Chapter Twenty-Six
Today was Ana's first PMQs as Leader of the Opposition. She was absolutely terrified but was hiding it well. No one could tell that her stomach felt like a washing machine on full spin and that there was a penetrating lump in her throat. This would be the first time she would be facing off with Elena Lincoln since she'd been elected, and she was more prepared than she thought possible.
Christian was up in the gallery supporting her. He'd been pumping her up all morning, telling her how incredible she was, how powerful she looked, all in the hopes of giving her that boost of confidence she needed for this morning.
Of course, as always, Christian had chosen her outfit. She'd given him complete control of that and what was crazy was that Ana had become some kind of fashion icon as her popularity had built. Ever since Islington, the tabloids would often talk about what she was wearing, she'd even been photographed in the same outfit as Kate Middleton which had landed in one of the magazines with the caption 'who wore it better?' It had added pressure on Christian about selecting the right outfits for her and he even regularly shopped for her as he was learning more and more about fashion and what was in and what wasn't. Though Ana primarily liked to look professional and business-like Christian was making sure that whatever she wore was 'in' as well. It was his privilege, as her Dom, to get to be in control of something so personal as her style.
After going hunting for an apartment on Monday, Christian had gone to Harrods to find Ana the perfect outfit for today. He knew how important this first PMQs would be for her and he wanted her to exude power and control. The outfit was a big part of that, if she felt comfortable and confident and looked it too, that would be half the battle. Christian had even recruited the help of a personal shopper who had been so excited when Christian had shown a picture of Ana so that she knew who he was shopping for. Turned out the young woman liked Ana a lot.
Ana was wearing a black and white dress, the skirt part was high waisted, the top had a pretty deep v neck and lace detailing. It was only thigh-high, a bit shorter than what Ana normally wore but it didn't matter, it was the jacket that was the show stopper. A pure wool, double-breasted jacket with gold buttons down both sides. It had shoulder pads making Ana look just a little broader than she was. Only the bottom button was closed, pulling the jacket in tight at her waist. She looked incredible. The outfit was of course finished with a pair of black three-inch open-toed stiletto heels. Something Ana hadn't been sure of but when she'd put them on with the outfit she knew they were the right choice. Christian had done a pretty good job of making Ana appear powerful, exactly how she wanted to look today.
"Ana Steele!" The Speaker called, though he was barely heard over the intense hubbub in the Chamber.
Ana stood gracefully, her papers in her hand ready as she stepped up to the dispatch box. No one could tell how nervous she was and Christian relaxed a little seeing how calm and controlled she looked. Though, he could see that the small lick of her lips was a sign of her nerves, how she gripped tightly to the side of the dispatch box, but only he saw those subtle signs of her nervousness.
"Mr Speaker, I'd like to start by saying thank you to everyone for their vote and for taking the time to engage in this democratic process of selecting a Leader for this party. I'd also like to take a moment to thank everyone for their kindness after the Islington Bombing, the love and warmth shown by members on both sides of the House and around the country on my election campaign has been incredible. However Mr Speaker, the people I met along the road to becoming leader all asked the same question – Why has the Prime Minister continued to ignore this tragic event, failed to commemorate the victims in this place, and failed to give any reassurance that the police and counter-terrorism are doing all they can to find everyone involved in the worst terrorist incident this country has ever seen?"
Ana returned to her seat, glad she'd been able to say it as she'd rehearsed, calm and confident and completely in control. It was important to her not to let her emotions get the best of her today. With the agreement of her Shadow Cabinet, every question she would ask today would somehow or another reference Islington.
"Mr Speaker, I have made it crystal clear on a number of occasions that this Government will not give terrorists the publicity they seek…" Elena refused to look in Ana's direction which was crazy and completely out of character. Instead, she was looking up at the Speaker. That wasn't like Elena Lincoln at all, she liked to stare down her opponent and try to intimidate them. "This Government is committed to fighting terrorism, has been since the day we came into Government and will continue to do so as long as we remain in power." Elena sat down without even a glance at Ana. Ana couldn't believe it, she was so angry that Elena had basically ignored her while barely answering her question. She stood again, the fire burning in her belly now.
