Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 124320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
“I’ll be in touch,” he says. “Either way.”
Motion at the office door distracts me. My assistant, Carla, taps her watch and lifts her brows to disappear beneath purple-tinted bangs. My next appointment must be here. Considering who my next appointment is, I’m surprised she didn’t just burst through the door. After all, this used to be her company, too.
“Congressman, I have to go.” We disconnect and Carla smiles her satisfaction as she turns to leave.
My office door opens and a huge man walks in, speaking into a mic at his sleeve, his bulk shrinking the room.
“Excuse me?” I toss my cell phone onto the desk and lean my hip against the edge. “Did you just barge into my office?”
“I have to clear the space before the First Lady enters,” he intones absently, walking around the room and checking I suppose for explosives.
“Uh-huh. I figured, but they do teach you to knock at the Secret Service, right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, a little color creeping into his cheeks. “Sorry about that.”
“We all clear?” I ask with a teasing smile.
“All clear,” he says into the mic, allowing a small smile of his own.
I quickly forget his rudeness when Lennix rushes in, arms extended.
“Kimba,” she says, squeezing me like I’m a raft in rushing rapids. “Thank God.”
I squeeze her back and then pry her arms from my neck after a few seconds. “Whoa, there, little koala.”
“I’m sorry.” She pulls away, grinning wryly. “I’m just glad to see a normal person.”
She glances over her shoulder to where Secret Service man stands at the door like a centurion.
“Hal, thank you for checking the room,” Lennix says. “You can wait outside.”
Uncertainty skitters across his face for a moment, tightening the corners of his eyes and lips. He opens his mouth, probably poised to object, but Lennix holds up one hand and points to the door with the other.
“Thank you, Hal.”
He turns to leave and closes the door behind himself.
“He’s new,” she says, rolling her eyes. “And zealous.”
“Not one of the normal people, I gather.” I cross the office to sit down on the couch and pat the cushion beside me. “Come tell Mama all the things.”
When she walks over and sits, her dress pulls taut over her middle, revealing a little baby bump.
“Oh my God!” I touch the small mound, breaking pregnant lady etiquette because that’s my godchild in there. “Look at our little peanut.”
Her grin widens and her gray eyes light up. “I know. I’ve never been so happy about gaining weight.”
“I bet Maxim is crazy protective and over the moon.”
“All of the above and more. He’s ecstatic. We both are.” She rubs a hand over the little bump lovingly, her expression softening. “But it’s happening when there’s so much pressure, so much scrutiny, and people underfoot all the time. It feels like I’m rarely alone, much less alone with Maxim.”
She glances around the office, furnished with items we chose together when we first opened our political consulting firm. “I kinda miss normal life.”
“Fuck normal. We are not normal chicks.” I relax into the corner of the sofa and cross my legs. “We are in the League of Extraordinary Bitches. You hear me? You are the first Native American First Lady this country’s ever had. Damn right it’s pressure. Your agenda is the most ambitious we’ve ever seen from a First Lady, so yeah, it’s hard, but you’ve got this.”
When she first announced that her agenda was simply women, everyone asked her to elaborate. Just…women? Equal pay for women. Reforming maternity rights for women. Secondary education for women. She has assembled the Cabinet on Women’s Empowerment, a body of experts who craft programs and solicit support from the corporate sector to partner with government initiatives.
“I’m so glad you’re on the CWE,” Lennix says, blowing out a breath. “I wish you’d reconsider the position Maxim offered you in his cabinet, though, so you’d be around the White House even more.”
“As tempting as Chief of Staff is, it’s like a desk job when I need to be in the field. This is where I belong. I want to be in the trenches and continuing the work we set out to do.”
“I get it,” Lennix says, almost wistfully. “You know how hard it was for me to walk away from our mission.”
“You didn’t walk away. You are doing our mission on a scale we never could have imagined.” I waggle my eyebrows. “Speak to power? Honey, you sleep with power. When your baby’s daddy is the leader of the free world, I’d call that on mission.”
“I can’t complain.” Lennix laughs throatily, leaning back and resting her head on the couch. “Except it’s you, and you’re my best friend so you have to let me complain.”
“Yup. Part of the job description.” I wag a finger at her. “But so is telling you the truth. You are exactly where you belong and where you can do the most good right now. You have everything to be grateful for.” I tip my head toward the closed door. “Other than Robocop out there acting like a bloodhound, sniffing for bombs under my Queen Anne desk. What’s up with Mr. High Alert?”