3. Chapter Three Ruby #3
“That’s…respectable,” he said, though I could tell there was something else on his mind. “One last question: you have a young child, which some see as a detriment for a career as difficult as DA. What do you say to that?”
I hesitated, the answer not as immediate or practiced as the others. My mind flickered to Julian’s words earlier, to Alek’s more recent ones, to the countless nights spent working late and missing bedtime stories with Rosie.
To the night I’d found out I was pregnant with Kieran Callahan’s baby.
I cleared my throat, stalling for time as a dozen possible answers raced through my head. This was the kind of question that could sink a candidate if not handled with the right mix of honesty and spin.
“I say that’s straight up misogyny. You wouldn’t pose this question to a man.”
Jason stammered, but I held my hand up to keep talking.
“We all have lives that are complex and sometimes messy,” I began, choosing my words carefully.
“The important thing is to strive for integrity in every situation, even when it’s difficult.
I hold myself to the same standards that I hold others to, and I believe that the choices I’ve made—both personal and professional—reflect that.
I will be an example for my daughter, Jason. This is the best way to do that.”
Jason opened his mouth, perhaps to probe further, but Alek was next to me, his hand raised. “That’s all she has time for now,” he said. “Thank you, Jason.”
Jason muttered his thanks and shuffled away, already lost in his notes. I turned to Alek, who held out a glass of champagne. He clinked his own against the one he’d just replaced my sparkling water with.
“To making it through alive,” he said, though his eyes were still serious.
I took a sip, the bubbles biting at my lips. “Do you think he bought it?”
“Jason? Maybe. You’re usually more convincing.”
I sighed, the weight of the night starting to crush down on me. “I need to be more than convincing, Alek. I need to be bulletproof.”
“You need to be human,” he countered. “People relate to that.”
I drained the rest of my glass, wishing it were something stronger. “Human is messy. Human loses elections.”
Alek didn’t respond, just gave me that look—the one that said he understood more than he let on.
“Let’s get some air,” he said.
We wove through the crowd, Alek skillfully deflecting the occasional attempt to draw me into another conversation. The balcony doors swung open with a push, and the cool night air rushed in, a stark contrast to the stuffy warmth of the ballroom.
I stepped out onto the balcony and breathed deeply, the cityscape of Boston stretching out below us like a glittering quilt. The sounds of horns and distant shouts mixed with the muffled hum of the gala behind us. For a moment, it all felt manageable.
Alek leaned on the railing beside me, his tall frame casting a long shadow in the city lights. “Remember when we used to sneak up here during law school events?”
I smiled despite myself. “How could I forget? You always thought someone was going to catch us and kick us out.”
“I was just being cautious,” he scoffed. “We had reputations to protect.”
“We weren’t even hooking up. We were just gossiping and smoking weed.”
“You have never smoked weed, Future District Attorney Marquez,” he said.
I laughed. “Right.”
A comfortable silence settled between us, the kind that only long-time friends could share.
Alek and I had a history; we understood each other’s ambitions, fears, and compromises.
Sometimes I wondered if we’d ruined something by never taking that next step, but there had never been a spark there.
He was objectively handsome, charming, smart.
And yet, my relationship with him could be compared to that of a bar of soap.
I needed him, but I didn’t think about him that way.
No…I liked my men a little more toxic. A little more dangerous.
A little less like me .
Perhaps that was why Alek and I had lasted so long as friends. We were essential to each other, but not in a way that complicated things.
“I miss those days,” Alek said, breaking the silence. “When the biggest worry we had was acing finals.”
I turned to him, studying his face. He looked tired, but then again, so did I. Running a campaign was like running a marathon every single day, without a break. “Yeah.”
He looked out at the cityscape. “Julian means well, you know.”
I didn’t want to talk about Julian, but I knew Alek was right. Julian meant well the way a father meant well when he tried to steer his child away from a doomed path — with love, but also with an infuriating sense of knowing better.
“He’s just worried,” Alek continued. “About you, about Rosie. He’s seen how this life can take over.”
I shook my head. “I need to do this, Alek. I need to win. Why else am I here? At this point, what else have I worked for?”
“Even if you don’t win, you’re a hell of a lawyer, Ruby,” he said. “You would be fine. Rosie would be fine.”
“Honestly, I don’t know if I would recover. It feels like my entire life has been building up to this,” I said. “And if people start looking into my life, they might…I mean, I don’t think they’re going to figure out who Rosie’s dad really is, but that would ruin me. It would ruin all of this.”
Alek got a little closer, looking around. He was right to do it—I didn’t know who could be listening in, and if we were overheard, it could ruin everything. But once Alek had decided the coast was clear, he finally spoke.
“You’ve only ever told me, right?” he asked. “That still true?”
I hesitated. It was a loaded question, especially given the tension of the night. Alek was the only one I’d confided in about Kieran, and even then, it had taken years for me to tell him. The truth was a dangerous thing to hold, and sharing it with him had been a calculated risk.
“You’re the only one I’ve ever told,” I said, though my mind flashed to Kieran himself. “He doesn’t know.”
“Okay,” he said. “So Kieran doesn’t know. He has never known. And he’s not in your life. You won’t tell anyone. I won’t tell anyone. You’re in the clear.”
I grabbed the flute of champagne off him, draining it before he could protest. “Yeah, Alek, maybe,” I said. “But for how long?”