The President's Wife - Kathy Myme Page 0,78

big deal. People are going to be talking about what’s happened - what David and I have done - for years and years to come.

Maybe I won’t be able to get a job after this. This has happened before, hasn’t it? An intern getting a little too close with the President? And somewhere, in between all the lying and the cover stories, my situation is a thousand times worse.

Oh my god, what if I never work again?

“Stop panicking,” Lacey tells me, her voice strict. “Deep breaths, Veronica.”

“I’m allowed to panic,” I complain, holding my face in my hands. “My life has fallen apart.”

I’m half expecting her to disagree, but it’s a testament to her honesty that she goes quiet. It’s hard to argue that everything is going to be okay when what I’ve done has changed… well, everything.

“There are things you can do,” Lacey continues. “It’s not all over.”

“Like what?”

“Like… consider how you’re going to play this, Veronica,” she says. “Look, I’m not telling you to do anything…” A lie. She’d practically wrestled me off the couch. “But you might never have to work again.”

“I’m sorry?” I don’t try to hide my lack of understanding. Has Lacey somehow forgotten what’s happening to me? “Don’t you mean ‘you’ll never work again’?”

“No, I mean… there are ways you can benefit from this.” She points to my TV. “People out there want answers. They’re getting some that ‘Andrews’ guy, you know. The leak. But that’s not the same as hearing things from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.”

I blink. “You want me… to go to the press?”

“I’m just telling you it’s an option,” she says. “You’d make a lot of money. Like, a lot.”

“I don’t care about the money.”

“Okay, sure. It would still be a good chance for you to get your side of the story out there.” She looks at me sadly. “You don’t think that’s exactly what your president is doing right now? He’s probably working out exactly how to spin this to his advantage. Why not strike first?”

I hate this. I know she’s right, but I hate what she’s suggesting. If the only way for me to come out of this unscathed is to play the game David loves so much, then I refuse. Getting dragged back into the world of PR is the last thing I want right now.

“No, Lacey,” I say, brushing away the idea. “I can’t do that. I won’t.”

She pulls me in for a hug. “I know you won’t. I just had to suggest it.” She squeezes me so tightly I think she’s going to break a bone. And then she lowers her voice, even though we’re alone. “Veronica… it’s not going to be easy. You know that the press are going to come for you. You’re going to be attacked from all angles.”

“I know.”

“And that’s not even thinking about the press conference this afternoon, you know-”

I freeze. “Press conference?”

Lacey stops. “Don’t you read the news? I thought you would, what with being in the headlines and all.”

“Just tell me about the press conference,” I demand. “Is…?”

The question on my lips is one that I can’t bring myself to finish. Is David going to be there? Will I get to see his face again?

Luckily, Lacey takes mercy on me and answers quickly. “The President is hosting a press conference. It’s pretty clear what he’ll be talking about.” Me.

“Oh my god,” I say softly.

“It’s a shame,” Lacey says. “Other than all of… this, he was a pretty good president. The changes he’s been making… well, I think they would have paid off.”

“What do you mean?”

“You really haven’t heard?” Lacey looks incredulous. “Veronica, there have been so many calls for President Shepard to resign. It’s clear what he’s going to do this afternoon.”

The world seems to spin around me. I’d known it was a possibility, of course. But to hear Lacey say it… to hear her talk about David losing everything…

He must be devastated.

Part of me wants to hop on a plane and fly over to him. To try to offer some comfort when everything's falling apart around him. But that’s probably the last thing David wants. I’m the one who’s caused all of this, in a way.

Lacey stays with me a bit longer, trying to chat. But I can’t bring myself to be responsive. Not with this weighing on my mind.

She seems to understand, at least. “Remember to eat today,” she says, right before going out to fight off the press again.

She’s a really, really good friend.