7. Charlotte
Charlotte
The call was brief, both presidents repeating previous promises to work together to ‘fix this’, like it was that simple. Like all they had to do was agree, and things would fall into place, ready for them to put on a good show.
In a way, that was exactly what was going to happen. Charlotte would write the speech of her life, Leonard would deliver it, and the wheels would be set in motion. Whether they achieved any of what they hoped for, would take time to tell. People had to get over their initial shock and gut reactions. Then the pundits would have their say. Both the White House and The Shifter Seat of Power, known more commonly as The Seat, would continue to hold smaller press conferences as more details came to light.
Like who that fucking arsehole woman was, and why the fuck she brought that kind of trouble down on a young family of shifters?
“I’m on it,” Natasha said, making her realise she’d asked that aloud.
“I need a background check on the family. Was there any indication of domestic violence, have they had trouble with the law before, did they even have a fucking parking ticket? I want to make sure there’s no finger pointing, when we get up there and say this is a tragedy. I don’t want it to bite me on the arse when it turns out he was in juvie, or she was done for soliciting, because you know there’s going to be enough victim blaming as it is.”
“I know someone,” James told her, picking up his phone.
“Make it legit resources,” Charlotte told them all. “I don’t want some back door stuff that’s either going to be inaccurate, or leak that we’re pulling shit in the background, when we’re not.”
“It’s legit, promise,” he assured her.
“I need someone to notify security and get them to coordinate with the humans. We need final say on the site, and then we need our people in there to oversee the set-up,” Leonard told the room in general.
“Yes, sir,” Patrice replied.
“What about the rest of us?” Phillip asked.
“You’re my think tank. You’re going to give me talking points, reactions, perspectives, and anything else you can think of. Keep it short and sweet. You’re going to read my drafts, have your input, and help me refine this fucker until there is no escaping the message we choose to put forth. We will sway this conversation away from violence and towards a more productive outcome. There’s no other option.”
People started moving, calling assistants and leaving singly or in pairs, heading deeper into the building, until only she and Leonard were left.
“If you can give me the keys to your apartment and any specific instructions, I’ll have some of our people move you into one of the ambassadorial suites.”
Fuck! She’d forgotten about that.
“Uh, yeah, I’ll need my laptop, which is back at Grace’s office. I’ll also need a fresh change of clothing and stuff for a shower. How far away is my new residence?” Grace’s office and apartment were in the same building, much closer to where the humans governed the nation. The Seat, however, was clear across town. It was apparently a security move backed by both the shifter and human governments not wishing to create too large of a target for unsavoury elements. They could take out one form of government or the other, but not both at the same time.
Leonard smiled at her, the predatory look returning to his eyes, although his complexion was still pale from the stress of the situation.
“They’re right here at The Seat,” he informed her. “When Grace has returned to work, we can look into something more permanent for you, but for now your furnishings will be moved into storage at our expense, and your belongings will be moved here for your convenience.”
It was hardly her convenience, when the whole reason she needed to move was for the government, however, not having to commute from home to work would be a bonus, especially for the next few weeks. She was sure that after then, she’d be sick of the place and desperate enough to move wherever they suggested, which was possibly part of why he would make her stay here in the first place. As much as she liked the president, Charlotte wouldn’t put it past him to manipulate her for his own reasons.
“Wilson?” Leonard said, only slightly louder than his normal speaking voice.
“Sir?” The man who had brought in the phone entered immediately, proving he had only been just outside the room.
“If you would see to Ms Baileys’ things, she’s going to need a suitable outfit for a joint press conference with the human president, whatever is in her shower caddy, and fresh undergarments. She will be moving into one of the ambassadorial suites here for the duration of this crisis, or until such time as Ms Diaz is fit and able to return to work. I’ll authorise the payments for her furniture to be placed into storage, but make sure anything else is easily accessible for her to decide to keep or store. Perhaps if you give her a multi-room suite, everything but the larger items could be moved in the other bedrooms until we can sort out something more permanent.”
Wilson looked from her to the president and back again. “One of the suites on the fourth floor?” he asked, carefully.
“Yes, yes, wherever you deem fit,” Leonard answered breezily.
What was the deal with the fourth floor? If she didn’t have anything more pressing on her mind, Charlotte would have pushed for an answer, but as it was, she was rather busy.
“If you could give me your keys, madam, and instructions on how to enter your apartment, I’ll have one of our female attendants find you suitable clothing for the next few days, and we’ll have a moving service arrange for everything else to be transferred.”
“My lease—” she began to say, but Leonard interrupted.
“Will be taken care of for you. Don’t worry about that now, you have a speech to write, and I have calls to make.”
She nodded, of course. He was the fucking president, and he was taking time out of his day during a crisis to ensure she was safely housed somewhere so she could do her job. The task was well beneath what he normally would do, and Charlotte flushed in embarrassment. This whole day was just becoming more and more strange, and she wondered when things would start to settle. They wouldn’t be normal, she knew that. After a day like today, when her world had been tipped upside down, nothing would be the same as it was before, but some stability would be nice.
Tonight, she figured. Tonight after this first press conference was over, and she’d done her best for the speech, when Charlotte was soaking in a bathtub with a glass of wine and her vibrator. Tonight she would work this excess tension out of her skin, and then start to build her life into this new reality. Right now, she had to get her head in the game, and stop bothering the fucking president with the trivia of her belongings.
Quickly Charlotte fished her keys and keycard out of her handbag, passing them over to Wilson with a brief set of instructions on how to get in. Then she gave him one of her business cards with her mobile number on it for good measure.
“If they have any questions or problems, get them to call me on that number. Goodness knows I’ll have it on me at all times right now.”
