She beamed. “You remember that?”
“Of course. It was very inspiring.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you to say.”
“Miss Hayes,” the President said. “I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to thank you today for the great job you did on that weekend project I asked you to do.”
My heart soared, and I had to hold myself back from grinning wide. “Thank you, sir. It was my pleasure. If you ever need another project like that again, I’m happy to do the work.”
“Maxwell,” Senator Quinn said, as she reached out to rest her hand on his, “Weekend project? You’re overworking this girl.”
I stared at her hand on his, and my good mood quickly evaporated. I had a quick mental image of them in bed together, and a hot spike of jealousy filled my thoughts. Hadn’t he had dinner at her house the other night?
“Tell you what, Sarah,” she said. “If he asks you to spend another of your free weekends doing work for him, come and work for me. I could use a dedicated worker like you, and I promise your weekends will be your own.” She smiled, but her hand was still covering the President’s. I had to tear my eyes away from it and force a smile as I met her eyes.
“I appreciate the offer, Senator, but I love the extra work.”
“She’s a keeper, Max,” the Senator said, as she gave his hand a final squeeze and then released it. Another image of them together seared across my mind. This time she was astride him, sitting on his cock as she slowly rolled her hips. I forced it away.
“Is there anything else, Mr. President?” I asked.
He was looking at me intently. “No thank you, Miss Hayes.”
“Good evening, Senator,” I said, and turned to leave.
“You too, Sarah,” she said, as I walked through the door.
Inside, I was seething. I was positive they were sleeping together, and couldn’t get the images out of my mind. I was near tears as I grabbed my purse and left the White House.
The walk home calmed me down a bit, and I realized I could be imagining things. But as I made my dinner and ate it in front of the television, my doubts returned. When I switched over to the news, CNN ran a report on the upcoming Euro Accord, with a focus on how the President was working closely with the opposition party’s leader, Senate Majority Leader Quinn, in order to iron out the differences before the upcoming signing. The report had a video of them sitting together on a couch, discussing how hard they’ve been working.
I had to shut it off and go to bed. I was lying there crying when the phone rang. I hoped it was my father. I could use the cheering up.
“Hello?”
“Sarah.”
I quickly sat up. It was the President’s voice. And he didn’t sound happy.
“Hello,” I said tentatively.
“That wasn’t a smart thing you did today.”
“What did I do?”
“Senator Quinn is a very perceptive woman. Do you know what she said to me after you left?”
“What?”
“She turned to me and said, ‘I think someone has a crush on you.’”
I was silent, not knowing what to say.
“You acted like a jealous schoolgirl.”
“I’m sorry. I saw her hand on you, and I thought…”
“I know what you thought. She knew what you thought too.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve never been in a relationship like this before.”
“Sarah, I need this woman’s political support. If it takes a little harmless flirting to get it, I’m willing to do that. But I would think you knew me well enough by now to know I wouldn’t do something like that, especially with a married woman.”
I closed my eyes as the tears squeezed out. “You’re right. I was being stupid.”
“I’m trusting you with a lot here, Sarah. I would expect you to trust me in return.”
“I’m so sorry.”
His voice softened. “No real damage done. I don’t think she believes there’s anything serious between us.”
I sniffled into the phone.
“Are you crying?”
“Yes. But I was crying before you called.”
He sighed. “Okay, let’s change the subject. I did have a wonderful time this weekend.”
“Me too.”
“I have to fly to Paris on Friday, and I won’t be back until Sunday night.”
“Okay. I’ll miss you.”
“No you won’t, because you’re coming with me.”
I wasn’t sure I heard him right. “Excuse me?”
“You’re coming with me. I’ve already informed Chief Luger, and he’s on board with it. For security purposes, the trip won’t be announced until I arrive, so there won’t be any press on Air Force One.”
“I’m going to Paris?”
“It’s not the Lincoln Bedroom, but I think we’ll have some fun.”
I grinned, despite my cheeks being wet with tears.
Chapter 30
The next day, it was tough to contain my excitement. But I had learned my lesson with the Senator, and knew I had to be more careful. So, I tried to push Paris out of my mind and focus on my job.
April wanted to go to Filibuster’s at lunch, since she still hadn’t heard from Jamie. I agreed, because I wanted to let him know about the President wearing his mother’s flag pin.
“Hello, ladies,” he said with a grin, as he stood over our table. “It’s been a while.”
“Hey, Jamie,” April said, returning his smile. Yeah, she had it bad.
“Hey, sexy,” he replied, giving her a wink, causing her to beam widely. He turned to me. “What’s up, Sarah?”
“Not much.”
Other than I’m no longer a virgin and I’m going to Paris with the President.
He tilted his head and gave me a curious look. “Something about you is different.”
