“Keisha. Keisha!” Phil called as he leaned out a doorway and she shrugged out of her coat and swiftly made her way down the corridor. “Could you come in here for a sec?”
Keisha paused. She had hoped to get to her office, shut the door and use a few precious minutes to get her bearings before she ran into Phil. Her head was still spinning from the night before. She was still trying to decide what on earth to do with her mother’s revelation and was in no mood to talk, but Keisha knew she could not tell Phil that.
“Sure,” she said quietly. She then followed him into the campaign headquarters’ ”war room.”
The 10-by-10-foot space was filled with staffers. Some sat at the mahogany table in the center of the room, but most stood along the gray walls. Keisha frowned in confusion.
“Are we having a meeting?” she asked.
“Yes, sort of,” he said before turning to the surrounding audience. “Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday Keisha and Jason did something very important, something that could change the course of this campaign. They discovered some fairly explosive information about our opponent and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s fair game.” His eyebrows furrowed angrily. “The Dupré folks took their swing, but we’re not down for the count. No,” he insisted as he jabbed his fist into the air. “We’re about to take our swing and we’re about to knock them on their asses,” he said, eliciting a shout of “Yeah!” from one of the campaign staffers. A few people laughed, but the room quieted again as Phil continued.
“I called all of you in here because I know you’ve been discouraged lately. For the first time in many months we’re sliding in the polls. You’re probably desperate to hear some good news, and we’re here to give it to you today.” He looked around the room again. “Everything said here needs to stay within these walls, people. We want maximum impact when we release it to the public.” He tilted his head toward Keisha. “Now I’m going to hand the floor over to Keisha and let her do the talking.” He extended his hand and nodded. “Come on, Keisha. Tell us what you found out yesterday.”
Keisha stared at him blankly, caught completely off guard. She cleared her throat and looked around the room, desperately trying to think of what to say. She instinctively reached for the locket around her neck and held it. It now contained the photograph that had been removed all those years ago but had been returned to its rightful place. Holding the locket was like twisting on a light bulb in her head. Keisha instantly realized what she had to do.
“Go ahead, Keisha,” Phil persisted as he gestured toward the front of the room. When she didn’t budge, he laughed awkwardly. “Don’t tell me you’re nervous.”
She could feel the heat of their expectant gazes. What she was about to do, she had to do privately. If she was about to step before the guillotine, she didn’t want an audience.
“I need to talk to you,” she said quickly, pointing towards the doorway.
His eyes widened in surprise. He stared at her, not saying a word for several seconds before slowly nodding. “Lead the way,” he said.
The two walked into the hallway, leaving those behind in shocked silence. They entered Keisha’s small office, which was at the end of the corridor. She sighed as she draped her coat over the back of her desk chair. She then turned back to face him. Phil closed her office door and crossed his arms over his chest.
“So what do you want to tell me?” he asked. His voice was tinged with suspicion.
“Phil,” Keisha began. She paused and looked down at her feet, trying to find the right words. “Look, I know Jason told you what Forester said but…we can’t run with it. We can’t come out with the story like that about Dupré. We just can’t.”
“Why not?” he asked impatiently. “This is how it’s done, Keisha. They slap you and you slap them back…harder!” He quickly shook his head. “Look, I didn’t initiate this. I didn’t put our campaign in jeopardy.”
…like you probably did. It was the phrase that seemed to be hanging in a word bubble over his head.
Keisha knew that’s what Phil wanted to say. She sighed again, closed her eyes and held up her hands. “Phil, just…just hear me out, please.”
“This isn’t a crisis of conscience, is it?” he suddenly asked. “I’d like to know where this crisis of conscience was when you were slinking into hotels with Will Blake!”
Her eyes flashed open. Keisha could feel anger and humiliation adding pink to her cheeks. He had meant for his words to sting her, but she wasn’t going to back down. Keisha squared her shoulders, gritted her teeth and pressed on.
