SEAL of Approval

by Lynn Faye

  “Thank you, I appreciate that. But in light of the current situation, I think we should get married as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the more press will be around. Instead, I think we should have a quiet ceremony with just our family.”

  Matthew sat up and looked me in the eyes as he smiled from ear to ear. I hadn’t seen him truly happy very often in our relationship. His smile made me smile almost instantly.

  “I’d like that,” he said as he kissed me.

  “One more thing,” I whispered between kisses.

  “Anything.”

  “I need to be included on decisions. If we are getting married, I need to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. I deserve to have the knowledge so I can make my own decisions. No more secrets.”

  I couldn’t stand how Matthew had blindsided me with the press two times. He had to know that I was strong enough to understand the real world. If our only option was to get married, then just tell me. Be honest with what would help his career and keep everyone safe, that was all I needed. Honesty.

  “Sometimes it’s not pretty. You don’t need to know everything about the underhanded world of politics.”

  “True, I don’t need to know about all the political decisions. But if anything has an effect on me, I deserve to be involved. I will promise you that I will keep a level head and consider what is best for us. But you have to include me on these decisions.”

  Matthew thought about it for a moment and then pulled my chin up so I was forced to look at him.

  “You’re amazing,” he whispered. “I promise, I will include you on any decisions that you will be affected by. Even if they are not the prettiest of decisions, I will give you the opportunity to give feedback.”

  “That’s all I ask. So first things first, you are going to have to fire me aren’t you?” I said as I smiled up at him.

  I felt a huge sense of relief as he realized that I knew exactly what was coming. As much as I wanted to be involved in all his political dealings, my position was changing and I had to go along with it. There was no way I could continue to be his Chief of Staff and his fiancé. It was time to move on, I wasn’t exactly sure where I wanted to move on to or what I wanted to do, but I couldn’t stay in his office any longer.

  “Yes, I think that would be best,” Matthew said as he kissed me gently.

  “Promise me one thing,” I said. “Hire a man.”

  Matthew laughed as he kissed me again and we let the kiss linger as we embraced and enjoyed the moment of calm between us. It was nice to feel like we were having a real conversation and that he was listening to me.

  “I promise. Is there anything else?”

  “Yes, make love to me,” I said softly as I pulled him on top of me.

  My body longed to feel his sweet touch instead of the rough fucking we had just had. I wanted to see his gentle side, to know that I was making the right decision to be there with him and vow to continue to be with him.

  It was like he sensed that I needed him in a whole different way. Slowly Matthew climbed on top of me and moved down to my toes. He started to gently kiss my legs as he moved up my body, spending just enough time on each part of my body. I pulled in a deep breath and tried to relax and enjoy the touch of his hands and lips on my body.

  Matthew moved his fingers gently from my legs up to my hips as he pulled me down toward him. I got a quick glimpse of him and he had a boyish smile across his face. It made me giggle at how excited he looked to have me there with him. I wasn’t sure if he was just relieved that I hadn’t flipped out over the press conference or if he just really wanted to have me again, but I like it. I liked seeing Matthew happy, it was a much better look on him than when he was agitated or angry.

  “Move in with me,” Matthew said as he kissing gently right above my belly button.

  “What?”

  “Move in with me tomorrow. Let’s get rid of your apartment and you come stay here. If we are going to get married anyways, it’s the best thing to do.”

  “I like my apartment, though.”

  It was true, I really loved my apartment. It was close to work and so nice to walk right over there after work. I didn’t have to worry about traffic or taking the train. But then it hit me, I didn’t have to worry about work anymore. I wasn’t going to be working with Matthew at his office. And that wasn’t even going to be his office anymore.

  “We can talk about it. Perhaps we could keep it for a second place?” I suggested.

  “Yes, that sounds perfect. So you’ll move in here, but we can keep the apartment as our secret get away,” Mathew teased.

  I couldn’t help but laugh, “How secret could it be if we have a secret service detail standing outside the front door.”

  We both started to laugh. It was clear that we weren’t going to be having any sort of clandestine get-togethers if the Secret Service was following Matthew everywhere he went. It was highly unlikely we were going to be able to do anything without clearly thinking things out first. It was going to be a huge change for me because I didn’t like to plan things all the time. Sure it was nice to plan my future, but the day to day tasks I liked to keep some flexibility in.

  Matthew moved back to kissing my stomach as he inched further and further down my body. His hand pressed my pelvis toward him as he let his tongue gain control of me and my body relished the attention.

  Slowly he moved his tongue against me and I felt my body building up to an explosion faster than I had expected. It was like I couldn’t control the emotion my body wanted to release. The faster he moved, the more out of control I felt. Soon I had my hands in his hair and I held on tightly as my body rocked with orgasm.

  Matthew didn’t wait long as he moved up and positioned his muscular body on top of me. This time, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me so we could move as one. Each thrust was slow and sensual as I tucked my head into the corner of his neck and held onto him. Slowly, firmly, he pressed into me as his body got close to releasing.

