“Of course he will,” I say with full confidence. She's exactly the kind of person he likes.
In truth. I’m worried that she won’t like him.
“How do I look?” Sin’s voice is a welcome reprieve from the swirl of negative thoughts in my head.
I turn around, smile, all ready to face her, and my heart stops whenour eyes meet. “In another time, nations would have launched a thousand ships just to see you smile.”
“Sweet talker,” she waves away my praise.
“I’m proud of you,” I say in earnest and hand her the tote bag I’ve been carrying for her.
“Save that for when I’m done. I’m so nervous.” She blows out a breath.
I take her hand in mine. “You shouldn't be nervous at all. You're the asset here. I’m just praying you’ll still want me when I get back from DC.” I laugh but the worry is real.
She steps into me so that her chest is pressing into my abdomen and she looks up at me, her eyes shining with that affection I'll never ever get used to. “As long as the stars shine, as long as the sun rises, and even after that, I’ll want you,” she says.
I kiss her goodbye and for the first time in months, feel hopeful. I hope the Governor has some solutions for me today.
Three hours later, I’ve got the Governor of Virginia on the line confirming my worst fears. “The best thing you can hope is for the investigation into Oz’s activities to be concluded. Otherwise, this will hang over your head. It won’t just be the DOJ. It’ll be any federal agency you apply to. Even if I could help in my capacity as governor, I wouldn’t want to risk the appearance of putting my thumb on the scales of justice for my biggest donor.”
“It’s not about him,” I remind him. “And I wouldn’t ask you to do anything improper. I just wanted your insight.” I keep my frustration with the implication out of my voice. I’d only told him the bare bones of my meeting with the agent. It was enough for him to understand my predicament. Without the details of what they suspect Oz of doing, it does sound like they think my father is involved.
“You’re a prosecutor. You know how this goes Kwame.”
I nod in silent agreement and pull into my driveway. “Either they get a lead that gives them the ability to indict or evidence that clears him of suspicion.”
“Exactly. You’ve got to decide where your loyalties lie.”
I already know. I email the agent to say I’m on my way and put the address for the Hoover building into my GPS.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Sin
The Emperor is Fully Dressed
When you’re a little girl with a loud voice in a world that values your compliance over your conviction, muffling yourself is often an act of survival.
The examples of what happens to women who dare to make enough noise to be heard over the maddening crowd is a catalog of tragedy and unsettled grievances.
Careers derailed, reputations ruined, their names become synonymous with words like difficult, polarizing, angry.
So, when I had something to say that couldonlybe said in a loud voice, I wrote it down.
First in my journal.
Then in my school newspaper under the plum de nom that would become my byline. A. Sackey, for its simplicity and androgyny. Even before I was a working journalist, I understood that in such a male dominated field, the barriers to entry for women start at the top of your resume. The lens with which your work is viewed becomes clouded by ingrained misogyny.
I graduated from college in the age when social media was still about connecting with people you knew rather than building a platform. No one cared about the person behind thewriting and so I didn’t correct people's assumption that I was a man.
My nom de plume helped me punch through the glass ceiling with the kind of ease that can only be created by the universe’s lubricant made of impeccable timing.
Those high rates of acceptance of my submissions allowed me to build a career and a body of work that was undeniably impressive and always got my foot in the door.
And that is all the chance I’ve ever needed.
I wasn’t very interested in telling his story, if I’m honest. I was genuinely excited to get this scoop. But writing about a billionaire known for doing business with anyone for the right price and throwing excessive parties isn’t exactly what I’d call compelling.
