Page 100 of See You Next Tuesday

“Set a meeting with the budget team,” he said. “What else?”

“Vetting and finance are fighting about that Silicon Valley fundraiser—someone on the host committee is getting indicted.”

“Tough day in Palo Alto.”

“Finance says they can’t pull the guy off the invite without offending the entire host committee, but vetting says it’s way too big a risk to have his name on an invitation on Wheeler letterhead.”

“What’s the guy indicted for?” Gabe asked. “Tax evasion or something?”

Hannah cringed. “Vehicular manslaughter.”

“Nope! Shut it down.” Gabe’s eyes bugged out. “If the host committee won’t move forward without him, tell finance to cancel the event. How much were we supposed to raise?”

“Three hundred fifty thousand.”

“Fuck me.” Gabe grimaced—that was worse than he’d thought.

“Bet that’s gonna help with your budget meeting,” Hannah quipped. “Last question: Comms wants to know if you’ll play Sessego for debate prep next week?”

“If I—” Gabe shook his head in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“You know her the best of anyone on staff and you’ll be in prep anyway, so they thought it made sense for you to do it.”

“Sure,” Gabe sighed. The debate was coming up fast, and he knew how much the Sessego campaign had riding on it. He thought of how much fun Anya would have in debate prep, hanging out with their closest friends, crafting the clearest arguments and sharpest sound bites. He still couldn’t get over how uncomfortable he felt to be on the opposing team.

Gabe finished his drink and handed Hannah the empty cup.

“See you in five to seven hours,” he grumbled. “Unless my chair gets sucked into a wormhole at the center of the universe and I never have to go to a meeting again?”

“Keep hope alive,” Hannah joked. Gabe took a deep breath and walked into his meeting.

Text message transcript: Anya Katz and Gabe Hunt

October 22

Anya [3:19am]: Are you awake?

Anya [3:19am]: I just woke up completely sure I was in Charleston so I opened a window

Anya [3:19am]: Turns out I’m in Concord and they’re having a cold snap. It’s 28 degrees

Gabe [3:22am]: How’s the foliage up in Concord?

Anya [3:22am]: Must not be that great if I thought I was in Charleston

Anya [3:22am]: Any good colors where you are?

Gabe [3:22am]: The inside of debate prep? Not many

Anya [3:23am]: Omg that’s right, today was Sessego cosplay!! How’d it go? Did you wear a wig? Did you do her voice?

Gabe [3:23am]: Would it turn you on if I said yes

Anya [3:23am]: Honestly I’m having a lot of reactions, not all of them negative

Anya [3:24am]: Definitely into the idea of you standing at a podium arguing for single-payer healthcare

Gabe [3:24am]: “Billionaires are all for government services if their homes catch on fire, just not when working people need to see a doctor.”