SEAL of Approval

by Lynn Faye

  It had been a busy six months and Matthew and I had finally settled into a routine. I was going to work at Charity Water every day and really enjoying learning and growing with such a fun group of people.

  Matthew was busy running the country and making new friends. He was great at building those positive relationships when he wanted to and he had been handling his father’s old friends like a pro. They weren’t even angry at him, although he had yet to get anything done that they wanted him to.

  The investigation didn’t go past that first set of interviews. A couple of local thieves were caught pawning some jewelry they had stolen from Camp David and a whole case was built around them for the President’s murder. They both plead guilty and Matthew said their families were paid very well for making the court case go away so quickly.

  “Why are you so excited for the mail? Is it publisher’s clearing house week?” Matthew joked as he held the mail up with one hand and grabbed me with the other.

  “I’m waiting to hear from the law schools I applied to.”

  “This early?”

  “Yes! Now give me the mail,” I demanded as I tried to jump up and grab it.

  Matthew started to look at the mail over his head and wouldn’t bring it down so I could see it. He was smiling and laughing the whole time while I continued to jump up like a maniac trying to get it.

  “No need to worry. Just some letter from Georgetown University. Probably some junk mail,” Mathew said as he pretended to rip the paper before handing it to me.

  “What if I didn’t get in?” I said seriously.

  “Then I’ll bomb them.”

  “Matthew, I’m serious. What if I don’t get in? It’s the only place I really want to go. Everyplace else is so far away and I couldn’t imagine managing our life together if I got in somewhere else.”

  “Let’s open the letter first before you start getting disappointed and planning our long distance marriage.”

  I was so scared to open that letter. All my dreams had evolved so much over the last year. Sure I was the First Lady of the United States of America and it was amazing. I couldn’t believe all the places I had been to visit and all the truly amazing things we had done together. But I wanted something that was my own. I wanted to get into law school. If I was ever going to have a political career of my own I had to get started.

  As much as I had joked about Matthew’s timeline he had written on the scratch paper in our bedroom – I now held that paper in my wallet and reminded myself every time I saw it that Matthew was behind me no matter what I decided to do.

  “It’s really thin. That probably means it’s a rejection letter, right?” I asked as I started to open it.

  “Just open it already,” Matthew urged.

  I pulled the letter out of the envelope and started to read it.

  “Congratulations Mrs. Storm…” I read before Matthew grabbed me and twirled me around the entryway of our house.

  “You got in!”

  “I got in,” I said in amazement.

  “You deserve it. I can’t friggin wait until you are running for Senate. You’re going to make one kick ass Senator.”

  “Mathew it’s going to take me years to get my degree. We are so busy; I don’t know how I’ll ever do it.”

  “You’ll do it, I have one hundred percent faith in you. Plus you still have six years before I’m giving up this job. I intend to win my next election.”

  Matthew puffed out his chest a little as he talked. It was true though. America loved Matthew and I was sure he was going to get elected the following November. Two more years of President Baker’s term and then four years of his own term. Plus, it was entirely possible Matthew would make history and get voted in a second term and I would have to wait even longer to run. But I couldn’t think about all that at the moment, all I could think about was that I was going after my dreams.

  “I just can’t wait to start school,” I muttered as I looked at the paper in my hand.

  “Darling, you’re going to have my job someday. I can feel it,” Matthew said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. “I’m about to make love to the future Madame President.”

  “What will that make you then? The First Husband?” We both laughed.

  “Yes, I’ll be your First Husband and I can’t wait to stand by your side.”

  THE END

  Preview of “Rock Me, Baby” by Lynn Faye

  Rock Me, Baby

  The Billionaire Rock Star

  Lynn Faye

  Copyright © 2017 by Lynn Faye

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Facebook: Lynn Faye

  Katie

  Okay, I admit it, I was guilty.

  But I mean, come on, anyone would have done it if they were me, right? It wasn’t like it was some big deal. Where did I know him from?

  I bit my lip, staring at the man who had caught me. Maybe he didn’t realize what I was doing was wrong, or maybe he just didn’t care. He grinned widely.

  “Well, hello.”

  “Hi.” I tried to sound normal, but no matter how hard I tried, it felt like every part of me was giving away the fact I’d just been thinking about him naked. I know you’re not supposed to act like that to your customers, but hey, every now and then a girl can’t help it—right? It’s not like I was actually going to flirt with him. I cleared my throat. “How can I help you?”

  “I’m having some issues with my computer.” He pulled it out of the case and my eyes widened as I stared at it. Macs were expensive, but this model … well, I had a couple coworkers that would die if they saw this in real life. I bit my lip, looking around. It was almost closing time, and I wasn’t sure how long this was going to take me to fix.

  “What seems to be the issue with it?”

  “I um … I’m not really sure to be honest. I opened it today to … err check email, and this page keeps popping up. I wasn’t sure if it was a virus or what but … well, I’m not good with all this crap, so I figured I should just bring it in to someone.”

  I nodded. “Probably best.” I opened the laptop and stared at it as it loaded, trying to keep my eyes off him. He looked so familiar, but I could not place where I knew him from. I swallowed dryly as his laptop loaded and I pulled open the internet.

