Wise men say, only fools rush in (Victoria)

Subject: Wise men say, only fools rush in (Victoria) Fri Apr 19, 2019 12:52 pm

Morale around the office had grown considerably cheerier with the new year, in large part thanks to the humongous bonuses everyone had received for their hard work on Jackson's campaign. The man's trip to DC last December had been very lucrative, resulting in a multi million dollar deal with the FOX network that had not only ensured everyone at the office had their salaries secured for the whole of 2026 but also left them with enough to pour into the recampaigning efforts for November.

It had been Victoria's decision to direct a large portion of that campaign money to the wedding taking place in May and Jackson had learned not to question her. Whatever his little Princess did with the girls in accounting usually worked out in his favor whether he understood it or not. All he knew was that he had done several photo shoots with Sasha and his PR team was covering it like a third Brangeline wedding. More money had been sued to buy advertisement spaces in predominant newspapers and fashion magazines, announcing the looming wedding date and rumour had it there was even going to be a billboard.

Jesus H Christ.

But Jackson would do it all twice over if it meant never looking at that anonymous number on his phone again. Wyatt Jameson was still regrettably in a coma, well past the four month grace period that his contract afforded him. It had been ruled that the senator could not look after his constituents while in a permanently vegetative state and last week, his campaign had announced an important announcement on the 12th. Announcing announcements, another eyesore on the face of politics that had now become the norm.

Everyone had known what the announcement would be. The congressman would abdicate his role, a special election would be held, blah blah. And yet that didn't mean any of his staff was slacking off. As proven by the fact that Thursday night at 11:35, most of the office was still at work. Empty and semi empty pizza boxes littered the two tables that had been dubbed "trash collection stations" and bottles of sodas were still being passed out. The large flat screen TV that hung in the main area of the open plan office was currently on mute but it was someone's job to unmute it every couple minutes just to make sure they weren't missing anything. Their new social media corespondents aka a team of three teenagers Rosa had fount and Victoria put to work were live streaming soemthing or other which Jackson was given to understand was good for publicity.

"And here we have the senator and Victoria, what are you guys up to?" one of the kids holding up her phone approached them, apparently candid was the thing that tested with with the audience.

"Drinking soda,' Jackson replied casually, making the girl giggle. The camera zoomed in on the Goblin, taking in her suited frame. Like him, the witch had removed her jacket but unlike him, her shirt stayed pristine, crisp and crease free underneath. He watched as the Goblin gave a simple yet charming reply about waiting for the announcement from the Jameson camp, lacing her words with sincere solidarity, or at least what sounded like sincere solidarity. Had Jackson been asked the same question, he would have readily admitted Jameson could die and burn in hell.

"Can't believe how long they're dragging out out," the politician mumbled grumpily. the announcement time had been set for ten and local journalist had started swamping the Pfister since eight thirty. the spokesperson was taking his or her time, building sweet tension. And all fro what, an announcement everyone basically knew the contents off.

"Not the best way to start a Friday,' he added, leaning against his desk while Victoria calmly sorted through papers. How she found something to do at every second of every day genuinely befuddled the man. Of course, he didn't mention it.

Just like he didn't mention how glad he was of an excuse to stay in late, so that by the time he finally got home, Sasha would be in bed, faintly smelling of the sherry she had taken to using as medication. The redhead tried to hide it. Jackson had yet to see a bottle or glass like the last time, but the smell was unmistakable. It reeked from her nightgown and her person when she rolled drunkenly over, reaching out to sleepily kiss him hello most nights.

But on that front too, he trusted Victoria. She had said she would take care of it and he had no reason to doubt that she would.

"They're going ahead in ten," someone called out from the television, one of the social media kids who had a live link to the press conference. "Apparently they've decided its the widow making the announcement, not an official spokesperson, I guess they're going for a personal touch.

Jackson let out a short bark of laughter. Personal touch his ass, leave it to Judith to make everything about her.

