More Than Rivals (3 page)

“Maybe a little,” he answered, bobbing his head. He turned and winked. “But, you know me. I’m a slave to fashion.”

“You’re one of the few people I know who honestly thinks it’s better to look good than to feel good.”

“Well, it is.” He gave her another once over. “And you look good today. Great idea to show a little leg.”

“Thank my mother.”
 

“Thank you, Martha.” He smiled at the white haired woman bringing up the rear.
 

“You’re welcome,” she said and nodded. “I knew it was the right thing to do.”

“Why don’t you talk to her more,” Lily whispered behind Jordan’s shoulder.

“I feel like a fool when I do it. She’s very proper.”

“Yeah, now imagine having her as your mother.”

“I can’t.” He shook his head. “That woman is tough. No wonder you are how you are.”

As they approached the stage, Martha nodded toward the end of the first row. “I’m sitting down. I’ll save you a seat, Jordan.”

“Thanks,” Jordan replied.
 

While Martha settled herself in a prime location, the candidates, their staff, and the media mingled around the front. They introduced themselves, shook hands, or slapped backs depending upon their familiarity with one another. Though she was in a good mood, Lily reflexively drew her fingers into tight fists. She began saying a silent mantra,
He’s John, not Jack. Do not call him Jack.
 

 
The mantra soon left her mind, though, as she was met by one of the other candidates, Herb Yancey. Herb extended his weathered hand, “Hello, Ursula. I’m Herb.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lily said as she shook his hand. “It looks like we have a good turnout.”

“Well, your presence certainly makes the race more interesting.” Herb smiled. He was a wealthy retiree from Marin, who was a one-note candidate. It was only his obsessive fight against mass transit had brought him to run for Congress.
 

“Thanks,” she said, returning his smile. “I think we’ll all have a good time.”

A sharp voice rose from behind. “Hello, Ms. Robles.”

“Excuse me,” Lily said to Herb and turned to see a scowling face. “Hello, Mr. Lee. Please call me Ursula.”

“Whatever you want,” Gerald Lee announced as he placed his arms across his chest. “I doubt we’ll be conversing much.”

“Maybe not.” Lily said in a clipped tone. She extended her hand. “There’s no reason not to be friendly, though.”

“I suppose not,” Lee said with a huff. He gave her hand the briefest shake before excusing himself and walking away.
 

She side-eyed Jordan who sneered in disgust at Lee. He hated Lee, who was a self-righteous, lefty blogger. Jordan whispered in her ear, “He’s such an asshole.”

“I know,” she answered with a frozen smile.
 

Lily started to elaborate on Lee’s horrible personality, when she saw the Democratic frontrunner in the race. As the long-time state senator for most of Sonoma County and the rest of the north coast, she knew and liked Charles Kingsley. He was an affable guy who people were drawn to who would be hard to beat. She was so different from him, though, she still liked her chances.
 

Wasting no time, she walked toward him. “It’s good to see you, Charles.”
 

“And you, Ursula.” He grinned and patted her back. His large belly prohibited them from getting too close. “Now I’ve got a competitor.”

“Thanks, Charles. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“These events were getting sort of boring. Now that you’re around, things are gonna spice up.”

“Yeah, right. You’ve just got a new punching bag.”

“Not me. You know I’d never hit you,” he snickered. “Lee’s the one you have to watch out for.”

“Great…”

“If you’ll excuse me, I think I need to at least say hello to him so he doesn’t pick on me first.”

“Good luck with that.”
 
She laughed and let him go on his way.
 

As he left, Jordan muttered, “Only one more candidate to meet…”

“Bengston,” she said under her breath.

“He’s over there,” Jordan said, gesturing with the press packet in his hand.
 

As she craned her neck, Jordan quickly turned and blocked her view of Jack. He kept his voice low. “I know the guy annoys the hell out of you, but he
is
kind of hot.”

