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.Eva sighed.“I’m sorry.I should’ve known you wouldn’t talk to a reporter about me.Besides, her questions were more about me than you.I’m just so upset, I needed to lash out.”“Is the prospect of being linked with me really that upsetting?”Addison smiled to show she was teasing, but Eva shook her head and said, “You don’t understand.A long time ago, when I was young, I experimented with different things.One of them was men.I was in college, drunk, at a party.We had sex.It was fun, but it wasn’t for me.Figures that the one and only time I have sex with a man, I got pregnant.”Addison braced for Eva’s next words, already sure what she was about to say.“I had an abortion.”“Which you’re legally entitled to do.”“Legally entitled to doesn’t grant you immunity from societal judgment.Even those who say it’s a woman’s right to choose, usually only mean it in the abstract.You know, for rape victims or those poor people who don’t have good access to birth control.But I was a trust fund kid, attending an Ivy League school.My parents wouldn’t have cared if I’d shown up at spring break, baby on the way.They would’ve loved it.But I didn’t want a baby to interfere with my own dreams.”Addison walked over to Eva’s chair and took her in her arms.She wasn’t in love with Eva, but she did care about her, as a former lover.As a friend.“I’m so sorry.It’s my fault.I should’ve told you about the nomination.Maybe you would’ve been more on guard when the reporter showed up.I would never have put you through reliving these memories.”Eva shook her head.“Don’t you see? It’s not just me.The Right is going to go after you with everything they’ve got.Your baby-killing girlfriend is just the beginning.You need to contact the White House because they are going to need some serious spin if you’re going to get confirmed.”Addison looked at her desk.Julia hadn’t returned her call from this morning.Was she really still asleep or was she regretting last night? Either way, it was time to tell her everything about her encounter with Jeff Burrows the night before the president’s announcement.Chapter Twenty-fiveThe West Wing was buzzing with activity as Addison walked with her escort through the hallways to the chief of staff’s office.Her call to Julia hadn’t been answered, but Noah Davy had made it very clear Julia would be here today for the meeting for which she’d been summoned.As they reached the door, her escort slowed.Addison looked her way, but couldn’t quite decipher the look on her face.She struggled to remember her name.Cindy.Right.“Cindy, is everything okay? There seems to be a lot going on around here for a Saturday.”She looked around before answering, “It’s a busy place.” Then she ducked her head and said, in a quiet whisper, “Whatever happens in there, know that you are the best possible person they could have picked for the job.”Cindy knocked on the door as she delivered the final words, and once the person inside shouted “be right there,” she disappeared down the hall.The few seconds Addison waited for the door to open were the longest in her life.Why had she been summoned here on a Saturday? Had someone tipped the White House off about the story on Eva? But hadn’t Julia said that Emily Pierson was a blogger, not a real reporter? Although nowadays, it didn’t appear that the general public drew a distinction between the two.Didn’t matter.If the White House was scared of what a blogger might say about the fact a woman she’d once dated had exercised her right to choose, she was prepared to argue the point.She’d practiced her arguments on the way over.You can’t support the right only in the abstract.If you want the court to preserve Roe v.Wade, then you have to stand firm and stop letting states chip away at the law with arbitrary restrictions.Besides, it wasn’t like she’d had an abortion herself or even known Eva when she’d had hers.Engaged in thought, she was startled when Julia opened the door.She looked like she hadn’t slept at all the night before, but her eyes didn’t have the sleepy haze of the sated, but instead were laced with restless anxiety.She’d wanted to cause the one, but definitely not the other.“Are you okay?”Julia shook her head.“It’s been a long morning.”“This isn’t how I wanted to see you…after…” Addison let the words fall.She read nothing encouraging in Julia’s expression, and this was no place for a personal conversation.Maybe they could talk later.Alone.She’d invite her over and they could forget politics for an evening, try to recapture the heady passion of last night.“Noah’s waiting, and there are a few other people here.” She shook her head, opened her mouth like she wanted to say more, but then shook her head again.Addison placed a hand on her arm.“It’s okay.We’ll talk later.”She followed Julia into the crowded room.Later.They’d talk about last night, but it would have to be later.Right now, she was prepared to deal with whatever they were ready to throw her way.Noah was at his desk [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]