Christina Brockett and Gina Katz

Gina Katz
Inspiration piece

Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
By Christina Brockett

Response

The jazz background music floated through the large ballroom. The scent of old money and power permeated the air.

Time to put the next piece in place.

Dominque stood in the shadows. Her chestnut hair cascaded in waves down to the small of her bare back, framed by the outlines of her gown. The dress she wore was of an unknown designer but was spectacular all the same. The black lace gown hugged her slim frame and flared out like a flamenco dancer’s dress the closer it got to the floor. The designer called it a mermaid dress, but Dominique didn’t care. All she cared about was that it suited her purpose. There couldn’t be any mistakes tonight.

Obscured by a large potted plant, she watched him work the room with his wife; the pattern was the same each time.  They would approach a group of people her arm through his. Then, just before they reached the group, Mrs. Williams would pull her right arm out of his left and take a step back. This freed the Governor’s arm up for the inevitable slap on the back, the accompanying handshake and the fake smile revealing bleached teeth.

Governor Williams was a good southern boy educated at the Citadel. He later went on to make his family proud by going to Harvard Law School. The Governor came from a long line of politicians well versed in working the system, but one who had also become complacent.  His complacency was one of his weaknesses; bourbon and beautiful women his other two.

As he worked his way around the room, Dominique watched his carefully choreographed dance. A dance so predictable, it was almost humorous.  Except it wasn’t. Every time his bloated body moved to the next person she wanted to vomit.

What the room of onlookers didn’t know was that the esteemed Governor Williams was also a rapist.  A man, who with bourbon running through his veins, had raped a young woman just as he was beginning to get into politics.  Recently married at the time, with a pregnant wife at home, he stumbled into the rundown bar in a town so small it wasn’t even a target for his campaign.

The night was long forgotten, or so Governor Buck Williams thought.

Dominique represented a large Asian company who intended to acquire land in the good state of South Carolina. Unfortunately, Governor Williams was not making it easy for them, in part because he wanted to hand the land to BMW, who already had invested heavily in the state. Even the state vehicles were BMWs.

Things were about to change.

As the Governor pulled away from the most recent group of supporters, Dominique stepped out from the shadows. The overhead lighting was perfect, a spotlight for her entry into the room. She stepped into the light and walked towards him, catching the Governor’s eye. Before his wife even had a chance to put her arm through his again, he was making great strides in Dominique’s direction.

“Ah, Ms. Winters, it’s wonderful you could join us this evening.”

Extending her hand towards the Governor, Dominique willed herself—as she had done every time she interacted with ‘Bucky’—to smile.

“Mr. Governor, I’m sure the pleasure is all mine.”  Dominique responded her words coated in honey.

Dominique’s hand stayed, her eyes locked with his a moment longer than would be appropriate—a point not lost on Mrs. Williams.

“Bucky deahh, I’m going to get another drink and visit with some of the ladies. Do you mind? I’m sure you and Ms. Wintahs have business to discuss.”

The esteemed Mrs. Williams produced a smile constrained by the skin pulled taught on her face. Distorted after so many procedures, Mrs. Williams looked like a caricature of her old self. Dominique turned towards the departing Mrs. Williams. She wasn’t ignoring the Governor, but rather giving him an opportunity to take her in.

Turning back to him, she said, “Mr. Governor, the time-frame to make a decision is closing. We need to talk, but it may be better done in a place…” Dominique leaned in towards the Governor and added, “a little more private?”

The Governor’s eyes glistened. She had his attention.

“I have a suite in this hotel if you would like to discuss things. It would be private.” Her words were slow and deliberate.

Dominique thought dear Bucky might explode. He reminded her of a golden retriever salivating as he waited for her to throw his ball.  As if she read his mind, she added, “Mrs. Williams will be fine for a little bit. She is more than occupied with the DAR chapter here.”

The Governor for once appeared at a loss for words. He took his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow. “Ms. Winters, why that is an idea alright, but I’m afraid it might look a tad improper for me to be seen leaving with you.”

Dominique leaned in towards the Governor’s ear, intoxicating him with her Opium perfume and whispered, “Oh, we wouldn’t want that now would we?” Then she slipped the suite key into his pocket and added, “Suite 1102. I will meet you.”

With a quick turn, Dominique walked towards the door, her black stiletto heels clicking on the wooden parquet floor.  As she made her way through the crowd, it parted. Both the men and women in the room eyed her. The men wanted her, and the women wanted to be her.

