SEAL of Approval

by Lynn Faye

No matter what, I couldn’t wait to see the excitement on everyone’s faces when we told them the news. All the staff members had worked so hard since I had been there. I knew each and every one of them and I knew they were going to be excited for Matthew.

  “Are you nervous?” I asked as we walked down the hallway toward the office.

  “Yes, actually I’m kind of freaking out. I need to call my parents.”

  I had to laugh. It was true, though, his parent should be the first people he told. Well after he told the office because we needed to get them working on all the public relations stuff the President had requested before the press conference that evening.

  We walked in and Matthew climbed up on top of the secretary’s desk. That immediately got everyone’s attention and they stopped what they were doing to look at him. He was giddy with excitement and bounced up and down as he waited for just the right moment to talk.

  Matthew was good at building up suspense. He stood there and looked out at everyone with a smile that beamed across the room. Everyone waited patiently to see what it was that had him so excited that he was standing on the desk. Although I was sure, they all suspected what it could possibly be. Even though we hadn’t come out and told anyone that Matthew wanted the Vice President or the Speaker of the House position, it was a given conclusion that he would have wanted either of those jobs.

  Since the Speaker of the House position was in disarray with Senator Masson, I knew people in the office had to think that Matthew would make a better Vice President. We all believed in him, supported him. Everyone in that office worked with Matthew because they thought he was good and they wanted to support his success.

  “As many of you know,” Matthew started, “Senator Masson is mixed up in some controversy. Because of that, and many other factors, the President asked me to come meet with him today.”

  Everyone in the office started to ooh and aww as they talked to their neighbor and speculated on what was going to come next. The excitement in the room was palpable. The staff seemed to practically be holding their breath as they waited for Matthew to tell them the big news.

  “I met with the President and the First Lady this morning and I wanted you all to hear the news first. I was asked to become the Vice President of the United States of America!”

  The office exploded in applause and cheers as Matthew raised his hands in honor of his new position. He looked so vibrant up on that desk as he spoke to his loyal workers. He looked at peace and excited about what was coming for his future.

  As Matthew took the time to visit with each and every staff member in the office, I went to his office and got to work calling all the people that needed to be notified. We needed to start with the people from Illinois so they could get started right away on preparing their words for the press. As soon as it was announced the Illinois office of the Senator was going to get inundated with calls and requests for comments. We needed to give them time to prepare.

  The next call I made was to the Governor of Illinois. He was also going to get plenty of phone calls and requests and it was essential that he and his office have the information before the press. It was likely that the Governor could even be called up to the position that Matthew was leaving. He was a good man and the State of Illinois loved him. There would be a quick election for the position and the Governor was going to be top on that list of people vying for the position.

  I continued to move down the list that had been provided to us by the President. Each call was short and to the point. I allowed the person on the other end to give about a minute worth of congratulations and then I quickly responded, “thank you so much he is so excited. We will be in touch.” Then I moved on to the next person on the list.

  By the time Matthew made it into his office, I had successfully called the top 12 people on our list and I felt like we could take a short break. The news was going to travel fast as people in each of those offices shared the secret with their friends and coworkers. By the time the press conference happened that evening, there would already be significant rumblings as to what was going on and who was going to be announced as the Vice President.

  Matthew shut his door and locked it. He always looked so young and full of life when he had that look on his face.

  “No,” I said as I held my hand out. “We definitely don’t have time for that,” I laughed.

  “What?”

  “That…that look in your eyes. That is what we don’t have time for,” I said as I backed away from him and went behind his desk.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Matthew said as he took the phone out of my hands and quickly lifted me up onto his desk.

  “Matthew Storm, we have to get this work done. The President of the United States told us to do it.”

  Matthew ignored me and started to kiss my neck. Something had definitely come over him. He seemed happier than I had ever seen him. He had a playful smile on his face and even the lines around his eyes looked more relaxed. It was like a huge weight had finally been lifted off of his shoulders.

  I finally gave in and kissed him back. The excitement of the moment was infectious and I couldn’t resist continuing the happiness that was going around at that time. His lips on mine felt like home to me and even in all the excitement of the day, I slowed down and enjoyed the touch of his lips on mine.

  Our lips touched softly and Matthew moved passionately between my lips and then my neck again. His hands touched me gently and he moved slowly as he took in my scent and the excitement of the day.

  “This is it Kayla, everything I’ve ever wanted,” Matthew said between kisses.

  “I’m so happy for you.”

  I wrapped my arms around him and held him close as we hugged. The closeness of his body and the energy between us was honest, genuine and as close to perfection as I had felt in a very long time.

  “Okay, now let’s get to work,” he said as he gently lifted me back on the ground and handed me the telephone back.

  I was surprised he hadn’t tried to take things further but relieved at the same time. We did have a lot of work that had to get done and it needed to be done really quickly.

