“What? Of course, I’ve called, but every time I do, she never answers. I always get her voicemail.”
“Sir, with all due respect, she hasn’t gotten any of those phone calls. Prior to the science fair, she checked her phone multiple times a day. She was miserable and sick too.”
“Sick? Georgie is sick?”
In the background, I heard them muttering, like they were trying to hide something from me.
“What aren’t you telling me, gentlemen?” I pressed.
“I’m sure she’s fine now. She probably had the flu or something,” Jenkins quickly scrambled to explain.
“If you’re hiding something from me, then you’re both in deep shit.” Then I remembered they said something about Lauren. “Why are people saying that I’m having an affair with Lauren?”
“Tom Clayton, sir. He’s been spreading some nasty rumors.”
I clenched and unclenched my fist, trying to shake away the burning rage that surged immediately through me. I’ve been made a fool of by people in my administration, and that was going to end.
“I want you both on a flight to Helsinki tonight. Do not leave her alone with Max. And if she’s sick, then let me know immediately.”
“Yes, sir,” they both replied in unison.
This morning was shot. I slipped off my dress shoes because whatever meetings I had this morning needed to be rescheduled. Someone was seriously fucking with my life, and I wouldn’t be able to concentrate unless I pounded the pavement. Or the treadmill.
I sent Sean a message, asking him to reschedule all my morning meetings. Then I changed into my running gear and cued up some of the newest additions from Georgie on my phone. She knew exactly what I needed to help me focus during my runs. Then I headed to the hotel gym.
Hours after my head was clear, I met privately with just Sean. If someone was trying to topple my administration, then he was the only person I could trust.
“I think Lauren is trying to double-cross me,” I confided in him.
“What do you mean?”
I explained my thoughts to him, which were the product of my run. Lauren was tasked with updating me on all the nasty news related to Georgie. I wanted to know who was saying what and when. That wasn’t happening anymore, if Tom Clayton was making the rounds, spreading his conspiracy theories. And if she knew what he was saying about Georgie, then she knew what was being said about me. That made her complicit.
“And then I want you to get us new phones. Lewis and Jenkins told me that Georgie wasn’t receiving my phone calls, so someone has tampered with them. Go directly to the head of the NSA or Secret Service. Don’t talk to a million people about this, Sean. I want to talk to my girl, and I want to do it now.”
He nodded his agreement between scribbling in his notebook. I was livid, angry that Georgie had done something so inherently reckless, like travel across the world without telling me. But I was also scared, not only because Lewis and Jenkins said that she was sick but because our communication was compromised. What if something happened to her? How would I find out? When would I find out? And if there was some plan to bring down my administration, then Georgie was potentially in danger. I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I heard her voice.
“Lewis and Jenkins are on their way to her right now,” I told Sean. I didn’t even trust the agents assigned to her. What if they were somehow compromised?
“I want to talk to her Sean, tonight.” And then I tried to focus on what I was supposed to be accomplishing—world peace and preventing nuclear proliferation.
During my meetings, Sean slipped me a folder. Discreetly, I opened it and my eyes nearly bulged out of my head. There was Georgie, looking pale and miserable, cuddled up with Max Edison on the tarmac of a private airfield in Helsinki. That was exactly what I didn’t need to see. I could feel my jaw tense painfully as I glanced at each picture. I quickly closed the folder and slid it under the stack in front of me. No more.
There were still a few more hours before Lewis and Jenkins arrived in Finland and made their way to Georgie. No doubt, she was going to be pissed that I sent them. But I’d rather have her pissed off at me than the unacceptable alternative.
When my meeting ended, I asked Sean for a status update on the to-do list that I gave him.
“The phone thing is going to take a while. The NSA wants her phone first. I can ask Lewis or Jenkins to take it and send it in, but you’ll have to communicate through them.”
That wasn’t an ideal solution. In fact, it wasn’t a solution at all. My feet were itchy—I needed another run.