"Mr Speaker, this week figures released by the Trussell Trust show that foodbank use has continued to rise under this Government. Knowing about the thousands of private foodbanks up and down the country feeding those ineligible for Trussell Trust support such as Nurses and Carers including those who saved dozens of lives on September Twenty-Sixth will the Prime Minister tell us when she intends to lift the cap on their wages so they can have a well needed and well-deserved pay rise so that can stop needing foodbanks to feed their families?" Ana was so passionate, it was audible to anyone who was really paying attention. Christian smiled proudly, he couldn't believe this was the same Ana that had arrived this morning a complete bundle of nerves.
"Mr Speaker." Elena started, once again not looking at Ana who was shaking her head angrily that she was being ignored. "There is no evidence to suggest that Nurses and Carers are having to use foodbanks unless they have amassed debts by living beyond their means, something the Labour Party knows all too well about, they lived beyond their means the last time they were in Government which is why we are having to put austerity measures in place. We have to balance the books and learn to live within our means and I suggest the nurses and carers learn to do the same."
Gasps rippled across the Opposition benches, they couldn't believe the callousness of the Prime Minister. She genuinely didn't care that nurses were having to use foodbanks and were justifying it by stating it was their own fault! Christian could see Ana's blood boiling, it was obvious she was beyond angry now. She rose again, slowly and gracefully and desperately trying to keep control of her temper. She grabbed the side of the dispatch box, her knuckles turning white.
"Mr Speaker, mental health funding has been the slowest to rise over the last decade. Waiting lists are beyond long, people are dying waiting for access to support. In the wake of the Islington Bombing, hundreds of victims had to rely on fundraising to access the right mental health support and families continue to sit on waiting lists to access grief counselling. Will the Prime Minister now please announce funding for the families of the victims so they can have access to the necessary treatment to come to terms with the atrocities of September Twenty Six."
"Mental health funding is at a record high." Elena started and Ana shook her head, it may have been true but it wasn't enough, it had risen much slower than inflation, everything was costing more so in real terms the funding had been cut. Ana just prayed the public understood that. "If we were to announce funding for the families of the victims how is that fair to the thousands of people who have been on waiting lists for months? They need to wait their turn like everyone else." Elena sat again and Ana looked at Emma sitting beside her, they couldn't believe how Elena was behaving, she still wouldn't look at Ana and the things she was coming out with was putting nails in her own coffin. This was crazy to them.
"Mr Speaker, Police, and Counter-Terrorism funding has been at its lowest growth since nineteen ninety-seven, yet attacks are becoming more and more frequent. Knife crime is at its highest while police numbers are at their lowest in a decade. Probation service has been cut, community funding has been cut. Will the Prime Minister explain to the country why our streets are more dangerous than ever under her leadership?" Ana knew now she was winning this fight and it was written all over her face, she was smirking a little but only Christian could see that because of how well he knew her face. He wanted to cheer her on though he knew he couldn't. She was rocking this. Elena on the other hand was practically unrecognisable to him.
"Police and counter-terrorism funding is at it's highest under this government, the police have failed to work with communities and community leaders on crime prevention strategies. This Government promised to balance the books and we are doing that. We had to make some tough decisions about spending, we did that, to have a strong economy has been our priority and we have achieved that Mr Speaker. Under a Labour Government, the country would be bankrupt within the year. It is for individual police departments to make their choices on fighting crime, crime prevention, and spending. Shouldn't the Leader of the Opposition question them on their decisions instead?"
Even the Conservatives were looking nervous by this stage, Elena was barely making sense. Her arguments were digging her own grave and while the Labour benches looked excited about the prospect the Conservatives were on edge. Ana still had two questions to go but she didn't need them, she had won this PMQs hands down and probably ended Elena Lincoln's career in the process.
"Mr Speaker, on September twenty-sixth I got to see our NHS at it's very best. Responding to a mass terrorist incident they worked diligently, saving as many lives as they could and supporting all those who had been injured however big or small their injuries were. However, we are all fully aware that there were unnecessary deaths, a delay in ambulances arriving on scene due to a limited number of ambulances and paramedics available, already overcrowded hospitals having to ship patients out to make way for the major traumas, understaffed A&Es doing everything they could but sometimes falling short. Not because of a lack of dedication and hard work, no one in the world could fault the staff at the hospitals who from the top to the bottom did everything they could to help the victims. However, our NHS is in a funding crisis. When is the Prime Minister going to admit that the NHS is not something that can be subject to harsh austerity and start funding our hospitals sufficiently?"
