Off the Record

“Not to jinx you, but you’re going to win this race,” she said with a wink before stepping back.

“Are you ready, son?” Brady’s father asked.

“Yes, sir,” he responded immediately.

“Then I think it’s time.”

Brady nodded before turning around and walking to the entrance to the stage. He watched Heather walk up to the podium. She was a natural in front of an audience, and he knew that no matter where he went in his career she would follow him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for attending this party for State Senator Brady Maxwell III,” Heather began her speech.

The crowd boomed.

“He’s very pleased to be here with you all tonight. We’re all very happy to a

Brady smiled at her enthusiasm. She had this audience so easily. They were here for him. These were the people who believed in him. It was going to be a close race on Election Day, but the people surrounding him were going to help him get there.

“Without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the man who won your vote, State Senator Brady Maxwell.”

That was his cue.

Brady took a deep breath and steeled himself for what he was about to do. He had made hundreds of speeches and he would do thousands more before he was done with his career. The stage was his battleground, and he was ready to fight to win this election.

He stepped out on the stage, into the blaring lights and flashing cameras. The crowd of supporters cheered, and he could hear his name rising from all sides.

Max-well. Max-well. Max-well.

The room was a collage of red, white, and blue. People were holding VOTE FOR MAXWELL signs and waving the signature Stars and Stripes. His logo was plastered everywhere on ba

Brady’s heart contracted as he realized that all of this was because people believed in his plans. He let himself feel that for a second before resuming his confident stride to the podium. He smiled at the crowd, knowing that hundreds of pictures were capturing his every move.

As he stood and waited for the crowd to quiet down, his eyes searched out Liz. He wanted to find her and somehow convey to her across this distance everything he was feeling. She read him so easily, but he wasn’t sure whether she would understand when he gave his next speech.

Brady searched through the reporters at the center of the room, and his smile widened when he found Liz. She looked gorgeous in a dark pantsuit and heels with her blond hair hanging long over her shoulders. His eyes shifted to the person next to her, and it took everything Brady had not glare. The guy, Hayden, was talking directly into Liz’s ear over the deafening noise while his hand rested on her arm. And Brady couldn’t. even. react.

Liz shifted marginally away from Hayden and smiled up at Brady. Her hands moved to a long necklace dangling down past her breasts. His locket.

What is she thinking? Brady wondered.

“Thank you. Thank you,” Brady said, raising his hands and attempting to quiet down the crowd. After another minute, the noise had died down enough for him to begin.

“Thank you all so much for coming out to my nomination party. Who would have guessed four years ago that I would be up for nomination for the House of Representatives? I’m humbled and honored that so many people believe in the vision I set forth when I started campaigning for office. It’s been a tough road already on the campaign trail, but I never once doubted that y’all would get me here.”

Brady focused in on Liz in the crowd. He couldn’t read her face from that distance. She was standing very still and seemed to be soaking in what he said.

“I’ve made sacrifices to get here, and I’m going to keep making them. Everything that I’ve done to get where I am was worth it to better represent the people of North Carolina.”

Liz bristled at those sentences just like he knew she probably would. She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead. He knew he was hurting her.

“When I was growing up, I watched my father working for the people as a Congressman, and I always said that was what I wanted to do as well. I want to work for you. I’m listening to your concerns and taking those concerns with me to Congress.”

Brady paused to catch the effect his words had on the crowd. He could still feel Liz staring at him, but he had to scan the room. When he met her gaze once more, he felt his heart rate pick up. His hands were clammy, his cheeks heating, and he found it hard to swallow. He felt his focus shifting away from what he knew he needed to say, but she paralyzed him in that moment. He felt like he was hyperventilating all over again, like he was about to board an airplane. How did she have such power?

Brady swallowed back the panic threatening his body. It was like deep down he knew that by standing in this place, he was sacrificing more than he could ever admit. He wanted Liz to understand. He wanted her to see what she was capable of doing to him.

“I’ve met a few people on the road to this election who have shown me the example to follow. A man I met in Hillsborough, with more determination than anyone I’ve ever known, told me that he was going to organize a party with his friends to get the word out. An elderly woman I met while I was in Charlotte made phone calls in my district because she wanted to do her part to help in the process. A young woman I met in Raleigh on the Fourth of July taught me a vital lesson: People can surprise you. They can make you believe in them more than you ever thought they would believe in you. And that’s precisely what happened. I believe in you, all of you. I believe in the man talking to his friends to get the word out, the elderly woman helping out the best way she knows how, and the woman who made me understand that no matter what, I could do this.”

Liz brushed under her eyes and shook her head. Brady could tell she was torn and emotional from his speech. He was talking about her. Of course he was talking about her. Liz was the one to show him that he could make someone truly believe in what he wanted for the state and in turn, that forced him to believe in her…to fall for her.

“And it’s those three individuals, every single one of you here, and the rest of the state who make me proud to accept the nomination from the party to run for the House of Representatives in the Fourth District of North Carolina.”

The room exploded with excitement. Everyone was cheering and screaming all at once. A huge round of congratulations would follow and then he would go to the celebratory party thrown in his honor with all of his friends and family.

But in that moment, the only person he saw in the room was Liz Dougherty. They stared across the room at each other. He didn’t know what she was thinking or feeling. She looked like she was trying to wear her own campaign mask. Not let him in, not let him see what she was feeling.

Then all at once he saw something shift in her. Liz dropped her arms, shrugged like she couldn’t explain what she was feeling, then sighed heavily. She didn’t look sad or even mad at him…she looked resolute. Like she had been on the edge of a precipice deciding whether or not to jump and he had made up her mind.

Grasping the chain around her neck, the necklace he had gotten her, she dropped it down under her shirt and out of sight. She placed her hand over the spot where it was hidden away and gave him the faintest of smiles.

Liz broke his gaze and turned to face Hayden. They exchanged a few brief words, and then she turned and walked toward the double doors at the back of the ballroom. Brady watched her meander through the crowd still cheering his victory. When she made it to the doors, she glanced over her shoulder, met his gaze one last time, and then she was gone.