by A. C. Grey
“I assume he was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of the terms of his employment?”
Kate nodded. “Of course.”
“Then we’ve got legal remedies if he does go to the press.”
“Yeah. One problem. Hollander has money. Family money. Lots of it. Chances are, he can afford to pay any sort of legal judgment against him. If he’s really mad and out for revenge, I’m not sure that will deter him.”
Beth nodded. “Then you’ve got some serious thinking to do if he’s got evidence. Whether you give him what he wants or whether you let him go to the press. But we don’t know what he wants yet . . . or if he even has proof. I think it’s time to call him back, unless you want to think on it some more.”
Kate shook her head. “No. Let’s get this over with. Because right now, I have the urge to crush him like a little bug and I want to channel that energy.” Kate took a deep breath and pressed a button to call her secretary on the intercom. “Karen, please get me Ron Hollander on the phone.”
“Yes, Madame President, right away,” her assistant responded.
Kate steeled herself while she waited for Hollander to be patched through.
“One last thing,” Beth cut in. “Whatever you do, don’t admit anything on this call. No mentions of your preferences or of your relationship with Harris. Chances are, he’s recording it.”
Kate nodded just as Hollander’s slimy voice oozed from her phone, which was on speaker so that Beth could hear the conversation.
“Ron Hollander here.” The very sound of his slimy voice made Kate want to punch something.
“Hello, Ron,” Kate said, barely able to contain her rage. “I’m returning your call. What do you want to discuss with me?”
“Why so serious, Kate?” He replied. “Relax. You act as if I mean you ill will.”
Kate bristled at the use of her first name, knowing very well that Hollander did it intentionally as a sign of disrespect. “Let’s cut through the bullshit, Ron. Just spit it out.”
“My, my. The stress of your job must be getting to you. Between that and your new boyfriend, I guess it’s hard to focus on the little things, like manners and common decency.” His voice was dripping with mockery and disdain.
“Ron. I’m going to ask you again. What do you want?” Kate said, struggling to maintain a cool exterior when her insides were burning with rage.
“I’d like to discuss the opening you have on your cabinet. I think we can both agree I’m more than qualified to be the next Secretary of the Interior.”
“In case you’d forgotten, Ron, I fired you. Why on Earth would I appoint you to a position that would be a giant promotion for you?” Kate asked, fast losing patience for this conversation.
“Because I know things.” He replied succinctly.
“Ah, see, now we’re getting some place. That sounds like a threat, Ron. Why don’t you tell me what exactly it is you claim to know?”
“I know about you. Personal things about you. I know that your so-called relationship with Phil Parker is a sham. I know who you’re really involved with, and some very big reasons why it might be . . . well, awkward if the press got wind of that. They can be so mean. Predators really, looking for any perceived weakness and pouncing. We wouldn’t want that now, would we?”
“Ron, I have no idea what you’re talking about or where you’ve gotten these ludicrous ideas. I’m very happy with Agent Parker and that’s all I’m going to say on the matter. Idle threats will do you no good.”
“Maybe they aren’t idle. Maybe I’ve got evidence to back up what I know. Are you sure you want to risk that?” Hollander asked.
Kate’s temper boiled over. “Frankly, Ron, I don’t take kindly to blackmail and I’m certainly not going to trust this country to someone who would stoop to such tactics for their own personal gain. I’d rather appoint my two-year-old nephew to the post. You can take your threats, idle or not, and crawl back into that deep, dark hole that you came from. I do not deal with trolls. Go to the press or don’t. I don’t care. I’ve got nothing to be ashamed about.” With that, Kate angrily hung up on him and looked up to see a stunned-looking Beth.
Kate smiled wanly. “So that didn’t go exactly as planned.”
Beth pursed her lips and nodded. “Yeah, could have gone better. Still, I don’t know. I don’t think he has anything. He never came out and said he did. Just a lot of ‘what ifs.’ I think if he’d really had something, he’d have been less cagey. Come right out with it.”
“So what do we do?” Kate asked.
“We wait. See what happens. It’s a risk. If he does have evidence and leaks it . . .”
Kate nodded. “Yeah. If you don’t mind, I’m going to take the rest of the night to think about this, figure out what the best thing to do is. Right now, I think I’d rather be publicly outed, lose my career rather than give that ass what he wants. But I know that’s probably just the rage talking.”
Beth nodded. “Of course. Sleep on it. We’ll talk in the morning.”
* * * * *
Emmy was awakened by a light kiss against her lips. Clearly she’d fallen asleep in the garden while waiting for Kate to return.
“Hey,” Emmy mumbled.
“Hey, yourself,” Kate said, doing her best to force a smile.
Emmy detected the lines of worry across her girlfriend’s face as she settled back down on the blanket next to her. “How’d it go?”
Kate shrugged. “About as expected. Hollander tried to blackmail me with stuff about us in order to get the appointment to the open Secretary of the Interior position.”
