Chapter Nine B: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Wednesday morning Pol had her driver pick Aaron up at his hotel on the way to the office. They drove directly from the dunes to the Indianapolis airport and caught the last flight to DC last night. Her driver picked them up and deposited Aaron at the Sheraton before taking Pol to her condo. They had talked quietly on the trip with Pol largely briefing Aaron on what he would find in the office in Washington. He would be spending the next couple days getting in sync with the legislative agenda and learning the rest of the staff. In general, he would be working out of the Muncie, Indiana office, or his home if he preferred. Careful accounting was needed to keep the campaign expenses separate from the congressional expenses, but there was facility in the Muncie office that was already designated as shared space. He would make trips to Washington DC every two weeks while Pol was in session so they could synchronize their plans and schedules.

Occasionally, as if by accident Pol’s hand would brush against his. She was acknowledging that a connection existed, but she was not ready to discuss it or take it any further.

When they got to the office Pol accompanied Aaron into Nina’s staff meeting. Nina rose to greet her, cutting off the current discussion.

“I know I don’t get into the staff meetings often,” Pol announced, “but I’m pleased that you are all here this morning. I’d like to introduce you to the first person I’ve hired as part of my 2006 campaign. This is Aaron Case, our new Campaign Press Manager.”

“I’m so glad you could get here this morning,” Nina purred. “Won’t you join us for what remains of our staff briefing?”

“Thank you,” Aaron said warmly.

“I’ll leave you in good hands,” Pol said. “We’ll touch base this evening.” She turned and left the conference room entering her own office on the other side of the suite.

“Our meetings normally start at 8:00, Mr. Case,” Nina said. “The Congresswoman may arrive at 9:00, but by that time we try to be hard at work.” Was that a reprimand? Aaron wondered.

“I’m normally an early morning person myself,” Aaron said. “I’ll make it a practice to be with you at 8:00 when I’m in town. Of course, most of my work will be back in Indiana. I expect to be out here every other week.”

“You may find I need you out here more often as we approach the beginning of the campaign,” Nina said. “Why don’t you take a few minutes of our time to introduce yourself to the rest of us.” Nina was hoping he would bring up just about any of the fiascos on his resume so she could start ridiculing him. It would be subtle, but she would get the point driven home and through his heart on the way. But Aaron did not rise to the bait.

“Well, you know the old saw that if you save a man’s life you are responsible for it?” Aaron said. “That’s really what happened. Congresswoman Stamos happened on my auto accident last month and got an ambulance and aide for me. Then because I was unemployed, she offered me a job.” There was laughter from all around the table. Nina was not pleased.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Betts said. “You were just unemployed?”

“Well,” Aaron refined his answer a bit, “self-employed. In the eyes of the world, I’m afraid that the two are assumed to be synonymous.” More laughter. “I’ve got some experience in press offices and newspaper, but mostly I’m trained as a historian. I work a lot compiling oral histories of various regions of Indiana and groups of people. I think more than anything Representative Stamos wanted my understanding of the people in her district, which is where I’ve done a lot of my work over the past ten years. She’s told me that she is one of the only Representatives in Congress whose entire staff comes from her home state. I find that remarkable. Not that you all are Hoosiers, but that no other Representative is as dedicated to employing people from his or her own region. And I have to say, I think that having this kind of talent in the office of our Congresswoman speaks well not only for her, but for our state as well.”

Aaron finished and there was a general round of thanks and welcome aboards from the people at the conference table. It was not going the way Nina had hoped or planned, but before she could intervene Jason raised the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“So does this mean that we’re getting ready for a run for the Senate, Aaron?” he asked. “Everyone at the table was suddenly quiet and attentive. This could be the opportunity Nina was waiting for, but Aaron answered back easily.

“I’m sure that if the Congresswoman were planning a run for the Senate she’d have told you before she told me, and that she’d have hired someone other than this tired old hack to run her press office,” Aaron said. “The word I have is that we are running for re-election. And if I’m not mistaken, that means that no one should take down their pictures or clean out their desks, because you are going to be right back in these seats after the election.” Damn! Nina thought. He is entirely too slick.

“That will be all, folks,” Nina said. “Let’s show Mr. Case that there is actually work that gets done in this office. Socialize later.” The staff immediately rose and headed off to their various tasks, most repeating a good-natured welcome to Aaron. When they were mostly gone but not out of ear-shot, she spoke again, just loudly enough so that all could hear. “Mr. Case, my office now if you please.”

Aaron could see a couple rolled eyes as people passed him and he raised an eyebrow. Well, this was time to figure out who was really who in this pecking order. He turned on his heel and followed Nina into her office. He started off with an olive branch.

