Read Online Candidate: A Love Story by Tracy Ewens - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Tracy Ewens
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other things, philanthropic pursuits, $500-a-plate feed the children events, maybe?”
“There it is again, Kate.” Grady smiled.
“Right, the bitter me. Sorry. Moving on.”
“You know there’s actually a little undercurrent of self-righteousness in there too. Do you have an issue with money, Kate?”
“No, I do not Mr. Malendar. I was joking. My apologies.”
Grady nodded, leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, watching her, because it was quickly becoming his favorite pastime. Kate’s eyes fell to his chest, panned up his shoulders, and he could have sworn he heard her make a little sound. She seemed to lose her train of thought. Interesting.
“Okay, let’s get back on track here. From what I’ve learned, you give money to the Boys and Girls Club. You also helped out with their field day event at the beginning of this year. It would be great for voters to see you—”
“No. Voters are voting for my father, not for me. Focus on what he does, it’s extensive, and just let me do what I do well.”
“Which is?”
“Smile, shake hands, you know what they say, woo the ladies.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re a huge asset among the female voter demographic, but your father needs to pull in more than just lonely debutantes looking for a quick ride in your sports car—”
“It’s a Porsche. Well, it used to be. She’s in the shop now.”
“She, the car’s a ‘she.’ Of course it is. No one cares.”
“Now I’d have to disagree with you there. Do you have any idea the engineering—”
“Uh huh, could you please focus? My . . . our plan calls for drawing attention to the depth of who you are as a person. There’s not really much to work with, but there are some little glimmers of light. I understand that we can’t spotlight Dante House, but we might be able to blow up some of these small gestures.”
“Kate, listen, people are comfortable with my current image. No one wants to hear about the twenty bucks or the few hours I spent chasing kids around. Let’s drop this, believe me, my good deeds are few and far between.”
“Well according to Amy at Big Brother—”
“You’ve already spoken to Amy? Jesus, because she has nothing better to do than chat with you about what a good guy I am? They do real work there. Move on.”
Kate kept hitting a wall and Grady could tell it was frustrating her, but that was all he was going to give her. He understood that most people he dealt with exploited every dime and minute they gave to the “less fortunate.” He had no intention of being portrayed as one of those rich, out-of-touch douche bags. He liked how the public knew him, he had crafted it carefully, and now he just had to convince Kate that pitching Grady Malendar as a concerned citizen was a waste of his father’s money and her time.
“Okay,” Kate said flipping through her notes. “How do you feel about speaking tomorrow morning at the Women’s Under-40 Luncheon. It’s a group of female entrepreneurs. Your father needs exposure with younger career women.”
“I’m sure I’d be outstanding in that capacity.” Grady smiled.
“Okay. You’re scheduled to discuss your father’s policies on small business loans and work/life balance. Are you aware of what those policies are?”
“I am.”
Kate must have thought he was joking because she handed him a stapled set of notes. “Okay, well just in case here are some key talking points. Things Stanley feels we should be pushing in this demographic.”
Grady took the papers, flipped the first page. “Well, if Stanley thinks we should, then by all means, let’s hit it.”
“Look Grady, it’s important for someone like you to—”
“Someone like me?” Coming from her, the condescension stung a little. He found himself wanting to show her, only her, who he really was, but that was not going to happen.
“I meant someone with your . . . reputation. We need to—”
“What you need to do is get
“There it is again, Kate.” Grady smiled.
“Right, the bitter me. Sorry. Moving on.”
“You know there’s actually a little undercurrent of self-righteousness in there too. Do you have an issue with money, Kate?”
“No, I do not Mr. Malendar. I was joking. My apologies.”
Grady nodded, leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, watching her, because it was quickly becoming his favorite pastime. Kate’s eyes fell to his chest, panned up his shoulders, and he could have sworn he heard her make a little sound. She seemed to lose her train of thought. Interesting.
“Okay, let’s get back on track here. From what I’ve learned, you give money to the Boys and Girls Club. You also helped out with their field day event at the beginning of this year. It would be great for voters to see you—”
“No. Voters are voting for my father, not for me. Focus on what he does, it’s extensive, and just let me do what I do well.”
“Which is?”
“Smile, shake hands, you know what they say, woo the ladies.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re a huge asset among the female voter demographic, but your father needs to pull in more than just lonely debutantes looking for a quick ride in your sports car—”
“It’s a Porsche. Well, it used to be. She’s in the shop now.”
“She, the car’s a ‘she.’ Of course it is. No one cares.”
“Now I’d have to disagree with you there. Do you have any idea the engineering—”
“Uh huh, could you please focus? My . . . our plan calls for drawing attention to the depth of who you are as a person. There’s not really much to work with, but there are some little glimmers of light. I understand that we can’t spotlight Dante House, but we might be able to blow up some of these small gestures.”
“Kate, listen, people are comfortable with my current image. No one wants to hear about the twenty bucks or the few hours I spent chasing kids around. Let’s drop this, believe me, my good deeds are few and far between.”
“Well according to Amy at Big Brother—”
“You’ve already spoken to Amy? Jesus, because she has nothing better to do than chat with you about what a good guy I am? They do real work there. Move on.”
Kate kept hitting a wall and Grady could tell it was frustrating her, but that was all he was going to give her. He understood that most people he dealt with exploited every dime and minute they gave to the “less fortunate.” He had no intention of being portrayed as one of those rich, out-of-touch douche bags. He liked how the public knew him, he had crafted it carefully, and now he just had to convince Kate that pitching Grady Malendar as a concerned citizen was a waste of his father’s money and her time.
“Okay,” Kate said flipping through her notes. “How do you feel about speaking tomorrow morning at the Women’s Under-40 Luncheon. It’s a group of female entrepreneurs. Your father needs exposure with younger career women.”
“I’m sure I’d be outstanding in that capacity.” Grady smiled.
“Okay. You’re scheduled to discuss your father’s policies on small business loans and work/life balance. Are you aware of what those policies are?”
“I am.”
Kate must have thought he was joking because she handed him a stapled set of notes. “Okay, well just in case here are some key talking points. Things Stanley feels we should be pushing in this demographic.”
Grady took the papers, flipped the first page. “Well, if Stanley thinks we should, then by all means, let’s hit it.”
“Look Grady, it’s important for someone like you to—”
“Someone like me?” Coming from her, the condescension stung a little. He found himself wanting to show her, only her, who he really was, but that was not going to happen.
“I meant someone with your . . . reputation. We need to—”
“What you need to do is get
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