"Prime Minister!" The Speaker called as always but this time Elena seemed to be hesitating before getting to her feet. Christian saw that she looked defeated, he knew Elena like the back of his hand and he wasn't seeing the Dominatrix before him, instead, he was seeing a miserable old woman who knew she was in trouble.
"Funding in the NHS has been increased year on year, we are struggling to keep up with an aging population and demands on services are higher than ever. We are working with Public Health England on educating people about when they need to use A&E and hospital services to try and reduce the pressure on NHS staff, we have increased who is entitled to a free Flu vaccine to reduce hospital pressure in the winter. We have worked tirelessly with local services such as health visitors, midwives, school nurses and GPs to work on better education for patients. We can reduce the stress on the NHS by taking better care of ourselves. If the public want to do their bit for the NHS they have to be diligent in their own health and wellbeing."
Jesus Christ, she was now shifting the blame onto the people themselves, it was the country's fault the NHS was in crisis in her mind not her Government's fault for not funding it properly. This woman was a joke. At least before Ana became Leader she would be well prepared for these sorts of questions and would have good answers and good comebacks even if there was a lot of misleading involved in them. Now she was obviously not bothered about that, she was just playing a blame game. It dawned on Christian, Elena knew her time was up and so she was just making sure everyone knew she thought it was their fault and not her own. He wondered if Ana realised the Prime Minister was basically admitting defeat.
"Mr Speaker, for my final question, I would like to ask the Prime Minister to apologise to the country for her failures in the aftermath of September twenty six. To apologise to the families and the victims for not paying her respects in this place soon after it happened, apologise for ignoring their suffering and not acknowledging the hardship people faced. I give the Prime Minister this opportunity to restore public confidence in her as a leader." Ana spoke much softer now, the Chamber was quiet, unlike the usual shouting and jeering. There was nothing for the Conservatives to shout about and the Opposition was being respectful of their new Leader's first PMQs.
"Mr Speaker, I attended the memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral and laid a wreath in the Paradise Park. I have shown my respect for the families and the victims. The continued going on by the Right Honourable Lady about what happened on September Twenty-Sixth is doing exactly what the Government wishes to avoid. Giving these terrorists continued attention increases the risk that more attacks will happen, this is what they want, to be remembered, talked about and martyred. I declare that the child opposite is behaving as a threat to our country's national security."
Even Christian gasped at this. Ana's mouth popped open. Members on both sides of the House gasped, clutched their mouths, and looked completely and utterly surprised at what the Prime Minister had just said.
"Point of order Mr Speaker." Emma shouted from beside Ana, the first to compose herself after that attack on Ana.
"Point of order Emma Phillips." Mr Speaker replied.
"Mr Speaker I ask that you request the Prime Minister withdraw that horrific attack on the Leader of the Opposition. It is unnecessary and despicable that she makes such an allegation and uses such derogatory terms against the Right Honourable Lady. It is no secret that the Leader of the Opposition was a victim of the Islington Bombing as was our former leader and a colleague of ours. She is out of line. Please request that she withdraw her comment."
"Prime Minister." The Speaker stood as he spoke. "Please withdraw."
"I will not." The Prime Minister replied causing loud jeers from the Opposition benches. The Tories were quiet, unsure of what to do with themselves under the circumstances.
"Prime Minister, I will give you another opportunity to withdraw that statement against the Leader of the Opposition. Please do not make me confer to the powers given to me by this House when they have never before been used against a sitting Prime Minister." The Speaker was polite enough, giving the Prime Minister a fair opportunity to withdraw because no one would want to be the Speaker to kick the Prime Minister out of PMQs.
"Mr Speaker, this Government has made it clear that the best way to respond to terrorism is to not respond at all. We will not allow individuals to be martyrs for their causes by giving them continued publicity. I fail to see how the Leader of the Opposition, barely out of nappies, can't see that and chooses to go on and on about it…"
"Order order!" The Speaker shouted, the Prime Minister could barely be heard over the jeers coming from the Labour benches anyway but another jab at Ana's age was not going to win her favours. "Prime Minister." The Speaker said standing once again. "Order…" He called again as the noise level continued to grow. "I am most reluctant to use the powers given to me by this House, please withdraw your statements against the Leader of the Opposition."
Elena Lincoln just shook her head, she was digging her heels in. The House was in chaos. This had never happened before, where a Prime Minister had stepped outside the rules and was at the point of being expelled from the House for a period… that's when it dawned on Ana, she probably knew exactly what she was doing. She was done answering Ana's questions and she didn't want to answer anyone else's, she was doing this on purpose!
