Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Big, big thanks to Karie (SweetVenom69) who has graciously offered to be my beta, MWAH BB!
~*~
Taking the door handle in one hand and his briefcase in the other, Edward took a deep breath and stepped in to the lion’s pit.
“Mr. Cullen!”
“What do you think your chances of winning are today?!”
“Mr. Cullen, have you seen the latest polls?!”
“Edward!”
The most prominent voice was comfortingly familiar.
“Jasper,” Edward sighed thankfully as he reached out to give his best friend and campaign manager a hug amidst the shouts and camera flashes of the journalists. Jasper grasped his hand and slung an arm around his shoulder in a display of comaraderie that was both for the press and for Edward’s nerves.
Leaving the reporters in their wake, the men walked side by side, heads bowed in discussion.
“How was your morning?” Edward asked.
“Shocking, but nothing you need to worry about,” Jasper replied.
“Jazz, I want to know-”
“But you know I’m not going to tell you. Stress is a catching emotion and if I worry you, the public will feel your tension and this can all go down the shit hole. Is that what you want?”
“Jasper, you know-”
“That’s what I thought,” Jasper said as they stepped inside the building. “Now just through that door is where you’ll need to wait,” he instructed, pointing to the left. “Lunch will be brought at 12:30 and an early dinner at 5. I’ll be through here with the team so if you need anything just message me,” he said, holding up his own Blackberry.
Edward struggled momentarily, not wanting to be rendered useless while thousands of volunteers and members of the party worked tirelessly for him. One look at Jasper’s warning face told him that he did not have a choice.
With a resigned sigh, he asked what time the announcement would be made.
“The first will be at 6 tonight,” came Jasper’s over the shoulder reply as he entered the room on the right. A burst of yells, news broadcasts and general chatter intruded on the silence of the hall as Jasper entered the nerve centre of the party. It abruptly cut off with the closing of the large wooden door and Edward was left in the eerie quiet.
“Why couldn’t I have just stayed at home?” he grumbled to himself, slouching his shoulders and pouting his bottom lip in an exaggerated sulking pose as he walked towards the room that was to be his cell for the day.
Flopping down on the over-stuffed couch, he surveyed the room. It was elaborately furnished with luxurious curtains flanking the floor-to-ceiling windows and various antiquities lining the various tables along the walls. The walls were embellished with light pink flowers with pastel green stems over a cream background. The curtains were adorned with gold tasselled ties and the walls and ledges had gold finishings. It was obviously professionally decorated, although a little flashy for his usual tastes - which he had inherited from his mother. He had often perused the pages of her catalogues and portfolios, admiring her talent for restoring old homes and room decoration. She ran an interior design business out of Seattle, close to their family home which was situated on the outskirts of the city.
Before he began to feel homesick, Edward pulled out his Blackberry. Pulling up his contacts, Edward scrolled down to his sister’s name and pressed ‘call’.
“Alice.”
“Hey, Al,” Edward greeted.
“Hey, Edward. How are you? Are you nervous yet?” she replied and he could hear her smiling through the phone.
“No,” he answered, drawing it out in a long exhale. “Not really. Alright, a little bit. Jasper’s not letting me help or do anything remotely interesting.”
“Don’t whine to me about Jasper, I’m not getting involved,” Alice replied with finality.
Edward grumbled under his breath. “Hey, why don’t you and Charlotte come down and entertain me? I’m going to go stir-crazy alone in this prison that Jasper’s stuck me in.”
She sighed. “Sorry Edward, no can do. I’ve got to work on some fabrics and designs for the next collection. But Charlotte misses you, it’s been too long.”
Edward reluctantly murmured his agreement. He missed Charlotte too. She was the light of his life; his precious angel. He didn’t know that he could love anyone as much as he had loved her the moment she had first been placed in his arms.
“I saw you on CNN last night,” Alice said before pausing. Edward sensed a critique about his clothing coming on.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve told you that you can’t wear that horrendous red tie with the grey Calvin, Edward! It just doesn’t work. The flow of the suit is all wrong compared to the tie, the colours barely match and you look plain awkward with the shape of the two together!”
Edward waited.
“Are you finished?” he asked tentatively.
“Yes,” Alice huffed in reply after an irate pause.
“Well, no one, except you, is going to vote or not vote for me based on what I wear. There are more important things in life than the ‘flow of a suit’, Ali,” he lectured back.
“Edward, just listen to me! I bet there are hundreds of people who will take one look at their voting slip and just tick the box for whoever looks better! You can’t expect everyone to understand your healthcare reform or international policy,” Alice replied.
“Alice, I’m fairly sure we’ve had this discussion before, which is why I let you supervise my clothing, hair and make up for the major photoshoots, interviews and press conferences.”
“You didn’t tell me you were going on CNN! I could have organised something for you!”
“It was a last minute opening, I barely had time to go home and change.”
“So you willingly chose those clothes to wear?”
“No, a member of the opposition forced me to commit a fashion faux pas the night before the election,” he said sarcastically. “Of course I chose them myself!” Alice huffed impatiently.
Their good-natured banter continued for a few more minutes before Edward reaffirmed his promise to let Alice choose his outfits for any upcoming media appearances.
“Well, I’ve got to get going,” Edward ended, unable to take anymore of his sister’s questioning about what he was currently dressed in.
“Okay, I’ll pop by your house and sort out a couple of outfits for you later. Good luck, Edward.”
He rolled his eyes. “Thanks Alice. Bye.”
Edward clicked off the phone and cradled it in his hands. 12:05pm, the bright display read. Edward’s stomach growled loudly as his brain contemplated the twenty-five minute wait until his lunch would be brought in.
Sighing loudly, he reached for one of the large files Jasper had left him to study in preparation for his tasks for the next couple of weeks.
“The economic situation experienced a large number...” he began to read aloud under his breath.
~*~
Right on 12:31pm, the lunch lady burst through the door at the end of the room, pushing a trolley of sandwiches and fruit juices. Edward’s mouth watered at the thought of food but he managed to keep his drool to himself as the frumpy looking woman ever so slowly made her way over to Edward’s spot on the couch.
Serving up a plate of dull looking mini-sandwiches and a hunk of burnt cheese and sauce that Edward suspected was a lasagne, the lunch lady remained expressionless and wordless as she passed him a Styrofoam cup of weak cordial before making her way out of the room. Watching her retreating figure, Edward sighed and looked back to his listless lunch. Poking at it tentatively with a fork, he was reminded of his school lunches back at Scotch College.
Before he launched into a long reverie about his school days to pass the time, the door opened behind him.
“How’s it going, Edward?”
“Jasper!” Edward cried happily as he leapt up from the couch.
“Happy to see me, are you?” Jasper laughed.
Edward just groaned in response as he flopped back down on the couch.
“What? All work, no play too much for you, buddy?”
Edward rolled his eyes. “I’ve been cooped up in here for hours. I’ve been starving for hours and now that I’ve got this food, I’ve lost my appetite,” he complained.
Jasper smiled wanly and rolled his eyes before pulling out his Blackberry. “Will a pizza fix this little mood you’re in?”
Edward’s face lit up with a little kid’s grin and Jasper pressed ‘call’.
~*~
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