Chapter 11: Blarg
AN: I want to thank Shakira for helping me get through writing this chapter. UR beautiful wailing kept my fingers glued to the keyboard.
Colby tapped her pen impatiently on the shining wood of the boardroom table she and the other campaign surrogates sat at. Since the first minutes of the meeting it had been going on too long. The boardroom was hot and overstuffed with representatives for every major and minor candidate's campaign. Colby shot a glare for the umpteenth time at Jared Binks, media liaison from George Pataki's campaign, as he argued so violently with the CNN producers that he was nearly yelling. Colby turned to roll her eyes at Kylo but instead she rolled her eyes to herself as she saw him enraptured by the yelling Pataki aide as he began to talk about Donald Snoke.
"I'm frankly disgusted by the way you seem to have devoted your network to the Snoke campaign." He nearly shouted, spit flying from his mouth. "I didn't get the memo that Governor Pataki wouldn't get any airtime unless they started spewing inane bullshit."
"Hey why don't you watch your language asshole?" Colby heard somebody from the Cruz campaign shout from the front of the room.
Rolling her eyes yet again, she leaned towards Brando Blarka, a Sanders strategist she'd befriended earlier in New Hampshire, and whispered as best she could.
"I know the columnists have been playing this up online, but the dysfunction here is truly astounding."
"Yeah." Brando responded, waggling his thick eyebrows at Colby "When are they going to team up against their real enemy."
Colby chuckled and playfully shove his arm "You'd love that wouldn't you?"
" Oh most definitely." He said with a low laugh "It's so stupid we even have to come out this far for this bullshit meeting."
Brando gave her a look and they both turned their attention back to the meeting as somebody slammed their fists against the table. Colby looked up to see Kylo risen to his full height, and intimidating sight contrasted against the dozens of seated campaign staffers.
"Frankly, Jared, I am disgusted by how you and others here have maligned my candidate and his campaign today and I'm going to have to leave if this continues."
Brando looked at Colby in disbelief before talking for the first time in the meeting "Maybe that wouldn't happen if your candidate wasn't constantly saying racist shit?" He intoned out of nowhere.
Before thinking Colby blurted out "That's uncalled for Blarka." As soon as it was out of her mouth she regretted it and sunk down in her seat, the other staffers around her already buzzing amongst themselves. She was one of the more recognizable members of the Organa Campign and that outburst surely wouldn't go unnoticed.
"Nobody asked for your hippie bullshit" Kylo shot back nobody in particular, chin up with a glare playing at his grim features.
"Well this has been so productive." Colby tuned quickly to the front of the room as one of the CNN producers began to speak. "This wasn't intended to be an airing of grievances so why don't all of you follow Mr. Ren's suggestion and leave." She finished with finality.
Colby heard that and immediately grabbed her attaché case and shot out of her seat to avoid talking to any other staffers curious about her apparent defense of Donald Snoke's racism. She made a bee line for the stair case and started taking the steps two at a time for the ground level and the street. The empty clanging of her heels on the metal steps in the echoing stairwell filled her ears as her she felt her face get hot. She finally reached the lobby and nearly jogged to the door so she could get a breath of fresh air, and just started walking.
§§§
Colby had been walking for only a few minutes when a car slowed down beside her. Looking up she saw Kylo in his car, looking at her from the driver's sit.
"Where the fuck are you walking?" He said in confusion, the midday sun causing him to squint at her.
"I don't know!" She shouted back in exasperation "I just needed to get out of there!"
"Get in the car!" Colby glared "I'm not letting you wander around downtown Atlanta, just get in."
Colby huffed, walked to the car and got in without looking at Kylo. She flung her attaché into the back seat with a startling force and looked squarely ahead.
"Are you okay?" Kylo finally asked after awkward moments of silence. "I didn't mean to snap at you in there or anything. I only meant that to the Sander asshole sitting next to you. Do you know him? Christ what a blowhard."
Colby glared at him and kicked her heels off onto floor below "Oh I only fucking defended the racist opposition in front of a room full of news producers and Republican staffers. It's not like people hate your mother or anything and they're constantly looking for the slightest fuck up."
"That was a closed meeting, you don't have anything to worry about." Kylo said nervously.
Colby leaned her head on her palm and turned to look out the window, Atlanta rushing past them. "You're naïve if you think nobody is going to leak that."
"Colby…"
"I can just see the headline now! Slate says 'Sanders staffer calls out Trump campaign on racism, and Clinton campaign calls criticism uncalled for' that will look great!" Colby nearly shouted.
Kylo gave her a look of sympathy as silence settled over the both of them yet again.