Madame President - Tara Sue Me Page 0,71
the phone on my desk and pass it to the director. “Call and have him come here now.”
“Are you sure, Madame President?” David asks.
I shot him a don’t question me look. “Very.”
He wisely doesn’t say anything else.
Even though I’m the one who asked for Navin to be brought in, I’m unable to look him in his eyes until he’s all but begging me not to believe what’s right in front of me, and then has the nerve to call me Anna.
After I set him straight, I look to David and the Director. “Gentleman, please allow me to speak to Mr. Hazar privately.”
They both speak at once.
“Madame President, with all due respect—"
“I don’t think that’s in your best—"
I hold my hand up and they both stop talking. “I don’t recall asking for anyone’s opinion.”
They are less than thrilled with my decision, but that’s the good thing about being in charge. They don’t have to like it.
A sliver of hope appears in Navin’s eyes. It won’t be there for long. I’m getting ready to snuff it out for good. I wait until the door shuts behind David and Director Standard.
“Madame President,” he tries to talk first, but I shut him down the same way I did with the other two moments ago.
“There’s something you should know before you say anything,” I say. It sounds so cryptic, he obviously decides to believe me, and doesn’t try to say anything else. I take a deep breath. “I spoke to Edward Rainer a few minutes ago.”
Navin’s face turns a deathly shade of pale at the realization I’ve been chatting with the CEO of the company he works for. “I see,” he says, his jaw tight.
I doubt he does, but I don’t care at the moment. “I explained that even though we have no issues with you, we’ve been getting complaints from other outlets that in allowing you so much time on the Press Pool we’re showing GBNC unprecedented favoritism. Which, as you can imagine, could potentially call into question the validity of a free press.”
Navin remains silent, waiting for me to continue.
“You will remain on the Press Pool until the upcoming benefit,” I tell him. “After that you can either return to New York or stay in Washington. If you stay, you will be treated and welcomed as any member of the news media.”
“Except with no exclusive contact with the President,” he adds.
“I thought that would be in our best interest, all things considered.”
He snorts. “All things considered, my ass. You got me fired.”
“I did no such thing.”
“Really?” I’ve never seen Navin so angry, there’s a vein on his forehead and it’s pulsing. “Then why did you get me kicked off your Press Pool?”
“I’ve always thought you had alternative reasons for being on it to begin with. I’ve never kept that a secret from you.”
“Let me clue you in on something, Madame President.” It’s the way I told him to address me, but every time he says it, he’s throwing a dart at my heart, because all I can hear is the way he’s been calling me Anna. He notices my flinch, but keeps talking, “Just because you think something’s there doesn’t make it so. You don’t have that much power.”
All of this, and he’s still not being honest with me. “Mr. Hazar,” I say, refusing to give into the urge to match his tone and rage. I need to say what I need to calmly so he realizes the choice is entirely his. “Your time is limited. What I’m saying is, on the off chance you did happen to come here on less than disclosed reasons, if you want to clear yourself from any suspicion you had anything to do with this,” I wave to the photos, “tell me what your real reasons are for being part of my Press Pool.”
He gives a sad laugh. “Damn it all.”
“What?”
“I vastly underestimated your ability to be President. You’re much better than my pizza delivery boy could ever hope to be.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “What does that mean?”
“Pull up a chair, Madame President, it’s going to be a long story.”
Over the next forty-five minutes, he tells me everything. From the way GBNC found out about our past history at law school and his following demotion to the Press Pool, to Gabe and the information he’d heard from sources. He admits so far, he’s only looked into David and Nicole, and doesn’t have much to offer in the way of evidence. I sit back and don’t