Cheating Time

by T. R. Graves

  I knew the second we made it to Barone's tent. It was the biggest one at the camp, was surrounded by guards, and glowed there was so much light illuminating it.

  The Surrogate guard at the tent's flap held it open for the two of us and right before he let it drop closed, Barone turned to the guard and said, "I don't want to be disturbed by anyone. Do you understand me?"

  His tone was harsh, and the Surrogate, avoiding all eye contact with me, bowed his head and said, "Certainly, sir. Your privacy will be my primary duty."

  By the time Barone turned back toward me, there wasn't the first trace of the harshness he'd just leveled on the Surrogate. He was all hands and smiles. I wanted no part of either of them.

  He took my hand and led me over to the table that reminded me so much of the meal I'd had in Thorne's tent that I knew even without Barone mentioning it that Rorie had set it up.

  Ever the gentleman, Barone pulled my chair out for me before lifting the stainless dome covering the meal Rorie had so carefully created.

  The instant the sight before me and the aroma registered, my stomach convulsed with hunger. In fact, if I hadn't been so hungry, I wasn't sure I'd be able to eat. Rorie had gone out of her way to artfully arrange the food on the plates in such a way that eating it seemed wrong.

  Both Barone and I had a salad plate that included three miniature toothpick kabobs standing tall and proud that was made of the bottom of a cherry tomato, a small mozzarella ball, topped off with the top of the cherry tomato and a leaf of basil. All of the kabobs had been drizzled with an olive oil dressing.

  On each dinner plate, there were two almond-crusted lamb chops with the bones crossed and connected by rosemary sprigs. In the center of the chops sat a perfect potato soufflé topped with a dollop of sour cream, finely chopped chives, and sprinkles of bacon. For the vegetable, Rorie had grilled asparagus, sautéed them in a creamy butter sauce, and tied them together with red, green, and yellow sweet pepper ribbons.

  The finishing touch for the meal was the bowl made of chocolate and filled with chocolate mousse and garnished with thick chocolate shavings straws, mandarin orange sections, and candied mint leaves.

  Holy hell! Rorie should be working in the presidential house and serving royalty.

  There was no doubt in my mind that if she could concoct a meal like this out in such a remote area of woods, she could create award-winning meals in kitchens where anything and everything was at her disposal.

  "Oh my gosh, President Barone! I can't believe this gourmet meal is one anyone could create out here in the wilderness," I said, voicing some of my words aloud.

  Rorie had worked hard and she deserved every bit of her due.

  "I've asked you before to call me John. I understand why you don't do that when others are around, but when it is just the two of us, I expect our relationship to be a lot less formal, Carlie," Barone said.

  Once again, he was setting boundaries for me.

  Take care of yourself, or I'll assign people to you who will. Call me John, or I'll spank you.

  I acquiesced and tested out his name. "John, forgive me. It's just that I've been raised to respect you… your position. Calling you by your first name will never feel natural to me. You're a man bigger than an ordinary name."

  Barone considered what I'd said to be the ultimate compliment, though I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be a person who was only known for their position and not who they were inside. It seemed like a lonely existence to me.

  "That's better. I love hearing you call me by my name. So few people do it," he admitted, mirroring what I'd just been thinking. "Coming from you… it… it does things to me. It makes me want you in ways I shouldn't. At least, in ways I shouldn't until we've gotten to know each other better… until we've let the world embrace the fact that their president has fallen hook, line, and sinker for someone who is less than half his age."

  With his admission, Barone reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it as if that act alone explained his inappropriate feelings for me and how deeply they seemed to go.

  I cleared my throat. "John, I have feelings for Thorne, and last I was told, he and I were supposed to marry and have our one allotted child together."

  Barone watched me carefully. "I'm the president, Carlie. No one gets what I want. I've been prepping you for greatness since before you were born. In the seventeen years since then, I've watched you grow into one of the most beautiful women to ever exist. I'll allow you to share your scientific research with Dr. Angleton, but you'll never share your bed with him. You'll only ever know one man in the biblical sense and that will be me."

  My face flushed as my tearing eyes darted to my lap where my napkin now sat.

  Attempting to lighten the mood, Barone shook my hand and changed his tone. "I didn't mean for this meal to get so deep so fast. You have an entire year before our first philanthropic activities together will be made public. From there, we'll be seen together so much and so often that no one will question our engagement when you turn nineteen and our marriage when you turn twenty."

  Barone spoke about my future like a man who'd planned it out for years.

  Suddenly, I was no longer hungry. The rebellious teenager in me wanted to tell Barone that I'd rather die than live a life planned out by someone else, live a life where I wasn't allowed to choose between Jayden and Thorne. They were both great men.

  I might have known Jayden most of my life, but a new Jayden had joined me a few days ago, and I'd been enjoying getting to know the person he'd become. He'd been kinder, gentler, and more loving toward me. When we kissed… holy hell… when we kissed, I wanted him unlike anyone has ever wanted anyone. I was sure. He still had secrets that had to be shared so I could make an educated decision about him, but I trusted him enough to know he would eventually do just that.