I gave him my best poker face. “No, it’s still the same old me.”
He studied me a moment longer, grinned, then said, “If you say so.”
He took our orders and left, and April and I looked at each other. She spoke first.
“Do you really think he was able to tell you’re no longer a virgin?”
“Don’t be silly. And don’t you tell him either.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s none of his business. I shared the secret with you, and no one else.”
When Jamie returned with our food, I remembered the pin.
“Hey, Jamie, I have some good news.”
“What’s that?” he said as he placed my salad in front of me.
“The President is wearing your mother’s pin.”
He smiled wide. “Seriously?”
“He wears it all the time. He told me to tell you thanks, he thinks it’s a wonderful idea, and he’s honored to wear a pin that Reagan had worn. He wished he had thought of it.”
Jamie’s smile split his face. “That’s great. It makes me happy to hear that. Thank you, Sarah.”
“What’s this about a pin?” April asked.
“Sarah will explain it,” Jamie said. “Thanks again, Sarah,” he said as he hurried off.
I gave April the quick version of Jamie’s flag pin story.
“Wonder why he didn’t ask me to give it to the President?”
“Because you always talk about how distant the President is.”
“That’s because he is distant.”
“Not all the time.”
“Wait, he’s not distant with you?”
I realized I was getting into dangerous waters. “Most of the time, yes. But sometimes he’s nice to me.”
“When?”
“When I take his letters into him. Sometimes we talk for a little while.”
“What do you talk about?”
“Just stuff. And how about him taking my father on a tour of the White House? That wasn’t distant of him.”
“Yes, that was certainly out of character for him.”
I de
cided I was talking too much. “I guess you and I see him in different ways.”
“I guess we do.” She was staring at me curiously.
I started on my salad, not wanting to continue this conversation anymore.
When Jamie came by later with the check, he said, “How about the three of us do something this weekend? Maybe we could visit the National Zoo this time.”
April smiled. “That’s a great idea.”
“Sorry,” I said, “but I have other plans.”
Jamie was eyeing me again. “Another date with Reginald?”
“No. It’s a date, but I don’t want to talk about it.”
He nodded. “That’s cool.” He turned to April. “Looks like it’s you and me.”
Chapter 31
The President was busy all week in preparation for his trip to France. Even the West Wing staff wasn’t informed he was going, in order to ensure that no one found out. It frightened me to think that they were doing this to prevent the Raven, or someone else, from having the opportunity to assassinate him. I didn’t like to consider the fact that there was someone out there whose goal was to kill President Remington.
The President and I didn’t get a chance to talk on Tuesday or Wednesday, since he was with someone when I brought my letters in. On Thursday at five, as my fellow interns got ready to leave, I looked forward to one more chance to talk to him before our trip.
As Olivia and Kyle walked out, April came over to my desk.
“Is your date still on?” she asked, after making sure our coworkers were out of earshot.
“Yes. I also plan on taking tomorrow off.”
“Why?”
“Just some personal issues I have to take care of.”
She grinned. “You’re so mysterious.”
“That’s me. Are you and Jamie still on for the zoo?”
“Yes. And we plan on going to the club afterward.”
“And after that?”
She smiled. “After that, I plan on screwing him within an inch of his life.”
I laughed and almost told her I had similar plans. Instead, I said, “Make sure you don’t forget anything tonight.”
“What do you mean?”
“The past two evenings you had to come back to work because you forgot something. On Tuesday it was your keys, and yesterday you forgot that birthday card you had bought your mother.”
“Oh yeah. I think I have it all today.”
“You’re getting senile in your old age.”
She laughed and waved goodbye, heading out the door.
I waited another half hour before going in. To my delight, he was finally alone.
“Good afternoon, Mr. President.” I placed the letters on his desk.
He smiled. “Hello, Sarah.”
“I’ve missed you this week.”
“And I you. I’m looking forward to the trip. Has Chief Luger arraigned everything for you?”
“Yes, the Secret Service will pick me up at my apartment at eight tomorrow morning. Chief Luger is a nice man.”
The President nodded. “Yes, he is. But I’m sure some people don’t think that.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s a former member of Marine Force Recon.”
“What’s that?”
“The Marine’s version of the Navy Seals. They perform a lot of the nasty jobs that have to get done. Black ops stuff. He can be very not nice when he has to be. But he does seem to like you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean?”
“He told me that you seem like a nice girl, and if I hurt you he’s going to let someone shoot me. I think he was only half joking.” The President smiled.
I tried to smile back, but even the joke about someone shooting him bothered me.
The President studied me for a moment, and then said, “He told you about the threat, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“Sarah, every president gets death threats.”
“But this seems different. This guy, the Raven, it scares me to think he’s out there somewhere, coming after you.”