  It felt like home to me when Matthew was on top of me. I felt safe and like I could do anything I wanted in the world and he would be right there with me. Nothing else mattered at that moment. It didn’t matter who was outside the doors of our room, the only thing that mattered was the connection we had together.

  Slowly I felt his body tighten as he pushed on last time to release. I wrapped myself around his body and let him release before I pulled him down on top of me to rest. Gently we kissed as we lay there sandwiched with each other. I knew I didn’t want another man in my life. Whatever Matthew’s faults were, they were ours now and we were going to deal with them. Just like whatever faults I had were ours and we would also have to deal with those. At that moment, I made the ultimate determination that I was ready to be with Matthew forever.

  It still felt like there were some secrets between the two of us, but I had to trust that whatever those secrets were; they didn’t involve me. His political secrets would have to remain a mystery to me for the time being. I didn’t want to know those secrets, I feared what it was that he hid from me and there wasn’t much that I could do about it. The best thing for me was to stay away from those political secrets and hope that I could make a life for myself without ever needing to know that side of Matthew.

  We spent the rest of our afternoon and evening in bed. Both of us were exhausted and it was impossible to move without getting some sleep. At least, we both knew that sleep was important to us and a necessary evil as we moved forward with the next step in our life.

  I slept better that night than I had in a very long time. So many uncertainties had been decided in the last twenty-four hours. It was a relief to be moving forward and not have quite as much to worry about. Although, I was pretty sure I was going to have plenty of additional things to worry about once I got settled into the new life that was ahead for me.

  “So what should I do with myself today?” I asked as Matthew got out of the shower and started to get dressed for his day
.

  “Well, what do you want to do?”

  I hated that he was putting this back on me. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with myself. I knew there were hundreds of possibilities, but nothing jumped out at me right away.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why don’t you take the week off? Visit with your friends. Think about what you want to do. You could start a charity if you’d like, that would give you something to do that you felt proud of.”

  “Like my own organization?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “I’ve never thought of that before. Where would I get that kind of money?”

  Matthew started to laugh and I didn’t really know what was so funny. I didn’t think anything I had said sounded all that funny.

  “Kayla, I have money, you are going to be my wife. It would make me very happy to help you with whatever you decided to do.”

  I just sat on the end of the bed and contemplated what he had said. I would have never asked for Matthew to spend his money on me. But we were going to be married and I did have to resign from my position working with him. I had to think of something to do with myself that would motivate me.

  “What if I don’t want to stop working?”

  Matthew leaned down and kissed me.

  “Then we can get you a job. I’ve got a little pull around here now,” he said through his chuckle. “Think about it, Kayla. You can do whatever you want.”

  Matthew gave me one last kiss and then headed out for his day. I couldn’t move from my seat as I thought about all that was going on. It sort of felt like I had just been handed a lottery ticket and I had no idea what I wanted to do with it.

  I could literally do whatever I wanted. It was a fresh start, something of a booster shot at life. I had to really think about what it was that I wanted out of life. What had I hoped to work my life toward doing in politics; I not had the opportunity to do that in the private sector.

  Although Matthew’s money had not been a factor at all in my decision to agree to marry him, it was a huge factor in my future. Money wasn’t something that I had thought was important very much in my life, but the idea of getting to do whatever I wanted with my life was indeed a gift. I knew this. Not too many people could just spend their days working toward whatever personal or global goals they wanted to work on.

  I could work to reduce world hunger, education children, or fight cancer. There were so many worthy causes. But I also wondered what would be best for me if I wanted to remain in politics. I did enjoy them very much. Perhaps I should find work that would keep me close to my political goals. I just didn’t know at all what I should do.

  My best thought for the day was to call my friends and, at least, have a drink with them and discuss things. Although I had already called my family back home, my friends in Washington had learned the news along with everyone else at the press conference.

  “Hey Ana,” I said as she answered her phone.

  “Kayla, oh my God, I saw you on the news!”

  “Do you and Kim want to get together for drinks today?”

  “Yes, we need to catch up. I just can’t believe what is going on. How about five o’clock?”

  “Sounds good, I’ll see you at our usual place,” I said as I hung up quickly.

  It was weird to talk with my friends again. I felt like I had been swept up in Matthew’s life for weeks and hadn’t spent any time with them. Now I was steps away from marrying the current Vice President. My life was freaking crazy.

  As I hung up the phone, I wondered if the secret service people were going to have to follow me out for drinks. I wasn’t really Matthew’s wife, surely they wouldn’t have to go everywhere with me.

  I made my way downstairs and to the opening that led to the basement.

  “Hello,” I said down the stairs.

  It only took about 3 seconds before an agent was on his way up the stairs.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Um, am I allowed to go places without you?” I asked as I looked up at that mammoth of a man.

  “No.”

  “So how does this work? I wanted to go over to my apartment and grab some things and I was going to have drinks with my friends when they got off work.”

