Knight (Political Royalty Book 1) (6 page)

They’d just moved into the building. She hadn’t even had a chance to have the office furniture delivered and they had no staff to speak of. That would all change and in no time the place would be crawling with volunteers. For now, she had an empty office, Justin, and her massive whiteboard, and it was enough.

She had the caucus and primary dates along with staffing goals and other details in linked files on her laptop, but something about the big board and a handful of dry erase markers helped her organize her thoughts and see things more clearly. The senate race in Virginia had been her biggest campaign to date, but at its core, the fight for the nomination was just a scaled-up version with dozens more variables. Once she got the extended staff in place in every state, she’d get them to break their states into counties or districts and start parsing data to come up with a strategy for winning each of them.

She’d already made a short list of delegate experts to ensure she locked down as many of the unbounds as possible. She could picture a web of connections between the individual counties and the overall delegate map. It felt like playing on a giant virtual 3D chessboard, and the prospect excited the hell out of her. The back-and-forth strategy and the rush of power that came from a win was the reason she got into politics in the first place.

“Very high-tech,” said a voice behind her. “I love what you’ve done with the place.”

She glanced over her shoulder to see Walker and his shadow standing in the doorway.

“I know, right? I was thinking about blowing the budget and getting a felt board with some of those Velcro apples to stick on each state when you win.”

Walker grinned at her, a full open smile that reinforced what she already knew about his charm and his ability to work an audience. Behind him, Abby scowled, the crease in her brow threatening to become permanent.

“Is Mrs. Walker meeting you here or at the Capitol?” Haven didn’t need to ask him if he was ready. He seemed more eager than nervous. She didn’t doubt he’d be able to channel that energy into his announcement.

“She’ll meet me at the site with the children. They’re just standing behind me for the announcement. I don’t want them near the podium after that.”

He’d been adamant about that from the beginning. He knew too well how the game was played to think he could get away with hiding his children from the media, but he’d been very clear with her and everyone else about exactly how much exposure he’d tolerate. It made Haven like him a little more.

“I can keep the kids with me,” said Abby, tripping over herself to offer.

Justin glanced from the woman hanging on Walker’s every move to Haven and puckered his lips in a mock kiss. She gave her head an almost imperceptible shake. It didn’t matter if Abby had a thing for the senator. It was only a problem if he reciprocated, but there was still no reason to provoke the woman who despite her hero worship—or because of it—had proved surprisingly valuable. No wonder she’d stayed on after his senate runs. She paid attention to everything and could answer questions about the senator’s schedule before Haven even had a chance to ask.

“Thanks, Abby,” said Walker, hitting her with a smile that Haven recognized as his working the crowd one but that Abby seemed to believe he meant just for her. “The girls love you, and Sandra and I won’t have to worry about them if they’re with you.”

The woman who usually shrank into the background grew taller under his attention, and Haven made a note to keep an eye on things. She still wasn’t sure she believed the line Walker fed her about never having cheated on his wife. Combined with the whole marriage of convenience thing and the almost impersonal way he and Sandra behaved together, the kind of devotion Abby offered would be hard for a man like the senator to resist.

“Your car’s waiting downstairs,” said Haven, snapping the cap back on her dry erase marker. She wanted to stay and study her board but the announcement was important. It could set the tone for the entire campaign. She didn’t want to miss it, and she couldn’t take a chance on anything slipping through the cracks.

Haven and Justin followed the senator and his aide out of the offices, down the elevators and into the waiting black SUVs. Travis met them on the ground floor and climbed into the first car with Justin. Before she could follow, Walker reached out and grabbed her arm.

“I want you with me,” he said, steering her into the backseat of the second car without waiting for an answer.

He didn’t have to wait. She worked for the candidate. What he wanted, he got. As long as it didn’t hurt their chances of winning. Haven was more than willing and capable of throwing herself in front of that bus if she had to. Self-sabotage was actually surprisingly common in politicians. She didn’t know if insecurity or just a need for attention caused it, and she didn’t care. She wasn’t about to let anyone, including Walker, do anything that jeopardized their victory. He might be the one who ended up president, but winning this campaign was every bit as much her dream as it was his.

