Madame President - Tara Sue Me Page 0,82
back?
I want to hate him for what he did two years ago; for walking away and not looking back. And yet, I can’t. Mostly because he was right. He was a distraction, and I did need to concentrate on my job. While his absence was noticeable, I wasn’t able to dwell on it, frankly because I was too busy. I threw myself into work and completed my first year in office with higher approval ratings than when I started.
Things got interesting during my second year when Prince Nicholas of Norway accompanied his parents to a State Dinner at the White House. He’s single and thirty-two. Since then, the idea of an American President and a Norwegian Prince together is becoming more and more desirable to the American public.
It’s not going to happen, at least not with me.
The ringing of my phone tells me my ten minutes are up.
“Yes, Nicole,” I answer.
“Professor Ivan Lee on the line for you, Madame President,” she replies.
“Put him through.”
Professor Lee has recently retired from Harvard Law. He was one of my favorite professors and specializes on constitutional law. I’ve asked him to move to Washington DC to serve as one of my advisors and I’m hopeful he’s calling today to accept.
“Madame President,” he says when I answer, and wastes no time getting down to business. “Thank you again for your gracious offer. I’ve decided to accept.”
I tell him how pleased I am he’ll being joining my staff and we talk for a few minutes about timelines. I tell him I’ll get him in touch with an admin who can help him find a place to rent or buy.
“Tell your admin I’d like something similar to the place Navin owns. I saw pictures and his view is magnificent.”
I had been unprepared to hear his name for the first time today. I am even less prepared the second. I recover enough from my shock to realize what he said. “You’ve seen pictures?” I ask. “Of his DC place?”
“Yes,” Ivan says like it’s normal for me to be talking about the man I’ve never been able to get over. “It’s too bad he decided to return to the area. I’d have been more than happy to have taken that property off his hands.”
My mind spins at his words. Navin is back? In DC? For good?
I take a deep breath and ask calmly, “I thought he was renting that place out?”
“He was, Madame President, but after graduation he wanted to move back to DC and do his judicial clerkship there.”
Chapter Forty
Him
Washington DC
“Courier just dropped this off for you.”
I know as soon as I see the envelope in the building manager’s outstretched hand that she’s found me. I take it with a thanks and head outside. It’s a warm day in early summer, but not as hot or humid as it will be soon. Taking a seat on an outside bench, I hold the invitation and flip it to where my name is visible. Mr. Navin Hazar written in calligraphy.
I’m insanely curious as to what I’ve been invited to at the White House. Carefully lifting the flap, I slide the heavy cardstock out of the envelope. It’s an invitation, much like I’ve seen pictures and portrayed in movies, but never held. As expected, it is short and to the point. The President requests the pleasure of your company for a reception. The date and time are listed for tomorrow afternoon. Too late for lunch and not late enough for dinner. There’s not an RSVP number to call, nor does it state who or what the reception is for.
My plan had been to approach Anna after moving back a week ago, but I’ve been wavering a bit. If she’s getting hot and heavy with the Crown Prince of Norway, I don’t want to get involved. Nor do I think she’d be overjoyed at my return.
But now, she’s inviting me. That changes things. I can’t assume she’s not with the Prince, but it makes it less likely. Maybe. I look at the invitation and laugh because it doesn’t matter. I have to go. She hasn’t given me a way to decline.
The White House is both familiar and oddly unknown at the same time, as I drive up to the guard station the next day. It’s not unlike returning home after a long journey, the main difference being the home I’m returning to is not a building, but a person. Anna.
It’s been almost painful watching her while keeping my distance. She has exceeded