but she wouldn’t do that to her friend. Right?