Chapter Thirty-Eight

 

Linda watched Adam's face as he read, and she was surprised to see the lack of response there. He should have been thinking… something. Anything.

But he wasn't. No emotions at all, as his eyes scanned the page. Then he started back at the top and went slower. His eyes moved less, focused more on the words.

And then he got to the bottom of the page and looked up, tossing the paper onto the table where it was promptly forgotten about, as if she had never given it to him.

"What's this?"

"You read it, you tell me."

"It's a joke, is what I read," he says, and pushes his chair back. "You know I'm not going to accept that."

Linda's eyes closed. "You're going to have to accept it, Mr. Quinn."

"Not if I have anything to say about it, I don't."

Linda's posture should have been more stand-offish. It would make her look more serious about this. But the truth was, she was tired, and she just didn't know what she could do any more.

So she'd done what needed to be done in the light of the new revelations about her possible dating status: she'd handed in her resignation.

"If I don't come in tomorrow, then you don't have much of a say in anything."

"No," he agreed reluctantly. "I suppose that I don't."

"Then we're in agreement."

"Not so far," he answered. Unhappily, she noted. Well, his happiness wasn't her business. She had to do what was smart for her, rather than what he wanted her to do. "Is this some sort of martyr thing? You think you have to resign, for the media image or something?"

She took a deep breath. "No, but if it was, are you saying I'd be wrong?"

"I'm saying that right or wrong doesn't matter. It's not about doing what the people want you to do. It's about deciding what needs doing, and then convincing people they want it."

Her eyes drift shut for a moment. What the hell was he talking about? Did he even know himself? Because she sure as hell didn't understand him. If the public reaction didn't matter, why was she even needed?

"I don't believe that, sir."

He frowned. "You don't have to believe it, if you don't want to. I can prove it if needed. No belief required."

"Why hire me, if you don't need to control the reaction?" Linda's voice cracked a little bit. A momentary lapse of self-control. She got it back a moment later and tightened her arms in front of her.

He looked at her impassively. "I didn't say I didn't need to control it. I said that their initial impression didn't matter, and they'd react the way that we made them react. I need to control them just as much as anyone."

"Then at least why don't you consult me? I've been left out of several major decisions lately—"

"Is this about the speech yesterday?"

"Not entirely," Linda answers. There's a tone in his voice that puts her immediately on the defensive. What right does he have to challenge her, in the first place?

"But that's part of it, right?"

"So what?"

"So nothing. I just want to know what the score is."

"Yes, that's part of it."

"I can fix it," he says. He says it like he means it, but does he even know what the problem is? Does he really know?

"I don't think you can, Adam. I don't think you're capable of it."

"Let me prove you wrong."

She lets out a long breath. "No. I'm moving on, Adam, before I'm the Capitol Hill slut, who just wants to sleep her way to the top."

He frowns. It stings to see him looking even the slightest bit upset, but there's no room for sympathy, when it's her career on the line. His eyes bore into her, and in spite of all the time that she's spent with him, she still feels it deep down, and a shiver shoots down her spine.

"I don't want you to go," he says. His voice is flat and there's no hint of begging, but even still, she feels a tug to give him what he wants. Her jaw tightens again.

"I'm sorry, Adam. I've made my decision."

The door on the way out is heavier than usual, but she forces it open, and the air rushing in as she does hits her hard and runs down her nose, down her throat, and right into a pit that's opened up in her stomach. She's got to figure out what to do next, because the damage is already done.

Now she's just got to figure out how to undo it. Somehow.