Chapter 2 #3
Eleana nodded, trying not to laugh.
“Anyway, we should get the blue frosted ones and the pink frosted ones. Then everyone can pick what they think—boy or girl.”
Eleana almost asked how many Hallmark movies or Facebook gender reveals Claire had watched lately.
“Claire, you know Eva will want to play. That’s four of each kind.”
Claire shrugged and started the car’s engine. “That's eight. Two for you. Two for me. Easy dozen.”
“We already know the answer.”
“Exactly. We can get whatever we choose!”
Eleana gave up and laughed. “Donuts, it is.”
The White House
The two months between an election and the swearing-in of a new Congress were always a strange time.
There was either a rush to pass legislation before leadership changed, or everything froze.
Neither approach was helpful in the long term.
There was always a push to "undo" what a previous Congress accomplished.
Turnabout might not be "fair" play, but it was part of the congressional playbook.
Candace had set aside the deadlock on the Hill, resigned to wait until the new Congress began its first session to set forth any major initiatives.
Her party had fared better than expected, losing only a handful of seats in the lower chamber and holding control of the Senate.
Gridlock would be her nemesis for the next two years when it came to budgets and major legislative aims. The upside, if she could call it that, was that some degree of bipartisanship would be required.
Where most people saw endless obstacles, Candace saw tiny cracks that offered opportunity.
Her first set of priorities required no legislation.
She sought to make changes inside her administration.
Alex's appointment to head the CIA topped that list. Candace had also decided to change the leadership at the Department of the Interior, and the one that surprised nearly everyone was Justice.
She'd received a good deal of pushback from her chief of staff, a few of the leaders on the Hill, and even from Shell.
Where they looked to the next session, the next State of the Union speech—the next election, Candace looked ahead five, ten, and twenty years.
She would not always occupy this office, just as Congress would change its face again.
The other area Candace focused on was foreign relations.
Candace's staff reacted to her invitation to the Chinese president as they did to most surprises: with a lot of noise.
Briefing books appeared overnight. Deputies who rarely spoke found themselves in the same room.
The distance between the leaders was no accident.
Trade disputes, Taiwan, human rights concerns, intelligence operations, and the usual list of grievances had made face-to-face meetings more trouble than they were worth for two administrations.
She and President Wallace had both kept lines of communication open, hoping to take advantage of any opportunity.
Experience had taught Candace that labeling something an adversary could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Approaching dialogue from a position of fear was not the same as approaching it with skepticism. Fear risked hardening positions, which inevitably narrowed a leader's vision.
China operated under a different system. It had its own internal pressures, ambitions, vulnerabilities, and ideas about its place in the world. That did not mean the United States should treat Beijing as a friend.
It also did not mean they had to behave like enemies.
Candace doubted Beijing was involved in the recent attacks on foreign leaders and energy infrastructure.
In fact, she suspected the unrest made them uneasy.
Destabilizing the West might help China to a point, but it was a very fine point.
China's economy remained deeply tied to Western markets.
A divided Atlantic alliance might offer some short-term advantages, but prolonged chaos risked disturbing the stability China needed to achieve its own goals.
The leadership in Beijing could be accused of many things, but recklessness was not among them.
She listened as Joshua grilled Secretary Gorham over the State Department's plan to set the stage for the visit.
"We need to be clear-eyed," he said. "They need to be clear-eyed."
Jennifer bristled at his tone. "I know how to do my job, Joshua."
"Did I suggest otherwise?"
Alex looked at Candace, who simply shook her head.
"We can't underestimate China, Jen," Joshua said.
"And you think I underestimate President Li?"
"Power in Beijing extends beyond the presidency."
"I'm aware of?—"
"That's enough," Candace said.
All eyes went to her.
She sighed and shook her head. "Bringing President Li to Washington is my decision."
"I understand," Joshua said. "But given?—"
Candace held up her hand. "The visit is overdue."
"It would be better if Li extended the invitation."
"Maybe," Candace conceded.
Gil Rogers shifted in his chair. "It could be seen as a sign of weakness."
