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I lowered my head, ashamed. “It was my idea, sir. I told Speaker Finley that I could switch with Jones to check on Natalie from time-to-time.”
“Do you have any idea how irresponsible that was of you?”
“I do. And I’m sorry.”
“I’m afraid sorry isn’t going to cut it. Not only did you disobey orders, but you blatantly lied on the job to cover your tracks. And based on reports I’ve heard from people who have spotted you in the presence of Natalie—or should I say the way you behaved with Natalie—I have reason to believe that your lies had nothing to do with the seriousness of your job, did it?” When I didn’t answer, he narrowed his eyes at me. “If you do not speak up, I will have no choice but to take your silence as a sign of your confession.”
I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Jared sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Unbelievable. I really cannot express how disappointed I am in you right now, Colt.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“If only ‘sorry’ could fix things. But it can’t.”
Once again, a long silence stretched through the room. The sound of the ticking clock on the wall seemed to grow unnaturally loud. I swallowed again, despite my mouth being dry, as I waited to hear from him what my fate would be.
But the longer the silence continued, the more I began to realize that I knew perfectly well what I wanted my fate to be. All the stress and frustration I’d been feeling began to dissipate with each passing second marked by the ticking of the clock on the wall.
I thought about all the attempts that had been made on Speaker Finley’s life. Terrifying as they were, if anything, it had made me realize just how short life could be. None of us were promised today or tomorrow, and in reality, there was nothing anyone could do about it.
And with life already being so short, didn’t we all deserve a shot at happiness?
And if we knew without a doubt what would make us happy, it would be absolutely foolish to let it slip away.
Fucking stupid actually.
I didn’t want to be stupid anymore. I had already made enough mistakes in my lifetime.
I cleared my throat. “Jared, I’m sorry for the inconvenience that I’ve caused. And after a lot of consideration, I want to make your decision easier. Therefore, I would like to let you know that from this day on, I officially resign.”
CHAPTER 17
Natalie
“There you go,” I said, putting the finishing touches on the tie my father was wearing. He beamed and pulled me into a hug, which I gratefully returned. It felt like ages since I’d seen my father in person, and I had missed him.
“So glad you could be here today, sweetheart. I know it’s been rough,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have some time to catch up once this rally is over.”
“Yes,” I said with some hesitation. While I would have loved nothing more than to catch up with my father, I knew he still didn’t know the full story regarding what had happened with Colt, and why I had requested to permanently have another guard on my detail. It was a conversation I wasn’t looking forward to, to say the least. “Are you nervous?” I asked, changing the subject.
Dad laughed. “Not nearly as much now that you’re here! You know you’ve always been my good luck charm!”
“Really? I was afraid that I’d lost my place with Ms. Penson here!”
“Oh, you hush up now,” Dad said, a slight blush coming to his face. It warmed my heart to see it though. Ms. Penson was the waitress from the restaurant we’d been at before the gunman ruined everything. I hadn’t been aware that she and my dad had stayed in contact afterwards, but I was certainly pleased to learn that they did. Things had been so stressful for him lately; he deserved someone to help him unwind every once in a while.
The backstage curtain cracked open, and a young woman poked her head through. “Speaker Finley, you’re on in two minutes.”
“All right,” he said. “Thank you.”
Not before long, we heard the polite applause from the crowd as the opening speaker finished delivering Dad’s introduction. “Are you staying back here?” he asked before preparing to take the stage.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m not up for being in the crowd today.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a little bit then.”
“Break a leg,” I said as my father disappeared behind the curtain and out onto the stage. His presence was greeted with thunderous applause, which made it overly abundant all of a sudden how popular he had become over these past few months. We didn’t want to celebrate prematurely, but all signs were pointing to him being in the lead as the vice-presidential pick. His popularity would undoubtedly give a much-needed boost to the presidential ticket, he connected with voters in a way that most politicians never managed to achieve.
