The President's Wife

by Kathy Myme

  “I see that now,” I hiss. He isn’t helping me feel any less stupid.

  His hand is still on my leg. “You deserve to be treated better. Way better.”

  I sniff. “Thank you.”

  “You know,” he says, and suddenly I notice his hand is creeping its way up my leg. Getting more and more intimate. “You’re a beautiful woman, Veronica. I’ve thought it since the day I made you my intern.”

  I freeze. “What is this?”

  “What do you mean?” he asks innocently. He doesn’t move his hand.

  “What’s… going on right now?” I push, still shaking. Maybe it’s the shock of everything that’s happened, but it almost feels as if… Andrews is coming onto me. “I think I should go. No, I think you should go.”

  But instead of taking the hint and backing down, Andrews smiles. “I think you know exactly what’s going on, Veronica.”

  And then he places both hands on the sides of my head and kisses me.

  I lash out instantly, trying to back away. But he holds me in the kiss, his arms far more powerful than my own.

  When I finally break away, I gasp for air. “What the hell is this?”

  Andrews looks me up and down. “You don’t want him, Veronica. He isn’t good for you.”

  I stare at him, mouth open in disbelief. What the hell is going on?

  “Kiss me, Veronica,” he murmurs, leaning in again. “Teach Shepard a lesson.”

  I shake my head. “No, I-” I swallow. “Get away from me.”

  “Kiss me,” he says again, this time with more intensity.

  Shaking my head, I scramble backwards to try to get away. Andrews isn’t my friend. I don’t know why he told me all that he did… but I don’t think it was to help me.

  I swallow. “I-”

  The door burst open with a bang. We both swivel to the noise’s source, trying to get a good look at our intruder. To be honest, there are very few people in the whole world that I wouldn’t be happy to see right now. Anyone joining us would be better than being alone with Andrews.

  But I’m wrong. Because the person who walks through the door… is the last face I want to look at.

  David strikes through the doorway, walking forwards with intent. His eyes meet mine for a moment, but I recoil back. If he notices the tears running down my face, they don’t give him pause.

  Instead, he walks up to Andrews. And in one swift motion, he punches him in the face. Hard.

  David

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Veronica shouts at me. “You might be the President, but that gives you no right to-”

  “It was him,” I cut in. My hand is pulsing. “Andrews is the piece of shit who has been leaking this whole time.”

  I look down at him cowering on the floor. He’s lucky Veronica is here, or else I might not have constrained myself to a single punch.

  “Is he?” she asks angrily. “Cause this is some awfully convenient timing for you to figure that out.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He told me the truth,” she replies, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “He told me that you’ve just been using me. That your feelings aren’t real.”

  I take a step back. I’ve never felt hate for someone before like I feel for Andrews now. As if he couldn’t sink any lower from stabbing me in the back for the last year, now he’s trying to ruin my relationship with Veronica?

  “Oh come on, you know that isn’t true,” I reply. “He’s just trying to drive us apart.”

  “Prove it,” she replies. “If it’s true, prove it to me.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Veronica. You’re-”

  “Not good enough,” she says, pushing me out of the way. “Don’t follow me, David.”

  The door slams behind her and I’m left alone with the man who might have ruined my life.

  “I think it’s time for some answers,” I say turning around. As much as I want to go after Veronica, there will be time for that after I deal with Andrews.

  He’s crawled to the back of the room, behind a couch. I walk over and drag him out by one of his legs.

  “Okay, okay.” He’s raising his arms in submission, he must know he’s beaten. “You got me, I give up.”

  “Get up,” I say. “And take a seat.”

  With a shaky arm, he lifts himself up and pulls himself onto his chair.

  “Now start talking.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  There is one question I need answered more than the others.

  “Why?” I ask. “Why did you sell me out?”

  For months I’d been thinking this over. Was it political? The leaks could have been designed to weaken my administration and favourability with the public. Or maybe it was personal, and that I’d unknowingly offended the wrong person?

  “Money,” Andrews replies. “It was just business. You’ve always been light on specifics and details, which means the press was willing to pay a lot for leaked information.”

  “But… You’re the one who’s been advising me on the press. You’re the one who’s been telling me not to give too much away.”

  “And it’s made me rich,” Andrews replies. “Though not as rich as my latest leaks. With a bachelor president in the White House, any gossip relating to your personal life was worth… well worth a lot. Everyone was willing to buy it, from gossip magazines to newspapers.”

  He smiles, looking almost proud of himself. “I had quite the bidding war on my hands.”

  I want to punch him again. I don’t think there’s anything in the world I want in this moment more than to punch him again.

  “So you set this whole thing up?”

  “Pretty much,” Andrews says. “Though I could never have hoped to get such incriminating photos of you and an intern so quickly. I was expecting I was going to have to set something up myself, and there’s no way that would have worked quite as well.”

