Chapter Four
The “car” Lilia sent for Sam was a black SUV with tinted windows, driven by one Secret Service agent while another rode shotgun.
The thought of a Secret Service agent “riding shotgun” was funny to her, but she didn’t think they’d be amused by her little joke.
They hadn’t said much of anything to her since they arrived at the house and whisked her away.
She wondered if they disliked her because she’d chosen to forgo the protection normally afforded the nation’s second lady.
Didn’t that mean less work for them? The devil in her wanted to ask their thoughts on the matter, but she didn’t dare.
Everything about this situation was new to Nick—and to her—and she didn’t want to do anything to cause him any heartburn.
Well, any more heartburn than she’d already caused.
They drove through the gates to the White House, where the officer in charge waved them through.
Upon pulling up to one of the many entrances, the car came to a halt and the driver jumped out to get her door.
A young woman with a dark bob waited to greet her.
She wore a pale pink suit, which had Sam immediately thinking of Shelby, along with pearls and sensible heels.
Her big dark eyes were serious as her lips curved into a welcoming smile.
“Mrs. Cappuano,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Lilia and it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“You’re Lilia?”
Seeming baffled by Sam’s remark, she said, “Why yes. I am.”
“I had you pegged as a sixty-something blue hair with a ruler in her hand, determined to whip me into shape.”
“Did you, by any chance, go to Catholic school?”
“Briefly. It wasn’t a good fit.”
Lilia laughed, and Sam decided not to hate her on sight. In fact, it was possible she might even end up liking her.
“Right this way.” Lilia led Sam into the freaking White House. “Let me show you to your office.”
“I have an office? In the freaking White House?”
“Ma’am, you’re the second lady of the United States. Yes, you have an office.”
“Call me ma’am again, and we’re going to have a falling-out.”
Lilia pursed her lips, perhaps trying not to laugh. “Understood.” She cleared her throat and recovered her professional demeanor. “The second lady’s office is normally housed in the residence, but as you are not using the residence, space has been assigned to you here.”
“Space” turned out to be a suite that included a rather grand room for her.
“Wow,” Sam said as she took in the office that consisted of a gorgeous dark wood desk and matching bookshelves, a credenza that held a vase of fresh flowers, carpet with the presidential seal and portraits on the wall of other women who’d held this office.
There was also a sitting area consisting of a sofa and two wingback chairs arranged in front of a fireplace that had been lit in anticipation of her arrival.
For the first time since Nick’s promotion, it registered with Sam all of a sudden that she was the nation’s second lady.
Watching Nick take the oath of office in the House chamber hadn’t done it. Having her house overrun by Secret Service hadn’t done it. But this… An actual office in the White House… That was about as official as it got.
“We hope you like it,” Lilia said. “We weren’t sure of your taste as far as furniture goes.”
Sam snorted out a laugh. “If you could see my office at HQ, you’d understand that I have no taste when it comes to office furniture, and this is lovely.
” She ran her hand over the smooth finish of the desk, thinking of the metal contraption she used at work.
Unlike her desk at HQ in which none of the drawers opened properly, she’d bet every drawer in this desk opened the way they were supposed to.
“Are you interested in meeting the rest of the staff?”
“Sure.” While she waited for Lilia to gather the troops, she went to smell the flowers on the credenza. A flurry of activity behind her had Sam turning to greet the three women who walked in with Lilia, all of them young, attractive and smiling warmly.
“This is Andrea, your director of communications and spokesperson, Mackenzie, who oversees your schedule and travel, and Keira, our policy specialist.”
Sam shook hands with each of them. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“We’re so happy to meet you,” Andrea said enthusiastically. Tall and shapely, Andrea was blonde with hazel eyes and a bright smile. She wore a tailored blouse with a pencil skirt that showed off her killer body.
“I, um, I’m sorry it’s taken me a while to get in here. Things have been a bit, um, busy.”
“We were horrified to hear what happened to you,” Mackenzie said.
“Thank you, and thank you for the flowers and the card. It was very nice of you all.”
“Let’s have a seat,” Lilia said, gesturing to the sitting area.
When they were settled, a man came in with a tray that contained coffee and an assortment of Danishes.