“What Will Blake and I did together is irrelevant to this conversation,” she said icily, making Phil snort with contempt. “What we’re talking about—”
“What we’re talking about is your inability to do what needs to be done!” he yelled with outrage. He vigorously shook his head as his face reddened. “I knew it. I knew I shouldn’t have left something this important up to you! Sydney still trusts you for some absurd reason even after I told him about you and Blake!” He pointed his finger at her. “But you did exactly what I thought you were going to do! You can’t be trusted!”
Keisha gaped in astonishment for several seconds. “You told Dr. Parker about me and Will?” she finally asked, dumbfounded.
“Of course I did,” Phil said as he adjusted his jacket. “I wanted Sydney to know what kind of woman he had hired, but he didn’t believe me. He said there must be some other explanation.” Phil’s nostrils flared as he quickly changed the subject. “Look, Keisha, we don’t need you to be on board with this. Jason was there and Forester also told him the woman’s name! We’ll feed it to the newspapers and let them track her down and she’ll show Dupré for the bastard that he is!” Phil shouted. “So we’ll carry on without you!” he said with a wicked curl to his lip. “We’ll handle it from here!” She watched as Phil angrily swung open her office door.
“Jason may know her name but he didn’t talk to her, Phil. I did,” Keisha said quickly as she pointed at her chest. She hesitated when Phil stopped in his tracks. He turned to glare at her.
“And…and she won’t talk,” Keisha said, mustering up her courage again. She boldly stuck out her chin. “She told me she wouldn’t.”
He stood in the open doorway. “You found her already?” He then slowly shook his head. “I don’t believe you. That’s impossible.”
“No, it isn’t impossible because I did find her and she won’t talk! No matter how many reporters beat down her door, she won’t utter a word,” Keisha said defiantly. “You guys can dig up as much dirt on him as you want. She’s still not going to help you bury him.”
Phil took several menacing steps toward Keisha. She met him halfway. They stood nearly nose to nose, glaring at one another, now engaged in a battle of wills. “What the hell did she tell you?” he roared.
“None of your damn business!” she shouted back, now past angry. She was completely furious.
“Hey! Hey!” Dr. Parker yelled. He looked questioningly from one campaign manager to the other. “What the hell is going on here?”
Keisha blinked. “Dr. Parker!” she exclaimed. Within a second her anger switched to embarrassment. “I…thought you were in…Annapolis.”
“The meeting ended early,” he said testily, looking at both of them with disgust. “But I probably could have heard the two of you yelling all the way in Annapolis.”
Keisha gazed down at her feet.
“I will not have my staff behaving this way,” Parker said in his teacher’s voice.
“Dammit, Sydney, Keisha is working for the Dupré campaign!” Phil shouted as he jabbed his finger at her, his frantic accusation catching her by surprise. “I know it now! She talked to the woman who had Dupré’s child and talked her out of saying anything against him! She’s here to sabotage us, Sydney!”
Keisha’s eyes widened. She sputtered, at a loss for words again. She had known Phil would be angry when she stood up to him, but she had no idea he could be this venomous, this cruel. She slowly shook her head.
“Need I remind you, Sydney, of her affair with Will Blake…to which she has admitted,” Phil said. “Maybe that was her intent all along…to feed him information. I still think that’s how the Dupré campaign found out about your record.”
The longer Keisha stayed lost in shock, saying nothing, the more Phil spoke and continue to smile with victory.
“Is this true, Keisha?”Dr. Parker asked quietly.
By now Phil and Keisha’s fight had drawn an audience. Several people lingered in the campaign headquarters’ hallway, shamelessly leaning their heads so they could peer through the doorway and get a better view of the battle.
Keisha furiously shook her head, then nodded it, then shook it again. She did have an affair with Will but she wasn’t some Mata Hari he had sent to spy on the opposition. She had leaked the information about Dr. Parker’s juvenile record to Will, but that had been an accidental slip. There was no evil intent behind it.