"Then Prime Minister, I have no other option but to ask that the Prime Minister withdraw from the House for the rest of the day's sitting."
The House erupted, cheers from the Opposition benches and jeers from the Conservatives who seemed to have gotten over the shock of what had happened with the Prime Minister. Ana was just in shock, she could handle the insults, they made her laugh especially coming from the Prime Minister who sat in her seat smirking, she wasn't getting up and leaving. Holy cow this was crazy.
"Order! Order!" The Speaker called and while the noise level dipped slightly it didn't fall silent. "Prime Minister, under the power given to me under Standing Order 43 I ask that you withdraw immediately from the House for the remainder of the day's sitting."
Christian peered down at the House of Commons Chamber from the public gallery. He was in complete shock at what was going on. The look on Elena Lincoln's face told him everything he needed to know though, this wasn't a woman who was losing control. In fact, it was quite the opposite, she knew what she was doing. However, while she knew what she was doing, it wasn't working. She was trying to get a rise out of Ana but Ana, his amazing Ana, was sitting back remaining calm and stoic, if Elena was trying to get a rise out of her she was failing miserably.
The atmosphere was electric, the shouts and jeers echoed around the chamber, everyone shouting at each other uncontrollably. The Speaker couldn't get the PM to leave, she wasn't responding to his calls and the House had just erupted. It was a joke, British Politics at its worse.
"Order! Order!" The Speaker shouted but it wasn't really making a difference, no one could really hear him above the ruckus. "Order, I now suspend the House. Under powers given to me by Standing Order 46 I suspend the House for one hour."
Ana took this as her signal to get up and leave, she wasn't going to sit there in the madness when the House had been suspended. Jesus, it had to be the first time ever that the behaviour of a Prime Minister had caused the House to have been suspended. Ana made her way over to Portcullis House where she knew Christian would meet her, he had an access pass like Kate now as a member of her staff and as Leader of the Opposition she had an entire floor to herself for her and her team to work from.
This was complete and utter madness, how things had escalated the way they had Ana had no idea. Her mind was racing. The only conclusion that Ana could come to was that Elena had done it on purpose. But why? It didn't exactly paint her in a good light, if anything it just showed how mad she'd become.
"Hey Ana wait up!" Emma Phillips called trying to quick march to catch up with the Leader.
"Sorry." Ana smiled, her mind had been on what had been going on so she hadn't been paying attention to what was going on around her.
"Well that was an eventful first PMQs!" Emma laughed, Ana grimaced though, she wasn't quite able to see the funny side yet. "I can't wait to see the media response to this!"
"Oh don't. I'm dreading it." Ana replied, she was terrified that she would be seen in a bad light, for pushing the PM too far.
"She's going to regret this." Emma replied. "You did amazing, you did exactly what you should do as the Leader of the Opposition, not your fault she can't hack it."
"She called me a child and said I was barely out of nappies." Ana sighed, she always knew her age was going to be an issue but to have it called out like that in the House of Commons wasn't something she had quite expected, especially not by the Prime Minister.
"Ana, she was kick-starting her General Election campaign. What it tells me, is she wants to play dirty." Emma explained, Ana scoffed, did the Prime Minister know how to do anything else. "Anyway, I've got things to get on with, I'll catch you later." Emma hurried off when they arrived in the atrium of Portcullis House, leaving Ana to make the journey up to her office alone.
Her bum had barely hit the seat when there was a knock on the door, she sighed, there weren't five minutes to be had to herself when she was here.
"Come in." She called opening up the laptop to at least pretend she had some work to do.
"Hey." Christian smiled coming in. Ana relaxed seeing him there, if there was anyone in the world she did want to see right now it was him. He locked the door behind him and rushed around the table to meet Ana. She didn't get the chance to say anything, he locked his lips on her while trapping her in her chair between his arms. Ana said nothing just returned his kiss passionately. He could make her forget everything. "Jesus Christ, you were so in control out there." He said resting his head against hers.
"You found that a turn-on?" She teased, seeing how out of control he seemed to be.
"Yes… and then I remembered how I like you best." He smirked making Ana giggle. "Come here." He tugged her to standing and took her place on the chair. "Take your knickers off." He said undoing his trousers. Ana did as she was told, her belly doing backflips at the thought of sex with Christian in the office.
