Clara Faircloth took off her glasses as she laid the folder she was looking at on the coffee table in front of her. “Hmm?” Lindsay had been staring at the same papers the senatorial candidate had been looking at, but her mind was far away. And her boss had noticed. “Oh, sorry. You were saying?” Clara shook her head and gave a short, impatient laugh. “I was asking if you are all right,” she said. “Lately it’s like you’re off on some other planet. You know, if something is going on in your personal life it’s none of my business…” Lindsay was quick to shake her head, possibly too quick. “No, there’s nothing...” Clara put up her hands. “Wait, wait. Let me finish. It’s none of my business unless it’s going to affect your work.” Lindsay felt her face flush a bit and looked down, pretending to busy herself with the papers in the folder. “Don’t be ridiculous, Clara,” she lied. “I don’t have a personal life. I’m just feeling the pressure of the campaign a bit, that’s all.
