Girl Power (26 page)

"The presidency no, but our people say your party has picked up enough

state and local seats that working together with our remaining elected officials we could block further adverse Republican bills. That's what I'm congratulating

you for."

"Well, thank you. Of course, we will work with Democrats for the

furtherance of our objectives and the benefit of our constituents, but do not think for a minute we will be locked into your camp. We are a middle of the road party and when necessary will work with either party to achieve our goals, which, as

you know are primarily full equality for women."

She laughed. "That a girl. Frankly, I never thought you could get this far.

God, I wish I could help. Wait. I have an idea. Let me call you back."

"All right."

Lindy asked, "Who was that?"

"Debra Scholtz Waters. She congratulated us on the party's performance

and wished she could help. Then she said she had an idea and would call back."

~ * * ~

Cooper Richardson III Election Night Party – Four Seasons Hotel, D.C.

Crowe Magnon tipped his seventh longneck Dos Equis up and drained the

contents. He was a beer drinker at heart and when he was in a ritzy place, he

drank ritzy beer. Besides, Dos Equis made him feel more interesting.

Willie Joe leaned over and whispered to Crowe, "Is that sweet thang, Jade,

milking your lizard?"

He whispered back, "Ah-huh." Crowe leaned over and whispered in Jade's ear, "That feels real good, baby."

"You want me to suck it?"

"No, baby, not here. That's my sister with Willie Joe."

"Too bad, he's kind of cute and I love his lazy southern drawl."

Crowe leaned toward Willie Joe. "I told you not to bring Thelma."

Despite the fact Jade was giving him a hand job, he was sick. His party

didn't get control of the Senate. In fact it lost six seats, all to the friggen Pinks.

And the House? Furgitaboutit!"

"Look at dat Boss! That Cummings Bitch is tied with our guy and will win

the Presidency if she wins Hawaii!"

"Don't remind me."
It's a good thing my contract is up, cause I surely would have
been fired!

"It's too bad she wasn't in the Smiley's cross hairs that night."

These are kind, loving, people who want what's best for the country.
Melissa had said. "Don't even talk like that. I've done a lot of things for the party that I'm not proud of, but if I thought anyone even tried to kill someone for the party, I

would turn them in so fast it would make your head spin."

~ * * ~

"Are we in agreement?"

"Certainly Debra, but why are you doing this?"

"Because I like you and I detest that bland, disingenuous, empty suit.

Besides, in case you haven't noticed, the Pinks are a lot closer to our way of

thinking than the archaic, new Republican Party and their sidekicks, the Tea

Party. If they go any farther backwards, there could be blood lettings and witch burnings.

Sally laughed. "Okay, you haven't asked for anything unreasonable so let's

do it." When Sally ended her call, Melissa asked, "What was that all about?"

"It seems like there are some Democrats in high places that want to help us."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you'll see it on the TV in the next few minutes."

~ * * ~

Crowe lifted his vibrating smart phone to his ear and spoke over the music

and crowd buzz. "Crowe."

"Crowe, it's Rogue."

"Yes, Boss."

"Did you hear what the dastardly Democrats just did?"

"No, sir, I have my hands full with the Pinks. Besides I'm sitting waiting to celebrate a victory that may never happen."

"And it never will happen if the Democrats have their way."

Crowe frowned. "What do you mean, Boss? What do the das…the

Democrats have to do with this?"

"Neel Fitch just went on TV and threw his support to Cummings/Opry."

"Who?"

"Neel Fitch. He's Hawaii's governor."

"Oh, yeah."

"He went on TV and suggested that, since Taylor can't win the presidency,

everyone who was going to vote for him, should vote for Cummings/Opry

instead. He told the voters that Richardson would ruin the country and that he

would sell out to the super rich."

"Would he?"

"I don't know. Probably. He did have some terrible ideas. I just like to play the game and win."

Crowe was incredulous. "It's okay to ruin the effing country, so you can

win?" "Well, it's not like it would ruin the whole country. Just the working poor and the middle class."

God, Melissa is right!
Outraged, Crowe stood up and yelled while Jade tried to stuff his engorged manhood back into his slacks, "That is the whole
fucking
country! Who are the Billionaires and Corporations going to sell their widgets to when everyone except them can't afford them? When they are 21st century

aristocracy and the middle class are their serfs."

"Well, it isn't going to matter unless you can stop those Hawaiians from

voting, is it?"

"What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. What they're doing must be against the law."

Crowe lost his patience. "The last time I looked, endorsing someone was not against the law."

"You're the RNC Chairman. There must be something you can do. Call our

lawyers, call our judges. We pay them good money."

"It's after eleven. If I could get a hold of anyone, it'd be too late for them to do anything."

"Try anyway."

Suddenly, all the condescending crap this man had heaped on him for two

years came crashing down and Crowe realized he despised this man. "I'm tired of being a sneaky, unethical Republican dick! You do it."

"What?"

"Are you deaf? You do it. I'm going to go home and do something I haven't

done in six months—make love to my wife."

"I'll do it all right. You're fired."

"You can't do that. I already quit. You'll get my resignation in the morning."

~ * * ~

Lindy and Melissa went downstairs to the Banquet room at 11:30, and sent

everyone home with the promise of celebrating at a future date if Sally did

indeed win the election.

At 2:15 a.m., still on the davenport, barely awake, Lee watched as the

network interrupted an old movie to make the monumental announcement.

"Good morning, I'm Kino Malomato, with the latest on the Presidential election.

National News Network is predicting that Congresswoman Sally Cummings will

be the winner of Hawaii's four electoral votes. That makes her the winner of the three-way race with 236 to Richardson's 232 electoral votes. The Democratic

candidate finishes with 70 votes."