  As for Thorne, I'd not met him before a few days ago, but in that short time, I was able to see he was a man with morals and ethics comparable to my own, interests similar to mine. The way he loved Rorie enough to give his life for hers reminded me of how much I loved my own family.

  Barone intertwined his fingers with mine. "I've said something to upset you."

  I shrugged. "I-it's just that it seems to me that all of my choices have been made for me."

  Barone consoled me. "I have luxuries you don't. For example, I know there are few people more compatible than you and I, and I've had years to plan our future. You've only had months, and I was too aggressive when we talked the first time.

  "I should have moved slower. I learned a lot from that mistake. I've spent months beating myself up for making you uncomfortable. If I hadn't been so anxious, I'd have stuck to my plan and spent time with you. Eventually, you'll see what I've always known to be true. You and I are the perfect union in every way. I offer to you any lab you want to work in, any research you want to do, and any project you want to work on."

  "You… you did scare me. I have to admit that. I'm still scared," I confessed.

  "I know. I'm intense, and I'm trying not to be that person with you. The fact is I'm never going to be able to go back to the person I was twenty-five years ago. I'll never again be rebellious against the government. That's who I was as a teenager. That rebellion made me the man I am today and gave me the wherewithal to become president.

  "I wish I could say I'll never again be angst-ridden, but every time I'm near you, I turn back into that person. I worry about everything I say and do when it comes to you. I get so nervous I feel like I'm a teenage boy again. You've been around me enough to know I've had a few women who escorted me to events, but none that have been anything more to me. I know this sounds like a lie coming from a man my age, but I've been saving myself for you ever since the day I saw our genetic compatibility scores."

  "How long ago was that?" I asked, deciding I needed to know exactly how long he'd been plotting and planning my life.

  Having the good sense to be embarrassed, Barone shrugged. "Seventeen years and five
months."

  I had no idea what to do with the information Barone had given me. There was no doubt in my mind that at least some of it was true, including his nervousness about my reaction to him. Unbelievable as it seemed to me, the president of our nation was almost as tormented as Jayden when it came to sharing his feelings with me.

  I nodded. There really wasn't anything I could add to the information I'd been given, but one question did bubble to the surface of my mind.

  "Have you ever talked to either of my parents about your plans for me?"

  Barone shook his head. "No. I was sure Sam would have killed me on the spot and prevented me from ever seeing you again. He wouldn't have seen the bigger picture. I didn't have your longevity results until a few months ago, but when I finally got them, I found out the union of our genes will result in the closest thing to immortality that has ever existed. From our union, people will be born healthier, be productive members of our society for more years, and live to be older than anyone ever thought possible. That is what we can do together. You and me."

  Barone was used to dealing with my mother and her ambition, her unbridled desire to do things that had never been done before. He, however, wasn't accustomed to dealing with me. Having my name tied to a discovery like longevity or immortality wasn't exciting at all for me.

  Barone was intuitive if he was nothing else.

  "Don't forget the offer I've just made you will give you the power to take all of our nation's scientific resources and pour them into finding a cure for lymphoma. It was recently brought to my attention that Tawney has been cursed with the same disease that took her grandmother and her aunt… that she doesn't have much time left. Imagine what you and I could do together if I declared lymphoma a national emergency that will require around-the-clock research by anyone qualified… if all research funds were directed to finding a cure."

  Now he's got my attention.

  "She doesn't have long enough for us to find a cure no matter what kind of demands are put on our scientists," I informed him.

  He nodded his head. "You're right, but I have a team of researchers who've been successful at halting the hands of time. Basically, they can put a person's body in a state of inertia, one that prevents the progression of disease. She would basically be comatose. We could put Tawney in a state of inertia until we've found the cure. After we have the cure, we could leave her comatose until we made sure the cure worked."

  "Why would we have to leave her comatose while she's going through the treatment?" I asked, deciding there was something significant behind that fact, something he didn't really want to share with me.

  Barone took a long, deep breath. "Carlie, if we bring her back before she's cured… she'll die instantly. When we reverse the inertia, the cells speed up and age, die, and mutate as if they'd never been in the state of inertia. If the person would be dead when it's reversed, he or she will instantly die. If the disease would have progressed, it will be at whatever stage it would have been if the person had never been put in a state of inertia."

  "Has this worked on anyone else?"

  Giving me hope, Barone nodded. "It's worked on treatable illnesses that have inadvertently progressed. For example, we had a priest who'd attempted to help a group of Outcasts. He got tuberculosis from them and was afraid to tell anyone… afraid we'd find the boys and kill them for their treason. He nearly died.

  "We put him in a state of inertia, treated him aggressively, and when we reversed the inertia, he was weak from the muscle atrophy but cured of the disease. Since that time, he's worked with physical therapists and is up and around. Claims he's never felt stronger.

  "I'm offering this technology to you… to Tawney. Without me, you're never going to get it. It's a gift I will only offer if you agree to be my wife. If you do that, you can consider everything at my disposal to be at yours," Barone explained, spreading his arms wide and signifying the fact that everything in sight would be mine if I agreed.