Standing up straight, the man extended a polite arm to Victoria, eyebrow jokingly cocked in a question. 'May I have the honor of escorting you to the flat screen M'lady?" he asked, taking her hand if permitted and leading the miniature witch out to where everyone was sowly gathering.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Wise men say, only fools rush in (Victoria) Rsz_mi10

Wise men say, only fools rush in (Victoria) Rsz_ja12

Wise men say, only fools rush in (Victoria) Rsz_rs13

The week that Victoria had remained in the confines of her home had been detrimental to her work load. By the time the witch had felt... just about confident, to leave her apartment her desk had been piled with paperwork that needed reading through, amending, editing, signing, sending to other offices, or else simply filing in the copious amounts of folders around her small office. The mountain of work had been useful though, because through until Christmas, Victoria had not had a moment to herself at work, always much too busy trying to catch up and make her own plans work through without anyone finding out.

Jackson had, as always, been really good to her throughout the first month or so after what had happened with Mr Jameson. He checked in on her frequently, made sure that she was never found to be alone with anyone who came in to the office of the opposite gender -- if not personally, then by insisting upon another member of staff being with her. New security measures had been added in to the office that had offered a lot of safety to the witch, and for the most part, Victoria felt herself coming back to life again.

But there were changes.

Victoria no longer wore colourful dresses or skirts to the office, or at home, but instead stuck to pant suits with shirts that buttoned all the way up to the base of her throat so as not to even hint towards anything untoward. The Uber trips to and from the office that had once felt so safe and reassuring as she spoke freely with the driver, now had her watching the map to ensure she was not going off route, her finger ready on the panic button should the need arise. Her shopping was now delivered to George at the front door rather than her going out to collect it from the local super markets, and the young witch had avoided the weekly meetings at the Milwaukee Town Hall that she'd been a regular attendee of because she couldn't bring herself to leave her home of an evening.

And only when Jackson was around did the witch feel truly safe, but she knew, beyond anything in the world, that admitting that, even to herself, would be disastrous to both of them.

Mr Jameson had still not woken from his coma, either.

It had caught Victoria by surprise when she'd first thought that this was 'good' news. So much so that she'd had to sit still for a moment, shocked by her own thought process, until she could at least half wish that he would pull through from the coma. She did not want the man dead, no, Victoria Newbury could never wish a man dead, but she didn't wish for him to become a predator again. Not just for her, but to all girls in the world. It was difficult, working through the idea, but Victoria had finally found solace in one train of thought. She did not want Mr Jameson to die, because that would make her best friend this side of the world, her only confidant, her safety blanket, the man she felt very strongly for, a murderer. And her, his accomplice. So, that had been Victoria's only hope from that point, that Mr Jameson would wake up, so that Jackson would not be something they both knew he was not.

Jackson Blake was a good man, and nothing in the world would change that.

Christmas had come around in a blur, Victoria barely remembered the break she'd had back in the UK with Jake and the rest of the family. It had been a brief two days, but Victoria could not afford more time away from the office than that. Everyone had asked of her progress in America, and she'd managed to convince everyone how well they were doing, how great she was doing, and they had believed her, instead concentrating on the children, and the holiday.

From the UK, Victoria had returned to America, but not to Milwaukee. Jackson had gone to Green Lake for Christmas with his mom, and therefore would not be in the office, so the witch had opted to surprise him. She'd landed mid afternoon on the 26 December, and after calling Jackson to announce her intentions, she'd been promptly picked up by the man and brought back to his mother's home. Merida had been a delight, and the witch had truly relaxed through until the new year at home with Jackson and his mom, barely being able to complete a moment's work because Jackson refused to allow her to work on anything whilst he was awake. The witch had taken to waking up a few hours early just to get work in, before she was pulled off to go see the town of Green Lake with Jackson, or help Merida with errands, or cooking, or just anything.

For the first time in a couple of months Victoria had almost forgotten everything that had happened, simply because she hadn't needed to worry about anything else.

January had returned in full force, though, and even though Green Lake had truly given them a spectacle of a New Year's Eve party in the streets, Victoria had felt the added pressure of everything going on around them. With elections coming up this year, a wedding to plan, relationships to worry about, and the new funding being brought in from the Fox empire, Victoria had much more to do than she'd ever realised.