“You don’t mind sitting up front with the driver, do you, Abby?” he asked.

Looking very much like she did mind, Abby nodded and crossed to the passenger side door.

“Are you nervous?” Haven asked when they were in the car and on the way.

“Excited,” said Walker, confirming her earlier suspicions. “I want this. I want to convince people to give me a chance to do what I know I can for the country.”

“Then tell them that.”

“Agriculture isn’t sexy.”

“It doesn’t have to be. That’s not the only thing you’re selling.”

She glanced at his profile, strong and masculine in the dim light of the interior of the SUV. It was a bright day, more spring than winter to Haven’s tastes, but the tinted window filtered most of the light. It didn’t matter; even in shadow, she could see the confidence in the set of his jaw. He was a good-looking man, a classic all-American hero. With a family name worthy of a dynasty, but still ultimately self-made. The press and hopefully the voters were going to eat him up.

He turned and gave her the grin that would have volunteers lining up to work for him. “True, but it’s the most important part to me.”

“Are you second-guessing the platform?” They’d gone endless rounds over what a Walker presidency would look like, what would be its most important issues. He was right; it wasn’t sexy. But his passion and idealism on the issue was contagious and unexpected. It was also completely at odds with any assumption of him as a privileged, entitled, self-absorbed politician. If he could get them to listen, voters would see it too. And with his natural charisma and his resources, he’d make them listen.

“No, it’s too late. The signs are already printed.”

“Well, there’s that,” she said, smiling at him. “It would be a bitch to have to change the slogan. I’m not sure Travis and Justin would survive it.” The tussle over Walker’s slogan had gone late into the night and pitted her right-hand man against his chief of staff. Justin won but just barely.

“Can’t have that,” he said, as the car started to slow. “My God, look at them all.”

She followed his gaze out the window to the crowd gathered on the lawn in front of the Capitol steps. About a third of them were holding up red, white, and blue Walker signs with
Moving America Forward
printed across the bottom. The podium had a larger version of the sign and the American flags acting as a backdrop moved gently in the slight breeze. They’d taken a chance that the wind would stay down or be mostly blocked by the building and it looked like it was going to pay off. When Walker stood in front of them in his navy suit and red tie, he’d have the weight of one of the country’s most important symbols backing him up.

Walker wasn’t looking at the podium. His gaze stayed fixed on the people, with an expression that read more like anticipation than nerves. He looked like the battle had just become real to him and he was ready to pick up the mantle and begin the fight.

“Thank you,” he said, glancing over at Haven.

“I haven’t done anything yet.”

“You got them here,” he said, his attention back on the crowd.

“I think the Walker name had something to do with that. You can thank me when you win.”

“Fair enough.”

The driver pulled into the area beside the Capitol they had designated as a staging area. Flanked by security, the senior Walkers stood side by side, the governor in a gray suit, looking every bit the senior statesman, and his wife in pale-rose Chanel. Shep’s mother was diminutive beside her larger-than-life husband, but Haven could see how she and the governor ended up together. Despite the fine lines creasing her still surprisingly youthful face, she was a beauty. She must have been stunning as a young woman.

Haven scanned the area, making sure everything was the way she’d ordered and they had enough staff on hand to keep things moving smoothly. A staff member opened the car door in front of them and the senator’s daughters climbed out, looking momentarily shy before spying their grandmother and dashing toward her. The older woman made a motion with her hand and the little girls stopped mid-stride, their pale-blue and green Alice in Wonderland dresses swirling around their knees. They walked the rest of the way to the senior Walkers, who bent down for hugs and kisses.