“Well, I can’t see.” She pursed her lips, debating whether or not she should tell him about her encounter with Jack. They always talked about men, and despite her paltry love life, the sheer number of Jordan’s escapades gave them much to discuss. She decided against telling him—at least at that moment. Instead, she shrugged. “Objectively, he is good looking.”

“Well, I wouldn’t kick him out of my bed.”

“That’s not a very high bar.”

“Hey, what are you saying?” he asked holding his hand to his heart in pretend shock.
 

“I’m just saying you get around, especially for someone who lives in Sonoma County. This isn’t exactly San Francisco.”

“Wouldn’t it be great if Bengston was closeted and played on my team?” he said as his eyes lit up with relish.
 

“He doesn’t.” Lily realized she’d answered a little too fast. She winced internally, realizing she’d set herself up to either divulge her secret or to lie to her friend.
 

“And how do you know?” Jordan snipped.

“I just do,” she replied and looked away.

“Hello,” a strong, familiar voice came from behind Jordan.
 

Lily’s head swung around to the voice, and her mouth dropped open for a second, before she quickly snapped it shut. A small smile formed on her lips as she said confidently, “Good afternoon, Senator Bengston.”

“It’s good to see you again, Supervisor Robles.”

She gazed into his eyes, which held hers just as firmly. He had his own wry smile, and hers grew a bit bigger. While he wore a suit and looked the part of Senator John Bengston, his expression told her the Jack she’d met the other night was also there in him. As they shared the moment of recognition, she was tickled. He was happy to see her.

Her eyes flew to Jordan when she saw him silently mouth only to her,
“Again? See you again?”

She placed her hand on his shoulder and turned him around. “Senator Bengston, please meet my campaign manager, Jordan Singer.”

“Morning, Jordan. It’s nice to meet you,” Jack said and shook his hand.
 

“Good morning, Senator.” Jordan grinned, his eyes darting back and forth between his boss and her rival. “I last saw you speaking on the state house floor. It was a good speech on the budget.”

“Well, thank you. That’s kind of you to say.” Jack turned to Lily and motioned toward Jordan. “He’s obviously a brilliant staffer. You’ve picked a good one.”

“Luckily, he’s faithful.” Lily chuckled. “No trying to steal him.”

“No, I think Nelson, my campaign manager, is enough.” He smiled at Jordan. “I can’t handle too many taskmasters.”

“Nelson’s great.” Jordan nodded. “But tough.”

Jack crossed his arms, while he blatantly assessed her from her heels up her legs over her skirt. No doubt in an effort to be decent and not leering, his eyes skipped her chest and went straight to her face. He grinned and announced, “We should talk after this. Don’t you think?”

As she absorbed the fact he’d just obviously checked her out, Lily took a deep breath at the prospect of such uncharted territory. It wouldn’t have felt like a routine flirtation even if they weren’t political opponents; the attractant which flowed between them was too intense. But the fact he was her opponent made the situation altogether bizarre. It was both unsettling and exciting.
 

“That’s probably a good idea.” She nodded. “Though I have to get somewhere afterward.”

His mouth twitched. “No coffee this time.”

“Er…no.” She stole a glance at Jordan whose eyes had widened.

“All right then.” He smirked. “We’ll just talk for a minute.”
 

He turned to Jordan and patted his shoulder. “Good to meet you.”

“You too,” Jordan said with a slow nod, as if he were still adjusting to unexpected news.

As Jack walked away, Jordan faced Lily and took a step closer to her. He whispered, “What the hell? You’ve had coffee with him before? I thought you said you’d only spoken to him once.”

“Yeah.” She held back a smile and readjusted her purse. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was no big deal. I bumped into him the other night.”

“Well, I think he’s flirting with you.”

“I don’t know…Maybe,” she said, her voice searching for hope.

“Watch out, girl. He might be doing it just to disarm you, so then you go easy on him in the campaign.”

She furrowed her brow as she considered the Jack she’d met before might not have showed up today after all. Instead, John Bengston may have taken a fleeting infatuation with her from the other night and turned it into a political ploy. Would he do such a thing?
 