For the most part, the witch was left to get on with it, only being interrupted when she was ending up staying too late, and Jackson politely suggested it was time to go home. So far, the plans were falling in to place nicely, and everyone in the office was amazed by how well they'd done to get Fox behind them. The bonuses had settled everyone's nerves, and the efficiency of the whole office had rocketed since the Christmas break. The new section for publicity was doing wonders for Jackson's image, and all of the couple photoshoots being done by the largest magazines in both the State and country were more than happy to feature one of the most beloved young couples in politics if you offered them a good enough financial encouragement. An encouragement that seemed to be paying in dividends not only financially, but also in the number of people who seemed to be following Jackson's campaign.

February rolled in to being with the announcement that an announcement would be made on the health of Mr Jameson. It had brought forth a small wobble in Victoria's confidence upon hearing the name of her attacker on most social outlets, bringing forth a small, contained panic in her own office when the news had come through on email. The young witch had kept herself shut up in her office for the remainder of the day, only allowing Jackson's entry late in the day when most people had gone home. The refuge of his arms in the smallest of embraces had brought her racing mind to a short but needed break as he gently told her it would be okay, that she was safe and that he wouldn't let Wyatt Jameson hurt her. The witch couldn't remember if those words had been uttered aloud, or whether she had just taken the meaning from the hug, but it had been the necessary reassurance the witch had needed to keep her from the break down that had been threatening.

It made the run up to the announcement an unsettling time for Victoria, though, trying to work out what was going to be announced put her on the back foot, distracting her from her daily work schedules. One too many times a member of the team had come back to her with a small mistake being found in her figures, or wording of statements / press releases / other important documents which didn't quite work, leaving Victoria hastily rectifying work that wouldn't normally have been handed over in such states.

By the time the twelfth came, Victoria was jittery.

With the social media team working tirelessly to cover the story of the announcement from Wyatt Jameson's party, Victoria had been forcing smiles upon her face every time she saw a camera trying to include her in something. Still flitting around with her own work, the witch had batted away the social media team with a well wish for the man who'd given her nightmares for weeks before hurrying out of the way to ensure she wouldn't be brought to the screen, or the recordings again.

Why could they not just get the announcement done on time? Victoria thought tiredly as she pulled back her sleeve carefully to check her silver watch that Jake had gifted her for Christmas, the back face replaced with a picture of her niece and nephew that moved as the two laughed softly to the magical eye. They were massively late, keeping everyone waiting, and she just needed to know now. Her brain would not allow her to function properly, no work was getting done, and for the fifth time that evening, Victoria straightened the already perfectly straight papers on her desk, ignoring how her hands were shaking from the anxiety fuelled feeling of the night.

"May I have the honor of escorting you to the flat screen M'lady?"

The witch jumped slightly at the sound of Jackson's voice, not really paying attention to where he'd been and not realising he'd followed her in to her office. But the jump was short lived, and Victoria gave Jackson a polite smile, letting go of the straightened papers sheepishly before moving to take his arm. The silent support she needed, always there for her to draw from without needing to ask, Jackson truly was a God send.

"Thank you, m'lord." Victoria joked back to the man allowing him to lead her back to the flat screen, and somewhat grateful for the support in this moment. As they joined everyone at the flat screen, the witch remained with her arm tucked in to Jackson's, trying to ignore the light trembling resonating through her body as they all waited with baited breath for the announcement to be made.

Everyone knew the two of them had been present the night of the attack on Mr Jameson, everyone had assumed Victoria had been hugely shaken by the ordeal of such a vicious attack on such a prized politician. Nobody had asked her a question about any of it, and nobody questioned how Victoria held on to Jackson's arm as they watched the news unfold before them with baited breath.

Or, in Victoria's case, at least, barely breathing as she waited to know how her attacker was fairing.

________________________________________________

~ Profile ~ Vickson Playlist ~
~ Slender ~ 30 ~ Bookworm ~ 5' ~ American ~

The entire office congregated tot he television slowly, some coming in with curious eyes and empty hands, others still holding stacks of papers. Mackenzie had a notebook open just in case she needed to write everything being said and Neal rolled his eyes at her redundant since it was a news recording that could always be replayed. And at the center of it all were Jackson and Victoria, hand in hand, watching three hastily constructed countdown clock that C-SPAN graphics had made up as cameras zoomed into the Pfister's banquet hall. Someone had clearly gone to a lot of trouble to transform the room for its big debut on camera, which didn't sunrise Jackson at all. Especially if Judith was set to take the podium.