  “Are you from around here?” Did I know him from school or had he been in here before?

  “Nope.”

  I nodded, tilting my head sideways as I fiddled with the settings on his internet. “So here on business, or pleasure?”

  “A little bit of both.”

  I caught his eye just in time to see him grin.

  “Lucky girl.” I gave him a smile, but for a split second I felt jealously knot within me. Stupid. It’s not like you’d actually hit on a customer. I hated watching everyone else do it, even if it did mean they normally made sales.

  It only took a couple seconds to get his computer fixed.

  “It wasn’t anything major.” I opened my mouth to give the actual reason behind his computer not working then remembered that most people didn’t actually care. “It … if it happens again, just clear your browsing history. Do you know how to do that?”

  “Yup.”

  “Well, that should clear it up for you.” I gave him a broad smile, glancing at the clock. Five minutes and I was outta here. Awesome.

  “Perfect, thank you so much.” He grinned widely.

  That perfect smile. I was so sure I’d seen it before, but I would remember him. I wouldn’t forget someone half as gorgeous as him, so why couldn’t I place who he was and where I’d met him?

  I bit my lip, wondering if I should ask him something else to try and figure it out, or if I should just come out and sound super lame by telling him that I was so sure I’d seen hi
m before. But it was too late, he was already halfway towards the door.

  I blew out a deep breath, trying not think about him any more than I already had—after all, it’s not like I was every going to be lucky enough to see him.

  Brandon

  Grinning widely, I headed out of the small computer shop.

  She hadn’t looked starstruck, not like she knew who I was, but I could tell she was trying to figure something out. It had been a long time since I met someone who wasn’t old enough to be my grandma and didn’t know who I was. I couldn’t help the fact that it felt really good.

  She hadn’t been checking me out because of who I was. She’d been checking me out because she actually liked me. Tucking my computer back into its bag, I headed over to grab a coffee. I had a show tonight, and if I wasn’t hyped up and ready to go before getting on stage, it wasn’t going to be the best it could be. As much as it sucked performing five nights a week, it didn’t mean I could just half-ass it for a day. My fans deserved more than that, even if only half of them would even remember it.

  See, I knew I was one of those artists that got a lot of media attention because of things like the 100 most handsome rock stars performing today, and well because I wasn’t bad on the ideas. I hated the fact that I was famous because of being fuckable, but that didn’t take away from the fact I was talented, and that didn’t take away from the fact that I had fans who I owed for my success. And that was why I couldn’t half ass a show, no matter how bad I wanted to.

  My band and I worked hard for our success; no one realized it because we were on lists like the top 100 most fuckable rock stars, but that didn’t take away from it for us. We knew how hard we worked, and we’d keep working for it.

  The second I walked into the coffee shop, I could feel all the eyes on me. I was sure most of the people there knew who I was by the hushed whispers.

  “Brandon Benson.” It was a combined murmur of my name.

  My cheeks flushed, and for a second, I was thankful my beard hid most of it as I made for the counter.

  “H-hi … um, I—can I help you?” The girl behind the counter seemed about to faint.

  “Large coffee, one cream and three sugars, please.”

  Katie

  I pulled my coat on and headed out of work with a sigh of relief, feeling my shoulders relax as I stepped out of the small computer shop. It wasn’t normally a busy place, but we did make enough to keep myself and my coworkers busy and paid—maybe not well paid, but still paid.

  It was just part-time for me, all I cared about was having a way to pay rent when I was busy working on my own business. I wasn’t going to work for someone else my entire life; that wasn’t my thing. I wanted to get into the marketing business.

  Of course, that involved going to school for it, and then I’d have to break into the business. It was going to be a lot of work, but I was okay with that. It would be worth it, right? I bit my lip and nodded to myself, glancing towards the coffee shop. I normally didn’t get a coffee when I didn’t have that long of a walk until getting home but was in the mood to treat myself a little, so I headed towards it.

  When I reached the door, I paused, my brow furrowing.

  I’d recognize those steel blue eyes anywhere, but it was the fact that everyone wanted to talk to him that confused me. I opened the door, my head tilting to the left as I watched him closely. He smiled widely as one girl took a picture with him.

  “Thank you so much.” She seemed about to cry.

  “No, thank you. I love meeting fans. But I’ve got a show tonight I’d better—” Before he could finish his sentence, another girl came towards him, and he was stuck taking another picture. He caught my eye, and for a split second, I could have sworn he didn’t look happy to see me. Or maybe it was just that he was stuck here.

  Biting my lip, I stepped past him towards the counter. The girls behind the counter didn’t notice me. Instead, they were too busy staring at him. My mind processed everything. He looked familiar to me because I had seen him somewhere; the fact he was famous was obvious by the way the girls were acting. I cleared my throat softly, trying to get someone’s attention. After a couple seconds of it not working, I decided to speak up.

  “Um, hi.” I waved to one girl, who caught my eye. My tone was anything but nice.

  “Oh, I’m sorry … I just … can you believe it?” She giggled.

