Chapter Eleven
The White House was abuzz as always. Elias had a list of meetings nearly a mile long, and Caleb was to thank for that. His ever efficient Deputy Chief of Staff didn”t care that he was overburdening his husband when it came to work. Work was work. Elias wouldn”t have it any other way.
The morning went smoothly enough. So much so they could steal away for a lunch break without putting Caleb’s tightly packed schedule of meetings at risk. He was honestly glad for the reprieve. His afternoon was a grueling series of meetings he was least looking forward to. Case in point—his imminent meeting with President Adelaide Montgomery.
It hurt that he no longer listed her name among his closest friends. Half the time, he could barely call her friend. As much as he understood the why behind signing over legal guardianship to Theo, he struggled to come to terms with her decision. He’d long held mixed feelings over the fact that Theo had been raising his siblings, even when he was himself a child. Now, he had first hand experience with how much Theo struggled with the sacrifices he needed to make in order to care for his siblings.
His own status as a parent made it even harder to reconcile Adelaide’s actions. He tried to imagine a scenario where he would think giving up custody of Parker would be the best option for his child. He came up empty-handed every time. If he had to choose between his career and his child, he knew for a fact his son would win every time. The move had stunned everyone, none more so than Caleb.
Despite the fact that Caleb wasn”t a parent, he’d taken to the role of stepfather like a duck takes to water. Elias was surprised by how passionate his feelings were about Adelaide giving up the kids to Theo. It didn”t surprise him at all when Cay stepped up to help, though. As it stood, Elias and Caleb spent more time with Anna and Toby than their own mother did. More often than not, they were helping watch the kids when Theo had plans. In return, Theo had offered to watch Parker some days so that they weren”t paying for a babysitter or sending him to a day camp.
Putting his personal feelings of discomfort aside, Elias took a moment to smooth out the creases in his suit before stepping into the Oval Office. He was nothing if not professional, even if his loss of respect for Adelaide had turned them into colleagues instead of friends. He swept his gaze across the room and snerked to himself when he caught sight of Adelaide on one of the couches with none other than Senator Aaron Evans.
Considering she had assured Elias that the public relationship between her and the Senate Majority leader was only for show, the two were thick as thieves. He was a smart man. He knew when he was being lied to. Nevertheless, knowing she was misleading him still stung. Compounding this with the fact that she didn”t have time for her own children but could find time for a relationship resulted in Elias’ respect for the President plummeting. Similar to her popularity ratings.
“Madam President. Senator. How are we this afternoon?” Elias strode through the room and mentally gave himself a point for startling the two lovebirds. Thank God for walk-in privileges. Having the upper hand was always a win.
“Oh, Elias!” Adelaide sat up straighter and put a little space between herself and Aaron. It was barely an inch. She honestly shouldn”t have even bothered.
“Williams. Good to see you,” Aaron said in a wan tone as he checked his watch. “Early as always, I see.”
Elias arched his brow at the man as he sat down across from them. “Naturally. We have a lot of ground to cover. Shall we get started?”
Adelaide tidied her hair and reached for the stack of papers on the table. The leader of the free world was remarkably unsettled for what should be a routine meeting to discuss simple things. He skimmed her features to try and determine the source of her discomfort as she rifled through her papers.
“Yes, let’s get started. The meeting with Yifrah went well this morning?” She glanced over the top of a folder before continuing to search through the papers.
Elias gave a pointed glance toward Aaron. It was met with a smirk. He sighed before answering.
“The meeting was productive. I still have a number of concerns about their military actions. I think you need to reconsider the next steps very carefully.”
“And you need to remember how important it is that we continue to be supportive of the Israeli state.” Aaron sat up straighter and swiped a sheet from the coffee table.
“All due respect, Senator Evans, but I was speaking with the president.” Elias’ lips compressed into a flat line as he settled back into the couch. He had neither the time nor the patience for a pissing match with a Senator simply because he enjoyed the President’s company between the sheets.
“Aaron, Elias, don”t start.” Adelaide finally stopped messing with the papers and leveled a stern look at Elias. “I”ll take your concerns into consideration, Elias. But Aaron is right. Israel is a complicated subject and I need to weigh all our options before we alter any of our policies.”