It was the only real affection Haven had seen from them. They certainly didn’t show it to each other. She’d never be a fan of the governor’s, but it was nice to know there was something decent in him, even if it only showed up when his granddaughters were around. Everyone’s attention shifted, and Haven watched as Sandra Walker took the offered hand of one of the campaign staffers and unfolded herself from the back of the car, her long, graceful legs leading the way.

She wore a Tiffany blue sheath dress with a simple jacket and an honest-to-goodness single strand of pearls around the pale, slender column of her throat. The only thing missing was a pair of kidskin gloves and tiny pillbox hat pinned to her smooth French twist and she’d look like she stepped out of a 1960s magazine. Instead of looking dated, she looked polished and contemporary—a reference to the past without looking passé. She was sexy enough to catch the men’s attention but not so sexy she alienated the women.

The aide helping her from the car looked stunned, and Mrs. Walker had to gently tug her hand from his grip. The staffer shook it off, moving aside so she could join her children and in-laws, and Haven glanced over at Walker to gauge his reaction to the scene. He’d hardly seemed to notice. Mrs. Walker had charmed everyone in the staging area, and her husband didn’t pay any attention. Haven was going to chock it up to preoccupation with what he was about to do, but that didn’t feel right. A thread of worry worked its way to the back of her mind and buried itself there, where she could dig it out and pick over it later.

The senator’s car pulled into place, and Walker cast a quick glance over his shoulder to Haven. “This is it,” he said as much to himself as to her.

“They want to love you. Go give them a reason to.” She wasn’t sure why she led with that. Hell, she didn’t even know if it was true, but the smile he gave her made it clear she’d said exactly what he needed to hear.

He straightened his tie and nodded, still smiling. “Talk to you after,” he said, before climbing out of the car and slipping on his full politician persona. He didn’t ask about the details or if she had everything under control. He assumed she’d handle it because she would. It felt good that he trusted her so quickly and so completely. It was an anomaly among the men she’d worked with. She’d often spent months proving herself. Walker made it unnecessary.

Not bothering to glance back to see if she followed, he strode across the porte cochère to his family. The kiss on the cheek he gave his mother was slightly warmer than the one he gave his wife. If she’d been a gambler, she’d have bet he’d only touched the air above Sandra’s cheek, but if it bothered her, it didn’t show. The greeting he gave his children was warm and genuine. He looked at them with the same kind of pride his father displayed.

The governor shook his son’s hand and said something Haven couldn’t hear. Walker started toward the podium and the sound of the crowd. The rest of the family fell into place behind him like a perfectly orchestrated piece. Haven glanced around to make sure Justin and the rest of the staff who’d be standing off to the side during the speech were ready to go and she saw Abby watching the senator and his family with something that could only be longing. How had no one seen it earlier? Either Mrs. Walker didn’t care that the senator’s aide was in love with him or she didn’t see Abby as a threat. Given the comparison between the poised, regal blonde and the mousey brunette, it seemed unlikely the senator would risk everything for a staffer, but powerful men had made much more unlikely choices before.

Travis followed the family, with Abby falling into step behind him while Haven checked her phone for news of the last attendee. She got the text saying they were arriving just as she saw the car pulling into the porte cochère. Inserting herself between the aide hurrying forward and the black SUV, she opened the door herself and smiled at the man inside.

“Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for agreeing to do this,” said Haven, stepping out of the way so Tom Johnson, the secretary of agriculture, could get out of the car.

The older man grinned at her like she was offering him something much better than a chance to introduce a junior senator from the opposing party.

“My pleasure, Ms. Graham,” he said, taking her outstretched hand and leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek. “I’m happy to help. I appreciate the work you did for my friend Anderson.”

He winked and she smiled back. The newly elected senator from Virginia and the secretary had been friends since college. She’d met him for the first time on the campaign at a seminar to help Virginia’s transitioning tobacco farmers.

“I hope this won’t cause too many problems with the president and your party,” she said, knowing the answer before she said the words but needing to maintain the illusion that he was doing them a favor instead of the other way around.