The witch arrived on the scene in figure hugging black, a color associated with mourning and a style that showed off every curve she possessed through the right windows of thin sheer on the elegant skirt suit she sported. Judith managed to look perfectly respectable yet sexy all at the same time and Jackson wondered how many people watching ehr were like him, people who knew what lay under that black fabric.

"I wear, that woman is wardrobe goals," soemoen breathed beside hi, making Jackson mutter an annoyed "Hnn".

"Why did she even marry that old fart?'

"I'm assuming you're looking for an answer other than his huge... fortune?"

"Ladies," Jackson warned, the hint of impatience clear in his voice as Judith took her time to set herself up on teh podium, her face grave yet every inch of it covered with flawless makeup.

"It it with great sorrow.." The room fell into a hush as Judith spoke, captivating her audience. The woman had never lacked confidence but today Jackson found out she was also a stellar actor. When she spoke, her eyes bore straight into the camera, as if addressing each and every viewer individually. She spoke of her sadness at what had happened to her husband. Of how little time they had together before he was so cruelly attacked and taken from her, about how she would wait for him for as long as he took to get better because to her, their wedding vows meant the world.

"And to whoever stole our happiness, let me remind you," she continued, her eyes growing with silent anguish and fury. 'That God is always watching. You may escape the law here in the world of men, but how will you answer to Him when He asks you what gave you the right to take a husband fro his wife, to take a father from his children?"

"I'm pretty sure his grown up kids are okay," Maggie murmured under her breath.

And then the announcement they had all been waiting for. A good seven minutes into the live feed but there it was, Jameson's official resignation from his post as the representative for his constituents. A small cheer went around the office, Jackson himself joining in, before everyone quietened once again to hear of the special election that would be held to find his replacement.

"Wyatt loved his country, even more than he loved me," Judith's speech was coming to a close, Jackson's mind was already half off her for the closing credits, only halfheartedly listening to her string praises for a man she had dumped him to marry. "I was sometimes quite envious of his constituents because he gave them more time than he did me. But now as he lies in his hospital bed, I understand what is truly important... So I stand here before you to announce my own candidacy for his position as Senator from Milwaukee. If there was one thing Wyatt taught me, it was that country comes above the self, so I stand here, ready to serve you to the best of my considerable ability."

Somewhere off screen, applause broke out, and on cue, Judith Jameson smiled. Her first photographed once since the wedding. It was by no means a full smile but one calculated just so to indicate hope.

And she would win...

Come November, Judith would challenge him in the midterms, and she would win that too.

Suddenly, Jackson's hand in Victoria's went cold, as his heart stopped beating.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Murmurings sounded around the room as they waited for the countdown, but Victoria heard not a single word uttered by those she worked with. She didn't care to know what they were thinking about, or what they wanted the outcome to be. Nor did the witch hear any of the comments about the woman who stepped out on stage looking entirely too confident in her body, and much too aware of her appeal to be grief stricken, in Victoria's opinion.

But, how Judith Jameson looked did not matter to the Newbury witch, only what she had to say.

"It it with great sorrow.."

Victoria's body went stock still in that moment, her breathing shallower than before as the fear of what was going to come next resonated within her. Silently, the lawyer continued to will the same thing she'd selfishly been wishing for a while now. Please don't be dead, Jackson can't go to jail. Please don't be dead, Jackson cannot go to jail. A silent mantra that the witch now bore every day whilst they waited for news from the older politician's hospital bed.

The more Judith spoke, though, the more hopeful Victoria became, until... finally, several minutes in to the speech, the words were spoken by the wife of Wyatt Jameson. He was still alive. In a hospital bed, yes, but alive. For only a brief moment, Victoria was allowed to relax, gently stealing a glance up at the man beside her with relief clear on her features. Jackson had not killed a man, he wasn't going to be taken away from her any time soon. The man who had attacked her might still be alive, but the man who had saved her, on two occasions now, was not going to be taken away from her.

And, if it had just ended there, they would have been fine.

"So I stand here before you to announce my own candidacy for his position as Senator from Milwaukee."

The shift in the mood was palpable. Not because Victoria was holding on to Jackson, and could feel how his body grew taut, his heartbeat skipping momentarily as it dawned on him. Judith Jameson was now going to be joining them in the race for the position of Senator of Milwaukee, and it didn't need to be said that this was going to make the whole situation much, much more difficult for them. A grieving wife of a much loved Senator was going to mean decreased odds, if Victoria was truthful, she had the heartstrings of the constituency to pull at with her story.