  I frown. Andrews may have been the one person I trusted most. He’d run things for me since the start of the campaign trail, and I’d thought he was a friend. The realization he had just been using me to make a bit of extra money was…

  “You know what you’ve done, don’t you? This is treason.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he replies, though his smile drops. “No court will convict me of that.”

  “No, but the public will,” I say. “Especially when Veronica and I claim you’ve been betraying us. The public love her, and there’s no way they’d side with you.

  There’s a knock at the door. “Errr, Mr President…” It’s Jackson.

  “Not now,” I call out.

  “I think you might want to hear what it is,” Andrews says, a smug smile growing on his face.

  “And why is that?”

  “While you were arguing with your girlfriend, I had time to send out one last leak.” He reaches into a pocket and pulls out his phone. “Too slow, Mr President.”

  “What did you send, you son of a bitch?”

  “All of it.” He laughs. “Every single part of your relationship with Veronica. Proof of your plan to pretend to marry her and fool the public. Emails where you claimed you were screwed when that first photo came out. Expense forms for all the money you’ve spent keeping up this ruse. All of it.”

  I freeze. All of it? I… I…

  This was it. This was the end of my presidency. This was where it all came tumbling down.

  “Why?” I ask, too shocked to be angry anymore.

  “If I’m going down, then I’m taking you with me.”

  I shake my head. This has gone too far now.

  Without another word, I leave the room. “Jackson, go keep an eye on Veronica.”

  I look over at the other two secret service agents. “You two, arrest Andrews. He’s the leaker.”

  The lock of surprise on their faces barely register as I walk back towards my office.

  This is it. I’m done for.

  Veroni
ca

  I know what I have to do.

  I cry about it, of course. I’ve spent the whole afternoon sobbing in my rooms alone. I think Jackson has been standing by the door, but by some miracle nobody has tried to come in. There’s only one person I can talk to about this, and yet… I don’t know if I want to talk to him. Not ever.

  It’s crazy to think that David and I woke up in the same bed this morning. We definitely won’t be sleeping in the same one tonight.

  Andrews has ruined anything. The notifications started coming in on my phone not long after I holed myself up in my bedroom.

  The public know the truth. Andrews has told them everything. Some journalist - thankfully not Stephanie - has released transcripts of everything pertaining to David and I.

  It’s sending the world crazy. Every headline in every newspaper has gone wild.

  When I finally muster the strength to stop myself crying, I pack up all my bags. I didn’t have very many things here to begin with. Only the suitcases delivered from my apartment (still mostly packed up from when they were dropped off here) and a few bags I brought back from my escape to California.

  I’m not going to be able to bring most of this stuff with me. Hopefully somebody has the sense to ship it back to my house.

  When I leave my room, I’m wheeling two suitcases with me. Just what I’ll need for now.

  “Ma’am-” Just as I’d thought, Jackson is outside. He holds up a hand, trying to get me to stop walking. But of course he doesn’t try to touch me as I walk past him. I’m still that powerful around here, even if all the secrets are out of the bag. “Ma’am, where are you going?”

  “I’m going to find the President, Jackson.” I feel bad for him, since he’s just doing his job. But I don’t have time for this.

  “Ma’am, if you could just stay where you are-”

  “Jackson, I think we both know that this is coming to an end,” I tell him. “I’m going to find David now. But I’ve appreciated your company in my time here.”

  “Ma’am…” His voice trails off, but he doesn’t try to stop me now.

  The atmosphere around the White House is different now. When I’d walk around before, people - even high ranking officials - would secretly point and laugh at me in loud, energetic whispers. Now I’m stared at and ogled silently, like an exhibit in a stuffy museum.

  Several people just like Jackson try to stop me on my way to the Oval Office. But I don’t let them get in my way. Whatever orders they’ve been given, the news of what happened between me and the President has shocked them all enough into submission.

  When I reach the Oval Office doors, I don’t bother knocking. I just brush aside the guards and step inside.

  David is there, standing alone. It feels like it’s been an eternity since I’ve seen him, even if it was only a few hours ago. He doesn’t look good, his face pale and serious. All the joy I’ve seen on his face over the last few days has been sapped away.

  “Somehow I thought I’d see you here soon,” David says, giving me a sad smile.

  “You know what we have to do,” I tell him. “How are your ratings looking?”

  His smile loses any brightness. “Terrible, if I’m being honest. Across the board, people are calling me a liar. Someone unsuited to be president.” He runs a hand through his hair. “In fact, the word ‘impeachment’ has been thrown around once or twice…”

  I stare at him. He’s putting on a brave face, but this must be hell for him. This loss of control.

  “You can fix this,” I say, trying to read his face, “can’t you?”

  David gives me a morose look. “Honestly… I don’t know. Andrews certainly hit me where it hurts.”

  President David Shepard, impeached. Once the idea of it would have sounded ludicrous. But now… well, it could happen. And it would be my fault.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I know how important your image is to you.”

  There’s a little bit of bitterness infused into my words. I can’t help myself. Andrews might have been a snake, but what he told me… it’s certainly in character with David. The truth is right in front of my eyes. I can see how much this whole scandal is hurting him alongside his career.