All politicians were a little duplicitous—it was how they survived, but he’d been so earnest with her she didn’t want to believe he’d be manipulative with her heart. She was a smart woman though, and she couldn’t rule it out. She breathed deeply in resignation. “I don’t know him well enough to say.”

“This deserves a further conversation, preferably over a drink. I want the whole story. It’s nutso if you start flirting with the enemy.”

“Okay, okay. We can go out tonight, and I’ll explain.” She gave him a reluctant smile, “Before you go out to prowl.”

With the audience almost all seated, the panel’s moderator called the candidates to their seats on the stage. Lily was happy to be placed on the end. With Jack sitting far down the table, she couldn’t see him and wouldn’t be nervous.
 

After calling the auditorium to order, the moderator introduced the panel. An older reporter for
The Sonoma News
, he gave the driest of biographies for each candidate, until Lily. He began, “And finally, this little lady just entered the race…”

Lily looked over to her mother who scowled at the man for reducing her accomplished daughter to a “little lady.” Lily simply smiled and ignored it. If she was offended by every sexist comment, she’d never last in politics.
 

Most of the questions were the usual ones about issues facing the Congressional district or the country—everything from American military intervention overseas to a controversial cement plant proposed next to a city park. The candidates were largely in agreement on the issues. Despite its pockets of extreme wealth, liberal to moderate Democrats populated most of the northern California coast.
 

After an hour of back and forth between the moderator and the panel, he asked the final and most telling question, “What makes you different from all the other candidates and best qualified to represent this Congressional district?”

When it was Jack’s turn to answer, Lily wanted to crane her neck to see his reaction. She hadn’t been able to look at him the entire hour, and the curiosity was killing her. She couldn’t be that obvious, so she stared straight ahead, listening intently and reading into every word.
 

He began by addressing one of his weaknesses. With regard to his privileged
San Francisco upbringing, he used it to his advantage. “I realize some may hear about my background and think I can’t understand what life is like for an out of work logger in Del Norte County. I agree. I don’t know that experience firsthand, but my family has always been involved in helping those down on their luck. I’ve seen how the right programs can put people back on their feet.
 

“It’s been an honor to serve in the state legislature for six years now, and I know legislation I’ve authored has turned into real, on the ground change in people’s lives, whether it is in job creation or education or the environment. That’s why I have the backing of the teachers’ associations and environmental organizations. There will be no learning curve for me if I were to become Congressman. With your help, I can deliver on what this district needs from Washington.”

As he continued, Lily parsed the facts and messages embedded in his statement. Because he’d worked as an attorney for just a few years before being elected to office, Jack had little life experience to tout. Only in his early thirties, he was already the epitome of the professional politician, jumping from higher office to higher office. He needed to show voters he was motivated by a desire to do good and contribute to society, rather than raw ambition.
 

She glanced over to Jordan whose eyes met hers with a cold look. She recognized his calculating stare—he was thinking of how to use Jack’s words against him. It was an obvious path because the questions were easy. What did Senator John Bengston know of your troubles? What had he ever done besides be a privileged white guy who’d never worked for anything in his life? The theme resonated with her, but regret quickly took over at the thought of saying it during the campaign. She looked down at her clasped hands in disappointment. Though she barely knew him, she didn’t want to say something like that, yet the time might come when she would have to.
 

If she wanted to win, which she did, she would have to draw contrasts between herself and the other candidates. Jack was better known than she was, so she needed to show voters why she was actually the right choice. It could be done in a positive way, but campaigns usually degenerated.
 

As the moderator moved on from Jack to the next candidate, Lily debated her remorse.
If I’m not willing to go negative to win, I should get off the stage.
She contemplated quitting, and deep determination immediately set in.
I’m not leaving.
 

When the moderator finally questioned her, he added another part to his question.
 
“Supervisor Robles, you’re a late entry into this race. Why did you jump in? What do you think you can offer the other candidates can’t?”