  "It's an offer I can hardly refuse, John. I'm sure you know that," I said with as much sweetness as I could muster, knowing no matter how hard I tried for compliant, my words were tempered with the pure hate and loathing I felt at being brought to heel.

  How dare he blackmail me and only do the right thing if I give in to his demands? I will, of course, agree, but it pisses me off to no end that he's holding Tawney's life over my head.

  At that very moment and because there was absolutely nothing left to lose, I decided there were several other people's safety that needed to be bundled within this whole damn marriage deal.

  "We've talked so much that you've barely had time to enjoy your meal. I know you have lots more questions, and we have lots more things to discuss. Let's eat, and we'll talk more afterward," Barone suggested, watching me to see if I was going to do as ordered.

  I did.

  In any other situation, I was confident Rorie's meal would be better than anything I'd ever put into my mouth. After hearing Barone's indecent proposal and coming to terms with my fate, food made of cardboard would have tasted exactly the same.

  We ate in complete silence while I considered a way to keep everyone I cared for safe. Not just Tawney. Mom, Dad, Gran, Jayden and his newly found family, and Thorne and his family.

  After I broke apart the chocolate bowl and moved the mousse around enough for it to look like I'd eaten more than I had, I cleared my throat.

  "John, I've considered your offer and am prepared to agree to marry you when I'm twenty if you can guarantee that Jayden will remain the Lead Surrogate for as long as he wants to hold the position and you can guarantee the safety of my family and a few other people who've become important to me. Without that promise… one I'd like in writing and embedded with your genetic seal, I'm going to have to respectfully decline your offer and work toward curing lymphoma the old-fashioned way," I bluffed, knowing full well, I was going to agree no matter what Barone said. Saving Tawney was my most pressing problem.

  Barone sighed deeply in relief. "I think you'll find, Carlie, that I'll do anything for you. You ask me to put my promise in writing and signed in blood and I will. You add the names of these people who mean so much to you, and I will assure you that I'll do everything within my means to keep them safe," he promised.

  "I don't just want them safe. I want them with me. It's the only way I'll ever feel their safety is a priority." I continued bargaining.

  "And… they'll be allowed to live wherever you live and travel wherever you travel… if that is what you desire. I'm going to limit the number of people under your protection to fifteen. I know you well enough to know you'll try to add every person in the nation in hopes no harm will ever come to anyone," Barone countered with an indulgent smile.

  "I understand."

  "Are you going to tell me who besides your family is important enough to warrant presidential security?"

  I shook my head. "I'll write the names in later."

  "You'll have your requested fifteen, and the list can be fluid, meaning you can add others by taking away some," Barone said, humoring me, the seventeen-year-old girl he'd completely underestimated.

  I nodded.

  Barone grinned widely before tapping the side of his watch and waiting as the hologram of a man I'd never met before hovered above the dial.

  "Sir, how can I help you tonight?" the uber professional man sang.

  "I need the agreement amended to include the permanent placement of Jayden Thomas St. Romaine in the Lead Surrogate position and the unconditional housing and safety of fifteen people who will live near and travel with Miss Enoche," Barone described.

  "I'll make those updates, and the contract will be there in five minutes."

  "I look forward to it."

  True to his word and after an uncomfortable five-minute wait with Barone staring at me, the printer spit out a ten-page contract. Barone put it in front of me, and I did my best to read through it.

  There was so much legal jargon that I really had no idea what
I was signing. Rather than focus too much on that, I fast-forwarded to the last page, where the fifteen blank lines were, and began filling in the blanks below the legal verbiage that would ensure the following people's safety:

  1. Sam Enoch

  2. Selma Enoch

  3. Peter Panzini

  4. Tawney LeCroix

  5. Jayden St. Romaine

  6. Thorne Angleton

  7. Rorie Angleton

  8. Dr. Angleton

  9. Mrs. Angleton

  10. Sean Serkis

  11. Simon Serkis

  12. Jayden's surrogate mother

  13. To be named later

  14. To be named later

  15. To be named later

  After I'd completed the names, I signed the document.

  "Please forward a copy of this to Jayden and me."

  Barone was salivating as if he were a dog and I were his favorite bone when I handed the contract back to him. I sat at his desk and watched as he read the names. His face turned beet red and the vein in his forehead popped out when he saw I'd included Sean and Simon.

  "Are you suggesting Serkis warrants your protection, Carlie?" he asked after he was able to control his temper.

  I remained as calm as I possibly could. "Yes. We believe they are Jayden's brothers, and as long as he has family, I'd like them to be cared for and safe."

  Standing behind me, Barone did the same thing he did when he'd signed Jayden's document earlier. He pulled a pen from his pocket and signed the contract before pushing a button on the pen, pricking his thumb, and embedding his genetic code within the document.

  He handed me the pen and waited while I did the same. Less than a minute later, it was done, and Barone took full advantage of his position. He leaned into my neck and rubbed his cheek against my skin. I shivered.

  Mistaking my response for lust, Barone chuckled. "There's no rush, Carlie. You and I will be together day and night soon enough.