  “Veronica…” David’s hands reach out, grabbing my own. The warmth of him makes me want to give all of this up and go to him. “You know that whatever Andrews told you, it wasn’t true. What you and I have… it means something.”

  I look up at him, my eyes filled with tears once more. “I don’t care whether he was lying. He was right.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t you see?” I laugh darkly. “David, I know you care for me. And I… I care about you too.”

  He stiffens. “Then what are you trying to say?”

  “You care for me… but you care for your reputation more.” The truth of my words makes even me flinch. “I already knew it, after all of that stuff with Amber. Maybe even before then.”

  David drops my hands. There’s nothing in the world I want more than the warmth of his skin back, but I won’t let myself be weak. I can’t.

  “David, I’m leaving.” I suck in a deep breath. “I hope you can fix this. I hope you can save your presidency.”

  The panic that sweeps over his face makes my heart ache. “Veronica, no. We… we need to think things through.” He pauses. “At least discuss this rationally with me before you go.”

  “You want to ‘think things through’?” I ask him gently. “So you can decide on the most tactical way for us to separate? So you can scrape your way to a few more approval points?”

  He winces. “That’s not the way I meant it.”

  I take his hand again and squeeze it. “No, David. I think that’s exactly how you meant it.”

  I can’t stay here any longer. Being in the Oval Office with him is too much for me, especially knowing what’s about to happen. Knowing that this might be the last time I see his face in person.

  With that in mind, I look at David Shepard. My one-time boss, my President… and my lover. I try to memorize every line on his face. The tiny imperfections that the TV cameras don’t catch. The heat that radiates from his body. The way he fills a room with sheer charisma and good looks.

  Taking a deep breath, I pull myself apart from him and turn away.

  “Goodbye, David,” I say, staring at the door. “I hope you get what you want.”

  My feet are mercifully still functioning and not frozen up like the rest of me, so I take a few mindless steps forwards.

  When he speaks, his voice is more raw than I’ve ever heard it before. “Veronica…”

  I stop, waiting.

  “Veronica,” he says, with all the intensity of someone praying at an altar. “Veronica, I love you.”

  Everything hurts. But I have to keep going.

  “I know you do, David,” I whisper, as I leave him forever. “But I’m not sure it’s enough.”

  David

  I haven’t left my office in forty-eight hours.

  Part of me thinks I can still turn this around, that I can save my presidency. The other part of me thinks that if I leave this room, I’ll never be coming back.

  I’ve gone over everything again and again, but I can’t find a way out. No matter what, I’m fucked.

  I look at my phone again. Should I call her? Our last messages to each other seemed so happy.

  No. It’s best I leave her alone, out of the spotlight. If she wants to talk, she will call me. I need to find a solution.

  Then my phone buzzes. Someone’s calling. My heart jumps, excitement running through my veins. I turn it over.

  It’s the Vice President. As I see his name, everything comes crashing back down.

  “Hey George,” I say, accepting the call. “You’ve seen the news.”

  “It’s hard not to have, even out here.” He sounds quiet, almost disappointed. “You’ve got yourself in a right mess David.”

  “Uhuh.”

  There’s silence
for a moment. “So Andrews, huh? I didn’t see that once coming. Never liked the bastard.”

  “Thanks George,” I reply. “But I was too late in the end. He won.”

  “You’re giving up?” George asks, almost surprised. “Now that wasn’t what I expected.”

  “What other choice do I have? My polls have crashed, and they were the only thing holding off an impeachment. I’ve lost the presidency, and I’ve lost…” I stand and walk over to the window. It’s cloudy today, a dull grey sky reflecting my feelings.

  “You lost her, huh?” George says. “I thought I warned you.”

  “Yeah, you told me,” I say with a sigh. “I never listen to you enough.”

  “Mhmm, and don’t you forget it. Now what are you going to do about all this?”

  I shake my head. “Honestly, I don’t know what I can.”

  “You and I both know that’s not true,” George says. “Our people will have come up with something by now. You just don’t like it.”

  I stare at the clouds for a moment before responding. “They say that if I can convince people that Veronica and Andrews were working together on this, I might be able to save myself. I’d come out looking like someone who’d been conned, but looking foolish would be better than looking like a liar.”

  George hums for a bit. “I’m assuming Andrews won’t, but would she go along with it?”

  “I… don’t know.”

  “You haven’t asked her?”

  “I haven’t spoken to her since it went public.”

  “Oh.” George doesn’t sound surprised.

  “Frankly I don’t want to drag her back into this, not after all she’s done for me.” Veronica has done more than I could have ever asked, and I owe her more than I can ever repay. Dragging her back in doesn’t seem fair.

  “Frankly, you might not have a choice. Not if you want to stay in the White House.”

  I frown. It was one thing when my staff was telling me it, but another when my Vice President is too. The idea seems more grounded, more possible.