  Matthew took a moment to call his family and close friends and I went back out to the main office to talk to the staff about what we needed them to do. There were a lot of phone calls and PR stuff that had to get done quickly.

  “I know we are all excited, but today is a work day. We have a lot to get done. I’m going to email you all with the necessary items we needed to complete by the end of the day. If you get your items done, ask your neighbor if you can help them. Everything needed to be completed by five o’clock.”

  To help prevent distractions I flipped the television off that we had at the other end of the office. It was set to the local news and we just couldn’t be distracted by all of that throughout the day. We knew the facts and whatever speculation they had going on in the news was no worry to us.

  The day went quickly as we all concentrated on our tasks at hand. Everyone was engrossed with their phone calls, emails, tweets and messages as we worked to ensure all the people closest to the situation were notified before they heard it on television.

  I even found a moment to call my own family and discuss the situation with them. I wasn’t really sure what my new position would be, but I just gave them enough information so they felt information when the press conference came later that day.

  I didn’t suspect that any news stations would be coming around my family home so there was no need to discuss those issues. For all I knew I might be one of the people that needed to get fired when Matthew moved into the Vice President position. But we could figure all of that out down the road. I honestly thought that Matthew would find some sort of position for me or he wouldn’t have brought me with him to the White House that morning.

  “Are we done?” Matthew asked as five o’clock hit.

  “Yeah,” everyone said in unison as they also started to cheer and clap.
r />   “Okay, let’s see what the news stations have so far.”

  As Matthew flipped on the television, we all watched closely as the analysts discussed George Masson getting the position. No one seemed to have the news yet that there was anyone else even on the radar for the job.

  Although we certainly hadn’t notified any of the press during our phone calls throughout the day, I honestly had expected them to get the news by then. But everything had happened so quickly, the press might have gotten the news but just decided they didn’t have enough time to vet it for truthfulness.

  “The press is going to freak out when they see it’s you,” Steven said as he stood next to Matthew.

  “Yep, this is going to be fun.”

  Matthew gathered his coat and then stood by the main door to his office to say his goodbye to everyone. It was so exciting. Everyone again said their congratulations and decided to stay at the office to watch the press conference live together.

  “Kayla, we better get going,” Matthew said as he motioned for me to grab my things.

  I don’t know why it startled me that he wanted me to come with him. I knew after our meeting at the White House that I was going to have to attend with him. But I hadn’t really thought about it until that very moment.

  I quickly grabbed my thing and followed him out the door. He was walking faster than I could keep up with him and I had to job a little in my heels just to stay close to him.

  “Matthew, slow down, I’m going to break something,” I teased as we squeezed in an elevator just before it closed.

  It was packed with people leaving their jobs for the night. Some of them discussing the upcoming press conference and others just silently checking their phones.

  Mathew’s hand grabbed me and pulled me back toward him in the corner of the elevator. I quickly looked around to see if anyone was paying attention, but they weren’t. Everyone was caught up in their conversations or their electronic devices.

  I slipped my hand behind my back and massaged his cock casually. My hand moved slowly as not to catch anyone’s attention. The elevator had stopped on two additional floors before it made it to the lobby where half of the people exited and the other half remained on as we made our way down to the basement.

  Finally, as we got to the basement, I moved my hand and walked out as if nothing had happened.

  “That was a horrible thing to do to the Vice President of the United States of America,” Matthew teased as we walked to the vehicle. “Now I’m going to have a hard-on for my first national address as the Vice President.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’ll have a hard-on no matter what I do. This is a fucking awesome day.”

  “That is damn right. Only one thing would have made it better?”

  “Pizza?” I asked.

  Matthew busted out laughing as we drove back to the White House for the ceremony. Then it suddenly dawned on me how odd it was that we were driving ourselves there. Matthew was about to become the Vice President, he certainly should have had a driver.

  “Where’s Raymond?” I asked as we made our way through traffic.

  “Remember, I gave him the day off this morning.”

  “Oh, yeah, wow. I totally forgot.”

  When we arrived back at the White House, we were instantly greeted differently than we had earlier in the day. Although we were always treated very kindly and without any sort of hassle; this time we were ushered in with a new level of respect.

  When Matthew pulled the SUV up the gate, it was clear that everything in his life was about to change.

  “Oh, yes, Mr. Storm. I’ve got a detail here for you. One second,” the main security guard said.

  He quickly radioed someone and within a minute, there was a black car in front of us.

  “Follow him in. He’s assigned to you for the day. After the announcement you can discuss continued security needs.”

  “Thank you,” Matthew said sternly and then followed the black car.

  “Oh, my God. Matthew you are going to have a secret service detail. Oh, I wonder what your code name will be? This is so exciting.”

  Matthew just drove with a straight face and didn’t respond at all. We pulled into the spot that was designated for us and Matthew said with a continued straight face.

