Life of Secrets by Bowen Greenwood Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t want to blow one.
    "I can see
it in your eyes. You agree with me. So why are you trying to rat me out?"
    "It’s a
job," Alyssa replied, surprised to find herself talking to him.
    "Yeah, me
too. I want to be in politics, and I can’t just quit this job. I need the
income, and I don’t need to get blackballed from the biz, so I sneak info to
the press in hopes of getting this dirt bag out of office without losing my
career. Not exactly brave or noble, is it? I just want to try to do the right
thing without going broke over it."
    Alyssa
remembered her father’s advice and repeated it back to Vincent. "Trying to
do the right thing is a good sign you don’t belong in this business."
    "I don’t
believe that," the man replied. "I get that it’s what most people
think. Just do what you have to do to win and stop caring about the details.
But that’s not how I am. And I don’t think it’s how the business should be."
    Alyssa
shrugged, still holding him down.
    "Doesn’t
really affect our little problem, does it? I let you go, and you can pick me
out of a lineup easy. But what are the alternatives? I could shoot you, but
that’s not a line I want to cross if I don’t have to."
    "Sounds
like I’m not the only one who still believes in doing the right thing."
    "That’s
different."
    He only smiled
at her.
    "Give me
an option – other than you dying – that keeps my secrets."
    The young man
said, "Look, I told you the truth. If you’ve been hired to find out who’s
leaking to the press, I’m him. Doesn’t that show you can trust me?"
    Alyssa replied,
"Trust doesn’t mix well with the ethic of doing anything to win."
    Both of them
were silent for a time, in their awkward position on the floor, until Alyssa
asked, "You say you’re leaking to the press instead of just quitting
because you value your career, right?
    He nodded.
    "Politics
feels like I’m making a difference – like I’m changing the world."
    "So here’s
the deal: if we both just walk away from here, you could identify me if you
chose. That’s not too big a deal – I’m here legally; Tilman hired me to do
this, but it’s a career setback for me. Anonymity is a valuable professional
asset."
    She went on,
"On the other hand, if we both just walk away, I can ruin your political
career if I choose. No one’s ever going to want to hire a staffer with a
reputation for giving confidential information to the press. It won’t kill you,
but it’s a career setback."
    "Yeah,"
he agreed. "And embarrassing. I’ve started building a good relationship
with Tilman. He’s really helping me get my career started. If he knew I was
giving away his secrets, it would ruin that."
    "OK. I was
hired to stop the leak, not necessarily to turn anyone in, so let's say both of
us walk away and keep our mouths shut. You keep your career; I get to stay
anonymous. All you have to do is stop leaking and keep my secret for life. The
minute you ruin me, I ruin you. So we both keep the secret, right?"
    He sighed.
"Yeah. Stop leaking. And let a womanizing, walking
wanted-for-sexual-harassment poster get into the Senate."
    "Let me
give you some advice my f… my mentor gave me."
    Vincent looked
at her and raised an eyebrow.
    "Before
long in politics, you'll have to decide whether there are things that are
beneath you. If there are, you'll get out. If there aren't, you'll make
history."
    "I don’t
think I’d like your mentor very much."
    "Like him?
I don’t like him either. But that’s not relevant. Do we have a deal?"
    Vincent sighed.
    "Yeah. I
don’t like it, but I don’t want to get fired. I hate this. I know I’m going to
regret it. The reporter I’ve been talking to is kind of a nice guy, too.
Probably going to mess with his life when his editor discovers he can’t keep delivering
juicy insider stories about the Reeder campaign. It’s a shame. He's just
getting started in journalism. Young college kid working freelance. Probably
this’ll mess up his whole