  “Ma’am we can get your things from your apartment. And why don’t you invite your friends over here?”

  I stood still and looked up at him as I tried to figure out what to do next. I didn’t like either of his suggestions at all.

  “Well, I’m going out for drinks. You can choose to come with me or whatever you need to do. I’m leaving at four o’clock,” I said as I turned to walk up the stairs. “And I’ll get my own things from my apartment too.”

  The secret service officer just smiled at me as I turned and made my way up the stairs. I had to assume he had dealt with plenty of difficult people over the years and I wasn’t the first to go against what he wanted. But he had handled it like a professional, that was for sure.

  When it was time to leave for my drink date with my girlfriends, the same secret service officer was waiting upstairs by the door when I came downstairs.

  “Ma’am,” he said as he opened the door.

  He opened the back seat of the SUV for me to get in.

  “Do I have to sit in the back?” I asked.

  “Are you always this difficult?” he said with a smile.

  “Yes, probably. But I just don’t know the rules. Do I have to sit in the back or can I sit up front?”

  “You can sit wherever you’d like for today,” he said. “By the way, I’m Allan.”

  “Hi, Allan. Let’s get going,” I said as I climbed into the front seat.

  He just smiled as he got into the driver’s seat of the black SUV. Allan was probably about Matthew’s age and looked like he had plenty of experience in either the military or the secret service. I genuinely didn’t want to make his life difficult, but I also hated the idea of him or any of the other men having to follow me around everywhere.

  “I don’t really think it’s necessary for us to be with you all the time. If you are alright with that, I’ll drop you off to have your drinks with your friends and I can pick you up when you’re done,” Allan said as we drove to the bar.

  It was pleasantly surprising to hear that I wasn’t going to have a secret service person with me at all time. I also knew that it probably wasn’t Allan opinion that mattered at all. I assumed he had already talked things over with the head of security and they had given him the go ahead to let me loose. It was a good idea, I couldn’t be kept cooped up all the time without having my freedom.

  I could totally understand if we were going to official events or traveling, but having drinks with my friends seemed like a pretty casual thing that I didn’t need a babysitter for.

  “Thanks, I’ll call you when I’m done,” I said as I climbed out of the vehicle.

  Kim and Ana were crazy excited to see me. Although we had become close friends in our time in Washington, I suddenly felt like my new found famous boyfriend was going to change how our relationship worked out. But I was willing to give it a chance and see how things went.

  “It’s so good to see you guys,” I said as we hugged and sat down.

  They had already ordered my favorite drink and we were ready to get our party started.

  “So you’re going to be the wife of the Vice President?” Ana said as she started to bounce up and down in her seat.

  “It’s really weird. I swear just yesterday I felt like the whole city was going to eat me up. I wasn’t even sure Matthew was the right guy for me.”

  “Well, my last boyfriend slept with some skanky ho and then tried to hit me when I called him on it, trust me. Matthew is a better catch than any of us have,” Ana said as she took a long swig of her drink.

  Ana brought up a really good point, Matthew wasn’t at all like the kind of guy I would consider a bad guy to date. The issues we had weren’t at all serious when you put it into perspective with
women getting hit.

  “Oh, my gosh. I know, my boyfriend drinks so much I can hardly get him off the couch when it’s time to go to bed. Half the time he’s just passed out there when I wake up in the morning,” Kim added.

  “You guys need to find better men,” I teased.

  “Maybe I should start dating a Senator,” Kim teased.

  “Kim!” Ana balked.

  “No, no, it’s alright. I know what you’re saying and I’d say if you can find a hot single Senator you should go for him. It worked out well for me.”

  We continued to laugh and drink for almost three hours before I turned and looked at the bar and noticed that Allan was sitting up there. I caught his gaze and knew that he had totally lied to me about letting me come into the restaurant alone to have drinks with my friends.

  I raised my glass to him and he raised his water to me as we both nodded our heads in agreement. I actually didn’t mind him sitting way over there and leaving me alone. I had pictured a security detail meaning that he was going to have to sit at my table with me and my friends as we gossiped about our men. But from the other side of the room I was alright with that.

  “Who is that?” Kim asked.

  “He’s my secret service agent,” I said as I put my face into my hands in embarrassment.

  “Oh, my gosh. This is like the coolest thing ever,” Kim said as she waved at Allan to come over.

  He reluctantly walked over to our table.

  “Hello ladies,” he said as he stood next to me.

  “Wow Kayla, you have a hunk like this around you all the time. I wouldn’t have settled for Matthew Storm if I could have had a hunk of a man like this,” Ana said seductively to Allan.

  “Oh, God,” I couldn’t believe what Ana had just said and I left my face in my hands in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry Allan. We’ve had a few drinks. Please forgive my friend Ana.”

  “Yes, Allan, please forgive me,” Ana said as she wrote her number down on a napkin. “Then call me sometime so I can ask forgiveness in person.”