Afterword

Penny

Penny was utterly exhausted, her body aching from the strain of a twenty-four-hour work marathon. Despite her fatigue, she remained committed to her new job, fully believing in Angela's vision. However, the thought of a good night's sleep seemed like a distant dream, a luxury she might not indulge in until after the election in two years. Even then, it would only be a temporary respite. If Angela managed to secure re-election, she would work tirelessly to achieve everything she could in four years. Penny reluctantly admitted that she wasn't sure they could achieve their goals.

She almost fell asleep waiting for the driver. She had a driver—well, it was a driver with the company the White House contracted with, but still. It was ahugestatus symbol for a small-town girl from Tennessee. The job promotion had come with someamazingperks.

When she called home to tell her parents, her mother cried, and her father whooped so loudly that she had to hold the phone away from her ear. Hearing how proud they were meant a lot. She still wasn't used to it, making her a tad uncomfortable. The family had always been close, but Penny came close to throwing away her future for a boy.

Her parents sheltered her, but a whole new world opened when she went to college. It didn't take long for her to get off course when a beautiful, tall, andpopularupperclassman started paying attention to her. How was she supposed to know their spring break vacation to Mexico was for more than just enjoying the beach? He hid the true purpose and his side business better than she thought possible. When he got in trouble, and she had the chance to save him, what felt like true love took over. Until then, she had no idea a person could be considered a mule.

Her father stepped in, and with the help of Angela's father, Mr. Turner, all the charges were dropped and buried. No one knew about her past. Penny vowed never to let a pretty face get in the way of her success.

Alan was different. Their connection had been like fireworks. He was kind and sweet. He listened to her and showed interest in what interested her. He held the door open and pulled out her chair when they went to dinner. She constantly reminded herself that it had only been a month, and there was no way it could beseriousyet. But her heart felt something completely different. Her family would love him, and she was almostsureshe loved him.

The driver stopped in front of the warehouse. "Are you sure this is where you want to go?Thisisn't the best neighborhood."

Penny met his gaze in the rearview mirror. "I assure you, I'm safe here. There's a big rally here tonight."

"A rally, huh?"

"For the Human Rights Protection Organization. My friend-" she paused, "- I mean, my boyfriend is on the board."

"Can't say I've heard of them."

"They've only been around for ten years. Do you pay much attention to human rights issues?"

The driver turned to face her, rested his arm on the passenger seat, and said, "I don't have much time to pay attention to anything except work."

Penny gave him an uneasy smile. "I understand that." She opened the door, not wanting to talk anymore. "Well, thank you for the ride, and have a good evening."

"Would you like me to stick around?"

Penny stepped out of the car. "No, that's okay. I promise I'm perfectly safe."

"Okay. Call us if you need a ride after the rally. Justmake sure tocall before you need us so we can get here, and you don't have to wait."

"Thank you." Penny closed the door. She pulled out the pass Alan had given her. It would allow her access to the backstage area where he would be. His job was to oversee the schedule and hold everyone accountable for it. He loved hisjob, and it was easy tobe swept upin his enthusiasm.

Tonight was a big night because the organization's top leader wouldgivethe closing speech. It was a good sign that Alan wanted to introduce her to him tonight. It made her wonder if meeting his parents soon wasn't on his plan.

Was she ready to meet his parents? Would they like her? Was shereadyto introduce him to her parents? Would they like him?

The ushers at the door let her in and pointed the path backstage. As she walked through the crowd, she felt a much different vibe from last month's rally. These people were angry. They chanted things like "Human rights above monsters' rights" and "Americans for Americans."

That didn't make sense.

Penny found Alan standing next to a soundboard. He looked up and gave her a smile that made her want to forget her career goals, stay home, and have his babies.

He pulled her in for a hug and kissed her forehead. "Hi, Beautiful. I'm so happy to see you. When you texted that you were running late, I worried you might not make it."

She said, "I wouldn't miss this for anything. I'm sure the President can handle a night without me." She lifted her face to see him.

"She's had a very active couple of days. I can only imagine how stressful it has been for you."

Penny stepped back. "I love my job. The stress is what makes it so fun."

The man working the soundboard interrupted them.

Alangave her a quick kissand said, "Give me a minute.I need to take care of this."

She smiled. "No problem. I'll stand over there and listen to the speaker." She pointed to a corner that seemed out of everyone's way.

"We are just beginning our fight," the speaker said. "And make no mistake, we aren't just fighting a battle. We are fighting a war."

Penny thought talking about fighting a war at a human rights rally was counterintuitive.

"We can no longer trust the very people we put into office," the speaker continued.

Penny glanced over at Alan. What the hell was this rally about?

"I never thought I'd see you again."

Penny turned around to find the voice behind her and froze. Her chest tightened, her heartbeat sped up, and her body turned cold. It had been a long time since college, but Clive Benson hadn't aged a day.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breath out.

Clive walked over with open arms. Penny's feetwere gluedto the floor.

"What? No hug?" Clive lowered his arms. "I guess I can understand that. I had hoped you would have gotten over the past, but maybe you'renot capableof letting go."

Breathing exercises were not calming her anxiety. Curtain. Inhale. Soundboard. Exhale. Light.

