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"Welcoala," he called gruffly into the microphone The crowd erupted into applause Liz clapped politely along with the, I was probably at the first Jefferson-Jackson gala" Light laughter ensued "But I’ll have to disappoint you in that regard I have been to quite a few of these events, and I’ll be the first to ad out" Another round of applause followed "You’re probably all starving out there, wondering when this old geezer is going to shut his trap, but I do have to allow one e before we let you off the hook I’ll apologize up front that it’s not steak, so you can all hold your complaints"
Liz chuckled She had heard Senator Abbot speak before on ca at all Retire his name
"It’s my pleasure to introduce ree on everything Actually, if you look at our roll call records, we don’t agree on uy In the political climate we find ourselves in these days, it’s hard to find someone who can see the other side of the aisle, reach over, shake your hand, and politely say, ‘I disagree with you’ No naet lunch with this guy once a week And I’llhappily inpolitics"
Man, he was really working the crowd
"Ladies and gentlemen, Senator Brady Maxwell Jr"
Liz sed in anticipation If Brady’s father was here, then surely Brady would be in attendance She didn’t let her eyes wander away from her work to search to see if he was here But she would be lying to herself if she hadn’t been anticipating his presence Maybe even hoping for it
The crowd applauded as the two gentlee and shook hands Liz noticed that they said so Senator Maxas astonishingly handsoentlely reseuished, with dark brown hair growing in salt and pepper around his teuess that he had the charm of his son His black tuxedo was pristine, with a crisp white shirt and black bow tie
"Thank you Thank you," Senator Maxwell called out, quieting the crowd "I’d like to take a moment to thank Senator Abbot for his kind words of welco to miss those lunchesdie down, he continued "Thank you again for coala I’ht, especially since this event has so much personal connection to my family
"Many of you probably don’t know that randhout the years The firstborn son’s eneration since the seventeen hundreds on her side of the fae to President Thomas Jefferson himself I am very proud to be Brady Jefferson Maxwell Jr and that my son, Brady Jefferson Maxwell III, has similarly taken up his namesake and entered politics
"As a descendant of the Jefferson household, I would like to forala has always held a special place inof political company from both sides of the political spectrum Our differences and hoe handle the compromises ht celebrating the achievereat state of North Carolina A toast to you," he said, pointing at the crowd "Enjoy the evening"
Now that his speech was over, Liz allowed her eyes to drift away from the elder Maxwell and out across the crowd of tables She was excited and afraid to find him Mostly because she hadn’t called hi in her wallet all week, screa her name She couldn’t allow herself to call, and certainly not after the article she wrote What had she said about hi in how deep his pockets could stretch, not with the people The comments were true His record showed as much, and his ambitious desire to move up the political chain so quickly screamed that he was a man after power Just like every other politician out there Don’t be fooled by his pretty face and char of a pretty face, there he was
Brady was seated at a table a row in front of hers on the other end of the roo his father in a tuxedo, and he looked perfectly put together Her heart accelerated all on its own Liz wondered if he knew she was here It was unlikely, and she felt as if that gave her the upper hand somehow
Dinner was served a led with the sounds of forks scraping against plates, glasses being refilled, and waiters’ hurried feet Liz tried to get into the conversations at her table, but none of the wo, and so she spent a lot of her ti off at the handso her roasted chicken
The plates were cleared away, and the keynote speaker, Jeffrey Bakker, founder of the bipartisan organization People for a Better North Carolina, took the stage and delivered the final speech of the evening Liz was surprised that he was such a good speaker and was able to engage the audience so easily She wouldn’t have expected these events to be entertaining As he spoke his final words and walked offstage, the lights dian This hat she had been waiting for, the part where everyone finally socialized
Most of the rooravitated toward the dance floor as h the speakers She had read about the event frolean and knew that the night began with a traditional waltz Fifty-three years of this event and they were still doing ballroom numbers around the room
Liz, on the other hand, veered in the direct opposite direction No as she dancing She didn’t exactly have two left feet, but the last tily danced hen her e of five Two years of that nonsense and she had stripped quickly out of tights and grabbed a tennis racket At least she could hit things that way
Instead, she found the dessert table Her favorite She stared at the long table of desserts and zeroed in on the cheesecake There was so about cheesecake She couldn’t say no to it--and it was Oreo Double trouble and totally worth it She didn’t care if she had to spend all weekend in the Rayan to walk toward a group of people standing off to the side She recognized one of the won Handy person to know
As she was about to interject herself into the conversation, she felt someone tap her shoulder She stopped with her herty," Brady said with a sh her
Liz tried not toabout him made her insides turn to mush She hadn’t expected him to address her in public
"You seem to be everywhere, don’t you?" he asked when she didn’t say anything