His head was swimming. He would let Jacquelyn know he had the information, but not until he confirmed it-and notified his boss. This was huge, so huge that he had personally offered Natalie Longworth a thousand bucks to keep her mouth shut when he learned that she hadn't called any of the other stations yet.

If she kept her word, he would call Jacquelyn tomorrow morning and pay Natalie the money.

An hour later, he had all the information he needed to make a news story. Old school records from Madeline's college days confirmed that she had roomed with a girl named Natalie Longworth. How in the world had the press missed this information the first time around? Simple. Because they had all been looking to the mayor as the real story, not the other woman. Would Madeline Stratton crack under the pressure? Would she offer an on-camera interview? Could they get more of the story of the woman shattered by her husband's infidelity?

The details of Natalie's past had not been closely examined because they hadn't been relevant to the story that the media wanted to tell. Now, though, he had a story that everyone in the state would buzz about for days. He had secured the necessary verification for the main part of the story. They had enough to do an on-camera interview that covered the rest-as long as he remembered to throw in words like "allegedly."

He called Natalie, who agreed to come to the studio right away for the interview. They would tape and edit it tonight and air it first thing in the morning, as people dressed for the day.

Landing a story this big had resulted in his boss not only congratulating him but also promising him that he was safe in his job for a while. For the first time in ages, Isaac felt like he could breathe. He suppressed the nagging in his gut that told him to call Jacquelyn. They needed to get the footage first. Once he had that, he would phone her.

Chapter Twenty-Four.

Jacquelyn had been considering making a trip to Jo's apartment for the past hour. While she wasn't sure where they were, she figured it was a safe bet. If nothing else, maybe she could catch Jo alone and confront her-which would be safer than facing Madeline with the allegations she had in her a.r.s.enal.

What would she say? She wanted to have something planned, not just show up and accuse them of sleeping together. That would only seal her fate as the first to be fired whenever the s.h.i.+t started hitting the fan.

Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.

It was Ian. He was probably calling to see if she had heard anything. She wanted to ignore his call. Instead she answered it.

"Hey, Ian," she said.

"I think we might be about to get the answer to our question," he said, forgoing a greeting.

"What are you talking about?"

"I just got off the phone with Jo. She and Madeline want to meet with me. I told her that I would, but that I was bringing the rest of the senior staff with me."

"Did she agree to that?"

"Actually, she said that would probably be best. She seemed upset, but she said this needed to happen tonight-as soon as possible."

"Great," Jacquelyn replied. "Whatever is happening, we need to get to the bottom of it as quickly as we can. I'm in for the meeting. What time? Where? And have you let Gabe know? He will want to be there as well."

"Gabe knows. He will be there. We're all meeting at the office. Come as soon as possible. I think Jo and Madeline are already there," Ian said.

There was a pause. "Be prepared, Jacquelyn. I am pretty sure they're not calling us in for a late night meeting to give us good news."

She knew it could not be good news, but she appreciated his warning anyway.

"Thanks, Ian," she said. Hanging up, she tried to prepare herself. She was pretty certain, though, that she knew why they had called the meeting. It was confession time.

They had arrived before anyone else. Jo wanted to be the first to the office, wanted to get settled in the conference room and establish some type of normalcy. She flipped on the lights and held the door open for Madeline. Her face was as white as a sheet, and more than anything, Jo wanted to comfort her.

What they were about to do would change the future irrevocably for the both of them, but it had to be done. Natalie was volatile and unpredictable, but she had threatened to go to the media twice now, and this time she had seemed very determined.

There was not a doubt in Jo's mind that her face and Madeline's would be splashed about the news tomorrow morning. It was something she had feared from the very beginning of her feelings for Madeline, something she had known was a possibility the moment they slept together.

Looking at Madeline, she wanted her to know one thing. She squeezed her hand. "It has been worth every minute," she said, a single tear running down her cheek.

She had no idea why she was crying. Since Natalie had left, she had tried to be the strong one, for Madeline's sake, but now she felt as though she might crack.

Confession had never been her strong suit. She knew what everyone was going to say: She and Madeline had put everyone's career on the line-and together they had jeopardized all of the changes that Madeline had worked so hard to implement. Chances were good that none of the anti-corruption measures would matter at all once it was revealed that the mayor had been sleeping with a staff member. It would have all been for nothing.

That was true, but she meant what she had said. It had been worth every minute, and she would do it all over again. Selfishly, she realized that finding something meaningful in Madeline's arms had been worth everything it would cost.

Madeline squeezed Jo's hand in return. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything. I can tell them what has happened," Jo rea.s.sured her.

Madeline swallowed hard. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry," Jo whispered, afraid it might be the last time she had the opportunity to speak the words.

"Me too," Madeline said in reply.

Ian came in first. As he opened the door, Jo let go of Madeline's hand. It was too late. He had seen it, and his tightlipped look left no doubt that he understood the reason for their hand-holding.

"As you were," he said crisply and took his seat at the front of the table.

