Page 10 of An Impossible Love
Chapter Four
Lucas thanked Jessica when she told him the president was ready to see him and knocked on the door to the Oval.
“Come on in, Lucas. No need to knock.” Orin Bennett waved him into a seat. “Moxie tells me you have some updates for me?”
“Yes, Mr. President. I’m afraid I don’t have good news. The far-right group led by Max Neal has splintered into separate groups, and our intelligence tells us they are planning… something. Domestic terrorism, an attempt on your life—at the moment, we’re hearing different reports. We’ll pin down more details today, but I must ask you this. Are you still planning on going to Camp David this weekend?”
“I am. The FBI director is coming with us, and we’re going through the evidence they have collated about former President Ellis.” Orin sighed. “Look, I don’t really care about the threats to my life—it comes with the territory. But I want every available threat to the general public investigated and thwarted. Every one of them, Lucas. We need to contain this situation before it spirals.”
“Of course, Mr. President, but may I ask you a question? Cancel Camp David. Hold the meetings here. It’s already leaked that you’re intending to go to Camp David and—”
“And the place would have already been swept and locked down. Lucas, I appreciate your concerns and I trust your judgement, but we’re going to Camp David.”
Later, Orin retired to his private study and sat heavily down on the couch, a stack of papers on the coffee table in front of him. Lucas’s warnings were at the front of his mind, not necessarily the threats to himself, but he couldn’t stand it if his enemies targeted innocent people. The last thing America needed was another terrorist attack, mass shooting, or bombing.
Orin knew all about disaster. He and Charlie had been in Mission Control when the Columbia space shuttle exploded upon re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. He remembered the hopeless call of CAPCOM asking repeatedly for the shuttle’s crew to respond, knowing they never would.
Columbia, Houston, UHF comm check. Columbia, Houston, UHF comm check…
The disbelief. The flight director’s tears, then the efficient, numbed contingency procedure, the one all NASA employees hoped they wouldneverhave to use. It had been shattering.
Orin had left the space program after that, Charlie following him three years later. Charlie re-enlisted to serve in Afghanistan for two tours, then quit to marry his childhood sweetheart, Lynn.
Orin, determined to assuage the helplessness he’d felt watching the Columbia crew die, made the move into politics. Moving from mayor of Portland to the House of Congress representing Oregon, all on an Independent ticket. The American public was tired of partisan politics, and Orin soon found himself the new political darling of Washington DC. The media were taken by surprise, having underestimated the country’s thirst for honesty.
Brookes Ellis’s impeachment only exacerbated that thirst; Orin was elected in a landslide, and the country waited for a new dawn.
Orin loved his country, loved to serve them, and was ready to take on the mantle of President, even when sometimes he couldn’t quite believe he was in the Oval.
And yet… sometimes the loneliness got to him. His last relationship—with a human rights lawyer, Sophie—had ended four years ago.
“I love you,” Sophie had told him, “but I can’t be your consolation prize, Orin. You need to serve your country, and that doesn’t leave time for me. So, I’m out.”
They had parted on amicable terms, and even hooked up a couple of times since, but now Sophie was married to a hot-shot Manhattan lawyer and had a kid on the way.
Orin tackled a couple of the memos on his table, then took his glasses off, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Just once, he’d like to chat with a partner, someone with a common connection other than work or shared history. Someone new. His mind drifted to Emerson Sati again, and he chuckled and shook his head. The trouble it would cause to start something up with one of his protective detail… he couldn’t imagine; the press would have a field day.
Ever the strategist, he amused himself by working out how they could make it work. They’d need someone on the inside to help them…
“Cool your boots, cowboy.” He had no idea if Emmy even liked him in that way. Even sharing a moment that night in the White House kitchen… he didn’t know her well enough to know whether she had been humoring him during their back and forth or if it was indicative of something more.
Plus, the poor kid had lost her fiancé in the worst way. And he would resign himself to leave her alone before he screwed up her career.No.Emerson Sati was off limits.
Orin got up and wandered down to the kitchen again, telling himself he was just looking for a late-night snack, but when he entered the kitchen the place was deserted. When he heard the clip-clip of high heels, his adrenaline surged only to die when Moxie, his chief of staff, entered the room.
She grinned at him. “Hey, dude.”
“Hey, Mox.”
Off-duty, his old college friend Moxie was the one person who didn’t always refer to him as ‘Mr. President.’ She headed for the freezer now and hefted a liter of ice cream out. “I’ve been sitting in my office dreaming of this all day.” She grabbed two spoons and nodded at the bar stools. “Sit and share with me.”
“What flavor?”
“Duh. Pistachio, of course.”
They spooned some of the dessert into their mouths, and Moxie moaned in pleasure. “God, this takes me back. Remember when we used to stuff ourselves with this, staying up all night to finish term papers?”
“God, yes.” Orin grinned at her. “Those were the days.”
