psychic. Did she see him kissing her today, sucking her breasts, massaging her? Was LaLa hiding in the room? “What in the world else would he have in mind, La?” Gina asked, determined to keep her cool. “He’ll meet with me, and then tell the press he gave my grievances a full airing, that’s all this invitation is about.”
“Nope,” LaLa said, shaking her head. “Ain’t buying it. No ma’am. If all he wanted to do was to listen to you gab about some budget bill so he can say he met with you, then he would have let that meeting after the awards ceremony do. But no, he meets with you after the ceremony and also invites you to dinner? Nall, girl, LaLa smells a rat in that stew. That man wants to talk to you all right. Pillow talk to you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“He’s single and you’re single,” LaLa continued, “so ain’t nothing wrong with it. I’m not saying that. But girl, you messing with the sho’nuff big times now if you gonna be messing around with that dude.”
Gina frowned, crossed off another congressman’s name. “Well I guess I’d better be careful not to mess around with him, then. Right?” she said.
LaLa stared at her. “Right,” she said, with little conviction, too.
+++
It seemed like she’d caught this show before. There they were, her and Christian, sitting in the president’ private residence at the White House, waiting for what was now nearly two hours, for him to arrive.
“Where is he?” she finally asked Christian, who was seated patiently, as if he was accustomed, in his role as one of the president’s personal aides, to waiting. “Is he even here at the White House?”
“Yes, he’s here. It’s just that things come up.”
Of course Gina understood that. But dang. It was coming up on midnight. That man had to be exhausted. “Has he eaten?” she found herself asking before she had a chance to think about it. If she would have thought first, she would have never gotten this personal with the man’s aide.
“Probably not,” Christian said, his concern showing. “That’s one of the things that worry me about him. Sometimes he’ll go all day without eating much. Sometimes it gets so bad I have to tell Mr. Brennan about it and he has to get on his case.”
“Max Brennan, the president’s chief of staff?”
“And best friend, yes, ma’am. He’s the only one who can be blunt with the president.”
“You can’t?”
“Oh, gosh no! He’ll fire me in a heartbeat I even think about coming at him like that.”
“You mean to tell me he’ll fire you for telling him the truth?”
Christian thought about this. “Not for that, exactly. But for disrespecting the office of the presidency. That’s real important to him. He doesn’t care whether people respect him as Dutch Harber, but he cares an awful lot if they disrespect him as President Dutch Harber. It’s all about the office, the representation of the people.”
Gina’s heart dropped. “Did he feel I disrespected the office when I, to use your phrase, told him off at the awards ceremony?”
Christian didn’t want to go there, and especially not with one of the president’s females. But this one was turning out to be kind of different. She didn’t seem as eager to share her body with the president the way all of the others had, and she’d stand up to him without giving it a second thought. “I don’t know if he thought you were disrespectful,” he finally said, “but I know it bothered him.”
She already knew that much. “And you don’t think he’s eaten?” she asked Christian.
“I know he hadn’t all the times I’d been with him today, and that was up until a couple hours ago, when I went
“Nope,” LaLa said, shaking her head. “Ain’t buying it. No ma’am. If all he wanted to do was to listen to you gab about some budget bill so he can say he met with you, then he would have let that meeting after the awards ceremony do. But no, he meets with you after the ceremony and also invites you to dinner? Nall, girl, LaLa smells a rat in that stew. That man wants to talk to you all right. Pillow talk to you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“He’s single and you’re single,” LaLa continued, “so ain’t nothing wrong with it. I’m not saying that. But girl, you messing with the sho’nuff big times now if you gonna be messing around with that dude.”
Gina frowned, crossed off another congressman’s name. “Well I guess I’d better be careful not to mess around with him, then. Right?” she said.
LaLa stared at her. “Right,” she said, with little conviction, too.
+++
It seemed like she’d caught this show before. There they were, her and Christian, sitting in the president’ private residence at the White House, waiting for what was now nearly two hours, for him to arrive.
“Where is he?” she finally asked Christian, who was seated patiently, as if he was accustomed, in his role as one of the president’s personal aides, to waiting. “Is he even here at the White House?”
“Yes, he’s here. It’s just that things come up.”
Of course Gina understood that. But dang. It was coming up on midnight. That man had to be exhausted. “Has he eaten?” she found herself asking before she had a chance to think about it. If she would have thought first, she would have never gotten this personal with the man’s aide.
“Probably not,” Christian said, his concern showing. “That’s one of the things that worry me about him. Sometimes he’ll go all day without eating much. Sometimes it gets so bad I have to tell Mr. Brennan about it and he has to get on his case.”
“Max Brennan, the president’s chief of staff?”
“And best friend, yes, ma’am. He’s the only one who can be blunt with the president.”
“You can’t?”
“Oh, gosh no! He’ll fire me in a heartbeat I even think about coming at him like that.”
“You mean to tell me he’ll fire you for telling him the truth?”
Christian thought about this. “Not for that, exactly. But for disrespecting the office of the presidency. That’s real important to him. He doesn’t care whether people respect him as Dutch Harber, but he cares an awful lot if they disrespect him as President Dutch Harber. It’s all about the office, the representation of the people.”
Gina’s heart dropped. “Did he feel I disrespected the office when I, to use your phrase, told him off at the awards ceremony?”
Christian didn’t want to go there, and especially not with one of the president’s females. But this one was turning out to be kind of different. She didn’t seem as eager to share her body with the president the way all of the others had, and she’d stand up to him without giving it a second thought. “I don’t know if he thought you were disrespectful,” he finally said, “but I know it bothered him.”
She already knew that much. “And you don’t think he’s eaten?” she asked Christian.
“I know he hadn’t all the times I’d been with him today, and that was up until a couple hours ago, when I went
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