Page 51 of The Press Secretary's Passion
“You don’t have to go in there, Jules,” Jake says gently. “We can send in someone else. Hell, I’ll do it myself.”
“Normally, I would say no to that,” Rick adds. “But for you, I’d even do it.”
“Come on, guys.” I laugh, but it lands flat even to my own ears. “This happens every day. I’ll be old news by tomorrow. Time to get back on the horse.”
“Jules, you don’t have to be brave in here,” Jake tells me. He knows me well for someone who’s new to my life. Marrying my bestie, Grace, was the smartest thing he ever did, and he loves her so much he’d do anything for her. Including protect her idiot best friend from a sex tape scandal.
I shrug one shoulder like it’s no big deal. “Nah, I can’t let them smell my fear. Besides, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before now.”
And then I walk out of the Oval Office and down the hall toward the White House Press Room to brief a bunch of great white sharks on a Congressional Bill that the president vehemently opposes and—plot twist—all while my boobs are bouncing around the internet like a porn star and the knowledge that the world has now seen my “O” face.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” I say, stepping up to the podium in the press room. “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.”
The cacophony of sound from everyone jumping to their feet and shouting their questions at me is overwhelming, but I don’t let it startle me. In fact, it calms me down. This is my zone. I’m in my element, and here, no one can hurt me.
“Quiet and I’ll get to your questions in a minute,” I order, and they settle a little, but I can tell they’re chomping at the bit. “This morning, a tape was published to the internet. A tape of me and a gentleman in an intimate setting. This tape was made without my knowledge or consent and also without that of the gentleman in the tape. It is currently under investigation. That is all I know at this time.”
“Jules!” someone shouts. “Who’s the man?”
“That question, I will not answer… ever,” I say calmly.
“Come on, Jules. That’s not fair.”
“What’s not fair is a private citizen of the United States having his nude body in a very private setting blasted all over the internet for mass consumption,” I reply sternly. “He is not for you to pick apart over and over.”
“Don’t you think we deserve to know his identity, since he’s involved with a public figure?”
“No, I do not,” I answer. “Also, he and I are no longer involved, so that’s a nonstarter. Next question.”
“Senator Chancellor has publicly claimed that it is him in the video,” someone shouts. “Can you confirm that?”
Now that surprises me. Damn. Double damn. I had thought this video would finally get him off my back, but apparently it just made him double down.
I smile before I answer. “Have you seen the tape?” I ask the reporter who posed the question.
“Yes.”
“Does that look like the body of an eighty-year-old man to you?”
“No,” he answers to the sound of snickers all around the room.
“The senior senator is in great shape, no doubt,” I reply. “But I have no carnal knowledge of him or his body. So I will repeat one more time for the people in the back. I have not now or ever been romantically or intimately involved with the president’s father, nor will I. We are not engaged, and we are not getting married.”
“I thought your family supported the match?”
“They may support the match,” I answer, “but that doesn’t mean a match is happening. While in that vein, I will not be commenting on the inner dynamics of my family and personal life. Now, does anyone have any questions about House Bill 2250?”
“The Moan Heard Round the Word: Press Secretary Sex Tape Beats Out Reality Star for Top Views in Minutes”
Chapter 16
Cornered
Ifinally wrap up the press conference and leave the room with my head held high and a stiff upper lip. My life might have gone to hell in a handbasket, but I’m not going to let it get me down.
One step at a time.
I know there will be even more press camped out at my house, even more questions, because I didn’t give them the whole story, and I will not. Besides, it’s none of their goddamn business.
