I shared what I hoped was a commiserating smile with the man as I tried to remember the name of his youngest son. I was pretty sure that he was the teen I’d met at that party years ago,but I just couldn’t put a name to the face of someone who was definitely a grown man now.
Thankfully Livvy saved me before I could make a blunder and offend one of the few politicians that I actually liked as she tapped me on the shoulder and gave me her usual‘it’s time to go’look.
“I’m so sorry, but I have to leave. They’re expecting me back soon, have a great night,” I said, turning to offer the man an apologetic smile.
Senator Adams nodded, offering me a wave before he turned to talk to one of his colleagues who had been standing at his elbow for a few minutes waiting his turn and I let Lizzy lead me away to the double doors that led outside of the venue.
“Ms. Holloway!” someone called from the crowd but I never got the chance to see who it was because Agent Brady was there.
He had been the head of my Secret Service detail since I was young, stopping for a bit after I turned sixteen and my grandfather left the office of the vice president.
I had been delighted when I turned twenty-two and my mother was elected as president and he was reassigned to me, of course with a few more gray hairs than before. The past four years had been made easier by his ever-steady presence because I trusted the older beta implicitly with my protection.
The rest of the team, people who I knew to varying degrees, flanked us as we left the hotel ballroom and stepped back into the lobby.
“Can we stop for ice cream?” I asked hopefully as we approached the SUV.
It was a bad habit of mine ever since I had started doing events for this campaign.
When my brother and I were little, it was always something our parents had done after public events. They would find amom-and-pop shop in whatever city we were visiting and we would get scoops of our favorite ice cream.
It was our tradition, even if I tended to do it by myself these days.
“POTUS expects us back by twenty-two-hundred,” Brady said, glancing at his watch. “And it isn’t in our itinerary for the evening.”
“Is it ever?” I countered, handing my purse to Livvy as I got into the waiting SUV that would take us back to the White House. “Come on, Bray, live a little before you die of old age.”
If the teasing jab hurt the man’s feelings, he didn’t show it as he checked his watch one more time.
Despite his ever-stony expression and penchant for following the rules… the man also had a weakness for soft serve.
I heard him sigh. “Kidwell, do you copy?”
There was a long pause as he waited for the agent on the other end of his earpiece. “Yeah, Flicker would like to make a pitstop.”
“ToThomas Sweets,” I chimed in, wiggling in my seat despite the tight dress digging into my ribs.
Agent Brady rolled his eyes. “ToThomas Sweets. Can you reroute the itinerary and update our timing for arrival back at base? Thanks.”
“You’re going to ruin your dinner,” Livvy commented as she slid in next to me, already scrolling through emails on her tablet.
“Women in their mid-twenties can’t ruin their dinners, Liv,” I reminded her, my mood suddenly cheerful despite the sheer exhaustion making my shoulders feel tight. “Besides, we’ve got an extra hour since you cut out the omega rights portion of the speech.”
My words were happy but pointed. I had been wondering about the sudden cut down of my speech, especially seeing as it was one of our agreements that I would be able to speak onthings I cared about on the campaign trail in exchange for giving up my life for an entire year. Again.
During my mother’s first presidential election I had given up my final year of college to help her on the campaign trail, following her and my father around and being the perfect daughter for the cameras. I didn’t get to enjoy my last year with my friends or even get to walk the stage with the rest of my peers because I wanted to help her become president.
That had been a sacrifice.
This time I wanted to make a difference in the only way I knew how and that was my ability to speak out about things that I cared about. Omega’s rights were constantly in free fall depending on what state they lived in—and that was what was important to me during these next six months and that had been our deal for me to give up a huge chunk of my life for this campaign.
“POTUS asked us to cut it since it’s more of a rally speech talking point versus a‘give us money’speech thing,” she told me absentmindedly, barely paying attention to me as the tablet lit up her face.
I didn’t consider it just a talking point at all.
Staying silent, I waited until Livvy realized just how callous her off-handed comment had been and soon the beta’s head popped up and her eyes widened.
“Sorry, Len, I must be tired. That portion of the speech is actually set for your first rally speech after the primaries when POTUS outlines her plans for the next four years. You know she cares about it just as much as you do.”