  “Are you alright?” I asked.

  “Yes, just letting the moment sink in.”

  “Congratulations Matthew. If I forget to tell you later, this is one of the most exciting moments of my life and it’s not even my moment.”

  Matthew turned and held my hands as he looked me directly in the eyes.

  “Stand on the stage with me,” he said with a sense of urgency.

  “What? No. It’s not appropriate. It’s your moment. Enjoy it. Do you know what you’re going to say? Did you grab those notes I left on your desk?”

  “Kayla, listen to me. I need you up there. None of this would have been possible without your help over the last few years. Just stand up there in the background. I just need to know you’re up there with me.”

  I contemplated what he was asking and then decided it wasn’t the right time to try and be shy. Matthew had the biggest moment of his life coming up and whether I wanted to or not, I needed to support him. Both as his Chief of Staff and as his friend; he was asking me to be there for him.

  “Yes, I’ll be there. But I look horrible. I’m just in my same old work clothes. I’m going to stand behind everyone.”

  “Whatever you’d like,” Matthew said as he leaned in and kissed me quickly before we made our way into the press conference.

  Matthew’s new secret service agent introduced himself as Clint Bomber. He was young, but not too young. Probably about his mid 30’s. Matthew and he looked similar in build and the guy seemed extremely professional.

  We all stopped for a moment before entering the building and Clint discussed some of the things he needed Matthew to do. Then a White House staffer came and grabbed Matthew and brought him one direction while a different one brought me the opposite direction.

  I ended up in a room where I found the First Lady with some attendants doing her hair and makeup.

  “Hi, Michaela,” she said without turning to look at me. “Do you want your hair and makeup freshened up?”

  I hesitated for a moment as I looked around at the half a dozen people who were quickly primping and prodding whiling also getting clothing ready and accessories.

  “Oh, I don’t need anything. I’m going to stand in the back.”

  “Nonsense, freshen her up please, Raphael.”

  It really didn’t matter at all what I had to say as Raphael motioned for two of his team members to attach me. They started aggressively curling my hair and applying makeup. It was like a scene out of a movie as they made me quickly into a brilliant well put together woman.

  When they were finished, I looked in the mirror and was utterly amazed. I certainly still looked like myself; just much more fabulous.

  “Wow, can you ladies move in with me,” I muttered as I looked at myself.

  “Time to go,” someone with a headset said as they opened the door.

  The First Lady walked quickly behind the headset guy and I ran to catch up with them. I could hear the buzz of the crowd outside the press room and felt myself get a little dizzy at the excitement of the moment.

  I did feel much better about being on the stage after having my hair and makeup done for me. It was like a dream team had overhauled me in less than 15 minutes.

  We met up with Matthew and a few other important White House staff members as we all waited behind the curtain. The President was going to be announced first and he would come in the door off to the side of the room. Then after he finished his introduction, we would all be brought out onto the stage behind him for the second half of the press conference.

  “Please welcome, the President of the United States of America,” his press secretary said after giving a brief introduction to the press.

  The room roar
ed with applause as the President made his way up to the podium.

  “As I’m sure you are all aware, we have endured a great loss both as a country and to our close-knit White House family. Richard Howard was not just my Vice President, he was my friend. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to all those that will miss him.”

  The President continued on for about ten minutes but didn’t take any questions from the press just yet. Instead, he discussed the importance of the constitution and the right he had to appoint a Vice President that he felt fit the needs of the country. He discussed stability and honesty as well.

  “Can I have everyone onto the stage, please?” He said as he transitioned into the second portion of the press conference.

  We were quickly moved from the back of the curtain onto the stage. Matthew was on the far right and the First Lady right next to him. The Chief of Staff to the President was there as well as the Defense Secretary and a few others.

  I tried to keep myself as much out of view as possible but as people shifted around the stage, I was moved over closer and closer to the First Lady. By the time I reached her, she moved me over so I was standing next to Matthew.

  There was no fighting it. We were up on stage with hundreds of cameras clicking their pictures and videotaping us; I had to just stage put and try not to look totally lame on the stage.

  “Today I am happy to announce an addition to the White House family. We are so pleased to have Matthew Storm and his fiancé Michaela Wilson as part of this family and look forward to Vice President Storm’s assistance in running the great country. Please take a bow you two,” the President said.

  My knees were weak as I tried not to pass out. Matthew grabbed my left hand and raised it up in the air as everyone clicked pictures and clapped. It was then that I realized I had forgotten to take the ring off after Matthew had given it to me earlier that morning.

  There it was, shining in the air for everyone to snap a photo of while Matthew held it up high and beamed with pride. I wanted to yank my hand back down and run off the stage.

  I did not say yes!

  My brain swarmed with what was happening. I didn’t say yes to his proposal. We had agreed on three months. What the hell was going on?