Seduced By The Candidate (The Candidate, #1) (8 page)

“Not to decry the things that have gone before, but tonight is
about one thing and that is to honor our esteemed colleague and representative
William Goulding. He has proven himself time and again to be a man of flawless
integrity and vision.
 
God willing, in
less than two months he will be sat in the White House, serving us all with the
same purposeful diligence that he has shown throughout his short but
illustrious career.”

The applause this time was far louder and sustained, and it was
punctuated by cheers and shouts of encouragement that perhaps owed as much to
the fine wine as they did to Goulding’s presence. The speaker waited for a full
thirty seconds before he was forced to shout over the crowd.

“Without further ado ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to
continue your applause as I give you Senator William Goulding, the Republican
candidate and very shortly, the forty-fifth President of the United States of
America.”

With applause thundering around him Goulding rose to his feet,
adjusted his bow tie and when the noise had quieted to a dull ripple, he
addressed his audience.
           

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
Republicans and...
yeah
, what the hell, good evening to
all of the Democrats out there as well! For those of you that don’t know me,
and if you don’t I think I should fire my campaign manager, my name is William
Goulding and I’m here to tell you that I have absolutely no interest in being
the President.”

Everyone in the room drew in a sharp intake of breath as if
they were a single, living, breathing entity. The room descended into a silence
that was so complete that you could have heard a pin drop in the next state.

“That’s right ladies and gentlemen. You heard me right, I don’t
want to be the President,” he paused watching the confusion and a bit of fear
settle into the faces around the table. “I want to be YOUR President. I want to
be an official that’s elected by the people, for the people and always, ALWAYS
inspired and empowered from working with the people.”

As the cheering erupted and the silence gave way to an ecstatic
bedlam, the atmosphere couldn’t have been more extreme and Goulding rode the
wave of adulation for all he was worth.

“My opposite number in the Democrat camp, President Stephen
Morton is an honorable man and I believe that sincerely. I also believe that he
has been a fantastic President and led this country in a safe, sensible and
secure fashion for the past eight years but”, Goulding drew out the last word.
“He has done so with policies
that were
equally safe,
sensible and secure twenty years before he even won the Presidency. President
Morton isn’t doing anything wrong, but I would argue that he is effectively
doing nothing at all.”

Another wave of cheers swept through the gathering as Goulding
said what they had all been thinking.

“America is the largest,” Goulding continued. “The most
powerful and the most inspirational nation in the world and yet President
Morton would have us sit comfortably, resting on the achievements of men long
since forgotten and unwilling to push forward into the twenty-first century.
Japan leads the world in technological design and advancement...not America.
Germany leads the world in cutting edge automotive design...not America.
President Morton would have you believe that apathy and acceptance are the
traits we should hold dearest to our hearts.”

Goulding stopped and leaned back a little. He waited for his
words to sink in, judging carefully the moment that grant the greatest impact
for his next statement. “Well, I’m here to tell you that they aren’t. This is
the message given by THE President and this is why I have no intention of
merely stepping up to office and filling his shoes. While I have always thought
of them as being big shoes to fill, I fear now that they might just pinch a
little!

“By electing me, you are electing a man that will make it his
sole purpose to bring this country back to the forefront of national and
international advancement. I have no interest in settling for safe, I want to
thrust this nation forward towards greatness once again. In a world as advanced
and developed as this one, standing still is no different from taking a step
backwards and I promise you now that we will not only take a step forward, we
will take a huge double footed leap.”

As he warmed to his subject, Goulding looked out across the sea
of expectant faces and he knew that he had them. Every last man, woman and
child were hanging on his every word and the power he wielded over them was
palpable and intoxicating.

He took a sip of water and continued.

“My detractors have spoken publicly about the fact that I am
too young to lead this country and in response I say that these are merely the
words of old men, with old ideals that are scared of change and the man that is
willing to embrace it and bring it to the masses.

The men in my old regiment followed me into the worst war zone
in modern times. How many of them said I was too young? Did Private Jessica
Lynch tell me I was too young when
me
and my men
rescued her? Did the happy voters who have consistently elected me to office in
every one of my positions over the last decade ever stop for once and tell me I
was too young to represent them effectively and efficiently? In every single
instance ladies and gentlemen, the answer is no, no and NO!

The only people, who have ever said I was too young, were my
disgruntled opponents, desperately looking for a cheap and easy means of
derailing my campaign. Shall we look back and see where they are now? Where is
Harvey Huddlestone? Where is Senator Jimmy Steadman? Where is representative
Arnold Nailor?” Goulding glanced around the room, meeting the eyes of as much
of his audience as possible.

“I’ll tell you where...they all disappeared into relative
obscurity as soon as the little man that was too young to beat them did just
that, and went on to lead his people with more competency than they could ever
have hoped to have achieve. Ask any of them now if I was too young and I bet
you get a very different answer to the tired debating points that they tried to
rely on back then.”

Cheers and applause erupted again and it was several minutes
before Goulding could again be heard above the roar of the crowd.

“I’m not your average politician, I never have been. For a
start, I tell the truth! I also refuse to resort to dirty, underhand tricks to
belittle my opponents. If what I stand for isn’t something you can embrace
fully, then I sincerely hope that when the time comes you vote for President
Morton. However, I’d be prepared to accept that it was a vote wasted if I was
you! If the current polls are anything to go by, President Morton could use all
the votes he can get...hell, I might even vote for him myself!”

Chuckles and coughing laughter rippled through the room.
Goulding
smiled
 
and
nodded with them, sharing their mirth.

