Page 40 of The Press Secretary's Passion
“I saw that,” he says under his breath.
“Saw what?” I ask innocently.
“Don’t be like that,” he says. “It’s unbecoming.”
I bite down on my bottom lip to keep from screaming at him. If there is one person on the planet who could make me crazier than Ryan Black, I don’t want to know them. I’m surprised my hair doesn’t completely stand on end every time I’m around him.
“The president will see you now,” one of the Marines guarding the door says.
They pull open the doors, and Ryan and I step into the Oval Office, and I take it all in. It’s been months that we’ve been working here and Jake and Grace have been living in the residence, and I’m still not used to it. The history, the architecture, and the beauty of it all still take my breath away.
“Good to see you both,” Jake says when the doors shut behind us. “Come on in and let’s get down to business.”
“What’s going on?” I ask as I sit down on one of the sofas. Jake sits across from me and crosses his ankle over his opposite knee in that casual way men do. Ryan stands beside me but leans a hip against the arm of the sofa. It’s a casual but ready stance.
“What I want to know is why my father is giving sit-down interviews with Brenda Watson on uniting our families,” Jake prompts, and I feel like all the air has been sucked out of my lungs. And not only has all of the air been sucked out of my lungs, it’s been sucked out of the room. And Ryan, who was casual, is now anything but.
“Brenda Watson?” I ask in a small voice. “Brenda Watson of the big cable network emotional celebrity sit-down interviews where everyone always cries?”
“That’s the one,” he answers.
“Fuck,” Ryan bites out.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. I’ve never even been on a date with him.
“Well that’s interesting, because he seems to be under the impression that you’re engaged,” Jake adds, not helpfully at all, because Ryan is obviously—to me, anyways—negative two seconds away from completely losing his mind and ripping the room apart like a barbarian.
“Are you shitting me?” he asks Jake in a low voice.
“Why would he do that?” I ask. “I don’t understand.”
“Has he ever given you the impression that he was romantically interested in you?” Jake asks.
“No,” I reply and then change my answer almost immediately. “Yes. As we were lining up to enter the State Dinner, he told me that we would make a strong political match, and I politely turned him down. He implied you would look favorably on uniting our families.”
“I bet he did,” Jake growls. “I do not like the idea of marriages made for political or financial gain. He was pushing me toward one when I finally caught Grace’s eye.”
“Sure, that’s what we’ll call it,” I snark with a sweet smile on my face, and Ryan laughs. It’s not public knowledge, but those in the inner circle know Jake and Rick had staged a blackmail setup in order to force Grace into a public relationship with Jake. My friend thought it was fake, but in the end, it was all real. Swoon.
“True,” Jake says with a smirk. “But that doesn’t explain your parents’ interview over the weekend.”
“Actually,” I say, holding up my hand like I’m in school again, “I can answer that one too.”
“I’m all ears.”
A phone on the desk rings, and Jake stands, making his way back to the desk. He picks up the receiver and speaks, “Hello? Just a second.”
He presses a button on the phone and sets the receiver back in the cradle.
“Hey, Rhys,” Jake says to the room. “I’m here with Jules and Black.”
There was a pregnant pause, and then the deepest voice spoken in a heavy brogue I’ve ever heard speaks. It’s not quite Scottish, so I can’t place it. “Am I free to speak here?”
“Yes,” Jake answers. “You’re protected.”
I don’t have a chance to dive into that one too deeply before the conversation takes off, but I have so many questions. My Spidey senses are tingling.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Rhys says, and I watch Jake bite his lip to keep from laughing.
