November, 2012
Lindsay stood impatiently in the crowded hotel ballroom. It was election night and the watch party was just beginning. She spotted her campaign manager, David, coming back into the ballroom from the hallway. He'd just stepped out to call someone he knew at the polls and get some initial results. She quickly wove her way through the crowd to meet him, thanking the people expressing their support for her as she passed.
"Hey, how's it looking?" she asked David when she reached him.
"It's too early to tell," he said.
"Okay, but who's ahead so far?" she said impatiently.
He hesitated. "Sitwell." Lindsay closed her eyes and groaned. "But like I said, they've just started counting, it doesn't mean anything yet," he said quickly.
"Okay," she said, nodding, though she didn't feel very reassured.
"Are you ready to give your speech?"
"What speech?"
"You've got to go thank everyone for their support, say something motivational, that kind of thing."
"Oh," she said, surprised. "I haven't prepared anything."
"It doesn't have to be fancy, just a few sentences to make the donors happy."
"Okay," she said, still distracted by the news that Sally was ahead of her.
"The mic's all set, go up there whenever you're ready. Soon, though, everyone's waiting to see you."
"Okay, I can do it now," she said. She'd given so many speeches lately that it didn't really phase her anymore.
"Now you sound like a congresswoman," he said.
"Thanks, David," she said, smiling at the praise. They'd grown close after working together so much over the last few months.
She made her way back through the crowd towards the stage, still fixating on the initial results. It was too early to tell, it didn't mean anything yet, but god, she couldn't lose. She knew it was likely, all the polls pointed to Sally, but she wasn't ready to accept it yet. She'd put so much work into this, she didn't think she'd ever worked so hard at anything in her life, and she certainly couldn't lose to Sally Sitwell. Sally had dragged her reputation through the mud in every way possible over the last six months. She'd publicized everything from Lindsay's affair with Herbert Love to the fact that she was under suspicion for Lucille 2's disappearance to a list she'd somehow managed to put together of every cosmetic procedure Lindsay had had since her nose job in high school, along with 'before pictures.' The thought of Sally claiming victory after everything she'd put her through was too much to bear. And she also wasn't ready to give up her new life. She loved the campaign, giving speeches to adoring supporters who had somehow stuck with her through everything. She had to win, it was the only outcome she could handle.
She climbed the stairs up onto the stage and walked over to the microphone. The crowd erupted in applause when they saw her, the sound giving her new confidence.
"Hello, everyone," she said. The room quieted down. "I just want to thank you all for coming here tonight, and of course, for all your support throughout the campaign. All the donors, and the campaign staff that worked tirelessly to get us to where we are today. And, uh, no matter what the results are, I'm so grateful to all of you…"
She trailed off when she was Michael at the edge of the room. She'd known he would be here, she'd invited him, but it was still a shock to see him in person. The last time she'd seen him was six months ago when she'd attacked him in the police station, and the time before that was when she'd had sex with him. She'd decided to forgive him shortly after their phone call in May. She'd realized that most of her anger had just been because she'd had trouble switching gears after thinking he'd lied to her about forgetting that night. She gave him a shy smile. He smiled back, looking pretty uncomfortable himself, though the sight still filled her with emotion.
"Put up this wall!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"Yeah, that's right!" Lindsay said, trying to regain her composure. "Let's put up this wall! Thank you," she said, and left the stage as everyone cheered.