Sally's head rested in the crook of Lee's arm and chest where she'd fallen

asleep. He whispered in her ear, "Sally." When she showed no reaction, he repeated louder, "Sally."

Sally moved slightly, opened her eyes. "Wha-a-a"

"It's official! You won!"

"Tha-a-s nice." She closed her eyes and snuggled in closer against Lee.

Chapter Twenty-three – Aftermath

Men are right! Women belong in the house. . The White House

– Sally Cummings

The second Friday and Saturday nights subsequent to the election, Sally and

Winfred each reprised their incomplete victory celebrations with bashes in even

bigger venues. Both were televised on Winfred's network and it was watched

internationally by an estimated half-billion people.

Something had changed in America—the world too. There was a mood that

the American people could overcome any obstacle. Vibrancy had infused itself in

the country. Something that had been missing for years, Patriotism seemed to be

back in vogue and stronger than ever.

One midsized corporation announced they were bringing some of their

overseas jobs back stateside, and the next day two more corporations followed

suit. The following week their stocks increased fifteen percent and there was a

rush of corporations bringing jobs home, sending the stock market up 300 points.

Other corporations, sensing the increased American optimism started turning

loose of all that hoarded cash and began hiring. In December, unemployment

dropped a half percent and the stock market hit all-time highs.

Sure, there were the usual angry malcontents who couldn't believe a

woman had been elected President, let alone that a black woman would be Vice

President.

Nevertheless, it was obvious the overwhelming majority of citizens looked

forward to the change, and the newfound vitality started a mini-boom.

~ * * ~

"Hello?"

"Hi, Willie Joe, it's Crowe."

"Crowe. How ya been? I never thought I'd say this, but I miss you."

"You do?"

"Yeah. The guy they replaced you with is an ass and radical as all get out!

He expects me to keep track of all my expenses and credit card charges. You got

out at just the right time. I might be following you. So what can I do for you?"

"I left my Mac notebook there. Haven't seen it, have you?"

"Yeah, it's right here on my desk. The numbskull Chairman demanded I get

it out of his office. Been using it—sweet machine. If you need money to get by,

I'll give you a grand for it."

"Nah, it cost me six grand. Besides, I don't need money. I made a few bucks in the last six months. I just want my Mac back. Can you bring it to me at

lunchtime? I'm not welcome there anymore."

"Sure it'll be like old times. I'll meet you at the Body Shop at noon."

"Ah, since election night I've turned over a new leaf. You know, going to

church, not messing around, rekindling my marital relationship. How about we

meet at the Starbucks around the corner, instead."

"Whatever you say, Boss…er…I mean brother-in-law."

Willie Joe waltzed into Starbucks at ten after twelve, and headed straight for

Crowe. He dropped the laptop off. "Here ya go. I'm going to get in line."

Five minutes later, he returned with a croissant sandwich, some chips, and

some kind of cold, red drink. "So you're going straight, huh."

"Yeah, that job started to eat at me after a while. Toward the end, I felt like a real crumb. So how are things around there? Is everybody real bummed out?"

Willie Joe took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. "Actually, no. My new

boss and the team Karol Rogue sent over are quite pleased."

Crowe's eyes narrowed. That didn't sit right with him. "What do you mean

pleased?"

"Well, the way they're acting, if I didn't know better, I'd think we won the election."

Crowe jerked forward and almost knocked his Frappuccino over. "What?"

Willie Joe continued. "You know how the higher ups get giddy, when they

think they pulled something over on someone?"

Crowe knew exactly what he meant and he didn't like it one bit. "And you

have no idea what they're so tickled about?"

"None. They're leaving me totally out of the loop. Maybe it's because you're my brother in law and former boss."

"I'm not liking this one bit." Crowe rose. "I gotta go. Thanks for bringing my Mac back."

"No problem. Aren't you going to eat your sandwich?"

"No, I have to do something."

"Can I have it?"

"Have at it."

Crowe smelled a rat and he didn't like it. Rogue had already admitted a

Richardson presidency would ruin the country. Well, it's not like it would ruin

the whole country. Just the working poor and the middle class.

He had no idea what his former employers were up to, but the least he

could do was let the Pinks know something could be amiss. He dug out his cell

phone and punched in the number of his former Mistress and mole.

"Hello?"

"Melissa, it's Crowe."

"Crowe, we no longer have anything in common. I've moved on and…

"Don't hang up Melissa. I have something super important to tell you."

That seemed to get her attention. "This isn't one of your tricks. Is it?"

"No, Baby, I've moved on, too. I quit the RNC."

"What do you want?"

"I just had lunch with my brother-in-law who used to work with me."

"Yeah. I remember him. Kind of a dodo, wasn't he?"

"I guess, but he told me something very interesting that you need to know.

He's still at the RNC and he said Karol Rogue brought in a group of planners and instead of being depressed from losing the election, they're cheerful as if they won it. He said they're almost giddy, like they put something over on everyone."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I've seen you change. You used to be a self-absorbed little bitch

who was only out for herself, and now you care about others. You said the ladies at Pink were your friends and you love them. I started thinking, if they could

change you maybe it was good that they won. Maybe they could change

everything the way they changed you and now I'm worried the GOP is going to

find some way to screw that up."

"That would be horrible. What should I do?"

"Just tell them what I told you. Tell them to check every single angle."

"Thank you, Crowe. I appreciate it."

~ * * ~

Melissa went in Lindy's office and repeated what Crowe told her without

telling her the source. Lindy got up from her desk. "We need to tell this to Sally."

They waltzed into Sally's office. "Sally, Melissa heard something disturbing.

Tell her, Melissa."

Melissa repeated what Crowe had told her.

"Who told you this?"

Melissa didn't know what to do. "Ah…"

Sally took her hand. "We believe you because we know you were originally