“Fine. I want Lauren gone and Bart here,” I instructed him.
“Yes, sir.” It was odd to hear him call me ‘sir’ because I never felt like his superior. Even when I outranked him during our military years, he was always my equal. I knew that ‘sir’ only came out when he was serious and focused.
“I’ll take care of her termination when I return. I don’t care what you tell her as long as she’s on a plane first thing in the morning. And put someone on her. I want her watched. I want to know what she does and who she is talking to. Especially if she’s not denying that we’re having an affair.”
The urge to go out and run myself ragged was strong, but as long as I could keep up this stream of conscience listing of things for Sean to do, I could resist it. My mind kept bringing up picture after picture of Georgie and Max. How sick she looked, and how comfortable he looked with his arms around her.
“And burn those photographs, okay? I don’t want to see them again.”
“That’s going to be hard, James,” Sean said hesitantly.
“Why?”
“’Cause they’re all over the European tabloids.” Sean turned his laptop toward me, and there was my nightmare splashed across the screen.
“Cancel the rest of my trip,” I said, right before I picked up his computer and threw it across the room.
Georgie
“Surprise!” Lewis and Jenkins exclaimed simultaneously when I opened the door to my hotel suite.
“What are you two doing here? I told you both to stay in Washington,” I grumbled, letting them in.
The hotel had just delivered my breakfast even though I wasn’t planning on eating any of it except for a piece of dry toast and maybe some weak tea. Lewis and Jenkins, however, made themselves right at home in the suite’s posh dining room and ate what I didn’t dare touch.
“Yes, well, we don’t technically work for you. Jameson’s orders trump yours,” Lewis replied, between bites of egg.
“So Jameson sent you? Nice. Glad to know he can talk to you, but he can’t be bothered to call and check on me.”
“He said he did, and that there’s something wrong with your phone,” Jenkins stated.
I pulled my cell phone from a pocket of my hotel robe and swiped the screen. No missed calls. In fact, my phone hadn’t rung in days. That was odd. I opened recent calls and saw all the calls I made to Max before we left. My phone worked then, but what about all my other calls? I tried to think and remember if I used my office phone or my cell phone. It didn’t matter, though, because there were other ways for Jameson to communicate.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked up just in time to see Jenkins answer his phone.
“Yes, sir. We just arrived. Hold on,” he said, and then held the phone out toward me.
“No, thank you,” I said defiantly, turning my face away. I knew that I was being stubborn, and I could hear Jameson’s tinny sounding voice through the phone’s speakers. He was yelling at me.
Jenkins reluctantly took the phone away and listened to Jameson’s rant. “Okay, sir. One second.”
I watched as Jenkins pressed the speaker button so that now I had no choice but to listen.
“Georgie, I know you can hear me. If you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine. I’m not angry that you left. That’s a lie. I’m actually really, really pissed off, and if I were into spanking, God, I’d spank the shit out of
you. I just need to know that you’re okay. Lewis and Jenkins said you were sick when you left.”
“I’m fine,” I said weakly.
“You look like shit.”
“How do you know what I look like? Are Lewis and Jenkins wearing body cameras?”
He chuckled softly. “No. European tabloids, little darling. You and Edison are the talk of the town.”
“So are you and Lauren,” I snapped.
“You know that it’s all lies. I’ll get to the bottom of it all and fix it.”
“And in the meantime, Georgie is just supposed to sit and wait,” I groaned.
“Stop being so childish Georgie. Of course I didn’t expect you to sit and wait. I’m visiting with the leaders of some very conservative countries who don’t understand our relationship. I couldn’t bring you to these countries without subjecting you to some very harsh criticism.”
“I face it every damn day in my own country, Jameson. Tell me another excuse.”
This conversation was getting out of hand, and I was getting angrier by the minute. And that single piece of toast that I managed to eat was threatening to make a reappearance.
“I’m going to be sick,” I muttered before running to the closest bathroom.