“I’ve been looking forward to working with you. The Congresswoman has told me what a tight ship you run in the office and the evidence was surely there this morning,” Aaron said in his friendliest tone.

“Stow it,” Nina snapped. “You may be able to pull the wool over everyone else’s eyes, but I for one am not impressed with your James Whitcomb Riley down home in Indiana style. All I’m interested in is what works, and by that I mean gets Pol Stamos re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, or whatever other office she chooses to run for.”

“We have a common goal then,” Aaron said. “Why don’t we start from that.”

“Exactly where I’d like to start, Mr. Case,” Nina continued. “I’ve read your resume. You read like a list of natural disasters. Wounded Knee. That’s a good starting point. Working for the BIA to systematically prop up a corrupt tribal council and facilitate the murder and massacre of exactly how many Native Americans?”

“That was a first assignment as a government employee. I didn’t find out until I got there what it was like and I left as soon as I did.”

“Fine. You didn’t know what job you had taken or anything about what you were supposed to be doing. That still makes for a fine resume,” Nina continued. “Which brings us to your political activist career as Campaign Press Manager for President Carter in San Francisco in the worst defeat an incumbent president has ever suffered in U.S. history. Now that’s information to build a political career on.”

“The President carried San Francisco if you recall,” Aaron announced calmly.

“San Francisco will vote for anyone who shakes hands with a gay man without cringing,” Nina shot. “You’d have had to be illiterate to lose that county for the President.”

“I doubt I could have done any harm if I was illiterate,” Aaron responded. He was beginning to get a little steamed, but so far was staying calm. He was going to need a Vicodin after this meeting just to stop his head from hurting.

“That brings us to the remainders of your stellar career,” Nina continued as though she had rehearsed every word and where in the room she would be pacing when she spoke it. Somehow, Aaron had a feeling she had. “Substitute teacher, basketball coach, librarian, and genealogist. If you were me, what would you think when you found your boss had hired a loser like this to run press office for her campaign.”

“Whether I was you or me, I would be doubting her ability to make a good hiring decision,” Aaron glared directly at Nina.

“I have no self-doubts Mr. Case,” Nina spoke more calmly now and sat behind her desk. “What I really want to know is what the hell you were doing yesterday when you let our candidate alienate herself from a quarter of our state by engaging in a shouting match with the harbormaster at Port of Indiana? In what school of campaign management did you learn to not protect your candidate from that kind of situation? Rule number one is keep your candidate out of situations where she will be made to look a fool. We cannot afford to write off an entire voting bloc if we are going to make a viable run for the Senate.”

“We are not running for the Senate,” Aaron said firmly.

“Even if we decide not to challenge Dick Lugar, we’ll still step up the stakes in the next election. It will be one that we need more than the good will of the people of our District, which you might not be aware are a lot more conservative than our candidate as it is. Those who like her open caring approach will be the first to stab her in the back if they get any indication that she’s anti-business.”

“It was my first time with her and I had no background on the relationship with the harbormaster or even why we were going there. What do you want me to do?” Aaron’s voice was rising in spite of himself. This was not going well.

“I want you to fix it,” Nina shot back immediately. “You broke it, now fix it. In my book you will show that you deserve a place in this universe if you can reverse the damage done by letting yesterday happen. Win back steel and shipping and I’ll re-evaluate my position on your incompetence.”

“All right.”

“What?”

“I said all right, Miss Patterson. I’ll put steel and shipping in our pocket before the primary or I’ll resign.” Nina actually smiled. She had him now. By May he would be gone.

“Thank you Aaron,” she said. “We don’t need to be so formal around here you know.” She was so smug it dug Aaron the wrong way. He regretted already having made his rash statement.

“I’d prefer to keep it formal, Miss Patterson. You may continue to call me Mr. Case,” he said rising from his chair. “Now there are some things I want of you.”

“I didn’t ask what you wanted, Mr. Case.”

“I’m telling you anyway. First, I work directly for Congresswoman Stamos. I am not a government employee and do not expect to be bullied like you treat the rest of your staff. Second, I want full access and information on everything that could have any bearing on her candidacy, for whatever office she choose to run for. That means immediate access, not read it in the papers access. And finally, I want your full cooperation on scheduling the Congresswoman’s time for press conferences and events in Indiana. And don’t give me any more shit. You’ve had your jollies, now get off it. Do I make myself clear?”

“You are so abundantly clear I can see right through you, Mr. Case. I will direct the staff to cooperate fully with you. You won’t have an excuse here for your failure.”

Aaron nodded curtly and left her office.

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