Jameson
I woke up to an empty bed, and that disappointed me. Since Inauguration Day, everything has essentially been on overdrive. We both had the morning free, and after a disastrous dinner last night, all I wanted to do was get lost in a heated round of what Georgie called “kiss and make-up sex.” But she was gone. So instead, I rolled out of bed and got ready for the day. Just because I had a rare morning free didn’t mean the world stopped turning.
I made my way down to the East Wing where Georgie was officially posted. I stopped just as I reached the threshold of her office. Edison’s confirmation. Shit. That was today. I didn’t need to confirm it, but I stepped into her office anyway. She wasn’t there.
“Is Maple on Capitol Hill?” I asked the Secret Service agent who constantly shadowed me.
“Yes sir. The first lady is attending Mr. Edison’s confirmation hearing.”
Storming out of her office, I headed for the West Wing.
I pulled out my cell phone and sent out a text to Sean, Elias, DeWayne, and Lewis and Jenkins.
ME: Situation room. 10 minutes.
I arrived first and tuned the televisions that were on constantly to the only news channel that televised congressional proceedings 24-7. And there she was, my fiancée, sitting behind Maxwell Edison. Not two or three rows back, or even in the back of the committee chamber, but front and center, directly behind him. And he was turned toward her; they were talking and smiling like the whole fucking world wasn’t watching.
“What’s happening?” DeWayne asked in a panic as he strolled into the room. “I wasn’t alerted to anything.”
“This. This is what’s fucking happening!” I pointed at the TV set as I shouted. Lewis and Jenkins walked in just as I sent the remote flying across the room.
“Whoa. Calm the fuck down, dude. Who bombed us now?” Sean was next to arrive and stopped right in front of the television just as Georgie reached out to rub Edison’s shoulder. “Never mind.”
“Is this seriously happening right now? Is my fiancée really sitting in a committee hearing with another man? I mean, fuck, they look like they’re flirting!”
The scene on the television sickened me. There was clearly a break in the hearing, otherwise they wouldn’t be talking and laughing with their heads bent toward each other intimately. I saw red the moment Maxwell Edison covered Georgie’s hand with his. It was too much for me.
“Why don’t you marry her already?” Sean’s blunt question shocked me out of my anger. I stared at him, confused.
“You’re acting like a jealous asshole right now, James. Why don’t you just haul her down to the Supreme Court and put a ring on her damn finger?”
I felt like everybody was always asking me that question. When was I going to marry Georgie? I knew she was constantly thinking about it too. After the chaos of the election, our marriage was probably expected. A wedding was just a distraction from the important work we were just beginning.
“Let me know the moment she returns.” And then I disappeared into my work, because obsessing over how much time Georgie spent with Max Edison wasn’t an option.
I waited for Georgie to return all day. The hearings only last a few hours, three at the most. At the three-hour mark, I checked with the East Wing, and she had not returned. And then back to work I went, trying to make heads or tails of complicated treaties and trade agreements.
When another three hours passed, I checked in again, this time with Secret Service. No Georgie. So I spent that time reviewing an arms agreement.
Georgie walked into the Oval Office just as the sun was beginning to set over the Capitol. From my window, I could see the entire city bathed in an orange glow. It was a magnificent sight that I wish I could have enjoyed. Instead, anger and disappointment clouded my vision.
“Where have you been?” I growled, not bothering to look back at her.
“You’re the president. I’m pretty sure you know where I’ve been,” she flippantly replied.
“Goddammit, Georgie!” I roared, spinning on my heel and slamming my fist down on my desk. “You are my fiancée and that doesn’t mean you can leave and go to Capitol Hill, sit in on a hearing for one of my cabinet members, and flirt with him like a fucking teenager.”
“I didn’t flirt with him!”
“That’s not what it fucking looked like on television. That’s not what all the gossip sites are saying about you.”
“I don’t give a shit. I was there to support him.”
I was on the verge of losing what was left of my temper. Despite what she might think, I was holding back. I sat down in the plush, leather desk chair and closed my eyes. Silently, I counted to ten and regained some of my composure.
“Georgie, we serve the American people. We’re here because the American people believed in our vision for the country. Isn’t that enough?”
“Of course, it is, Jameson.”
“Then act like it. If that means you have to be here to hire staff members or plan state dinners, then that’s your job. That job takes priority over everything else.”
Georgie staggered back as if she had been slapped. It gutted me to see her look so defeated. I knew she felt like I was lecturing her, but she needed to understand her new role and responsibilities.
“I know how eager you are to work with Edison, to start making a difference, and that will come. But right now, you’re needed here. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be.”
Georgie sat there with a stunned look on her face for a long time, and that silence worried me. It was a hard truth for her to accept; that we served the people, and there was very little time for anything else. I hated that we were spending this time at odds with each other.
“Georgie, please, say something.”
“Of course, Mr. President.” She finally looked me straight in the eye, and I saw something new. Disappointment. Her green eyes were dull and cold and filled with disappointment. Then she got up and left.
Like a fool, though, I chased after her.
“Georgie! Stop!” Miraculously, she hadn’t made it very far down the hallway, and she stopped walking. “Why are you angry?”
She pivoted on her heel and charged toward me. “Why am I angry, Mr. President? I’m angry because, once again, I’m sacrificing something that I love for you. I have given up nearly everything to constantly be at your side, supporting you, cheering for you. You promised me, Jameson. You promised I could have this back, and now you’re breaking it.”
Her words, laced with bitterness, stunned me. I stumbled back against the wall and looked up at her. She was equally shocked with what had just tumbled from her lips.
“I thought this was what you wanted, too. I thought that, once everything changed, this was your dream, too. Do you not want to be first lady anymore, Georgie? Do you want to end this?”
“Is that what you think, Jameson? That I don’t want this anymore? The only thing I want to be more than first lady is to be your wife. But I don’t want to be left behind to plan state dinners. I want to do all of those things and more but I’m trying to figure out what that role is going to look like. Just be patient with me.”
Relief coursed through my veins. She still wanted me, still wanted to be my wife, and still wanted this life. This was new to us both. I held out my hand to her, hoping she would accept it. “I can’t do this without you, so whatever you need, I’ll give it to you.”
Georgie slipped her hand into mine and tugged me forward. Her arms snaked around my waist, and she laid her head on my chest. “This is the only place I truly want to be, Jameson.”
The next morning, Sean brought bad news; not a single senator wanted to vote in favor of Edison’s nomination. Half of me was glad. If his nomination failed as a result of his messy personal life and his shady relationship with Global Education Initiatives then I was off the hook. I kept my promise to Georgie. The other half knew that Georgie wouldn’t settle; this was her guy and she wanted him come hell or high water. That meant I was going to Capitol Hill to call in a few favors and promise some of my own. By the end of the week, Maxwell Edison was the newly installed Secretary of Education.