Page 122 of Bona Fide

Her brown eyes widen. “Are you serious?”

I nod. “Yeah. Just let me finish with this little one and—” She extends her palms out.

“Take your time. I’m going to go snap some more pictures and stuff, but I’ll be back.”

“Alright, just come get me when you’re done.”

She begins to back up to leave, eyes still glimmered in shock and excitement. “Thank you so much, Mr. President. I’m so appreciative.”

“Anytime, Rose.” She takes off and another speck of paint hits my nose.

“What are you the president of?” the little girl I’m holding asks me.

“Of the United States,” I reply, turning my body so she can go back to her painting.

“How do you become a president?”

By doing a lot of shady-ass shit, kid.

“Working hard,” I tell her instead.

“Do you get to boss people around?”

“Yep.”

“Do you get to wear a crown?”

I chuckle. “No.”

“I’m going to be a princess then.”

“I think that’s a better job.”

“Why didn’t you become a princess?” I look up at her peering down at me with blue paint now drying on the brush.

“Do you think I’d look good in a dress?”

She wrinkles her nose. “No way.”

“I agree.”

“I second that,” replies a male voice behind us. Pivoting me and the little girl around again, I almost squeeze her poor little leg off. My whole body goes ridged as I stare at Grant Hardison gaping at me like a fucking idiot.

A dead fucking idiot.

The words off the tip of my tongue aren’t for the little girl’s ears that I’ve just adopted for the past few minutes, nor do I want her to think “that one president she met as a kid was a real asshole”.

Setting her down, I squat to align face-to-face with her short frame. “Thank you for helping me. Why don’t you go find your parents so I can do a couple of president things.”

She quickly hands me over the messy brush with blue paint all over the handle. “Okay, I’m going to go do something more fun.”

“You go do that, this is boring.” She doesn’t argue and skips away from me and down the steps of the porch, leaving me with a portion of the bane of my existence. Seeing him brings the vision of that video standing forefront in my mind yet again.

“Senator,” I greet monotonously. “What brings you to grace us with your presence today?”

He takes a step towards me and shrugs. “It’s not every day you have the President of the United States in your midst. Besides, I wanted to show my support to the community. What you’ve started here, Mr. President, is remarkable.”

“Appreciate it,” I deadpan.

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