Free For the Love of Gina: The President's Girlfriend by Mallory Monroe

the United States,
and his mind was going nuts.   On an
emotional level, he knew it couldn’t be true.   No way would Dutch do that to Gina.   But he also had to admit that a small part of him wasn’t a hundred
percent sure.  
    Christian
was like a son to Dutch.   He had once
been his son-in-law, after Christian’s short but tumultuous marriage to Jade,
but he had also been Dutch’s personal assistant when Dutch was a bachelor and
was first elected president.   It was his
job back then to coordinate, among many other things, Dutch’s various
women.   And there were plenty back
then.   It wasn’t an easy job.   Could this woman, Christian wondered, be one
of them?   There was always a private side
to Dutch, a side that suggested that there was more to him than meets the eye.   And Christian couldn’t say if it was a good
more, or a bad more.   But more than meets
the eye.   Could this woman be a part of
that side of Dutch?  
    The
elevator door opened to a top floor filled with rows and rows of desks.   These were Dutch’s senior staffers, people
who were just below Christian’s pay grade, but above the pay grade of the
executive assistants.   He walked up to
the desk of Dutch’s personal secretary, Jessica Tanning, and asked if he could
see him.
    “You
cannot,” she responded.
    Christian
waited for her to tell him why not, but she didn’t go there with him.   But that put Christian in a bad spot.   He didn’t know what to say to her.   He just stood there and ran his hand through
his blond hair.   He could just wait until
the president could see him.   He could
wait it out.   But what if that woman
downstairs became impatient, and started yelling it out?   Dutch would murder Christian if that were to
happen, especially if there was some truth to her accusation.   But then again, Dutch would murder Christian
if he disturbed him over what was probably a bunch of nonsense to begin
with.   He was in a tough spot.
    “It’s
really important, Jess,” he decided to say.
    “How
important?” Jessica asked.
    Christian
wasn’t about to involve any more people than were already involved.   “Personal,” he said.
    Jessica
studied him.   Christian was never one for
hyperbole and over-exaggerations.   She
decided she’d better at least contact the president.
    Dutch
was sitting behind his desk when her call came through.   His desk was loaded with paperwork, and he
didn’t have a moment to spare before his next series of meetings, but he
answered her buzz.
    “What?”
he asked, and by the sharpness of his tone Jessica and Christian both felt
concerned that this could backfire on them.
    “Christian
is here to see you, sir,” Jessica said.   “He says it’s of a very personal matter.”
    Christian
didn’t like the fact that Jess had added “very” when he had said no such thing,
but it was probably the only way to get him in that door.   And he needed to see the president.
    Dutch
exhaled.   He assumed it was about
Jade.   She probably phoned Christian to
get him to change Dutch’s mind about her furlough.   “Send him through,” Dutch replied.
    Christian
felt at least relieved that he would get the audience with the president he
needed.   So he walked inside, closed the
double-doors of the massive office, and made his way up to Dutch’s desk.
    “I’m
so sorry to disturb you, sir.”
    “What
is it?” Dutch continued to review the files on his desk as he removed one stack
and picked up another stack.
    Christian
swallowed hard.   “A woman is downstairs
to see you, sir.”
    “Uh-hun,”
Dutch said, still distracted, still thumbing through those files.
    Again,
Christian exhaled.   “She says she’s your
mistress, sir.”
    Dutch
smiled as he continued to thumb through files.   “Oh, yeah?   Who is she?   Julia Roberts?   Sandra Bullock?   Diana Ross?   Who?”
    Christian
didn’t see how this was a laughing matter.   “Some woman named Brandy Clarke,” he said.