“And what did you say? Does he have any proof? Or just the threat to out you?” Emmy asked, leaning up on one arm as concern washed over her.
“I told him to shove it. I don’t know if he has concrete evidence. He hinted at it, but he may have been bluffing. I probably should have dealt with him more tactfully, not let my emotions rule me, but frankly, right now, I’d rather suffer a public outing than let him get away with this.”
Emmy’s forehead wrinkled with worry as she studied her girlfriend’s stressed features. “Are you sure?”
Kate sighed. “Yes . . . no . . . I don’t know.”
“What can I do?” Emmy asked.
“You trust me, right?”
“More than anything.” Emmy responded as she gazed into Kate’s worried blue eyes.
“Then just be here, let me work through this . . . and kiss me. Make me forget for a little while.”
Emmy complied, pulling Kate in for a deep, passionate kiss, capturing the blonde’s lower lip between hers, nipping, sucking lightly. Kate moaned, arching her body against Emmy’s, tangling a hand in Emmy’s raven locks.
“Make love to me. Right here.” Kate husked against Emmy’s ear.
“As you wish.” Emmy said before recapturing her girlfriend’s mouth with her own.
* * * * *
Later, Kate awoke, stiff and cold, still tangled in Emmy’s arms. She had no idea how long they’d been sleeping, but the sky was still dark. She smiled as she took in the familiar and intoxicating scent of her girlfriend. Even on the cold, hard ground in the middle of the night, she couldn’t imagine things any better than this. She loved the slumbering woman next to her more than life itself. She was worth any price, any risk. Emmy was her happiness. Her sunshine. Her world. She took a few moments to ponder the situation and her dilemma. Why had Hollander had to mess things up? Things had been so perfect. And now this . . . But she shook off the thought. Things were still perfect. Emmaline was perfect. Together they were perfect. Things were just well, a bit more complicated now.
As she snuggled more tightly into Emmy’s warm arms, Kate smiled. There was really only one thing to be done. Only one path to take. She knew what she needed to – no, what she wanted – to do. Clear as crystal. She reached over and grabbed her cell phone.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Emmy stirred just as Kate hung up the phone. “What wa
s that?” she mumbled, still half asleep.
“I just figured out what I need to do about this whole Hollander fiasco. I was calling Beth to have her make arrangements.”
“Care to elaborate?” Emmy said, smirking sleepily.
Kate nodded and quickly told Emmy of her plan.
“You’re sure?” Emmy asked as she absent-mindedly traced patterns on Kate’s arms.
Kate nodded. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Emmy smiled and pulled Kate for a kiss. “I love you so damn much Kate Stewart. You’re such a good woman.” Emmy said as she pulled away.
“I love you too, Emmaline,” Kate said as she laid a gentle hand on Emmy’ cheek. “Thank you for sticking with me through all of the nonsense that comes with my job. A lot of people wouldn’t have.”
Emmy smiled as she gazed into Kate’s baby blues. “There’s no choice. I love you. End of story. The fact that you’re a public figure doesn’t faze me. Despite the attention it would draw, I’d be proud if the whole word knew you belong to me, that you’re my girlfriend. I love you so much, Kate.”
Kate swallowed hard as she stared back into Emmy’s gorgeous green eyes. “Thank you, Emmaline. I am so, so lucky to have found you.”
“Ditto, babe,” Emmy said as she placed one last kiss upon Kate’s lips before rising and pulling Kate to her feet as well. “Now come on, let’s get off this cold, hard ground and get some rest in a real bed. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
* * * * *
Kate took a deep breath as she stood backstage with Emmy and Beth. She fidgeted with her watch nervously and ran a hand through her hair as doubts ran through her head. Emmy squeezed her hand reassuringly. “You’re sure? I know I keep asking you that, but it’s not too late to change your mind.”
Kate shook her head. “No. I want to do this. Need to do this.” She leaned over and gave Emmy a quick peck on the lips. “Time to do this.” She smoothed her suit jacket, straightened her posture, and strode out onto the stage, where a sea of reporters was waiting for her to speak. It never ceased to amaze Emmy how Kate could turn on her “Presidential” demeanor – the look of pure confidence and self-assurance – in a matter of seconds. One moment, she was the nervous, hesitant person Emmy had just seen, the next, she was all business, not a nerve in sight. The transformation really was quite remarkable.
Kate stepped to the podium, took a breath, and began. “Thank you all for coming. There’s something I need to say, a conversation I need to have with the American people . . .” She took another steadying breath and continued.
“Most people probably don’t know this, but I am named for my grandfather, Morgan Stewart. My middle name is Morgan in his honor. My grandfather was served in World War II and he died while serving, but not before saving several fellow servicemen from an enemy ambush. My father followed in his footsteps and was a career man in the Marines. My father and my grandfather before him recognized the greatness that is this country of ours. I was raised to love my country. To put service first. Which is why I haven’t been completely forthright about who I am. Because serving this great country has always meant more to me than my own personal needs . . . Kate paused for a moment, thinking about the weight of the words she was about to utter. She glanced over at Beth, who gave her a reassuring nod. Breathing in once more, she continued.