Keisha grumbled in frustration. “Some of it’s true,” she finally said reluctantly, making Dr. Parker’s eyes widen. A sharp intake of breath signaling surprise came from several of the lingerers in the hallway. “B-but it didn’t happen the way Phil’s making it sound,” she rushed, hoping to explain. “Will and I were…have been…together but I would never betray you! I’m not working for them.”
At that, Phil snorted. “More lies,” he mumbled cynically.
“Look, I have no reason to hurt you, Dr. Parker! Please believe me. I’ve been busting my ass for this campaign!” She turned and glared at Phil. “When Phil wanted to give up, I stayed and I convinced him to stay, too! Why would I do that? Why would I do that if I was trying to sabotage everyone?” she asked desperately.
Parker shoved his hands in his pants pockets and gave a deep sigh. He looked from Keisha to Phil and back again. “Phil, will you excuse us, please?” he asked softly.
Phil’s eyes widened with disbelief. “What? Don’t tell me that you actually believe this…this garbage, Sydney?”
“I’m not saying anything,” he said quietly. “I’m just asking to have some time alone with my deputy campaign manager. That’s all.”
Phil balled his fist before stomping to Keisha’s office door. He turned and opened his mouth to speak again.
“Would you close the door behind you?” Parker asked quickly before Phil could say anything.
Phil scowled and paused before slamming the door shut.
Keisha watched as Parker slowly walked toward her, his eyes downcast. He had changed so much from the days when he was her professor. Gone was the man who wore wrinkled corduroy pants and hair badly in need of a comb. In his place was a politician who wore slick, tailored suits and went to the barber once a week. But Keisha believed that somewhere inside this new shell was the old Dr. Parker. She still believed in him and he still believed in her…right?
“Do you still trust me, Dr. Parker?” she asked, pain now painting every contour of her face. “You don’t really think I was trying to hurt your chances of winning, do you?”
As he stood gazing at her silently, Keisha became more and more afraid of his answer. Parker finally shook his head. “No, Keisha, I don’t.”
She gave a sigh of relief.
“But why are you fighting this so much?” he asked quietly. “And tell me the truth. If we didn’t find out about Dupré’s child, someone else would have. That’s the nature of politics. I know that now.” He took a deep breath. “Skeletons in the closets are bound to fall out eventually. But what I can’t understand is why you’re fighting this tooth and nail. His side has already done it to us. I would imagine they’re anticipating that we’ll do something in return and they’re preparing for it. They know the rules.”
The room was silent save for the sound of her swallowing as she leaned back her head and gazed at the ceiling. Keisha could feel the tears welling in her eyes. They were on the verge of spilling over, despite her efforts to hold them back.
“Tell me what this is about. Are you trying to protect someone? Is all this about William Blake?”
She closed her eyes, letting the tears fall down her cheeks. She slowly shook her head again.
“Then what is it?”
“He’s my father,” she suddenly blurted out, unable to hold it in anymore. “Vincent Dupré is my father,” she sobbed.
Dr. Parker gaped.
“I didn’t know,” she continued between hiccups. “Please believe me, Dr. Parker! I didn’t know about it until yesterday!” She wiped her nose on the sleeve of her blouse as she cried. “My mother told me all my life that my father was dead! I didn’t find out the truth until I talked to Forester. And he remembered her…after all these years, he remembered her.”
Keisha fell into her office chair and dropped her face into her hands. She slowly shook her head. “I’ve daydreamed about my father for so many years, Dr. Parker. Out of all the people in the world, why did it turn out to be Dupré? I don’t understand it.” She reached for a box of tissues on her desk, removed a Kleenex and loudly blew her nose. “I want you to win, sir. I really do! But I can’t do this. Not to my own father. Not to my mother. She’s tried so hard to put all this behind her. It wouldn’t just humiliate him.” She sobbed. “It would hurt her, too.”
Dr. Parker sat on the edge of Keisha’s desk, gazing down at her. “Did he abandon your mother?” he asked softly.
Keisha quickly shook her head. “No, sh-sh-she left him,” she stuttered.
“Did he ever make any attempt to contact you, to find you, Keisha?” he persisted.