As soon as her knickers were free from her body Christian tugged her onto his lap so that she was straddling him, lifting her dress up her hips as he did. She groaned and bit down on her bottom lip as he penetrated her and as he held her hips to help control the tempo she kissed him furiously. He knew her so well, knew that this was exactly what she needed, to burn off all that energy that had built up inside her while she'd been sitting in the House of Commons having to keep calm and composed and now he was letting her get it all out with him.
Christian's lips went to Ana's neck as she bounced on him, there was a groan deep in her throat that vibrated on his lips. Fuck, the way she'd been in there, so composed and in control now she was under his control. This was why they were the perfect match. He knew what she needed and she responded to what he needed, whenever he wanted or needed her.
She bit down on his shirt as she came apart, she didn't ask permission but she knew she didn't need to, this was their release from the stress of the morning. Christian came apart too, grunting softly as he did. Ana lay her head on his shoulder panting while he held her back.
"You know me too well." Ana giggled softly.
"You will never know what you do to me." Christian replied chuckling softly. "Seeing you out there… fuck Ana." He groaned, his penis twitching inside her again making Ana giggle, her other half was insatiable that was for sure.
"I've got work to do." She giggled already climbing off him.
"Hmm…" Christian replied, not looking too happy that she was rejecting a second round with him but he wouldn't push his luck, the fact she'd had sex with him in the office at all was more than he'd imagined. He had expected an outright rejection this being her place of work.
"Christian…" Ana sighed but she didn't get the chance to say anything as there was a knock at the door. Christian tucked himself away and grabbed Ana's knickers, shoving them in his pocket while Ana pulled down her dress before hurrying to unlock the door.
"Locked door?" Kate asked with a silly smile on her face. Ana just blushed as her advisor walked in giving Christian a wink, one that said she knew exactly what the duo had been up to. However, Kate was not there for pleasantries. She walked over to the TV and grabbed the remote control. She switched it over to BBC News and Ana and Christian turned to look.
"It's drama at Westminster today where the Prime Minister caused The Speaker to end the session early after she had thrown some very personal insults at the new Leader of the Opposition. It caused a huge upset in the House of Commons and when the Prime Minister refused to withdraw she was asked to leave, on refusal to leave the Speaker had no choice but to bring the session to an early close. Now Parliamentary Business has now resumed but with me now is the Labour MP for Liverpool Walton James Weatherford. Now James, you were a leadership candidate and lost the election against Ana Steele and you were in the house today, what can you tell us about what happened in PMQs?"
"Well it's quite simple really, Ana Steele went in with a plan, she was going to ask important questions and connect them all to the Islington Bombing, rightly so as it was the first time Ana got the opportunity to ask the Prime Minister to acknowledge the victims in a public setting. Ana was fantastic, she was composed, clear, concise and dignified throughout her six questions however the Prime Minister couldn't handle the heat and when things got too much for her she threw out a personal insult. There was only one way that was going to go, personal insults are not allowed and the Prime Minister was held to account just like every other member would be."
Ana was smiling softly, it was nice to hear James giving her a boost on national TV. If anyone had a reason to be a bit off with her right now it was the person who had lost the Leadership contest against her.
"Many of the MPs we have spoken to have said it's time for the Prime Minister to go. Do you agree?"
"We're a few months away from a General Election anyway, if I was the Conservatives I'd be worrying about the leader being incapable of leading. Elena Lincoln lost it today, for whatever reason, she's been out of sorts for weeks but today she went to a whole new level. If I were the Tories I'd want someone new in before the General…"
There was another knock on the door and behind it Ana found the Chief Whip, he didn't say anything just handed a note over and as soon as she took it he walked away. Ana closed the door behind him, her eyes hooked on the folded piece of paper in her hands. Slowly, she opened it and read the note while Christian and Kate looked on, concerned. Ana folded the paper back up before looking at the pair.
"I've been called to Committee Room 14." She said which caused a gasp to echo from Kate's voice. Christian didn't know what Committee Room 14 was so he just looked confused.
"Are you going to go?" Kate asked.
"Yes." Ana replied. "Let's see what they want."
"Maybe you should take someone with you." Kate whispered.
"Where?" Christian asked, still confused.
"Committee Room 14 is where the Conservatives hold their 1922 committee meetings." Kate explained. "Ana being called there, it can't possibly be good."
