“You sure?”
I nod. “Absolutely.”
She studies me for a moment. “Elliot proposes to Leo and fires you, out of the blue. You’re out in the cold. What then?”
A nasty little tendril tries to snake its way around my heart like evil kudzu. It feeds upon my memories of our separation and what led to it. It’s fertilized by the anxieties and rejection and secret inadequacies that haunt my psyche.
Then I take a deep breath and spray it all down with mental Agent Orange. She’s testing me. “I know that won’t happen. Even if it were to happen, I wouldn’t nuke the site from orbit, if that’s what you mean.”
She arches an eyebrow at me. “That’swhat I mean.”
“I love them both enough to walk away, if I have to. I did it once before when, by all rights, I could have ruined not only them, but Shae, Chris and Kev. I think that proves I’m a mature adult. After nearly eight years in the White House, I am not lacking in employment opportunities. I could write my own paycheck at any number of political consulting firms, and have already turned down several mid-six-figure salary offers.”
She changes directions on me. “What about Elliot’s current chief of staff? What’s his deal?”
“We don’t officially have one. Elliot’s last chief of staff had a heart attack. Lyle, Elliot’s deputy chief of staff, stepped in as acting chief, but he’s already flat-refused to do it if Elliot’s elected POTUS. Ben, who’s currently Kev’s deputy, would prefer to be not-it.” I tell her about Kev and his conditions, too.
She smirks. “Shittiest job in Washington. Can’t say I blame them.”
“I can’t, either.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“For chief of staff?”
I snort. “I don’t pretend I’m even remotely qualified to take that job. No way.”
“You know people and things.”
“I also know what Idon’tknow. Which is way more than what Idoknow. I serve Elliot best where I am. He needs someone qualified as his chief of staff.”
“Exactly how’d a design grad student who didn’t finish his master’s end up not only as the body man to the president-elect, but trying to find him a chief of staff?”
I know that’s more rhetorical than anything, because I told her our history. She’s looking for thewhyrather than thehow.
I shrug. “I serve at the pleasure of the vice president. I’m going to take care of my boy in whatever capacity he needs me. Never saw myself in politics, but apparently I have a…” I consider it. “I have a good disguise. Everyone thinks I’m an innocent.”
She practically cackles. “You sure do. You areabsolutelyright about that. You’re also not the only one with a damn good disguise around here.”
We eat, we talk, and she bounces questions off me from all angles until I quit trying to follow her train of thought and realize I’m simply along for the ride. I’m not an attorney and she obviously is.
Whatever her point, she’ll make it in her time, not mine. I also fully understand she’s not the one being interviewed this morning.
I am. And Elliot, by proxy, through me.
I’m fine with that. I know her bona fides. She has nothing to prove to me.
She’s also the one doing me a favor by being here in the first place, especially on such short notice.
Once we’ve finished eating, she sits back. “Any questions for me so far?”
“I appreciate you traveling to see me like this, but why today? I hope this hasn’t inconvenienced you.”
She grins. “Like I said, I was bored. Even worse, George was a little bored and getting kind of feisty. Don’t get me wrong. I love my men, but I’ve always been someone able to live on her own and not need a partner up her asscrack all the fricking time. This was a delightful and guilt-free escape from them for a couple of days.”
“A couple of days?”
