Page 73 of Innocent

Chapter Sixteen

Twenty minutes later, my head’s still spinning as I’m being ferried back to my office on campus. Elliot instructed the agents to stay with me and help me pack whatever I need to bring with me tonight. First, they help me clean out my cube after I break it to my boss that I’m resigning. Then they load me and my stuff into the SUV and head for my apartment.

Since they don’t ask where I live, I guess they already know.

I also get my phone back. No, I won’t be posting about this on social media. I know the drill—secrecy rules.

I open my banking app and move some money from savings to checking before I ask them to detour past a nearby Target on our way to my place. I need to buy several large suitcases, among other items. It’s an expense I can justify now, since I’ll be earning a better paycheck, and I guess my master’s degree is on hold—again.

But this way, I don’t have to leave much behind in the apartment. I’ll be able to grab all my clothes and shoes, my art supplies, and the few books I have here. It’ll leave only the stuff in the kitchen, and my bed, and what little furniture I have. And the stuff in my storage unit.

Good thing I learned how to live light, I suppose.

Gee, thanks, Mom and Dad.

I know Elliot said I could live with him in the residence, but I can’t imagine that’s where I will be. More likely, I’ll be set up in a hotel, at first, until I can find a place of my own.

Right?

Until Leo weighs in, that is. I suspect once he’s back in town that he will demand I move in with him.

I hope.

Or maybe Leo won’t want anything to do with me.

Which option would be worse, I wonder? Leo ignoring me, or…

What if Leo puts his foot down and orders Elliot to fire me? I have no doubts that I’d lose in that scenario.

And here I just went and upended my life with no guarantee I’m not about to get screwed over.

Except if Elliot did that, he’d be going against everything I know about the man and how honorable he is. At any time, Elliot could have asked Leo to stop seeing me, and he would have.

But he never did.

I might have had my heart broken by the whole situation, but if I step back and look at it objectively, I know Elliot isn’t a bad guy.

This means trusting him.

Especially since he’s trusting me.

Shoot, my life just got twenty kinds of complicated. Wrangling design students is a whole different thing than wrangling VPOTUS.

The one thing keeping me grounded and focused right now is that I can see exactly why I was absolutely right to tell Leo he had to stay with Elliot. In some ways, that eases my heartache.

The greater good, and all that.

Elliot’s a good man. Damned sure a statesman, even if he doesn’t have faith in himself. Just because he’s a subby doesn’t make him weak any more than it makes me weak. And just because I was hurt about how everything worked out between the three of us doesn’t mean I think he shouldn’t be president.

“What hotel will I be at tonight?” I ask one of the agents.

“Sir?”

“In DC. What hotel? Please, nothing super-expensive. I need to watch my budget.”

He shakes his head. “The vice president said you’re moving in with him.”

“Really?”