Chapter 23
When Jack left his study a half hour lately he was surprised by how good he felt, considering he was pouring $100 million or so into something that would at best be a break-even proposition. But part of it was Bryan McKay's reaction. The doctor was over the moon and so enthusiastic that he was still stuttering a little when they'd hung up.
Hell, Jack figured, if he couldn't make things work out for himself, at least he could play fairy godmother to a few others. All he needed was a wand and a tutu.
Now there was a campaign ad.
"Jack! How are you?" The CEO of one of the state's largest insurance companies was coming down the hall. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about worker's comp."
"I'm all ears."
He and the man spoke for quite a while until Jack's mother appeared in the hall. Nate was with her, dressed in chefs whites and looking like he was anxious to get back to the kitchen.
"It's time," she said.
Taking both her sons by the hand, Mercedes led them to the living room and put a halt to the procession when they were in front of the fireplace, right under Nathaniel Six's portrait. A hush fell over the party and people began to press in close to make sure they could hear her speak.
Looking across the room, Jack saw Gray leaning against a column in the back, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his eyes narrowed on Mercedes.
"If I might have your attention for a moment," she began.
Jack hoped the speech was going to be quick this year. At every one of the holiday parties, Mercedes paid homage to his father in a litany of praises that stopped just short of being a eulogy. She seemed determined to keep the legend of Nathaniel Six alive. When Jack was feeling charitable toward her, he tried to see love in the gesture, but he was never totally convinced that her motivations were pure. He suspected she wanted to remind everyone exactly who she'd been married to.
But what was the harm, he thought, eyeing his brother over her snow-white chignon. Nate was looking as awkward as he felt.
"My husband..."
Jack tuned out the words and looked around idly, coming to attention only as he saw Callie and Grace edging their way through the front hall. They went halfway up the stairs, until they cleared the heads in the room, and stopped to listen to the speech.
As he stared across the crowd, he had eyes only for Callie.
Standing amidst the fleet of high-stepping women and men in sleek tuxedos, she was dressed simply in a black-and-white outfit he'd seen before. Her hair was falling over her shoulders in a glorious red wave, and unlike so many of the other ladies, her makeup was soft, natural.
To him, she was the most beautiful woman at the party. Hands down.
At the foot of the stairs, he caught a couple of men eyeing her and talking. One shrugged, as if to indicate he didn't know who she was, and then they both stared over their shoulders at her.
The appreciation and hot speculation in their expressions had Jack curling his hands into fists. He wanted to tear through the crowd and kick them out of his house, even though one of them was his squash partner and the other he'd known since kindergarten.
Callie didn't seem to notice the attention, though. She was looking at something in her hand, and when she finally lifted her head, their eyes met. A yearning went through his body and he had to stop himself from taking a step toward her.
With a soft smile, she lifted a tattered piece of paper up and waved it slowly in the air.
Had she found the answer?
Mercedes's voice cut into his thoughts. "And then there is my son, Jackson. As you all know, he's made his father and me so proud with all he's accomplished, and he's about to take on another challenge. I'm simply thrilled to say that he will be running for governor of this fine commonwealth next November!"
Jack snapped his head around. As a wave of cheers rose up into the air, he stared at his mother in disbelief.
"How the hell could you do that," he said through his teeth.
But she was too busy soaking up the adulation to hear what he said.
Frantically, he looked out to the stairs, but he couldn't see through all the hands that were in the air. F*ck. He could only imagine what was going on in Callie's head.
"Speech! Speech! Speech!"
Knowing he wasn't going to be able to get away until he said something, he held his hands out and quieted down the guests.
"I don't have anything to formally announce one way or the other at this point." Supportive shouts drowned him out. "But thank you for your vote of confidence."
As the clapping started again, he met Gray's eyes. His friend was shaking his head, knowing exactly what would happen next. His mother had effectively announced his candidacy to three hundred of the most influential people in Massachusetts. And almost every one of them had a cell phone in their pocket. The news was going to be all over the Globe and Herald tomorrow morning.
When the fervor began to die down, Mercedes turned to him, all smiles, and exclaimed, "Isn't it fabulous! They love you!"
Jack leaned in closely, so no one else would hear. "Mother you're going to regret this."
She gasped and pulled back, but he was already walking away. He had to get to Callie.
She'd disappeared, probably heading for her room.