"It can't be that bad." Ana replied. "Jesus, has there ever been an instance in history where a Leader of the Labour Party has been called to that room?"
"It wouldn't be recorded even if it had been. This meeting will be in complete privacy you know that. There will be no recording of it having ever taken place."
"Exactly. I'm going down there." Ana said already making her way for the door.
"Wait, let us at least come wait in the lobby for you." Kate replied, at least that way Christian and Kate would be close if things went bad.
Ana, Kate and Christian made their way back over to the Palace of Westminster and once in the lobby Ana said goodbye before making her way to Committee Room 14. There was thankfully no one around, otherwise, they might ask what she was doing there and she didn't think she'd be able to lie convincingly enough. When she arrived at the door she knocked lightly, it was opened just a crack and she saw an eye look at her up and down before the door opened for her to enter.
Ana entered the room where a good few Conservative Members were sitting clearly nervously waiting for her to arrive. She scanned the room, so many of the faces were familiar to her, she'd sat on these benches herself once with the power to vote and make 1922 decisions. The 1922 committee were backbench MPs who technically had some control of the Government. They could easily conspire together if a Government wasn't acting in their or the country's interest when necessary.
"Well? Why have you asked me to come here?" Ana asked trying to sound confident though she clearly was nervous, she had clutched her hands in front of her and had to square her shoulders back.
"We want…" Charles DuMont looked nervously around at his colleagues, they nodded at him, encouraging him to continue. "We would like you to bring a motion of no confidence against the Government." He said and Ana's eyes bulged, what the hell were they playing at?
"Why would I do that at your request?" Ana asked crossing her arms across her chest defensively, something had to be going on here because this was highly irregular.
"Because we need to get rid of her Ana." Charles explained taking a tentative step towards her. "Elena Lincoln has got to go."
"You can have a vote of no confidence in here through the 1922 committee, it's what it's there for." Ana replied awkwardly, she didn't understand why they wanted her to do their dirty work. "There aren't enough of us who want rid of her to get her out through the 1922 committee, however, there is enough of us if you add us to the amount of Opposition members there are to win the vote in the Commons."
"What for? We're little under three months to a general election." Ana pointed out exactly what she had to her own parliamentary party, there was no point calling for an election now.
"None of us are stupid enough to think we have any hope of winning a General with Lincoln in charge." Charles explained as Ana eyed the members in the room suspiciously, she felt like a fish on a hook, but she wasn't sure what their game was.
"Oh so if I overthrow Elena, you get a new leader reducing the chances of a Labour Government?" Ana scoffed, she was being used for their own gain, now she could see that.
"I think it would make it a fairer election. But come on Ana, if we were to win with Elena, we'd struggle to get rid of her and she's lost it. You saw how she spoke to you, how she refused to withdraw. Jesus Christ, she had the whole of PMQs suspended no PM in history has done that before." Charles was desperate especially as Ana had seen right through what they were up to. "For the good of country Ana. Please."
"I'll need to speak to the Parliamentary Labour Party." Ana replied dryly.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me. I haven't done anything yet. I may not even bother, the whole reason I haven't put one forward is not having the opposition numbers. I could call this for tomorrow and then what, half of you pull out and then I get egg on my face and I make your PM look a little bit lighter after today?" Ana wasn't buying their story and she wasn't going to make this decision lightly.
"Ana we want her gone." John, a former friend of Ana's called as he stood. "That's all. She's cracked, she's dictating rubbish to cabinet, she's been on a downward spiral since before Islington. We all know there's a chance she'll even take a no confidence to the General Election because she won't go quietly, but we need her gone. There are thirty of us here, even if five change their mind, you'll get the vote through."
"No one intends to change their minds." Another piped up. "We are all here, meeting on the quiet with you because we want her gone, can you imagine what this would do to us if it ever came out we met with you like this?"
"It's going to look pretty dodgy when you all vote against her." Ana replied dryly, she wasn't sure what to make of this at the moment.
"Well we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, right now we need you to put the motion on tomorrow's business."
"Why tomorrow?" Ana replied, it surely could wait a few days.
"Sooner the better."
Ana shook her head and left the room, she couldn't listen to them anymore and she sure as hell wasn't going to be giving them any more information about what might or might not have been going through her mind. No instead she was going to talk it over with her Deputy, the one person in the world Ana trusted right now to guide her to make the right decision on this. That was if there was a right decision to be made on it.