But, Judith hadn't banked on Victoria's plan.

And Jackson didn't know it.

Couldn't know it.

Before them, the team looked to one another in muted shock, not sure what to say, looking to both Jackson and herself for guidance. Gently squeezing Jackson's hand with quiet reassurance, the young witch pushed a warm smile upon her features. One she hoped would portray the confidence she wished she could have in that moment.

"Well, it looks like we've got ourselves a competition now, huh?" Victoria asked the rest of them, who looked to Jackson cautiously as Victoria freed herself from the man beside him. "She's going to try to get votes off of the terrible attack on her husband, so we're going to have to work twice as hard now to ensure Jackson gets his position as Senator. I know, I know, twice as hard, when we're already busting a gut? Big ask, but I know we can do it! We're just going to have to go bigger and better with the wedding of Jackson's now. We're going to up the social media outlay we have, make sure to get as many younger voters on our side.

"And, to start with, tomorrow, we're going to hit right back at Mrs Jameson's live feed. We're going to use social media to congratulate her on her decision." Victoria explained, reaching for the TV remote to switch off the images of Judith trying to look hurt but truly not convincing Victoria of such things. "And, once we've pretended we liked the idea, we're going to be working on getting Jackson the votes, because we all know Jackson is a much better politician than Judith will ever be." The witch finalised, turning back to look at Jackson before she spoke next.

"Everyone get packed up for the evening, we've done all we can today. But, if you come up with anything over night, we're meeting at eleven tomorrow to work out how we beat Mrs Jameson fair and square." The witch finished, the smile blossoming on her features as she spoke of such things showing she was going to enjoy the race to the finish line.

Jackson Blake was going to be Senator, and no ex-girlfriend, current fiance, or secret lover was going to stop her from making it so.

________________________________________________

~ Profile ~ Vickson Playlist ~
~ Slender ~ 30 ~ Bookworm ~ 5' ~ American ~

For a moment, all looked bleak. Jackson had no reason to believe Judith wouldn't best him again. She was used to her chewing him up and spitting him out like the Green Lake trash he was. But there was one big difference between now and then.

Now he had Victoria.

The politician watched in amazed silence as she rallied the troops. Her commands were neither harsh nor curse filled, she wasn't even demanding in any way as she explained what it would take to beat Judith in November. The voters were one thing but the republican party's support would be split between a crying near widow and a man who... had a thumb drive that would now look to be in poor taste.

Against all odds, Jackson almost wished Jameson would wake the fuck up. But only almost.

As he watched Victoria console and coax everyone to push harder than they already had, the man realized once again how much she had in common with Merida. Though physically the two women looked nothing alike, there was just something about them that made people stronger than they were. Jackson had noticed it over Christmas break when Victoria had rolled up her sleeves without question, ready to help Merida with anything she needed and it had made him feel... inadequate somehow. As if it was his fault his fiance would never do that.

Of course, Jackson had known that if he broached the subject with Merida, he would get nothing but the truth so he'd taken the coward's way out and pretended not to notice how much more at home his Goblin was than the woman who claimed to love him in a half drunk sleep every night.

"Everyone get packed up for the evening, we've done all we can today. But, if you come up with anything over night, we're meeting at eleven tomorrow to work out how we beat Mrs Jameson fair and square."

A loud cheer went around the room, reminding Jackson what was really important. It was only a few minutes to midnight and now was as good a time as any. It had been a long day and everyone looked itching to go home.

The plan was in place.

"She's right guys, time to call it a night, but beware there are only going to be more late nights from here on." A collective groan went through the crowd, making Jackson grin cheekily.

"Ladies, you break my heart. Victoria, could you please fetch me the statements from our last well wishes to Jameson, just so we don't repeat the same bullshit and get the media on our backs." With a nod, the witch retreated to her office, setting a series of carefully planned motions into action.

