The Hot Guy at the GOP Debate (2 page)

Jacey
had covered many stories at the convention hall, and knew a nearby
office, where she could slip in and charge up.

She
passed a security guard, smiled broadly and said hello, as she walked
confidently passed him as though she belonged there, before slipping
quickly into the office and closing the door behind her. She grabbed
her phone and charger from her pocketbook, and was about to plug it
into the outlet when she was startled to see that she was not alone!

“
I'm
sorry,” she heard a deep male voice say.

“
Oh
my God,” she gasped!

“
I'm
sorry, I didn't want to scare you, but I wanted to let you know I was
here,” he said.

“
I-I
didn't see you there! It's you!,” Jacey said, realizing she was
face to face with Mr. Fluffy!

“
Do
we know each other?” he asked.

“
We
do now,” she said, quickly recovering from the shock of seeing
him and flipping on her beguiling reporter charm. “In fact,
you're just the person I wanted to see!”

“
Why
is that?” He demanded to know, as he eyed her suspiciously.

It
seems you've made quite an impression on all of America,” Jacey
teased him.

“
I
didn't do anything.” He said defensively.

“
Apparently,
you don't have to actually do anything to become an internet
sensation these days.” Jacey stated.

“
Hi,
I'm Jacey,” she said holding out her hand.

“
Alex,”
he said, shaking her hand friendly, but cautiously. “What are
you doing in here, Jacey?”

“
My
phone died. I came in here to use the outlet to recharge it. Why are
you hiding in here, Alex?” Jacey asks him.

“
I
was advised that it would be for the best,” he answered.

“
For
the best? What do you mean by that? Are you afraid of something? What
are you afraid of?” Jacey asked aggressively.

“
Whoa....cool
your jets. Who said I was afraid of something? I'm not hiding out
because I'm afraid of anything!” he laughed.

“
Then
why are you hiding? Or rather what are you hiding from?” She
asked 
tactlessly
.

“
Inquisitive,
aren't we!” He snapped at her. “I just don't like being
the center of attention. Not everyone has the personality of a
politician! Some people have other ambitions, you know!”

“
You
seem defensive,” Jacey noted.

“
Are
you a therapist?” He asked.

Jacey
shook her head no, realizing she should probably tone it down a bit.

“
You're
trending you know,” She said.

“
Yeah,
So I've heard.”

“
But
why hide?” She pressed.

“
Wouldn't
you hide if you suddenly found yourself the object of a ridiculous
trend?” He asked.

“
I
might like it. It might appeal to my vanity, I suppose,” Jacey
answered candidly.

He
shook his head, “You suppose you would like it, but believe me,
you wouldn't enjoy it one bit! You're lucky. What I wouldn't give to
just blend into the crowd like you do. You really do take that for
granted, you know.” He said.

“
Oh,
I blend into the crowd, do I?” Jacey couldn't help feeling the
sting of his remark.

“
I'm
so sorry,” he insisted, “I didn't mean it like that.
Truly, that's not what I meant. You're a beautiful woman, I didn't
mean to imply...”

“
It's
okay,” Jacey cut him off. “I realize I'm no supermodel.”

“
You're
missing my point, I was not referring to your looks at all!” He
insisted. “Now, I've really put my foot in it.” He said,
admonishing himself. “And now you see why I don't do
interviews. I avoid the press at all costs, so when my friend texted
me during the debate and told me that I was the subject of a crazy
social media maelstrom, my first instinct was to hightail it out of
there and find someplace to take cover!”

“
You
said you don't do interviews – who is trying to interview you?
Why do people want to interview you? Are you famous?” Jacey
asked.

“
Not
exactly,” he laughed. “Maybe more like infamous, at least
according to the press.”

“
Why
is that?” Jacey pressed.

“
Because
I won't give them what they want.”

“
What
do they want?”

“
They
want to know who I am!”

“
Who
are you?” She asked.

“
Who
are you?” He responded suspiciously.

“
I
told you. I'm Jacey Smith.”

“
I
got that part, but what is your interest in politics, Jacey Smith?
How did you happen to find yourself at the debate tonight?”

“
My
father instilled a civic interest in me, and I majored in political
science in college.” She told him.

“
So
family influence, basically.”

“
Influence,
yes, but there was no pressure, I took a liking to it. My parents
would have supported me whether I went into politics, or
dog-grooming.”

“
You're
lucky, I wish I had been groomed for dog-grooming.”

“
What
were you groomed for?”

“
The
family business.”

“
Is
you family is in politics?” She asked.

“
You
might say that, in a roundabout way.”

“
Either
they are or they aren't, which is it?” She pushed.

“
Okay,
that's how it is with you then, black or white. In that case, they
aren't.” He laughed. “Not strictly speaking.”

“
Meaning?”

“
Meaning
there are plenty of people in politics, who weave their webs behind
the scenes, and no one ever knows or hears about them. And there are
others who just go along with the status quo, which is sometimes a
passive but powerful influence.” He said.

“
Are
you referring to special interest groups, or pressure groups?”
She asked.

“
Basically,
yeah, or just individuals with their own agendas.”

“
Okay,
you still haven't actually told me what you do, but in essence, it
sounds like you're telling me that you've been groomed to forward
your own agenda?” Jacey asked.

“
Well
actually, I've been groomed not to have my own agenda.” 'Never
go against the family,'” he said in his best Don Corleone
impression. “Actually, I love my family. They're great people,
and great humanitarians. I just don't want to let them down, so I try
to keep a low profile.”

“
Why
do you feel you're letting them down?” She asked.

“
You
wouldn't understand.”

“
Try
me,” Jacey coaxed. “I'm a great listener.”

“
You
ARE a therapist!” He insisted.

Jacey
laughed, “No, I told you, I'm not a therapist, but I do believe
that I was given one mouth and two ears for a reason. I try to listen
at least twice as much as I talk!”

“
My
family is old school.” Alex confided. “They believe in
working hard, keeping your head down and your nose clean. My
immediate family is not in politics, my extended family is. I'm a
banker by trade, to answer your original question, but I've been
groomed to play along with the whole political charade. That was my
cousin up there on the stage tonight, Robert, or as we know him,
Roberto. Nobody knows we're related. He won't publicly acknowledge
us. I was there to represent the family and to let him know that we
may not agree with him politically, but we still support him all the
way.”

“
Why
won't he acknowledge you?” Jacey asked.

“
He
is ashamed of our side of the family. We disagree with a lot of his
political stances – such as his views on women and minorities.
You think he is a white guy from Connecticut. Everyone thinks he's a
white guy from Connecticut. But we know the truth! He is Mexican like
the rest of our family!”
“
Mexican?
But what about his hard-line stance on immigration, and illegal
aliens crossing the border from Mexico?” Jacey asked.

“
What
about the fact that our own grandfather was an illegal alien? Now you
get the picture why he will not acknowledge us. We are the very
people he is up there railing against! It's all politics, and it is
so sad to see him deny his heritage like that. He doesn't give the
American people enough credit, he doesn't give himself enough credit.
He doesn't think he can win the nomination as the grandson of an
illegal Mexican immigrant, but this country is built by immigrants,
we're mostly all immigrants, and yes, some of us are also descendents
of illegal immigrants who risked their lives to come to this country
to find a better way of life for their families.”

“
But
if your family is Mexican, how is it possible that the press isn't
aware of this? Why does everyone think he's of English descent? With
all the journalists always covering him – writing about him,
how was this not uncovered?” She asked.