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“No, I can cover it myself. It’ll just need to wait until the end of the month, that’s all.”
Elizabeth decided not to push the issue. She knew that people could be touchy about money, and she was on shaky ground with Alex as it was.
“At the end of the month, then.”
When they got home, Elizabeth spent about ten minutes picking out her outfit. Alex, on the other hand, rummaged through Elizabeth’s closet for almost half an hour before coming up with something she was satisfied with.
Well, perhapssatisfiedwas the wrong word.
“How are you supposed to run in these pants?” Alex complained.
“I’m a politician, Alex. Running isn’t in my general job description.”
“I can’t believe you don’t own a single pair of stretch pants.”
Elizabeth sighed as Alex came out from the bathroom dressed in her most practical pants and blouse. Her blondish hair was slicked back and she did look smart. And, if Elizabeth let herself see it, fiercely attractive. She didn’t want to bicker with Alex, but it was difficult not to when Alex was being so disagreeable.
“I can’t believe you don’t own a single sharp outfit.”
“I don’t need sharp in my line of work.”
“And I don’t need stretch pants inmyline of work.”
Alex huffed. “I suppose. Are we going, then?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said shortly.
About half of her team was waiting for them at the venue. Some had elected to take the day off, which Elizabeth was totally okay with since she’d already told them they could take two. She’d need to get a trauma counselor in to talk to everyone and see who would be needing individual therapy because of the shooting.
Alex glared around them, stomping after Elizabeth like an extremely bad-tempered guard dog. It wasn’t a good look for Elizabeth.
“Could you act a little more professional?” she hissed, glancing around at the many cameras pointed in her direction.
“Could you act like you cared about your safety a little more?” Alex countered.
“Look, we’re here now and we’re staying. You may as well make the most of it. Short of leaving, what do you want me to do?”
Alex frowned as she looked around. “Over there. Sit and stay. I’ll have the building security watch you for a bit. I’m going to take a look around to make sure I’m happy with the building.”
Being told to sit and stay was hardly what Elizabeth had had in mind, but the last thing she needed was another fight in front of the cameras, so she reluctantly did as Alex asked.
Fortunately, Alex wasn’t gone long. She returned looking marginally less grumpy than she had before.
“This place looks pretty secure,” she admitted. “Still not as good as being at home, but you should be relatively safe here, as long as you stick close by me.”
“I’ll do that.” Not like Alex was going to give her much of a choice.
Elizabeth did her best to ignore Alex’s sour presence as she socialized with the guests, whiling away the time until her speech. Of course, this time was as much about working as her speech was. Here, she made valuable connections and solidified alliances, as well as got a good idea of who her major opponents were.
When the time came for her speech, Alex accompanied Elizabeth onto the stage, standing several feet behind her and to her right.
Elizabeth stepped up to the microphone. “Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming. I’m sure many of you will have heard about the distressing event of yesterday afternoon by now, so I’ll address that first. Shortly after the Equal Care Bill that I’ve been fighting for for many months was passed, my staff and I were walking down the street to get a meal to celebrate our victory. We were attacked by an unknown man with a gun.
“My assistant, James, saved my life. He jumped in front of me, taking the bullet meant for me. I’d be dead if not for him. He’s currently in critical condition in the ICU, but the doctors are hopeful that he’ll make a full recovery with time. As of yet, the police have no leads on my attacker.”
Elizabeth paused, letting what she had said sink in. “The Equal Care Bill marks a historic victory for LGBT+ people all over the United States. It is but a first step in the journey to equality, but it is an important step that should be celebrated.”
Elizabeth went through the rest of her speech just as she had memorized it. At the end, there were the typical questions.
