Page 74 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“What do you mean?”

“If you held a job that by its very nature endangered my life, what would you want for me?”

“I’d want you to have an army around you.”

“Exactly. And here’s my bottom line… If you can’t handle having at least a small army around you, I can’t do this job. I won’t do this job.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’d give up the job if it came to that, but the one thing I won’t do is hold the office if I can’t be absolutely certain you’re safe.”

“I get it. I really do, and I want you to be the best president we’ve ever had because I truly believe you will be. But we have to figure out something that makes it so I can leave on a moment’s notice like I had to do tonight. I’ll agree with having a detail as long as they can be nimble and are only there for worst-case scenario. They’re not to intervene in police matters even if they see me about to get hurt. I need to be able to do my job without worrying about them getting in the way.”

“If I pledge to work with the Secret Service to make that happen, will you promise me you’ll never again leave this house without a detail?”

This was a moment of truth. If she made that promise, she’d have to keep it. She took a deep breath and let it out. “I promise.”

Chapter Fifteen

“Thank you.” He kissed her, lingering for a second before he broke the kiss and moved to kiss her neck. “I know it’s so much to ask.”

Sam tipped her head to give him better access. “It’s really not. You’ve got enough to worry about. I don’t need to be making it worse for you.”

“I’ll still worry about you, even if you’re surrounded by an army.”

She wrapped her arms around him, breathing in the fresh, clean scent of home, the scent of her love.

“I have a present for you,” he said.

“Really?”

“Don’t get too excited. It’s not a sparkly present.” He reached for his bedside table, and when he opened his hand, a black object sat on his palm.

“What is that?”

“Your very own secure BlackBerry so you can call or text me anytime you want without either of us having to worry about security breaches.”

“So, um, I have to carry that with me?”

“Only if you want to be able to talk to me when we’re apart. It’s fully charged and programmed, so you only have to push two buttons to call me.”

“What two buttons?”

“Six nine.”

Sam cracked up laughing. “Did you pick those numbers?”

“So what if I did? We’ve gotta laugh in the midst of all this nonsense, right?”

“That’s not very presidential of you.”

“I knew it would make you laugh and take some of the sting out of having to carry a second phone.”

“I don’t have to use it for other stuff, do I?”

“Nope. As long as you’re not talking to or about me on your other phone, you’re allowed to still use it. I actually went to bat for you on that. They wanted you to be all BlackBerry, all the time, and I told them that wouldn’t be possible unless they have a flip version that you can slap closed.”

“You get me.”

---