Clive continued. "Imagine my surprise when I saw my little PenPen had landed a job as Chief of Staff for the President. The President." He reached a hand to touch her face.

She wanted to move. She wanted to scream. She wanted to do anything but be near him.

Clapping.Inhale. Mic feedback. Exhale. Talking.

His hand caressed the side of her face. "You are still just as stunning now as you were then."

She tapped a finger on her leg, focusing on the rhythm. Even with all the years of counseling, Clive terrified her.

"You know it's not polite just to stare. Say something."

Her mouth went dry, but somehow, words from her brain traveled to her mouth. "It's good to see you."

"There, that's so much better. We have a lot to catch up on. You aren't the only one who has done well careerwise."

"What, what do you do?"

His smile made him look evil.

She started counting to keep focused.

"I've been building a name for myself in the political arena. There are a lot of people who don't like your boss."

"No?"

"It was such a bogus election to begin with. Angela Bishop stole the election."

"Are you saying she cheated?"

Clive winked. "I would never say such a thing. But she did play the sympathy card as much as possible. Who could resist a sobbing widow whose only desire is to carry on her husband's legacy."

Penny stopped taping and slowly clenched her hands.

"I mean, don't get me wrong.Womenare certainly capable of doingincredible things, but why go against their most important desires to be mothers and take care of their husbands?"

Penny's face warmed.

"When Alan mentioned he met you, I was filled with warm fuzzies right here." He tapped a hand over his heart.

"Did you tell him we knew each other?"

Clive clicked his tongue. "PenPen, I didn't want to discourage Alan."

Penny tilted her head. "Discourage?"

Clive held out his hands to the side and spun around. "There is no other man who can compete with this." He turned around in a circle.

Bile rose up Penny's throat.

"What happened was in the past," Penny said.

Clive held up a finger. "You would like to think so. Yet, that incident has kept me from more than one good job.You know,I looked at the police report after I got out of jail."He put the finger over his mouth, and his eyes rolled up for a heartbeat as if he were thinking. He lowered his finger and met her gaze. "Imagine my surprise when your name was completely missing. There wasn't even a mention of another person. I took the fall for both of us."

"Oh."

"Oh? Is that all you have to say?" Clive leaned in closely. "How did you do it? I bet your rich daddy buried all of it for you."

Penny did not respond. She was afraid she would vomit if she opened her mouth.

"Your daddy was good,very good. He forgot one thing, though. The drug dealer, the one we worked for then, moved up in the organization and made a big name for himself, at least until hewas arrested. I wonder how many years wouldbe taken offhis incarceration if he had evidence that would implicate a cover-up for a major political figure."

Penny's knees buckled. She reached out and grabbed Clive's arm to keep from falling.

He helped her stand. "Oh my, did I upset you?"

Before she could say anything else, a woman with a clipboard and a headset came over and said, "Clive, are you ready?"

He winked at Penny, smoothed his jacket, and straightened his tie. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this."

Penny watched Clive take center stage. The crowd went wild, and he performed better than the best President at a Sunday barbeque rally.

Alan stepped over. "I see you met Clive. Isn't he incredible?I know you're loyal to your boss, buttruly, he should be the onerunning for President."

Did he say what she thought he had?

"How do you know Clive?" Penny asked.

"He's the leader of all of this. The Human Rights Protection Organization is his baby. I wanted you to meet him tonight." Alan pointed at the stage. "Just listen to him."

"I know that all of you here tonight love this country. You are all God-fearing soldiers ready to stand up to injustice. Our leaders do not care about you."

The crowd moaned and booed.

"They do not care about your children."

More moans and boos.

"Our own President is sleeping with a lizard.A lizard.She wants to give rights to monsters that threaten your jobs, your children, your wives. We all know their only concern will be to take over our world. They will destroy our way of life. Are wegonnaallow that?"

The crowd yelled, "No."

"Are we going to let them ruin the foundations our forefathers built this great nation on?"

The crowd yelled, "No."

"Tennessee was our first act of civil disobedience. There will be more. We need to attack them in a way they cannot ignore."

The crowd went wild.

Clive held out his hand, and a tall woman joined him from the other side of the stage.

"Who is that?" Penny asked Alan.

"That is Clive's wife. She is awesome. Such a supporting woman."

"I'd like to take a moment and introduce the inspiration behind everything I do." Clive lifted their joined hands in the air. "My wife, Lorelei, gives me the strength I need to do this important work."

He kissed her on the cheek, and the crowd went crazy.

Clive held up his hands. "Let'stake a moment ofsilence to pray for those poor souls who gave their lives so we can riseupand do the right thing."

Two pictures flashed on the screen behind him. Penny recognized them as the two suicide bombers who bombed the school.

Clive turned to the screen and dabbed his eyes. "These two men will be forever honored for their bravery andtheirsacrifice."

Afterthe momentof silence, he pointed to the front row. "Let's show our love for the women who stood behind them and encouraged them to do the right thing."

The screen showed an image from a camera pointing to two women in American flag dresses holding hands. They didn't look sad or filled with grief for their husbands. The crowd went wild, and the women waved.

"Isn't this incredible?" Alan said.

Penny saw Alan's mouth continue moving but couldn't hear anything over the ringing in her ears.

Why did she always fall for the pretty boys?