“Complicated? There’s nothing complicated about it. The casualty numbers coming out of the Strip aren”t complicated. You”ve got to be kidding me, right?” Elias’ tension ramped up even higher. “You can’t honestly support—”
“I don”t support it. That doesn”t change the fact that it is a delicate matter.” Adelaide waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. “We aren”t here to discuss Yifrah and Israel right now. Moving on…”
“You”re the one who brought it up, may I remind you,” Elias bit back with a scowl. “My job is to advise you on all the issues. Correct?”
“I can read headlines well enough on my own,” Adelaide retorted with a glare. His tension turned to pure anger as a result.
“Now, as I said… moving on,” she crooned, sorting through her papers once more. “How are things going with the oversight committee?”
He blinked at her in astonishment. Honestly, he was starting to wonder if the woman even had a heart at all. Begrudgingly, he switched gears.
“Roadblock after roadblock. We do a lot of talking at each other. The original idea was good, but we need a better direction and clearer goal if we’re going to make any headway on these domestic terrorists.”
“We’ll make that happen.” Adelaide glanced toward Aaron, so briefly he almost missed it. Not only was this man likely privy to knowledge he shouldn”t have, but it seemed as though they were hiding something from him and everyone else who needed to be in the know when it came to helping run the country. A cold chill of unease settled over him.
“Along that same vein, I wanted to discuss something with you,” she hedged, lowering the papers she hadn”t once read over. “Between us, I have some concerns. Lines are being blurred all over the place. It”s been something that has bothered me for a while now.”
Elias’ jaw dropped. She continued undeterred.
“You and Caleb. Theo and Connor. Agents Gendry and Wilkes. Agent Garcia and Doctor… Doctor…”
“Lilien Ward,” Elias ground out through clenched teeth. “Get to the point, Madam President.”
“Right. Doctor Ward.” Adelaide fluttered her fingertips. “With all of you so closely tied together and the fact that you are all targets in one way or another, I think it would be best if we dissolved your roles in the oversight committee.”
Elias snorted and scoffed simultaneously. “Right. What is this really about, Addy?”
“Allow me to be completely frank with you. A number of the members are uncomfortable. My original vision for the oversight committee won”t work if the members are uncomfortable. And that’s why I think it”s best if you all take a step back.”
“This is sounding more like a demand, not a ‘just between us’ discussion.” Elias shifted his weight toward the edge of the couch. “Yes or no?”
“Yes. Aaron has offered to step in as the leader for Agent Gendry. It”ll do you all good to take the time and concentrate on your personal lives.” Adelaide met Elias’ gaze with a passive expression. “He’ll reach out and let everyone know.”
“Wow,” Elias boggled, pushing himself to his feet. “You”re really something else.”
“Oh, Elias.” Adelaide rolled her eyes. “Sit down, we have other things to discuss.”
“No. First off, not with him here. Second, not after that. Lastly, this is a perfect example of a meeting that should have been an email.” Elias stalked toward the door as he battled his irritation. “My office will be in touch.”
He swept through the door and shut it none too gently behind him, even as Adelaide called out for him to stop. No matter what he brought to the table, she found a way to undermine him. This latest farce of a meeting was a prime example of it. Frustrated didn”t even begin to cover how he felt. Evidently, it read on his face too. People parted in front of him, hurrying to get out of the way of his long stride and aggravated expression. It was for the best. He had exactly zero patience for anything.
He blew through the front office, ignoring the wide-eyed stares of his Junior Deputies, secretaries, and office assistants. The only eye contact he made was with Caleb. Once again, he was grateful for their chemistry and ability to communicate without words. Like magic, Caleb stepped away from the assistant he was speaking with and fell into step beside him, quickening his pace to keep up with Elias’ longer legs. They didn”t say a word to one another until the door to Elias’ private office was shut and locked behind them.
“Okay, baby doll.” Caleb pushed Elias toward his chair and muscled him into it. “Breathe. You look very much like you want to choose violence and as much as I would absolutely condone that, we should probably regroup first and formulate a plan for the body first.”
“God, I fucking hate her.” Elias bent nearly in half, resting his elbows on his knees as he pushed his fingers through his hair. “Loathe. Despise. Abhor.”