“And you might be on a call,” the president corrected her.
“Shit, yes, you’re right,” she stammered. “Uh, here, give me that back and I’ll write my private number on there. If she can’t get me on the work line, then try me on my private one. I’ll have both of them on the table beside me, scout’s honour.”
“Were you a scout?” Leonard asked, surprised.
Charlotte shrugged. “Nope, but he knows what I mean.”
With a chuckle, Wilson promised that he would deal with everything and not to worry about it any further. Which meant once again she was alone with the president.
“I’ll call Sean and get him to take me to Grace’s office to get my laptop, thank you for all your help, sir,” Charlotte told him. “I promise, I won’t let you down.”
The man’s head tilted to the side as he regarded her critically. “I never thought you would, Charlotte. I have the utmost faith in your abilities. You’ve wrangled Grace for almost a year now with more aplomb than any of your predecessors. I’m just wondering why you need to get your laptop yourself, rather than sending Sean to get it for you?”
Well fuck, why hadn’t she thought of that?
Seeing the expression on her face, the president relaxed a little. “Charlotte, you’re not one of the assistants anymore. Even when Grace does come back. We’ll find another role for you somewhere, but there’s no way you’re just one of the peons who help keep the wheels greased. You’re one of the big hitters now, which means you get to delegate the little shit to others. Like fetching your laptop from Grace’s office, and anything else there you’re going to need in the next few days. I don’t think you’re going to get the opportunity to leave the building unless it’s to attend a meeting elsewhere.”
Right. Because this was already bigger than anything she’d already dealt with. Unlike the man in front of her, who’d seen and done a lot more in his tenure than any president before him. There was a reason he’d been voted in again and again. He was simply fucking good at what he did.
“Okay, well, uh, I need to know where everyone disappeared to. I gather there’s some conference room that’s acting as ground zero, but I’m also going to need a space away from all of that at times too.”
“There’s an office in your suite, and you’ll be using Grace’s office here in the building on this floor,” he told her.
Of course. She was Grace’s stand-in. That made perfect sense. Charlotte wanted to slap her own head in embarrassment. What had she thought not five minutes ago about not wasting anymore of his time?
“As for the conference room—” he’d taken a hold of her elbow and directed her into the hall. “Ah, Ms Kelsing, just the very person I wanted to see. For the next forty-eight hours, I need you to be the acting assistant to the pro tem representative to the humans. This will include compiling a list of suitable applicants for a more long-term assignment. They can be seconded to this position, and you may apply yourself, for the duration of Ms Diaz’s convalescence, and then we’ll look at the budget and an appropriate permanent assistant once we’ve decided what Ms Bailey’s final position would be.”
“Yes, sir,” Ms Kelsing replied.
“Excellent, then Ms Bailey, I leave you in Ms Kelsing’s capable hands. I have calls to make.”
Giving them both a slight bow, he turned and walked in the opposite direction, the younger woman’s gaze following him for several seconds, before remembering Charlotte was there. What the assistant couldn’t hide, however, was the scent of lust beginning to emit as she watched him stride away.
Her owl ruffled its feathers, displeased by the woman’s attention and intentions, unsettling Charlotte even more.
“When you’re done ogling, I need to go to the conference room where the others are,” Charlotte said coldly.
“Oh my god,” the woman whispered. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. It’s just— He’s so overwhelming!”
She supposed he was at that, but Charlotte was sure that wasn’t the only problem.
“Ms Kelsing, have you ever encountered a lion shifter before?” she asked gently.
Taking a deeper breath only confirmed her suspicions. The woman was a feline shifter. Charlotte wasn’t sure which species, but from the pungency of her scent, she knew it was one of the larger ones.
Flushing crimson, Ms Kelsing shook her head. “No, I haven’t,” she replied quietly. “My mother always said we’d get a little swept away by the males, but I never took her seriously. I mean, they’re bossy, lazy, and they sleep around a lot before they settle. Who wants a man like that? I thought it was a load of crap, to be honest, her romanticising how she’d fallen for my father, who promptly took up with another woman when he found out she was pregnant.”
“You’re a lioness?” Charlotte asked, just to be sure.
“Oh, uh, yes. Sorry. I’m doing this all wrong. He just packs quite a punch, and I wasn’t expecting it. It was bad enough from a distance, but up close? And he knows my name!”
“Ms Kelsing?” she prompted. While cute, she didn’t have the time to coddle the woman.
“Fuck, yes, alright. Sorry. I’m sorry. My name is Bonita Kelsing, most people call me Bonny. I mean, you can if you want, you don’t have to.”
Taking pity on her, Charlotte allowed her lips to curl into a slight smile but no more than that. She couldn’t afford to be too lax in this situation. “Then Bonny it is, but I do need to know that you can keep your head about you, because I’m going to be working closely with him for the next few days. This is a tense time, tempers are going to be running high, and the threat rate is through the roof. The last thing I need is for things to go tits up because my assistant is mooning over the president.”
“No, yes, absolutely. I’ve got some scent blocking cream in my desk, I’ll put some of that under my nose and that should deal with most of it. I’m pretty sure I can resist his looks for a few more days,” she said with a giggle.
Oh dear. She was going to be one of those people. Still, she was what Charlotte had to work with, and she would make the best of it.
“Are you going to apply for the position?” Charlotte asked her point blank.
“Uh, yes, I think so. I mean, I don’t know what your job is now, or what it’s going to be when Ms Diaz returns — is she okay?”
“She’s fine, just indisposed for now.”
“Oh, good. I like her, she’s a lot of fun.”
Not if you work for her, Charlotte thought.