Her key slid into the door. Dominique had only a sliver of time before it would open again. She needed to work quickly and make sure everything was set.  Dominique walked over to adjust the bouquets of red roses strategically placed on the room’s tables, flanking the large flat screen television. What the Governor didn’t know was that within these roses was a little something special.

The door slowly opened.  It was funny how a man as powerful as the Governor could also be so tentative. Men are such interesting creatures and so easy to manipulate.

“Governor, so glad you could join me.  I’ll get you some bourbon and we can have a little chat. Please, have a seat.”  To make sure he sat where she wanted him to, Dominique gently held his hand and guided him to the couch.

Returning to the small living room within the suite, Dominique sat down on the couch opposite from the Governor.  She positioned her body in such a way the slit from her dress slid apart to reveal her long lean leg and delicate foot in the black stilettos.  In return, the Governor leaned back as if to get a better look.

What a fool.

Time to get down to business, Dominique began,  “Governor, you’re aware Yashiro wants to establish a presence in South Carolina. Their business would be good for jobs and the overall local economy.”

The Governor took a long sip of his drink.

“Ms. Winters, I’m afraid what you’ve been proposing is simply not possible. As I’ve told you before, we have a strong relationship with BMW and the land Yashiro wants conflicts with our relationship with BMW.”

“Oh sir, now that’s where I think you are wrong.  A deal with Yashiro would be so much better for all of South Carolina, and most of all for you.”  This last comment piqued his interest.

“And just how do you propose this deal might benefit me personally?”  The Governor asked. A small bit of white spit formed in the crevices of his mouth.

She had given him every opportunity to play fair, to agree to the deal and each time he rejected it. Governor Williams did not play fair—he was a man who had never played fair.

Looking directly into his eyes, Dominique leaned forward enough to ensure that Bucky had a front seat view of her breasts barely contained in the dress. “Do you believe in secrets Mr. Governor?”

The Governor shifted his weight on the couch, unsure of where this might be going, but eager all the same. He answered her, “But of course Ms. Winters. There are always benefits to having some secrets. What kind of secret would you propose we have?”

Dominique waited many years for this moment—too many years.

“Oh, Bucky. I’m sorry, Mr. Governor. You see I feel so comfortable around you, well I slipped right into calling you by your nickname. It’s almost as if I feel I know you. “

Unsure of what was transpiring, the Governor pulled out his handkerchief again and wiped the sweat dripping down is obese face. As he did so, Dominique stopped a moment and pictured him as he was when he was younger. The years before the rich foods and too much alcohol had taken their toll. He might have been handsome even, at least on the outside. On the inside, he was as spoiled now and he was back then.

Dominique continued, “Bucky, you and I share a little secret. We both know someone very, very well.”

The Governor’s eyes darted. He was searching, trying to make a connection.  Unable to make one he asked her, “Oh really, and who might that be?”

Her eyes focused intently on him.  “Susan Clarkson, the waitress you raped thirty years ago.”

The light of recognition lit in the Governor’s eyes. A flicker of panic and then, surprisingly, he smiled and said, “I’m afraid I don’t know who or what you are talking about.”

Dominique had prepared for this. “Oh but Bucky, you do know her and she knows you and your father and all the people who came to her, trying to buy her off. Even more so when your people watched her belly expand with each passing day and then the birth of her daughter almost nine months later.”

The Governor slammed down his drink, bourbon spilling on the glass coffee table. “This is ridiculous. How do you even know about that woman.”

“That ‘woman’ is my mother, and I suggest you treat her with more respect than the night you raped her. “

The color drained from the Governor’s face and he shrunk back into the white leather couch.  Poised with her next move, Dominique smiled.

“That sir is precisely why you are going to follow my specific instructions.  All these years she maintained her silence. She held your secret and raised me.  She did it not for you, but to protect me.  Now you need to repay your debt and agree to Yashiro. If you don’t, this will be exposed.” Bucky looked as if he might be sick, a fact that made Dominique smile a little on the inside, so she added, “All of it exposed. You see Bucky, I have a little insurance policy in place.” With that, she pulled up their live images on the television screen.

“The whole thing is recorded. All of it. All the documents that my mother kept are now in my possession as well.”

The Governor was trapped; there was no way to escape his current predicament.  The groundwork was set, and the deal would go through; a deal which would allow her to make a nice fee she could set aside for her mother’s retirement.

Perhaps the most entertaining thing for Dominique was that the Governor “thought” she was his daughter, when, in fact, she wasn’t. The day before her mother was raped she spent the afternoon on a picnic with the boyfriend who would later become her husband. This was the man who was actually Dominique’s father.  But you know what they say, “Some things are better left unsaid.”

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