Jo dropped her eyes. She had never felt particularly guilty about being a lesbian-never thought it was a wicked, despicable thing, like her parents did. It was who she was, even if she hadn't lived out and proud. Now, however, she felt as though she should feel ashamed-though more for the sake of whom she had slept with and what she had done. The look Ian had given her said he disapproved-not of her lifestyle, perhaps, but of her actions. After all, she had slept with her boss-a married woman, even if that marriage was over when it happened and she had resigned as soon as was practical in order to mitigate the situation. Still, it was a reprehensible action, and she knew it.

She felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Never before had she shared details of her s.e.xual history with anyone with whom she worked, and she was about to do just that-and come out of the closet-all in one swift move.

As she waited for the others to arrive so they could get this over with, she thought back to all the articles she had read on coming out of the closet. They had all said it was the most freeing experience in the world. Jo didn't feel free. She felt like she was in a living h.e.l.l. It was like that dream where you showed up to high school naked, except now, not only was she going to be laid bare and naked in front of her co-workers, she was possibly ruining the careers of people she cared about. Her heart pounding, she forced herself to look Ian in the eye.

He just shook his head and looked away from her.

Gabe entered the room, a look of disbelief on his face. He took off his coat and set it on the back of the chair, taking care not to make eye contact with Jo as he did so.

She felt like screaming. Didn't she have an ally anywhere? She knew she didn't deserve one, but she felt hopeless and all alone. She looked at Madeline out of the corner of her eye, noting that she seemed to have checked out. She was sitting still, staring at the ceiling and looking like she thought her life was over. Actually, it was. The life she had known was done. There would be no return to the sense of normalcy she had known before the affair. And while it was possible she'd be allowed to serve out her term, it was more likely that the remainder of her tenure as mayor would be measured in weeks, not months.

Jo forced out a breath, suddenly finding it difficult to fill her lungs. Gabe glanced in her direction and then pointed at his phone. It was a signal they had used regularly during work hours. Gabe had sent her a text message and wanted her to check it.

She pulled her phone out beneath the table and read it.

Why didn't you tell me?

There was no easy answer. She had never made a practice of telling people. That was the reality of living life in the closet. You didn't tell, and when people questioned, you lied. Life was easier that way. He should understand that, having a brother who was gay, something he didn't feel free to talk about in the office. But that hadn't seemed to click with him just yet.

I'm sorry.

It was the only reply Jo had. She truly was sorry-not for being a lesbian, not even for sleeping with Madeline, if she were to be honest. But she was sorry that it had jeopardized all of their work, all of their jobs. Sorry that it had come to this.

These were talented people, though. They would all go out and find new jobs. They would not be damaged by Jo and Madeline's actions. They would be known as former Stratton employees, yes. But they could truthfully say they hadn't known, hadn't had a part in anything that had happened. Not that she and Madeline had broken any laws, no just ones anyway. Whatever they needed from her, she would give. She would put it in writing and sign in blood if that's what was needed.

Jo put her head in her hands, wanting more than ever before to simply disappear. She thought for some reason of those Southwest Airlines commercials. The ones that said, "Wanna get away?" at the end. Right now, her life could be turned into one of those commercials. Jo would lay money that no one in their right mind would want to change places with her right now.

Finally Jacquelyn arrived. Ian cleared his throat, breaking the silence in the room.

"Thank you all for coming tonight on such short notice," he said.

Jo looked around the room. His greeting was really not necessary in this setting. He and the others looked shaken and on edge. Their faces suggested they already knew the truth or thought they did. How they knew, Jo was not sure, but it was clear they knew something.

Ian continued, "Mayor Stratton, Jo, this is our second meeting of this nature today. Jacquelyn, Gabe and I had one earlier. We understand you have something that you need to bring to our attention now. So, I will let either of you-or both of you-speak. Then we can discuss what action needs to be taken."

Jo glanced at Madeline, who simply nodded.

"Okay," Jo said, her voice shaking as much as the rest of her body. "I guess I will be the one to fill you in." She tried to remember to breathe. "I want to start by offering everyone in this room an apology."

She turned to look each of them in the eye. Gabe stared right through her. Jacquelyn's look could have killed, and Ian sat stone-cold at the end of the table.

She swallowed. "I apologize for my hesitation too, but...there's no easy way to jump into this. What I need to say is that I'm...a...lesbian." The sentence was the hardest one she had ever had to string together.

"I'm a lesbian," she had to repeat it aloud to confirm to herself that she had just publicly admitted it for the first time. "And though I am not really sure how or why...things have happened between Mayor Stratton and me."

"What kind of things?" Jacquelyn demanded.

Jo glanced toward Madeline for help, but she was staring at the ceiling again. Jo let out a sigh. She was on her own here.

"We slept together," she admitted. "We didn't do it before she filed for divorce, and we did our best to keep it from public attention, but the truth is, we slept together."

Gabe looked like he might cry. Jo could not bear to look at him. In addition to driving his job into the ground, she had crushed his heart.

"Why are you bringing this to our attention now?" Ian asked.

Jo and Madeline had rehea.r.s.ed what she would tell them, but even so she felt as though she were betraying Madeline's confidence. "I wasn't her first," Jo said softly.

"We need the whole story, Jo," Ian prompted impatiently.