“When I told my very conservative father that I was gay, I expected to be disowned . . .” A rumbling of gasps and murmurs rang out through the crowd, but Kate continued on. “Instead, he accepted me with open arms. He is not a man who embraces change. But he did so for me. What I’m asking from you, my fellow Americans, is a just a little bit of the sort of understanding and support my father offered me. I love this country and I want to continue to work with you to make it a better place for everyone. Despite what I’ve just told you, I’d like to believe that I’m still the person you elected, still the person you trusted with your country.” Kate took a moment to pause, to let the words sink in. There was no turning back now.
“I could no longer, in good conscience, hide who I really am. I believe in this country and the amazing promise and possibility that is America. But we’ve still got work to do . . . and I hope you’ll let me continue to further our progress. I can no longer sit by and watch as the rights of my fellow gay American brothers and sisters are trampled upon. We’ve come a long way, but there’s still much work to be done. To quote the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said it better than I ever could, ‘I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.’ And I mean all citizens of this great nation. It’s time to make this dream a reality. I have immense faith in our nation, in my fellow Americans – that above all else, we strive to love and respect one another, even those who are different from us. That’s why, because I’m still the person you trusted this great nation with, just as I’m still the person my father raised, I hope you’ll continue to grant me your trust as I strive to make our country the best it can be – for all of our citizens. Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Atheist, gay, straight, every last man, woman and child. We are all Americans and we are all equal and I am going to make it my mission to ensure that this is an America for all of us, not just some of us. Thank you.” Kate took a deep breath as she finished. She was taken aback when the room didn’t immediately erupt with questions from the press. Instead, it erupted with applause. She glanced back at Emmy and smiled.
Emmy gazed at her girlfriend with abject awe and admiration as she spoke. The courage, the tenacity, and the eloquence with which Kate spoke about such a deeply personal subject was just amazing. Though she hadn’t thought it possible, Emmy was quite sure that she’d just fallen even deeper in love with the woman.
Kate had agreed to field a few questions from the press corps. As the applause died down, she called on a familiar White House correspondent for NBC, whom she knew to be friendly. “Joe?” She said, as she pointed to him.
“To say this revelation came as a shock would be an understatement. But why now? Why not wait until your Presidency was over? Surely you know there might be backlash from conservative circles.” Joe asked.
Kate nodded in acknowledgement of his question. “Gay marriage and gay rights are increasingly on the forefront of the political dialogue in this country. I no longer felt it was fair to the LGBT community for me to hide, when they could have an ally in a position such as mine. I swore that I would use my office for good and I think I have done so up until this point. But I believe that I can be most effective in furthering the true good that is equality if I’m completely open and honest about who I am. Maybe if people see me, a person they’re familiar with, a person they trusted with their vote, as an openly gay woman, it will help them realized it’s not something to be feared. That I, as well as their gay neighbor, co-worker, friend or relative, are still the people they knew before. Just with a little more, well, color.”
Kate called on another reporter, who asked, “so there were rumors that you were dating a Secret Service agent, Phil Parker. I take it those are false?”
Kate nodded. “As I’ve said before, I don’t make a habit of speaking about my personal life much. I am not, dating nor have I ever dated Agent Parker. Certain people made some assumptions, which, as you now can see, were wrong.”
Another reporter chimed in. “A while back, you said in an interview that you were dating someone. Are you still with them? A woman, I presume? Who is she?”
Kate had been expecting this question. She didn’t want to subject Emmy unnecessarily to the public eye. “I am indeed still dating this woman. I’m very happy, but that’s all I’ll say on the matter. If and when she decides that she’s ready to be subjected to your very watchful eyes, I’ll let you know. I want her to be sure that this, that I, am what she really wants. I’m sure about her, she’s the one. But as you can imagine, it can’t be easy d
ating someone in a position like mine.” Kate hadn’t intended to say so much. She’d just admitted that Emmy was “the one” to a room full of reporters. Smooth move, Kate. There was no way they were going to let this go now, until they’d discovered Emmy’s identity. It was just, where Emmy was concerned, she couldn’t help but gush, even just a little bit. Hopefully Emmy wasn’t angry.
Emmy’s heart began to beat rapidly as Kate spoke about her. She knew that Kate wanted to protect her, but all Emmy wanted to do was to shout her love from the rooftops. And then, Kate had admitted that she was “the one,” that she was waiting for Emmy to be ready. Emmy thought her heart would burst. She’d never been so happy. She took just a moment to reflect. Was she ready for the press to hound her, to follow her every move? Or was it worth it to continue to hide? To stay in this new form of a closet. Screw it. She was ready.
Kate fielded one more question and didn’t sense the presence approaching behind her. Suddenly, Emmy’s hand was on her shoulder and Emmy was pushing her aside. The reporters were clearly confused. It wasn’t often that they witnessed someone stealing the spotlight from the President.