“President Morton says I’m too young...I say that what I lack
in years, I make up for with a track record of success, support and a
willingness to change. I’ll hold my hands up and tell you now that I still have
a lot to learn and will probably make plenty of mistakes to make. But what
would you rather have, a President who’s willing to learn, adapt and change? Or
a President so stuck in his ways that he is too terrified to try anything new
and completely unwilling to accept change in any form?”

Another pause.
Murmurs moved briefly
through the crowd as they agreed with their candidate.

“President Morton says I’m single and as such lack the
knowledge to successfully deliver and defend family values...I say that I’m the
Republican candidate and that I have the support of the wonderful Evangelist
movement. What more backing does he want? Nothing, NOTHING is more important to
me than family. It is the bedrock that we all base our lives on and without it
we would never have the strength to grow and develop. Without a solid family
unit, our dreams would remain just that...something to be hoped for, but never
attained.

When I was recovering from my injuries in 2003, I had given up
hope and very nearly the will to live. There was one thing that gave me to the
strength to carry on, one thing that made me realize that I still had a life to
live and something to offer my fellow man. Without the love and support of my
father, I might not be standing before you today and in six weeks when we
celebrate a successful
campaign,
I think it is
important for you to know the debt of gratitude that I owe him...a debt of
gratitude anyone who votes for me owes him. He is the strongest man I know, not
because of how much he can lift, but because of the belief in his convictions
and the love he has for his family. President Morton, if you think I have
little concept of family values, or the understanding and ability to promote
and uphold them, I suggest you give General William Goulding Senior a call.”

This time it took at least five minutes for the applause to die
down and it gave Goulding a chance to look at is campaign team and judge their
reactions. John Lyndsey watched on in awe and even though he had helped
Goulding write the speech he could never have envisaged the power and the
effect that their words would instill. He gave Goulding
a
thumbs
up and desperately hoped that he could close out the speech in as
much of an enigmatic fashion as it had begun.

Charlotte was also spellbound and had finally managed to dab
the tears from the corner of her eyes without them spoiling her mascara. Now
she understood why so many people were willing to put up with the mood swings,
the insults and the general bullshit attitude. It wasn’t the impressive
salaries, it wasn’t his charm or good looks,
it
was
the power that he exuded. He was a gladiator of his chosen arena, a young pretender
to the crown that had all of the talent and prestige to back up the boasting
and the hype.

At that point, she knew without a question of a doubt that she
was looking into the eyes of the next President of the United States and his
power had ensnared her completely. She knew in that moment this was the man she
wanted to give herself to. This was the man that she wanted to take her
virginity and make her a woman and as innocent and inexperienced as she was,
she burned with the intensity of her volition.

Goulding raised his hands and quieted the crowd. He was ready
to close this speech and forever cement himself in Memphis history.

“Please ladies and gentlemen, you’re too kind. I have a few
last things to say. Your faith in me is humbling and I want you to know that I
will never do anything to make you think that it was misplaced or ill-advised.
Like the rest of you, I have to answer to man’s rules on a daily basis and I
embrace that fully as a law-abiding citizen of this great nation, but that
isn’t the highest power that I answer to.

Even the people that I continue to serve with my very heart and
soul cannot over-shadow the omnipotent power and glory of our ultimate
enforcer. First and foremost in everything I do, I answer to God and it is only
through his strength and good will that I stand before you today. He had a plan
for me and it wasn’t to die in Afghanistan. It wasn’t to succumb to fear and
depression when faced with my injuries. It wasn’t to fail in my rise through
the political ranks.

It was to sit at the head of this great nation and lead its
people forward into a tomorrow filled with promise and possibility. It was to
lead you all into a period of never before seen progress and development and
with God at one side and you at the other. I promise you that there is nothing
that we cannot achieve together.” He bowed to them slightly, giving to them the
respect and acknowledgement they deserved. “Thank you and goodnight.”

The sound of three hundred and fifty chairs scraping back as
everyone in the hall rose to their feet was completely drowned out by the
rapturous applause that crashed over Goulding in waves. The clapped, they
cheered, they cried and they prayed, but without exception every single person
in that room was convinced that there was no one better placed to represent
their individual needs and requirements, no matter how small and insignificant
they might at first appear to be. Bill Goulding was more than a Presidential
candidate, he felt like a friend, like a trusted confident that would really
listen and effect change on an individual basis and they already loved him for
it.
 

All around him people clamored to shake his hand. In order to
avoid the head table from being over-turned by the sheer weight of pressing
bodies, Goulding stepped into the massed crowd and greeted his public. He was
instantly swallowed; the crowd opening and then closing behind him as if he was
Moses and they were the Red Sea. Jake’s worst fears were confirmed. As tall as
he was, Jake was barely able to make out Goulding amongst the throng and he had
no chance of protecting him if anything out of the ordinary were to occur. It
was all very good proclaiming himself to be the ‘People’s President’, but if he
was to make it that far, he would have to listen to Jake’s advice and take the
necessary precautions.

As Jake fought to catch up with his boss, Goulding found
himself forced to the edge of the room towards a group of three men that stood
completely separate to the main body of the crowd. The three middle-aged men
stood quietly waiting for him as if they knew with some pre-ordained certainty
that Goulding would eventually come to them instead of them having to seek out
an audience with him.

“Senator Goulding,” said the tallest of the three men in a
cold, hard voice. “We were beginning to wonder just what we had to do to get
you to acknowledge our presence.”