  “I’d like a small hot chocolate.”

  Normally, I’d say please, but I hated crappy customer service.

  “Oh, sure … that will be $2.34.”

  I handed over the bills and waited for my change. She was staring at him again. I cleared my throat loudly, which seemed to get her attention, and she quickly got me my change.

  It didn’t take as long as I thought it would to get my hot chocolate.

  I spun to see the guy still being crowded by people and chewed my lip. Part of me felt kind of bad for him; the other part saw a once in a lifetime chance. I knew he had a show tonight; if any of his fans had been listening, they’d have known he needed to get ready for it. Then again, people were selfish.

  I stepped right into the middle of the crowd and ‘accidently’ pushed a girl out of the way as she tried to get closer to him.

  “I’m sorry ladies,” I spoke loudly enough that everyone here could hear me. My eyes roamed over the people in front of me. I stood between them and some guy that it seemed they were all dying to get at. “But we’ve got to get going. He’s got to get ready for the show tonight—I mean, you are going to be there, right?” I didn’t wait for any of them to answer. “You want him well rested. Don’t you? I’m sure we’ll try to make time to see fans before the show, but right now we’ve got to get going.”

  Without another word, I grabbed his arm, shoved him in front of me and we headed for the door.

  I didn’t hear anyone say anything. My heart raced the entire time.

  I couldn’t believe I’d just done that. I’d just gotten up in front of all those people and told them off for some random guy whose name I didn’t even know.

  “Thank you,” he said as soon as the door closed behind me.

  I shrugged. “I figured you could use the help …” Pausing, I wondered if I should say what I wanted to say. No harm in it. “Who the fuck are you anyways?”

  He looked at me, his eyes narrowing a little, but he didn’t look mad. “You actually don’t know?”

  “No.” I shook my head, waiting for him to tell me who he was. “I mean, obviously, you’re someone. Don’t get me wrong, you’re cute, but I’ve never seen girls jumping at the bait to take a picture with a guy just because he’s famous, and you said you have a show so that would suggest you’re an artist of some kind.” Music? Movies?

  “I’m in a band.”

  Music.

  “Ahh.” I nodded as we headed across the parking lot.

  “Ever heard of West Living?”

  “Name rings a bell. I can’t say I’ve ever heard one of their songs.” It felt stupid admitting to a guy that I’d never heard his music before, but I wasn’t going to lie. Although I was going to go home and Google them, that much was for sure.

  “Would you like to?”

  I stopped, turning to stare at him. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? Our eyes locked, and for a split second, a shiver ran down my spine. I licked my suddenly dry lips.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you just invited me to your concert.”

  “I did.”

  *

  My heart raced as we made our way towards the door. I bit my lip, and Brandon touched my arm gently as he glanced at me.

  I couldn’t believe I’d said yes. But really, how could I turn it down? It was a once in a lifetime chance.

  “You were good back at the coffee shop. I would have pegged you for my bodyguard if I didn’t know better.”

  I laughed softly, a blush rising to my cheeks as we stopped in front of the security guard for a millisecond before he opened t
he door and nodded to us.

  “Really though, we could use someone like you around here.” His eyes sparkled. My heart skipped a beat as I tried to tell if he was joking or not. “We’ve been in need of a good manager for a while. Our last one … well, things didn’t work out all that well with him.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, did you just offer me a job?” My voice came out a hell of a lot calmer than I felt, but my heart was pounding in my chest.

  Brandon shrugged. “I just thought I’d toss it out there. Of course, we normally go through an agency …”

  “I don’t have a representative.” I felt stupid the second I said it. My blush darkened as I tried to think of something to say to make myself sound a little less daft.

  “Brandony!” Someone saved me from saying something as I glanced towards where the voice had come from. There were three guys standing there. All of them almost as attractive as the man beside me. The one who had spoken stepped forward. “Where have you been all day?”

  He had short brown hair that was slicked back and brown eyes. He glanced at me for a fraction of a second before turning back to his band mate.

  “I had to get my computer fixed.”

  “And I see you picked something up along the way.”

  “Actually, she saved me from a hoard of fans. I didn’t think I was going to get out of the coffee shop before she came in.” He grinned. “It was perfect. She rushed me out of the shop going on about how I had to get ready for the show.”

  Another one of the band members spoke up. “That was nice of you.”

  I looked him up and down. He had brown hair that fell to his chest, which his tattooed arms were crossed over. His hazel eyes locked on me, but it was the guyliner I was paying attention to. It was always cute to see guys who were confident enough to wear makeup.

  I shrugged. “He looked pretty sad and pathetic with all those girls trying to paw at him,” I retorted, not quite willing to give up the fact that it would be good for me to have connections when I was ready to go into marketing. I thought about what he’d just said to me. “We’re in need of a good manager.”

  I’d be a wonderful manager. If he wasn’t joking, I needed to jump at the chance to prove to them that I could do the job—despite the fact that I wasn’t from an agency. I needed to prove I could do the job better than anyone they could hire, except I also had to find a way to do it that wasn’t obvious.