When I emerged a few minutes later, Lewis and Jenkins were looking at me with their concerned brown eyes. Jenkins held out the phone; Jameson was still there. I took it from him and retreated to the bedroom.
“Why are you sick? What’s wrong?” I didn’t want to have this conversation over the phone. I didn’t want to tell him this way because that was not how I would want to know. A single tear leaked from the corner of my eye and down the side of my face.
“I’m pregnant, Jameson,” I whispered.
“I’m coming to get you right now,” he said softly but firmly. “And then we’re going home where I can take care of you…of the both of you.”
“No. I’ll be fine. You sent the twin terrors to keep an eye on me, and Dr. Hartley is here too, keeping an eye on me.”
Jameson growled with frustration. “That’s not the answer that I want to hear, Georgie. I canceled the rest of my trip, so I’m coming to Finland, whether you like it or not.”
“That’s not fair!”
“It’s not fair for me to watch all this play out in the tabloids! Christ, Georgie, these pictures look like you and Max are on some kind of romantic rendezvous, like I’m running some kind of duplicitous administration.”
“Welcome to my world, Jameson,” I said coldly. “Can we discuss this tomorrow? I’ve only been here for a few days and because of jet lag and morning sickness, all I want to do is sleep.”
“Fine.”
It didn’t escape me that after our conversation ended, that once I revealed my pregnancy, it was never mentioned again. Jameson had tunnel vision; I tell him that I’m pregnant and all he wants to do is fight about how people perceive the photographs of me and Max. I couldn’t care less.
Lewis and Jenkins stayed in the hotel suite while I slept fitfully. Queasiness kept me up and running to the bathroom until I was exhausted enough to give up and just lay down on the cool tile of the bathroom floor. I stared at the damask wallpaper of the bathroom, waiting for the latest bout of nausea to pass. At least I could be miserable and sick in the most luxurious suite in Finland.
Hours later, I woke up back in the large king-size bed. I looked over and saw Jenkins sitting in one of the velvet-tufted armchairs. Everything in this suite was regal, right down to the blue and gold color palate. The chair that Jenkins sat in was no different. It was a dusky blue with a gold lacquered frame.
“Where’s Lewis?” I croaked.
“Out getting you some ginger ale and crackers,” Jenkins replied. He sounded almost angry and the scowl on his face was unmistakable. What happened to my emotionless spin doctors?
“Are you mad, Jenkins?”
“My name is Alex.” My eyes went wide. Yikes. Someone or something pissed him off.
“I’m sorry. Are you mad, Alex?”
“This isn’t right, ma’am.” Internally, I laughed because I was using his first name, but he still called me “ma’am.” Alex Jenkins, my unofficial bodyguard, looked away from me and faced the large window that opened to a small balcony. “What you’re doing isn’t right.”
“And what am I doing?” I sat up in bed and leaned against the upholstered headboard. I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tight.
“Leaving him like this. Keeping things from him. Telling him you’re pregnant over the phone. Putting your own ambition and Secretary Edison’s success ahead of your relationship. Take your pick.”
“Ouch, Jenkins. Harsh much?”
He turned back toward me, and I could see the muscles in his jaw tighten. Jenkins was attractive. He was tall and slim with a mop of unruly brown hair on top of his head and sweet brown eyes that told me he wasn’t just angry but also hurt.
“You need to hear it. I was thrilled when President Martin picked you. I knew you were perfect for him the second you walked in the door. It was magnetic. You’ve changed him so much. I don’t think he could have won without you, and if you tell him I said that, I will deny it.”
I smiled at the momentary break in tension. “I won’t utter a word.”
“Ms. Washington, this trip is bullshit. Secretary Edison is using you for his own gain. He fooled us all during the vetting process, and Congress approved his nomination easily enough. But I’ve got a bad feeling about this trip and about him.”
“Thank you for your concern, but Max isn’t using me. I mean, what kind of power could he hope to possibly gain? There’s nothing else to be won.”