The President stood and came around the desk, and took me into his arms. “And I’ve got a group of trained professionals protecting me. The odds are against him.”
“I don’t like to think about odds when it comes to your life.”
“Sarah, we can’t live our lives in fear. That’s what they want us to do.”
“I know. But I just found you. I can’t lose you.”
He kissed me on the forehead, then stepped back, keeping my hand in his.
“You’re not going to lose me. I promise.”
Suddenly, we were both startled by a voice from the door. “Mr. President, I forgot to give you this report you asked–”
We turned to look, and the President’s hand slipped from mine. We were staring into the shocked face of April.
“Oh,” she said, “Um, this report. You asked me for it, and I forgot to put it on your desk before I left, so I came back to make sure you got it.” Her eyes darted between the President and me.
President Remington stepped to her and held out his hand. “Thank you, Miss Masterson, I’m looking forward to reading it. And I appreciate you making the extra effort to get it to me.”
She handed it to him. “Um, I guess I’ll go now.”
“Have a good evening, Miss Masterson.”
April slipped through the door and disappeared.
The President waited a moment, and then turned to me. “Talk to her. Don’t admit anything.”
My heart beating fast, I hurried after my friend. I caught up to her in our office.
“April, I think you got the wrong idea.”
“He’s the one you’re sleeping with?”
“Don’t be silly. You know he wouldn’t do that.”
“I know what I saw.”
“What did you see?”
“He was holding your hand.”
“He was comforting me. I told him about a personal problem I was having, and he was trying to make me feel better.”
“It looked more than comforting to me. I was curious about you two, but I didn’t think it had gone this far.”
I thought for a moment. “Wait, you were curious about us?”
“Yes, after what you said about him at lunch, I wondered if there was something you weren’t telling me.”
I paused again. “So you’ve been coming back here every night since, pretending you’ve forgotten something, trying to catch us?”
“Yes. Don’t try to make this about me, Sarah. You’re the one having an affair with the President.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Once again, I know what I saw.”
My voice softened. “April, you’re going to hurt people if you spread those kinds of rumors. You’re going to hurt the President, and you’re going to hurt me. I thought you were my friend?”
“No wonder Jamie likes you.”
I gave her a curious look. “What does Jamie have to do with this?”
“Haven’t you noticed? It’s like he’s the ultimate presidential groupie. He’s only interested in the West Wing interns, because he’s a big fan of Remington. He must have realized what was going on. Maybe if I was screwing the President, Jamie would like me as much as he likes you.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“No, before it didn’t make sense. Now it does.”
“Please, April, don’t do this.”
“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. I care too much about the President to hurt him.” She picked up her purse and walked out.
I sat there for a few minutes, and then went back to the Oval Office.
“What did she say?” the President asked.
“She’s convinced we’re having an affair.”
“Do you think she’ll tell someone?”
“I don’t think so. She said the secret was safe with her.”
He thought
for a moment. “I’ll talk to her on Monday.”
Chapter 32
I stared out the window of Air Force One, watching the clouds and Atlantic Ocean far below us. It was a seven hour flight, and combined with the change in time zones, we wouldn’t arrive in Paris until ten at night.
I was sitting alone in the President’s private quarters, which were located at the front of the airplane, just below the flight deck. It was decorated in tan and white, with large accordion-like screens that could be pulled down over the windows. A couch and table ran along one side, and a small, fold out bed was on the other, covered with a blue blanket that featured the presidential seal.
The forward wall was wood paneling, with a large flatscreen television set into it. It was on and tuned to a news channel, but I was ignoring it, too caught up in what was happening to me.
I was driven to the airport by the Secret Service, and put here in the President’s quarters before the rest of the staff boarded. The President came in and said hello when he arrived, and told me he would come back when he got the chance. That was an hour ago.
My thoughts were also on April. When she finds out the President is in Paris, she was going to put it together and know I was with him. I hoped she didn’t say anything to anyone before the President had a chance to talk to her. I was confident he could charm her into staying quiet. Maybe she’ll have a fun day at the zoo tomorrow with Jamie, and will forget about what she saw.
The door clicked open and the President came in, closing the door behind him. He sat beside me on the couch. “Enjoying yourself?”
“This is exciting.”
“Have you ever been to Europe before?”
“No, this is the first time.”
“I’ll be meeting with President Hollande during the days, so you’re free to explore Paris.”
I smiled. “What about my nights?”
“Your nights belong to me.”
The tone of his voice sent a shiver through me.
His eyes met mine. “We still need to address your mistake with Senator Quinn. You have to be punished for how you acted, don’t you agree?”
I cast my eyes downward as the pleasure pulsed through me. “Yes, Mr. President.”
Yes, Mr President Page 14