"Natalie Longworth," Jo said. "You all will remember the name. She was the woman John Stratton was caught with and photographed with. She was the woman who started this whole mess. She was also Mayor Stratton's roommate in college."

Jo hated talking about Madeline as though she was not in the room, but she had little choice, given Madeline's sudden aversion to speaking with staff.

"They were lovers in college. Natalie is now threatening to tell the press about her and Mayor Stratton-and about what she a.s.sumes happened between Mayor Stratton and me," Jo finished. She hung her head at the admission, wanting desperately to crawl back into the hole where no one knew her secrets.

No one spoke, and the silence threatened to swallow Jo whole.

"I'm sorry," she said again, wanting to cry.

"Don't apologize." Madeline spoke with such strength that Jo did a double take.

Was this the same woman who had sat motionless through her entire confession? Was she now jumping to Jo's rescue?

Jo met Madeline's gaze and saw a new fire burning within her eyes.

"I want to say to all of you as well that I'm sorry who I am was not who I always appeared to be. I was not straightforward with you all, and I am the one who owes the apology." Madeline took a deep breath. "What Jo has said to you all is true, and it took great courage for her to take that step tonight."

Suddenly Madeline was not some weak victim. She was the mayor again-the strong, confident boss who had led them all thus far-and she was making her power known. Jo felt a tingle of relief go through her body. She would not have to face this fight alone.

"I think you all owe Jo some respect," Madeline added. "To be sure, our actions have not been the most admirable. In fact, they were wrong-not because we are both women, but because of my position and because of the effect that they will have on the work that we have been doing. I apologize for trying to keep this out of the public eye, but I will not apologize for sleeping with a woman. That part of our relations.h.i.+p is not wrong, and neither was my relations.h.i.+p with Natalie Longworth."

The silence lasted for only a few seconds. This time it was Gabe who broke it.

"Why didn't you tell us, Jo?"

"Which part was I supposed to tell you?" Jo asked.

"That you're a lesbian. I think that you know you could have trusted us." Gabe appeared genuinely to be hurt, but his words made no sense to Jo given the tacit warning he'd given her when he'd told her about his brother. He seemed to realize at the same time that he might be on shaky ground with his comment. A look of fear flashed across his face as she began to answer him.

"Gabe," she said carefully, "I think it is unfair that I should have to disclose to my colleagues who I choose to sleep with. You are not required to go around telling everyone that you like to sleep with women. Nor are you required to disclose information about acquaintances of yours who date individuals of the same gender. Why should I-or anyone else for that matter-be held to a different standard?"

The question obviously hit its target. Perhaps what they all needed was a little bit of perspective.

"How would you like it?" she asked, turning to Jacquelyn and Ian. "What would you do if your decision to follow your heart made you a criminal in the eyes of your co-workers?"

Ian shook his head. "It is not the same thing, Jo."

"What do you mean it isn't the same?" Jo asked.

Ian was normally calm and collected, and his level-headedness made him a great manager. But now, suddenly, he was transformed. He was enraged.

"I have a wife," he bellowed. "Because that is how it is supposed to be. I am a man, and she is a woman. That is how it is supposed to be. You don't get to decide on a case-by-case basis, and you do not get to change the rules." He shot an angry look at Jo and then turned to Madeline. "What the h.e.l.l were you thinking to engage in such depraved and unnatural behavior?" he demanded of her.

"Ian," Madeline said calmly but with authority, "I do not demand much, but I demand that you drop the h.o.m.ophobia. We have stated clearly that we know what we did was inappropriate, and we are prepared to deal with the consequences. You will show respect to Jo and me both as people and as lesbians."

At her use of the word "lesbian," Jacquelyn and Ian sat up straight in their chairs looking as if someone had doused them with ice water. The word struck a chord within Jo. She smiled, noting it as the first time Madeline had identified herself so clearly. At the table, Gabe remained motionless, defeated.

"You may disapprove of us, you can fault us for our affair-but be civil, all of you," Madeline continued with unparalleled confidence. "Am I understood?" As she asked the question, she made a point of surveying each individual face.

Gabe nodded and Jacquelyn looked away.

Ian continued to fume in the corner. "I am not going to sit here and listen to the two of you explain this away. You may be my boss, but I will not stand by while you say that you have done nothing wrong by sleeping with another woman. We are not going say that to the media, to the public or to the rest of the staff."

"And just what do you expect me to tell everyone then?" Madeline asked. "Remember when you answer that you are not only impacting me and my career, my life and my future, but you are impacting the career, life and future of this promising young woman." She pointed to Jo.

"She forfeited a say in the matter the minute she came to work for you," Ian said. "It is all a part of the job. We accept that when we come to work for a public official. Anything you say or do can be called into question. When it does, we each have to step up and 'take one for the team.'"

He pointed at Jacquelyn. "If something you were quoted as saying in a press release went terribly wrong, if we took a position on something and the 'facts' we based it on turned out to be incorrect, she would take the fall for you. Plagiarism, faulty statements, a spelling error, being misquoted-any of that and she would be the public scapegoat. It comes with the territory."