She heard a knock on the door and turned from her work to see Savannah walking into the room. “Hey!” Liz said, jumping up and hugging her.
“Two weeks into school and you’re already causing trouble?” she asked.
“All in a day’s work. What about you? How is the Washington division?” Savannah had been made head of the division, which Liz and Massey had run the two years prior on the campus paper. She was setting herself up to be editor-in-chief next year. Liz couldn’t believe that Savannah was already a junior. Time passed so quickly.
“It’s all right. I’m glad Josh replaced Massey, though. She could never replace you, and the paper was kind of shit all spring semester,” Savannah admitted.
They hadn’t really talked about her leaving, because it had hurt Liz too much at the time to think about it. Now she was just glad that Savannah was happy again on the paper. Liz knew that they were both in the right places in their lives.
“Well, that’s good. Josh will do a good job. I worked with him some before Massey took over,” Liz told her. “You and Easton still together?”
“Yep. We actually have dinner plans tonight, so make this press conference quick.” She snapped her fingers twice.
Liz laughed. “I’ll do what I can. So what ever happened with Lucas?”
“Lucas who?” Savannah asked coyly. “No, I just gave up on waiting around for things to change with him. It was never going to happen, and Easton is so great.”
“Good! I’m so glad for you,” Liz said enthusiastically. “You know you’re going to make a beautiful bridesmaid.”
“Oh my God, I can’t believe we’re going to be sisters,” Savannah gushed. “I never wanted a sister, but I couldn’t imagine one better.”
“Thanks. Let’s go watch your brother tell the world.”
Liz smiled at Savannah. She felt really lucky—as if she had the world on her shoulders. Now they just needed to get through the campaign.
The girls walked to the waiting room, where Brady was talking animatedly with Heather. He glanced up at her when she walked in and immediately stopped talking. “Everything all right?” she asked when she reached him.
“Fine. We were just disagreeing about methods for this press conference.”
“Isn’t Heather the best?” Liz asked.
“Yes. I just want to do things my way on this one.”
Liz completely trusted him, but he didn’t normally go against Heather’s suggestions. She wondered what he was going to do. Not that she thought he would do anything to harm his career, but she couldn’t help but worry for him.
“Don’t let them bait you when they get to the Q&A,” Liz warned him.
He gave her that gorgeous smile wrapped in his campaign mask as he backed up toward the entrance. “As if I could be baited.”
Liz arched an eyebrow. “Airplanes, baby.”
He laughed heartily. “Touché.”
And then he was gone. Liz followed his staff to a position where they could watch him address the media. She had done this dozens of times and still she wasn’t used to being on this end of things. She wondered what it would feel like now to have her voice recorder in her hand, pushing through the crowds, and vying for a chance to get the Congressman’s attention.
She was almost certain that it wouldn’t feel the same as it once had. Reporting had lost some of its flair when she had lived life on the other side.
With a smile that radiated confidence and energy, Brady walked up to the microphone. He had such an incredible presence about him that was hard to ignore. Even when Liz had openly disagreed with his policy positions, he had still captivated her.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for coming out today on such short notice. I don’t intend to take up much of your time. I simply came here to address some of the accusations that are being thrown around about me and my fiancé.”
The quiet room filled with buzz. Liz heard the word spoken over and over again. Fiancé. What an entrance. If the audience hadn’t been taken in by his confidence and tenacity, they were all listening now.
“Ever since our relationship was made public, rumors have flown around about why we’re together. As if I need a reason to be with the woman that I love. As if I need a reason to pick her. As if in some realm of this universe, she isn’t good enough for me, a sitting congressman. The names that I have seen and heard hurled at her, at us, have been disgraceful. It would be nothing short of traumatizing for a woman walking into a public relationship, if that woman were anyone other than Liz Dougherty, who is without a doubt one of the strongest people I have ever encountered.”
Liz felt her face flush. He was refuting everything those people had said about her even though he hadn’t thought that it would do any good. She saw it on his face then. He didn’t care. He just wanted to defend her. He didn’t want to see her cry ever again or have to deal with the backlash of another failed attempt at a journalism career. He wanted to take the pain away.
“So, let me stand here right now and set the record straight. Liz Dougherty and I started a relationship two years ago. We broke up and then got back together in February of this year. At no time was I with anyone else while Liz and I were together. She’s not a home wrecker. She’s not pregnant. And she’s certainly not doing anything to try to get me to stay with her other than being the amazing woman she is.”
Brady paused to let the words sink in. “As for her work as a journalist, yes, she is Dear Congress, as the media made known yesterday afternoon. The articles she wrote were not in collusion with me. They were an outlet for her after graduation. They were fun. A hobby that received mass acclaim from little-known media outlets such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, and CNN. Yesterday she quit of her own volition after the editor requested that she continue writing these articles. She didn’t quit because of me; she quit because she is getting her PhD and needed more time for her career than for her hobby.
“I implore you to see our relationship for what it is, and not what it is being twisted to mean. Judging someone is easy. Accepting the truth that Liz and I are happy together seems to be much more difficult. So just for the record, Liz Dougherty is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and it is my pleasure to announce that we will be getting married next year.” Brady raised his hand to the audience as a signal to them. “Thank you and have a nice day.”