“It’s so great to see you again, President Hernandez,” she coos brightly.
“You as well. But, please, call me Maria. How’s your transition been?”
“Stressful,” Livy chuckles. “But I have an incredible team. If it wasn’t for Aubrey, I’d be so lost. Speaking of, will you excuse me? I need to find her and my social media manager before it begins. Will you save me a seat?”
“Of course.”
There are two vacant chairs to my left, and Maria takes one of them, leaving an empty seat between us. “Good morning, Isaac. I hope you don’t mind if I save a spot for Olivia.”
And just like that, fate is on my side again. I stuff down my amusement and nod. “Absolutely. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t even be here.”
She busies herself with her phone, and I do the same, reading through a few emails that came in this morning. A few minutes later, I sense Olivia before I see or hear her. I glance up, an ache building in my chest as she hesitantly sits beside me.
“Good morning, Governor.”
She blows out a long sigh, likely assuming this was my idea. “Good morning.”
Leaning in a few inches, I whisper, “Did you sleep well?”
“Not exactly. The room next door was a bit… loud.”
I sit back and bark out a laugh as she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip to keep her smile at bay. “Is that so? Well, there’s a spare bedroom at the residence if you need a break from your noisy neighbor.”
Livy rolls her eyes and faces forward. “Thank you for the offer, but it should be much quieter tonight since she’ll have a roommate.” Her phone chimes, and she retrieves it fromher purse, silencing it. “Aubrey mentioned that you’ve added another roundtable discussion for tomorrow.”
“Yes. After speaking with the British Prime Minister, we need to discuss healthcare in a separate meeting. Many of us have socialized medicine, and we’re both hoping to speak with Vice President Vasileiou to encourage America to follow in suit.”
“I don’t think I need to be in that meeting. Other than federal funding for a few programs, insurance isn’t really a state issue.”
“I want you there, Livy.” My admission comes out a bit more flirtatious than I intended, and she sucks in a breath. I’ll never tire of riling her up, even if it’s an accident.
She’s about to reply when the moderator announces we’ll begin shortly. Sitting beside her like this brings me back to the class we took together in college. My palms itch to take her hand or slide mine into her thigh—any small connection she’d allow me. I took it for granted back then. Now I’m sitting next to the only woman I’ve ever loved, and I can’t show her how much she means to me.
The panel begins, and the moderator introduces me. I stand, brushing the front of my pants, then make my way to the podium. “Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for attending this week’s summit. As you’ll see in the schedule, we’ll begin each day with a panel, followed by a roundtable discussion you’ve signed up for, then lunch. The afternoons are broken up based on interest to include additional panels and breakout sessions with the experts. Thank you to all of our special guests, especially to Governor Harris and the Taylor administration for their contributions to the summit. We’re looking forward to a week that will inspire positive change for some of our most vulnerable populations.”
Once the applause begins, I step away from the microphone and make my way back to my seat. Livy shifts toward me and whispers, “You didn’t need to mention me.”
I ignore her as the panelists are introduced, and they begin their discussion on the correlation between food and education—essentially hungry kids perform worse. None of this is news, and I hate to admit I’m unable to focus with Livy beside me. Thankfully, one of my aides, James, is taking notes for me farther back in the room that I can review later. Perhaps switching her seat for the roundtable later wasn’t the best idea after all.
Unlike me, Olivia is taking notes on her tablet, and as I peek at her work, I notice it’s more of a brainstorming document with bullet points of issues she wants to research when she gets home. I direct my attention back to the panelists, and one of them is a deputy executive director for UNICEF. We’ve been in contact over the past few months, and on more than one occasion she’s hinted at me leaving my position as Prime Minister to come work for them. One of the directors is retiring, and if there was a real possibility of being part of their leadership team, I’d resign in a heartbeat.
21
Olivia
It’s been a long day of spirited debates and smiling for photo ops so much my face hurts. I’m emotionally exhausted. I’ve never attended a summit like this where I assumed everyone was on the same page. As it turns out, there are people in this world who have little to no concern for their neighbors.
Food insecurity is such a strange term to me. We should call it what it is—hunger. Our system is broken, but I have no idea how to fix it. No matter how much money we allocate to help those in poverty, most families are like mine, growing up paycheck to paycheck. A single medical emergency or sudden job loss can cause crippling debt. Sure, I can feed all school-aged kids through programs, but what about their parents? Mothers often sacrifice everything to ensure their children come first. It always feels like the rich get richer and the rest of us are fighting for the bare minimum. I’m sick of it. This is a much larger problem than I could ever tackle in a single term.
Before I get ready for bed, I send a quick text to Aubrey.
I know you’re not drinking, but do you want to join me for a quick bite downstairs? I was thinking maybe the little Italian restaurant where you went to get your ginger ale last night. They’re open until midnight, and bruschetta sounds good with a glass of wine.
Aubrey
I’m really tired. Rain check?
Of course. Sleep well. Call me if you need anything.
