Richard stood up, suddenly dizzy. His heart began to race and skip. “Dammit, M.J.! You knew about the baby? All these years? For Christ’s sake, why didn’t you tell me? And what did you do to that poor girl to make her run like she did?”
M.J. looked disgusted with him. “I told her I’d take care of everything and she should just sit tight. I promised to be the go-between, and I would help her in any way I could.”
“Where was I during this? Why didn’t I know what was going on?”
She laughed. “You were in a caucus meeting all afternoon and then dined at Charlie Palmer’s with some of your generous friends from Mass Mutual, but the reason you didn’t see she was miserable was because the girl meant nothing to you unless she was naked in your favorite suite at the Jefferson.” M.J. looked around. “Oh, my! We’re in it right now!”
“Enough.”
“Let me finish!” Her eyes turned to dark, hard pebbles. It was obvious she didn’t plan to stop until she drew blood. “While you were enjoying your prime rib, I dropped by Amanda’s cheap little apartment. I brought her an envelope with six one-hundred-dollar bills and passed on your message: Get rid of the baby. I told her you didn’t love her and never would. And I broke the news to her that, no, you would not be leaving Tamara.”
Richard felt his mouth fall open. It stayed open in complete horror.
“And then I advised her that she needed to leave the city because being a congressional aide who was young, female, and pregnant could be hazardous to her health. I explained that women such as her had been known to disappear in this town.”
“No. You didn’t.” Richard went numb. “M.J., please tell me you didn’t threaten her like that. Oh, Jesus.”
“And that’s how I made sure that no one ever heard about the baby. I did it so we could continue with the plan, Richard. And look how far we’ve come—we are a stone’s throw from getting the VP spot and going to the White House. It’s what you promised me. Ring a bell?”
He felt his knees weaken.
“But you’ve gone and ruined everything, you son of a bitch!”
It was beyond his control. Richard felt hot tears roll down his face at how wrong this whole thing was, how cruel, and how it had ended with the complete waste of Amanda’s life. She’d been smart and beautiful. She should still be alive. What was wrong with him? How could he have been so twisted up in his own ego that he never even checked on Amanda after she left? How could he have not known what his own chief of staff was doing?
Richard landed on the couch, lost in disbelief. Maybe he hadn’t exactly loved Amanda, but he had cared for her! She was a good kid. Kind to others. She was funny. When she entered a room, people instinctively smiled.
This town chewed her up and spit her out. It was his fault.
What would have happened if she’d come to him with news of the child? Would he have been tempted by the one thing power and money could never provide? Maybe he would have found the courage to leave Tamara and ride the wave of scandal like a man. Maybe he would have left politics. He would never know, because he hadn’t been allowed to make that decision for himself.
M.J. had made it for him.
“You stole my power to choose.” He heard his voice shake with fury. “You made decisions you had no right to make.”
M.J. snorted. “Oh, for the love of God, Richard, don’t be so melodramatic. Now, there is one matter we need to settle before we part ways.”
He was stunned.
“I hope you’re listening because here’s how it’s going to work.”