As soon as the campaign lawyer's door closed, jackets unzipped revealing pink shirts underneath, long skirts were removed to uncover pink trousers, collars were overturned to reveal fuchia hues, socks were turned inside out to reveal more pink and two woolen ski caps were removed to display pink highlighted hair. Jackson didn't have time to take it all in, merely catching sight of the large banner unfolding from the main wall declaring a giant sparkly "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VICTORIA!!!" as he pulled on and tightened his own pink tie. He heard the wheels of a large trolley squeal, signs that a huge heart shaped pink cake was being rolled into the room and Mac rushed to place the huge card signed by everyone beside it.

When Victoria would re enter the room, it would be to the loud chorus of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU" sung in perfect unison as the clock struck midnight, applauding the only woman not marked with pink in the whole office.

Because no one deserved the surprise more than the person who worked her hardest on this campaign, and that person was, without a doubt, Victoria Alys Newbury.

His princess.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

As Jackson asked for the notes of their previous press releases, Victoria nodded, moving off to her office to collect them, closing the door carefully behind her so that she could just have a single moment to breathe. Once out of shot from the door, the witch sank gently in to her chair, putting her hands in her head as she digested the information she'd just received from Mrs Jameson.

Mr Jameson was still alive.

Jackson was not going anywhere.

Judith Jameson was running for Senator.

Her plan, now more than ever, had to work out just how she hoped it would. Jackson's reactions would have to pitch perfect, but natural all in the same moment. Everything was now riding on a lot more luck and judgement than Victoria could have predicted to be present. But there was absolutely no way on this Earth she was going to allow Judith Jameson to beat their team to the ultimate goal of making Jackson Senator for Milwaukee. If that woman rose to power over Jackson, then Victoria would have no option but to resign as Jackson's legal adviser, there was no way she could look him in the eye if that happened.

All of this, though, played havoc with the plan. A plan that had not been airtight to begin with was now pushing more and more buttons...

But, right now, she had to plan for a press release that had to sound sincere. It would have to be delivered by Jackson personally, and everything about this had to be flawless. Lifting herself from her seat, Victoria moved to the filing cabinet, carefully threading through the neatly filed cardboard folders before finding the one she needed. Extracting it carefully, and tucking it carefully to her chest, Victoria readied herself for what was going to undoubtedly be a long night of convincing Jackson that doing the message in video form would be the best way to get out to the audience, and show his sincerity. Not an easy feat, of course, but needs must.

Opening the door once more, and reaching up to tuck her hair back behind her ear as she moved in to the large open space, Victoria had not been ready for the sight that came before her. Almost comically, the folder in her arms dropped from its safe haven to the floor, spewing out a couple of the pages that hadn't been held down quite so securely as her hands reached up to her face.

Shock touched the witch's features in that moment as she took in the mass of mismatched pink items around the room, everyone in their office still present as they sang happy birthday to her in unison. The tears prickled at the witch's eyes, much too overwhelmed by the show of support that she hadn't realised she'd been craving, the attention, the love, everything... All of it was too much, and Maggie disentangled herself from the rest of the group to bring Victoria forth to the big, pink heart shaped cake that had been specially made for her.

The candles were shaped in to a two and an eight, and after a little bit of fumbling around with a lighter, they were lit up for the witch.

"Make a wish!" Maggie insisted, looking to Victoria hopefully.

"Before the fire alarm rings!" Another added to the joke.

Looking up from the cake, Victoria's eyes landed on Jackson, though. His tie now pink, his socks mismatched pink, his suit a terrible off pink. The smile on her lips only grew in that moment, a soft laugh leaving her lips before she close her eyes and bent down to the cake. The candles were blown out with ease, and a cheer went up around the room.

Opening her eyes, Victoria moved out of the way for the others to quickly cut the cake and start distributing it around the office. Once more, Victoria's eyes found Jackson's, and very softly she mouthed a thank you to the man who she knew had gone out of his way to organise all of this for her.

Her wish had been the right one, she reflected in that moment, feeling much happier than she had in a very long time.

Whatever is to come, just make sure Jackson is happy.

________________________________________________

~ Profile ~ Vickson Playlist ~
~ Slender ~ 30 ~ Bookworm ~ 5' ~ American ~

» Rush of Energy (Open)
» Of Friendly Admissions, and Fools (Isaline & Finley)
» Meet Up with Victoria (Victoria and Adaline)
» Please Be Okay (Victoria)
» I ought to say no, no, no sir (Victoria)