Bipartisanship and Romance

"Send him in," I said, but before the word had gotten out of my mouth, he had pushed past Rachel. He almost shoved her.

"HEY!" I screamed at him, running over to grab my secretary. Grast looked like he thought I was about to hit him and reared back defensively. Maddie stepped up to him to make sure he didn't take a swing at me. I excused my secretary while Grast muttered an apology. I shut the door.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked him. I stood close to Maddie and didn't offer him a seat.

"You know why the fuck I'm here, asshole. And I'm glad your fucking here too," he said, pointing at Maddie. I caught the faint whiff of alcohol.

"Great, we're both fucking here. So what the hell is the point?" Maddie barked at him.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be glad to know your little hero fucked my wife! After he finished blackmailing me, of course!" Grast spat. Maddie and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

"Mark, apparently no one has fucked your wife. Including you. Also, if someone is blackmailing you, it isn't me." I replied calmly.

"Hey fuck you! I know that it's you. You are trying to pay me back...." Grast trailed off, realizing what he almost said out loud.

"Why whatever would Ted be paying you back for, Mark?" Maddie asked in her sweet southern belle voice. She also put her hand on my shoulder and leaned into me.

"NOTHING!" Grast shouted. "I didn't do a damn thing to either one of you. But now. Now you are coming after me! I'll bring both of you down if I have to. I know you! You'll fuck up eventually!"

"Mark, calm down. I did talk to your wife, and she seems lovely. I don't know what you and she are going through, but I hope you work it out. Oh, and the next time you and Ms. Jones need to run to an airport to see Mr. Olinski, tell her to wear more sensible shoes. Those heels she was wearing when you two went past me in December. She could have fallen!" I said with mock concern.

Grast's eyes went wide. I realized that it had never crossed his mind that not only did I know about the affairs, but that I could prove it. But, sadly, I also realized that he hadn't believed his wife. He cursed under his breath.

"Fuck both of you. I'll take this to Farmer, and he'll put your ass in a sling after the trouble you caused," he said, pointing at Maddie.

"What is you intend to tell Mr. Farmer, Congressman Grast?" Speaker Gower said from behind Mark. She had just come into my office. Maddie jumped in.

"Speaker Gower, so good to see you. Mark was just making sure that I had informed Minority Leader Farmer that I had resumed my relationship with Mr. Bates. After all, no one wants a repeat of the terrible incidents that took place in January. I was just about to assure him that I had already told the Leader everything, just as I'm sure Ted had told you," she finished sweetly. Her eyes never left Grast, and her look could have melted a diamond.

"Oh, yes. Kyle and I were both so pleased to hear that you had overcome that terrible difficulty. I hope your relationship becomes a model of the bipartisan ideal that we hope to get back to," Gower said. "I just came to wish Mr. Bates and all of my members good luck before the election. Kyle is making the rounds as well. If you two haven't seen him already, perhaps you should be sure to make it back to your offices."

"I've already spoken to him, but I will gladly give you two the room," Maddie said and walk to the door. She held it open and looked at Grast. I coughed. He finally got the hint that his minor threat was over, and he was getting kicked out. He mumbled something about seeing Farmer and left. Maddie shut the door.

"Jesus, that guy is an asshole," the Speaker sighed. "Kyle can't stand him, though he raises money like a son of a bitch. Gotta beer." I felt a little odd handing the third most powerful person in the United States Government a pumpkin ale, but it's what I had. She took a sip and seemed to be ok with it.

"Well, thank you for dropping by when you did. Unfortunately, Mr. Grast wasn't having a good day and apparently decided to take it out on me and Ms. Crawford," I said.

"Anything I should know about?" Gower asked, growing slightly concerned. I told her that he was just blowing off steam for now and that I would keep her informed of everything.

"Well, I did come here to wish you well, although honestly, you went from somewhat in danger to very safe in one night and have stayed that way ever since. I also came because I'm worried about the election, both in Ohio and nationally," she said.

"What's going on? I thought the numbers were solid. Play is tanking. Last I heard, Jerry Sheller was making plans for the art he was going to hang in the Majority Leaders office," I said. She laughed.

"Jerry is always planning that. Every time he is in the minority, he believes that the next election will make him the Senate Majority Leader no matter how many seats down. But in all seriousness, I think Play's numbers are better than we think they are. I sent some of my best-ground people out across the country. They think people are ashamed to say that they will vote for him but that they will when people step into the booth. So I just want you to keep campaigning, keep raising money, right up until the end. I just feel uneasy, ok?" She finished her beer, and we shook hands.

Maddie and I took the subway to Reagan. I had sprung for a real airline this time, so we were in the same terminal. I figured if I were going to lose, I wouldn't fly a cheap airline home to do it. Maddie had sky miles, so we had a meal in the miles club restaurant. My flight was first, and she walked me to the gate.

"Don't lose, ok. I'll miss your face and do something stupid like quit my seat," Maddie said. She had her arms around me. People were staring, but I couldn't care less.

"Don't worry about me. You're the one who is bad for the environment," I said with a wink. I kissed her. "And do forget Thanksgiving."

"You couldn't keep me away!" she said, smiling. We kissed one last time, and I got on my plane.