Page 251 of Innocent

Chapter Forty-Nine

It’s a few minutes past noon when I return to the West Wing after a stop by the Secret Service’s office to arrange Casey’s visitor pass. Elliot knows I had a meeting this morning, but I didn’t tell him anything beyond he had to trust me and not freak out that I would be out of pocket for several hours.

Fortunately, he had a couple of meetings and conference calls this morning that I wouldn’t have been much use at, anyway. I’ll go through the readouts and talk to Lyle and Suzanne to see if there are any schedule additions or modifications as a result.

This means I catch up with Elliot as he’s coming into his scheduled lunch break. When I walk into his inner office and lock the door behind me, he looks relieved as hell to see me. He has his lunch on his desk, and it must have just been delivered, since he hasn’t started eating yet.

He’s also stressed the fuck out. I haven’t even made the hand gesture and he’s already out of his chair and down on the floor in front of me.

My poor boy. He’s overwhelmed right now, and I get it. This is a huge change coming, obviously. We’ll be on the road a lot more over the next couple of months, with hardly any time to see Leo.

I step around him and sit in his chair so I can massage his head. “Got some good news for you.”

He leans against me, eyes closed, and arms wrapped around my lower legs. “What’s that, Sir?”

“Just hired you a chief of staff.”

That’s enough to make him look up in surprise. “You did? Who?”

I tell him, and his eyes widen. “Holy smokes, really?”

“Really. She’ll stop by later this afternoon to be properly introduced to you.”

“Wow.”

One of the things I really liked about Casey is that when I detailed another of my hard limits to her, I was pleased to learn she’s on the exact same wavelength as Leo and I when it comes to our feelings about The Fellowship, or The Family, or whatever the hell they’re calling themselves lately.

That Leo and I want them kept as far from Elliot as possible. And that if Casey or her two men are involved with them to tell me now, and we could part ways on friendly terms.

Also, I quickly detailed to her the issues with Stella and Grace, and the importance of insulating Elliot from those two women or any of their “friends.”

All of this is, again, stuff Leo and I keep off Elliot’s radar as much as possible. He needs his focus on his job and on his campaign, not on extraneous bullshit. It’s myjobto shield Elliot from the bullshit. Leo will be able to help more once Shae’s out of office.

Casey will very much be a hands-on chief of staff in the way Kev is to President Samuels. In fact, she’s going to spend time shadowing Kev over the next several days to get some immediate information she’ll need for her job. I gave Casey the name and number of the head of Elliot’s Secret Service detail, and I called him as soon as I left the hotel. I told him she’d be in contact with him about her background check. Plus, I gave her Kev’s direct numbers.

She’s officially on the campaign’s payroll as of tomorrow. We’ll publicly announce her hiring next week. She wants to tie up a few loose threads on their end first, and I don’t blame her. Once her name’s announced, it’ll be crazy.

I stroke his head. “If you have a problem with her as your chief of staff, tell me now, boy.”

“No, Sir. She sounds great.”

“She’ll run interference with Stella and Grace. She won’t put up with shit from anyone. She’ll hold her own against everyone from Congress to the Joint Chiefs and the Cabinet.”

His hug around my legs tightens. “Thank you, Sir.”

“I only want what’s best for my boy. She’s the best. She comes highly recommended.”

“Will I get yelled at for not hiring a Democrat?”

“Doesn’t matter. Kev’s a registered Republican, and look at how much they’ve accomplished while in office. Angie will field those questions for you. It proves you’re willing to reach across the aisle. You’re picking the best candidates.”

“Why aren’t we hiring Casey-Marie as my chief of staff now?”

“Because then she’s hamstrung, in some ways. I’d rather the campaign be paying her right now. Gives her a little bit of freedom that being on the federal payroll will limit.”

“Oh. Good point.”

I get him back into his chair and eating lunch while I go in search of Leo. I find him upstairs in his office, where I close the door behind me as he looks up from his computer.