Jack was on his way to the stairs, deflecting congratulatory handshakes, when Gray stepped in his path.
"We need to deal with this. Now." Before he could speak, Gray said, "Did you know she was going to do that?"
"Hell, no."
Gray's cell phone went off and he took it out and frowned at the number. "We've got to caucus and prepare a statement to the press. Then we're going to have to reach all of the members of the exploratory committee, including those who aren't here tonight. Pissing off the people who've been helping you is the last thing you need to do right now. None of them expected this announcement."
Welcome to the goddamn club.
Jack was infuriated. He had all this shit to deal with because of his mother's need to be a powerbroker and all he wanted to do was to find Callie.
When Jack's mother made her declaration and the crowd went wild, Callie closed her eyes.
"I can't believe this!" Grace exclaimed. "How exciting!"
Callie forced a smile. "Yes. He really wants to run."
So much so, he hadn't even bothered to wait for her answer.
In the corner, she saw Gray cocking a cell phone and putting it up to his ear.
She had to give Jack and his friend some credit. Having Mrs. Walker announce the candidacy, while under the portrait of Jack's father, was a brilliant piece of maneuvering. It was a perfect art of calculated spontaneity, a staging that emphasized his family's lineage and service to the state and country. And doing it at a holiday party, without the press, was ideal. Word was going to get around just fine, hell, the cell phones were already being flipped open. The reporters were going to be forced to come to Jack for details, giving him an opportunity to grant interviews as a form of patronage. As a press strategy, it was magnificent.
He'd arranged the situation to his advantage beautifully.
As Jack held his hands over his head and smiled, assuming the quintessential politician pose, she looked away. She had no interest in what he had to say.
She couldn't believe he hadn't bothered to wait. He'd promised to hold off until tomorrow, but now it was all over. He was running. And she was out of his life.
With half an ear, she heard the guests quieting down obediently, Jack's deep voice speaking, and then there was an eruption of clapping and shouting again.
"Callie?" Grace shouted over the uproar.
She snapped to. "Yes?"
"You wanted to go upstairs to talk?"
Not anymore, she thought. Or not for what she thought she was going to say.
"I just want to show you what I found," she replied.
"You found another letter?"
"The letter as it were."
Callie followed Grace to her room.
Once inside Grace and Ross's bedroom, she took a seat on a chintz-covered chaise lounge in the corner. Kicking her shoes off, she tucked her legs under her as Grace took the letter over to a lamp and read.
She'd been so ready to take the leap, Callie thought. To tell Jack everything and beg him to find a way for them to be together. And she'd decided that even if Grace was uncomfortable with Jack knowing about their past, it didn't matter. She was going to speak the truth anyway and choose Jack over everything she'd spent her life protecting. As well as what little family she had.
Only she'd been too late. Or maybe he hadn't been serious about not running, after all.
"This is extraordinary," Grace looked up, "We were right."
Callie glanced at the paper. "You were right."
"Have you shown this to Jack?"
She shook her head. I'll wait until tomorrow. He's got a lot on his hands right now."
"He certainly does." Grace put the sheet down on a bedside table. "How much do you have left to do on the portrait?"
"I finished the cleaning this afternoon. All I have to do is apply the fresh varnish coat and the project is done."
Grace sat down at the foot of the chaise. Her fingers went to work on the heavy diamond studs she was wearing in her earlobes. "And then what?"
Callie laughed quietly. "And then I'm heading back to New York."
At that moment, the door opened and Ross walked in. He was wrenching his bow tie off like he hated having the thing around his neck and he stopped when he saw Callie.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Callie got up and retrieved the letter. "Not at all. I should go, if s late. What time are you leaving tomorrow morning?"
Grace followed her to the door. "Right after breakfast."
"I'll see you first thing in the morning, then. Good night, Grace, 'night Ross."
As she went down the hall, she thought that tomorrow she would show Jack the letter, put the varnish on the painting, and then it would all be over.
She was surprised that she was actually looking forward to going back to her studio. However modest it was, everything in it was hers. She wasn't sure: what she was going to do for a job, but she figured she'd solve that problem eventually.
After she shut her door, she hesitated. And then she slowly turned the lock.
She had a feeling Jack would come to her tonight and she didn't have the energy left to deal with him. She just wanted peace.
And she would never find it with Jack Walker in her life.