“Very good SAT words. Keep talking, boss man.” Caleb stepped closer and smoothed his palms down Elias’ back.
“This is a nightmare. All of it. I”m so exhausted, Cay.” Elias sighed and shifted until he could wrap his arms around Caleb’s waist and rest his cheek against his chest. “I”m so tired of fighting to do my job.”
“Let me guess, she didn”t want to hear what you had to say about Yifrah and the implementation of the infrastructure bill?”
Elias nuzzled Cay’s chest as he nodded. “Shut down on Yifrah. We didn”t even get to the bill. Or any of the other line items.”
“What a waste of time,” Caleb murmured as he continued to rub small circles over Elias’ shoulders. “I”m not surprised. Disappointed, but unfortunately not surprised. What else has your boxers in a bind?”
“She’s removing us all from the oversight committee. Aaron is taking the lead.” Elias tightened his arms preemptively.
“Oh, that fucking harlot!” Caleb immediately tried to pull away. Elias was prepared. “I”m going to give her a piece of my brilliant mind! And make Aaron Fucking Evans uncomfortable with my fabulousness. Lemme go!”
“No. No violence. We don”t choose violence.”
“We absolutely choose violence. I want a bedazzled pitchfork.” Caleb relented, sighing as he wriggled free to slide to his knees and sprawl over Elias’ lap. Dramatically. “Glitter bombs, too.”
“Glitter, yes. Pitchforks, no.” Elias smoothed his fingertips through Caleb’s curly hair. “Like you said, none of this is a surprise. Instead of the committee meeting tonight, how about we get everyone together to discuss amongst ourselves. Do you feel up to entertaining?”
“Duh. Always.” Caleb perked up immediately and lifted a crooked grin to Elias’ face. “Can we order a bunch of stuff from the tapas place?”
God, this face. Elias still marveled at his infinite luck over the cherub beaming up at him from his knees. He’d do literally anything for this remarkable man. “Anything you want. Place the order after you get in touch with everyone, babe.”
“Are we going to be planning the pitchforking? I can probably get those on Amazon.” Caleb pushed himself upright with his hands on Elias’ knees. “I already have the bulk rhinestones for the gown I”m working on.”
Elias’ head rocked back as he laughed. It felt good to laugh after how irate he had been. It felt even better as Caleb swept in closer and captured his mouth in a searing kiss that toed a little too close to crossing the line of PG. Only once he was suitably kiss-drunk did Caleb release his hold on Elias’ hair and pull back to attempt tidying the wayward strands.
“There’s my baby doll.” Caleb fixed his crooked glasses and flashed an equally crooked grin. “In all honesty, I”m not even mad about the committee. It was turning into a waste of time anyway.”
“You”re not wrong. I guess, at the end of the day, I”m just frustrated. Everything we propose is basic common sense. She”s just being stubborn as always.” Elias let his hands settle on Caleb”s hips, mollified by the primping and the affection. “We do good work. We have good ideas. She just wants to fight us at every turn.”
“Because she”s a troglodyte.” Caleb leaned over and shook the mouse on Elias’ desk to bring the computer back to life. “I sent the talking points for your next meeting. Let me handle sending the rest of your thoughts to the trog while you get ready. You said you didn”t get to cover the infrastructure bill, right?”
Elias gestured to the papers he’d abandoned when they first entered the office. “We covered nothing at all. Might as well just send that whole thing as an attachment and be done with it. She won”t read it. We both know that.”
“This is true, but,” Caleb crooned with a devilish grin. “I”m just covering our asses. I happen to be very fond of yours, and I’ll be the only one chewing it out, thank you very much.”
“Jesus, Cay,” Elias mumbled as his cheeks grew hot. “Now you’ve got my head a million miles away.”
“Hold onto that thought. I”ve got plans for you tonight, boss man.” Caleb winked and backpedaled. Elias smiled so hard his eyes scrunched as he watched his husband back away toward the door. His earlier reflections over work versus family danced around his head as he shed the frustrations from his earlier meeting and replaced them with Caleb’s promises. Work was work. It paled in comparison to the life he led outside of it.