Page 83 of Powerless

Jamie’s knee bounces, but he jumps to his feet and extends his hand to me. “Thank you, sir.” He then reaches for Kathryn’s hand. “Mrs. Adams.”

“Come on, Jamie, we’ve got work to do.” Esther encourages him to follow her. They exit my office and close the door behind them.

“So, you did it. You actually hired a personal aide. Good for you.” I wrap Kathryn in my arms and give her a small kiss on the cheek. “Maybe I should take a leaf out of your book, and hire myself a personal assistant too.”

“You have to. You can’t do everything by yourself.”

She rolls her eyes and slightly huffs. “It’s so pompous though.”

“No, it’s not. You’re the First Lady, and there’s a lot of things you have to do. Besides, I got the report from the Secret Service about your visit to the Smithsonian yesterday.”

“Ugh, Grayson already spoke to me about that. I feel like I’m in trouble.”

“You’re not, but they have a job to do, and they can’t be carrying anything for you.”

“I know.” She pulls away from my hug and walks over to sit on the sofa in my office. “I told Grayson I’d be hiring a personal assistant, but...” She screws her nose up and huffs. “Honestly, I don’t think I need one.”

“You do, because this is only the start, and if you’re going to be working or volunteering, then you’ll fall behind on your official duties. Or worse still, you’ll be exhausted and you’ll run yourself into the ground.”

“Speaking of which, I woke this morning feeling like I might be coming down with something. I feel kind of lethargic, and like I don’t want to do anything.”

“Then don’t. Do you have any commitments today?”

“Only to head to the Office of the First Lady in the East Wing to get the process started on hiring a personal assistant.”

“Go, speak with them, and maybe go and spend the rest of the day up at the residence. Or, call your mom and see if she wants to come for lunch. Take it easy for the next few days. I have a lot of meetings happening over the next week or so, meaning I really can’t help too much.”

She flicks her hand at me. “I don’t need my husband to hold my hand through anything.”

The door between Liam’s office and mine opens. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Liam says. “Sir, we have a situation.” He darts his eyes to Kathryn and smiles. “Mrs. Adams, how are you?”

Kathryn stands and walks over to Liam, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. “A lot better now Bennett has hired a personal aide.”

Liam glances at Bennett. “You did? Who? Is it the kid?”

“It is. He’s starting tomorrow.”

“Good for you.” He clears his throat and looks to Kathryn again. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Adams.”

She flicks her hand at him. “I’ve got to go anyway. Bye. See you tonight?” Kathryn kisses me chastely on the mouth as she waits for my reply.

“You sure will.” She walks out of my office, leaving Liam and me alone. “What’s going on?”

“A train has derailed on the outskirts of New York City.”

Suddenly there’s tightness across the top of my eyebrows. I rub at the tension and nod once. “How many people injured and killed?”

“Over a hundred injured, because it happened at peak rush hour. But thankfully, there have been no lives lost.”

“How did this happen?” I hold my hand up to stop him. “Get the secretary of transportation in here.”

“He’s on his way.”

I walk over to Esther’s office and open the door. “Get me the mayor of New York on the phone.”

“Yes, sir.” She picks up the phone and immediately begins to dial.

I turn to Liam. “Should I be calling in the secretary of defense?” I cock a brow. “Is it terrorism?”

---