Candace looked at the Defense Secretary. "Could it?"
"Madam President, I'm offering caution. Joshua has a point."
"Everyone in this room has a point and a purpose for making it," Candace said. She took a breath and exhaled slowly. "The visit is overdue. Long overdue. And I need to know—I need a sense of President Li."
"We know China," Joshua began.
"No," Candace said. "We know what China does. We know what China says. We know what our analysts assess, what our allies report, and what their diplomats are willing to put on paper." She leaned forward slightly. "That is not the same as understanding the person sitting across from you."
Jennifer's posture relaxed.
"I don't expect full transparency from Beijing," Candace continued.
"I don't expect candor about every objective.
I don't expect friendship. But I cannot navigate this relationship successfully without some sense of its leadership.
What Li wants. What he fears. What he believes he can't afford to lose.
And who, if anyone, he trusts... or fears. "
Alex's gaze sharpened.
Joshua folded his arms. "You think fear is driving Beijing?"
"I think fear drives everyone," Candace said. "The question is whether it drives them toward calculation or panic."
Silence settled over the room.
Candace waited, letting the room breathe.
She had learned early in her presidency that people sometimes mistook silence for uncertainty. Sometimes it was. More often, it was the only way to make the occupants of a room listen.
Gil cleared his throat. "And if this is a mistake?"
"Then we prepare for it to be a mistake," Candace replied. "That's your job. It's Joshua's job. It's Jennifer's job. It's Alex's job. It is not my job to avoid diplomacy because someone might misread it."
"No one is suggesting we avoid diplomacy," Joshua said.
"No," Candace agreed. "But we keep circling the same arguments: weakness, optics, miscalculation, signaling. Every one of those concerns has merit. None of them changes the fact that we need direct contact."
Joshua's jaw tensed.
Candace turned to him. "Say what you're thinking."
He hesitated.
"Joshua," Candace said.
"I'm worried Li will use the visit to test us," he said.
"He will."
"I fear he'll exploit the appearance of access," he continued.
"He might."
"And I'm concerned our allies will wonder why we're inviting Beijing to the table while we're still unsure who was behind the attack on the German Chancellor and Michael Blaire."
"They will wonder," Candace said.
"And if President Li already knows more than he's willing to tell you?"
"Is that even a question?" Candace asked. "I would expect nothing more from President Li than I'm willing to bring to the table."
"And when he misleads you?" Joshua pressed.
"I would rather look him in the eye when he lies to me."
Alex bit back a smile.
Jennifer set down her pen. "We'll begin laying the groundwork for the formal invitation. Quietly."
"Good," Candace said. "Quietly, not timidly. I want the message direct. No theatrics. No grand language about a new era. This is not that."
"What is it?" Gil asked.
"A conversation," Candace replied. "And an assessment."
Joshua glanced toward Alex. "Intelligence will have concerns."
"Intelligence always has concerns," Alex said dryly.
Gil looked at her. "And?"
"And I agree with the president," Alex said.
Joshua blinked. "You do?"
"I don't trust Beijing," Alex said. "But trust isn't the point; access is. If the president wants to understand Li's posture, there are things she can learn in a room that won't come through a cable or a monitored call."
Joshua grumbled.
"Look, sooner or later, we have to face problems and problematic actors head-on," Alex continued. "Everyone in this room knows that's true. We can't always wait for an invitation. That can also be considered a weakness. This move is pragmatic."
Candace hid a smile.
Alex continued. "People reveal more than they intend when they believe they're controlling the conversation, when they believe your guard is down.
" She looked at Candace, then back at Joshua.
"The president is adept at making people feel comfortable, and comfort creates the conditions for carelessness.
Maybe Li won't offer anything of use. My bet is he will offer something.
It may not be an overture, but an insight might be even more helpful. "
Jennifer nodded. "And if he refuses the invitation?"
"Then that tells us something, too," Candace said.
Luke weighed in. "The Hill will have opinions."
"The Hill has opinions about everything. They argue over breakfast," Candace said. "Trust me, I've been in charge of donut day."
Jennifer chuckled.