Total pages in book: 189
Estimated words: 174749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 874(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 874(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Don’t think that I’m not tempted. Take the easy way out. Sell out. A few favors here. A few strings there. And maybe whoever the puppet masters behind Tina are can help me make this all go away.
And I’d never be able to look at myself in the damn mirror again.
“Like I said, I think you should leave,” I say coldly. “Quite frankly, I don’t trust you. And I need people around me whom I can trust.”
There’s a flash of anger in Tina’s eyes. It gets past the affected sexual stare. But just as quickly, she suppresses it.
“You’ll remember this moment when you’re drowning, Governor,” she says to me. “You’ll remember I offered you a life raft and you spit in my hand.”
And then she turns and walks away.
There’s a pause and I look at Michele.
"Listen, I need to sort things out. So in the meantime, no calls," I say. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."
Michele nods. “What do you want me to do?” she asks me.
What do I want her to do?
What do I even want to do? Look out for number one? Protect my signature piece of legislation?
I need to reset. Before I ever let Liam get under my skin by telling me to go fuck myself.
But how?
I begin to think.
I SET UP A PRESS CONFERENCE, and within a few hours, I find myself standing at a podium in front of a crowd of attendees. The atmosphere is tense. Everyone's shifting their gaze from me to the crowd around them, and back again. I know I need to choose my words wisely.
"Thank you all for joining me today, especially under such short notice. I'm sure it's no surprise to any of you that there have been outlandish claims being made in the media against me. I urge you all to not fall prey to this fake news. I'm standing here today to set a few things straight."
I take a pause and look around the room for an added dramatic effect.
I continue, "There's something that I want to publically say for the record. I will not be making any deals with Mayor Liam Jeffries."
A reporter speaks, "But what about the 10,000 jobs? Are you saying that you won't be backing the five factories that Mayor Jeffries proposes?"
"That's correct," I say. "I care deeply about the people of New Kingston, and I feel that the best way forward is to not repeat the past. We need to think beyond factories."
The reporter asks again, "But if you cared so much about the people, you should care about their jobs, shouldn't you?"
"There will be other jobs," I assure the reporter. "The bottom line is that laws are set in place for our protection."
There are few inaudible mumblings and I continue, "What is law needs to be respected and followed. How do you suppose the world would operate if everyone viewed themselves as rogue cowboys? Well, I'll tell you. It would be chaos. Legislation shields us from that pandemonium. And the environmental legislation was set up to protect not just the current citizens of New Kingston, but all of the people of this state. Because of this undying belief, Mayor Jeffries' factories will not be built."
Just then a voice interrupts me. "That's not the deal we had."
Now everyone is talking and the room is in disarray. Liam Jeffries is approaching the podium and he continues, "Why don't you tell everyone what's really going on?"
There are audible gasps coming from the audience. The room is now filled with shocked faces, mouths opening and closing like fish caught on a line. What the fuck is Liam doing here? It figures that he'd come here and try to steal the publicity.
"You talk a big game, Mayor," I snap. "It's just too bad that you don't give a shit about this city."
Liam throws his arms up in the air in an exaggerated pose. "Oh come on, Carter. Is that the best you've got? It's amazing how quickly you change face. Publically, you tout the law, but behind closed doors?" He pauses and looks around the audience for emphasis and addresses them now. "Behind closed doors, Governor Andrews was making deals with myself and Senator Hawthorne."
More gasps erupt from the audience. One reporter chimes in, "Governor, is this true?"
"Of course it's true," Liam responds before I can even speak. "Governor Andrews was making deals well before he decided to sabotage me here, in front of all of you."
"Ridiculous!" I shout. Enough is enough. Liam's had his say, and now I'm going to shut him up for good.
"For all of your altruistic talk," I say into the microphone, "You're one of the most anti-humanitarian people I've ever encountered. Here you are, poised to ruin our city with smog and toxic run off, ultimately bringing more harm than good to the people of New Kingston."