“I haven’t figured that out yet.”
“Well, let me know when you do. I’m tired.” I slipped back down the bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. Everyone seemed to be angry with me, and I just wanted to shut the world out. I closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, when I woke up after the longest night of sleep I’d ever gotten, I didn’t feel sick. I wasn’t running for the bathroom the second I opened my eyes. I turned and nearly jumped out of the bed when I saw Lewis sleeping on the opposite side of the bed. He must have sensed that I was awake because he rolled over with a groan and opened his eyes slowly.
“Are you mad at me too?” I asked.
“No,” he mumbled.
“Do you have a first name?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Alex.”
I burst out laughing. “Seriously? You’re both named Alex?”
Lewis shook his head and shrugged like it was no big deal. I reached out and patted his cheek. He was just as handsome as Jenkins; his frame was slightly broader, but he was still tall and lean with rich brown hair that fell across his forehead and brown eyes that had warm flecks of gold. He reached up and covered my hand with his and smiled.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes.” I looked around for my cell phone, but it wasn’t on the bedside table where I left it. “Have you seen my phone?”
“Nope.” Lewis rolled out of bed and stood with a stretch and loud yawn. “Ask Jenkins.”
But I didn’t get the chance to ask because a loud banging sounded on the door of the suite. Hurriedly, I threw my robe on and dashed out of the bedroom just as Jenkins was opening the door. Max, furious and snarling, barged inside and started yelling.
“Where the fuck have you been? I’ve been calling you for hours! You were supposed to meet me in the lobby two hours ago, so we could go to Parliament. And what are they doing here? What the fuck is going on, Georgie?”
Lewis and Jenkins stepped protectively in front of me. I slipped between them and held up my hands defensively. “I’m sorry, Max. I’ve been so sick, and now my phone has vanished, and … I’m just sorry, okay? I’ll explain everything to whomever we’re supposed to meet.”
“It doesn’t matter. You need to get yourself dressed an
d ready to leave in an hour. We’re supposed to meet with some administrators and teachers.”
I nodded lamely. “Okay. No problem.”
“And they stay here,” Max informed me, looking back and forth between Lewis and Jenkins.
“Absolutely.” Jenkins turned toward me and gave me a death glare, but I wasn’t having it; I apparently missed an important meeting, and I wasn’t about to argue over whether or not they could tag along. I was still the first lady, and I needed to be professional.
In a mad dash, I was dressed and ready to go within the hour. Lewis and Jenkins didn’t look too happy as I shut the door to the suite, especially since my phone was still missing.
“I’m really sorry, Max,” I babbled as we approached the elevator. “I should have waited to come until I’m over this flu bug.”
Max reached out and unexpectedly gripped my upper arm tightly. I tried to wriggle free, but he held on to me. It was uncomfortable and painful, and undoubtedly, there would be a bruise.
“Let go, Max. You’re hurting me.”
But he wasn’t listening. The elevator doors slid open and he led me into the car. “You don’t have the flu. You’re pregnant.”
I gasped with shock. “How do you know that?”
“I pay people to tell me things.”
I tried to back away, to free myself of his vise-like hold on my arm, but the more I struggled, the stronger he became.
This wasn’t right. Panic took over. The mirrored walls of the elevator started to close in on me, and no matter how badly it hurt, I wrestled myself free of his grip and took solace in the corner.
“I’d suggest that you do as you’re told, otherwise the world will soon find out your unexpected news,” Max said coldly, his eyes flicking down to my abdomen.
Jameson
“We took her phone,” Lewis told me.
“But there’s a problem,” Jenkins added.
I hated when they talked like this, finishing each other’s cryptic sentences.
“Just spit it out,” I demanded.
“Max wouldn’t let us come, and Georgie agreed. We have no way of communicating with her, other than her agents.” Lewis was the bearer of bad news.
Capitol Promises (The Presidential Promises Duet ) Page 18