She sat back in her chair, contemplated for several seconds and shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. But then again…according to Forester, Dupré doesn’t even know I exist.”
Keisha watched as Dr. Parker slowly nodded his head. “That may be the case but still…it’s out of our hands now.”
Keisha lowered the tissue from her nose as she narrowed her swollen, reddened eyes. “What do you mean ‘it’s out of our hands’? I told you the truth!” she insisted. “I explained to you why we can’t do this! Just tell Phil to call it off! He’ll listen to you!”
Parker slowly shook his head. “No, Keisha you explained to me why we shouldn’t do this. There’s a fundamental difference between that and can’t.” He sighed. “Look, I understand that you’re worried about embarrassing your family,” he muttered as he stood and adjusted his jacket. “But I can assure you that we’ll handle this as delicately as possible. I’ll ask Kelly to sit in on all interviews with you and your mother. If any reporter asks a question that’s out of line or any question that makes you uncomfortable, then the interview ends instantly.”
Keisha blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend what Parker was saying. “Interviews?” she repeated. “Why would we do interviews? Interviews about what? About Dupré?”
Parker frowned and shrugged. “Why not? I’m sure the newspapers will want your perspectives. They’ll want to talk to the mother and daughter who were left to fend for themselves while Dupré went on to power and riches. I would imagine that’s how the storyline will go.”
“But that’s not the storyline,” she choked with frustration. “That’s not what happened!”
“Add to that the fact Dupré’s daughter is black and is working for the opposing candidate,” Dr. Parker continued as he slowly paced the room, as if he hadn’t heard her protests. “It’s almost Shakespearean. The reporters won’t be able to resist the story.”
Keisha stared at Dr. Parker, both staggered and heartbroken. Even after she had told him everything, even after she had poured her heart out to him, he still wanted to go ahead with this smear campaign in hope of winning the election. It seemed that he had changed both inside and out. Or maybe he had been this power hungry all along and she hadn’t seen it.
Keisha slowly shook her head. “I’m not going to talk to reporters, Dr. Parker. I told you that I can’t do it!”
Dr. Parker stared at her. “Can’t or won’t? Once again, Keisha, there is a fundamental difference between the two,” he said calmly as he paced back in forth in front of her. “You could do this, but you’re choosing not to. Even though you know it’s three weeks before the election and we’re behind in the polls. Even though your loyalty has been called into question and you admit that part of the accusations are true.” He sighed. “This all puts me in a very awkward position, Keisha. There are so many people here who have worked hard for this campaign, who’ve worked hard for us to win. And here it seems I have our deputy campaign manager undermining that effort in almost every way. You tell me. What should I do, Keisha? What would you do if you were in my shoes?”
Keisha gritted her teeth as she stood. She suddenly thought of Will. He had once remarked that she would find out the truth about the ugliness of politics one day. “You’ve got a lot to learn, Miss Reynolds,” he once said. “…You think you know a person you respect and then suddenly they just…change.”
Dr. Parker had changed and the disappointment of that reality crushed her.
“Well, I’m not in your shoes, Dr. Parker,” she finally began, “so I can’t say what you should do. But I know now what I’m going to do. I probably should have done it a while ago,” she said quietly as she gathered her coat and purse. She walked around him and headed to her door. “I’ll email you my formal letter of resignation by the end of the day,” she said over her shoulder before swinging open the door.
Several startled faces greeted her. They stared at her eagerly, looking for some sign of whether Dr. Parker had fired her. Keisha looked around the crowd, noticing a few all too familiar faces.
Jay stood in the hallway with his eyes downcast, refusing to meet her gaze. Tanya stood rigidly with her arms crossed over her chest. “I told you,” she mouthed before closing her eyes and angrily shaking her head.
Keisha took a steadying breath before pushing back her shoulders. “I’m not going to cry again,” she told herself as she walked past the throng of staffers. “I’m not going to cry.”
And she didn’t. She held back her tears until she walked out the front door of the campaign headquarters and only cried silently when she reached her car.