Sam waited for them to dig in, but then realized they were waiting on her.
These women were nothing like the cops she worked with who would’ve devoured the entire plate in less than a minute. “Please, go right ahead.”
While they helped themselves to coffee and a snack, Sam said, “What have you all been doing to stay busy while I wasn’t available?”
“We’ve been fielding inquiries about you and assisting the First Lady’s staff on a number of initiatives,” Lilia said, reciting a long list of projects Mrs. Nelson was personally involved in.
“Of course, you’re our top priority, and we’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts about how you’d like to be involved. ”
Sam’s brain went completely blank. How she’d like to be involved? In what? “I’m not sure what you mean. The job, er, my job, keeps me pretty busy when I’m not on medical leave.”
“We so admire the work you do, Mrs. Cappuano,” Keira said.
“Thank you, but please feel free to call me Sam.”
All eyes turned to Lilia. “I believe that would be appropriate when we’re behind closed doors, but it would not be appropriate for us to call you that in public.”
“Fair enough. So here, in the office, I’m Sam, okay?”
Their heads bobbed in agreement even if they seemed uncomfortable by the informality.
“As the second lady,” Lilia said, “you have a built-in platform that could be used to draw attention to issues and causes that are important to you. For instance, Mrs. Nelson’s son is a captain in the army so she is particularly involved in organizations that support military family members and veterans.
She’s active in the arts and has promoted reading and literacy programs for elementary students across the country. ”
Immediately intimidated by the staggering list, Sam said, “Wow, she keeps busy.”
“She’s a very active first lady,” Lilia said.
“Are there issues that interest you that you’d like to lend your name and support to in order to build awareness?” Mackenzie asked. She had long reddish-brown hair, brown eyes and pale white skin that would require SPF 100 sunblock.
“I, ah…” How personal did she want this to get?
Did she want to lend her name to her issues or choose others that struck less close to home?
If she were going to do this and get involved at this level, she supposed there ought to be some passion so she didn’t come off disingenuous. “Spinal cord injuries and research.”
“That’s a great one,” Keira said. She was petite with light brown skin, long dark hair and a smile that lit up her brown eyes.
“My dad is a quadriplegic.”
“Yes, we know,” Lilia said. “We probably ought to tell you there isn’t much we don’t know about you.”
“Yikes,” Sam said with a good-natured grimace. “That’s kinda scary. You might be surprised to hear me add learning disabilities and infertility concerns as well as adoption and support for law enforcement to my list.”
“Those are all very worthy causes, but before we officially add them to your list and make the list public, I need to prepare you for what you’re taking on,” Andrea said.
“Specifically, I need to know if you’re willing to speak publicly about how each of these issues has played a role in your life. ”
“Speak publicly?” Sam asked, her voice squeaking on the last word.
Andrea smiled. “If we tell the world you’re interested in these issues, you’ll be in even hotter demand than you already are to appear and speak at events, to participate in fundraising, to become the face of your issue areas for the next four years and possibly beyond.
You have the opportunity here to bring light to each of these areas. ”
“Light,” Sam said. “What kind of light?”
“Attention, funding, recognition,” Andrea said.
“You can start a national conversation in each subject. You and the vice president are the most popular second couple in the history of the office. Your poll numbers are through the roof.” She held up a stack of paper.
“Interview requests and invitations received in the last week. These are the latest. Every media outlet in the country is clamoring for an interview with you and your husband. We’ve been overwhelmed with requests. ”
“And that’s unusual?”
“It’s highly unusual for the vice president and second lady to get as much—if not more—attention than the president and first lady,” Andrea said.
“More,” Sam said. “Than the Nelsons?”
“Much more.” Andrea handed the pile of paper to Sam. “You can go through these at your leisure and let me know what, if any, appeal to you.”
Lilia handed Sam several business cards. “Our email and cell phone numbers are on there. We’re available to you twenty-four hours a day.”
“Don’t you have lives?” Sam asked, incredulous.
“Our lives are devoted to you for the next four years,” Lilia replied without an ounce of guile.
“This is all a bit, um, overwhelming, I guess you might say.”