Page 32 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“Whatever you said made her very happy.”

“I told her I fully intend to honor my promise to reopen Calvin’s case.”

“Let me know what I can do to help with that.”

“I will. For now, let’s find the guy who put our Gigi in the hospital.”

“I’m on it.”

Chapter Seven

Nick sat in the middle of the large conference table, surrounded by Nelson’s cabinet and the media that lined the room and hung microphone poles over the table to record their every word. ”We have the secretary of State?”

“Yes, sir.” One of the aides clicked a remote to bring Secretary Ruskin onto a screen via secure transmission from his flight to Iran.

“Thank you for joining us, Mr. Secretary,” Nick said. “I hope your trip has been uneventful thus far.”

“So far so good. We’re due to land in Tehran in two hours.”

“Thank you for making the trip. And thank you all for being here today. I’d like to start with a moment of silence for President Nelson.” The room went completely silent, and heads were bowed in contemplation. “May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing to all of us. I understand we’re all in shock over the untimely loss of President Nelson. None of us planned to be here today to discuss continuity of government, especially me. As you know, I recently announced that I didn’t intend to seek the party’s nomination in the next election cycle. Less than a week later, I took the oath of office to become the nation’s forty-seventh president. I’m the youngest president in history and only the ninth to come into office following the death of my predecessor. I can imagine any one of those things would give pause to those entrusted with serving in the president’s cabinet. Taken together, they might bring about a crisis of confidence.”

As he spoke, he was nearly blinded by flashes and almost drowned out by the machine-gun sound of camera shutters recording history.

“However, I wish to assure you that despite whatever shortcomings you may see in me, I intend to give this job everything I have for the next three years. I remain firm in my resolve to sit out the next election cycle, which means my focus will be exclusively on the well-being of the American people as well as the safety and security of our nation. That said, none of you are obligated to stay in your posts, if you do not wish to. I know President Nelson appreciated your loyalty, and I understand that loyalty may not extend to me. Obviously, I prefer to work with a cabinet that’s loyal to me. I’ll accept the resignations of anyone who wishes to leave with my gratitude for your service to your country. If you choose to stay, I hope you’ll do so with an eye toward the future and not the past. I’m sure some of you must have questions and concerns. I’m happy to discuss anything that’s on your mind.”

He nodded to Trevor, who asked the media to clear the room now that they’d gotten their photos and footage.

After the journalists filed out, Nick waited to hear whether anyone had anything to say. For a long moment, there was only silence until Defense Secretary Tobias Jennings cleared his throat. “With all due respect, Mr. President, while your intentions may be pure, the reality is that there’ll be questions about whether you’re qualified to be president, or if you have the experience needed for the job.”

“Understood.” Nick kept his expression blank while he seethed on the inside. “However, in choosing me to be his vice president, I believe President Nelson had full faith in me to step in for him if the need arose, and as such, I’d hope the American people might be willing to give me a chance before they decide anything. I’ll work just as hard for the people who don’t support me as I will for those who do. I’ve devoted my entire adult life to public service, and I’m confident I have the experience needed to put together a dynamic team to serve the American people. But I can’t do it alone, which is why I’m asking for your support.”

“I have a question,” Attorney General Reginald Cox said after more than an hour of questions from others. “Your wife… I assume she’ll be leaving her position with the Metropolitan Police Department?”

“Actually, she intends to continue in her role.”

That was met with shocked silence.

“I’ll confess to finding that rather surprising,” Cox said.

“We’re meeting with the Secret Service on Tuesday to discuss the logistics. My goal is to make it possible for her to keep the job she loves while I’m in office. She’s been very successful in navigating the demands of her job while serving as second lady, and I have every confidence she’ll continue to do the same as first lady. I’d appreciate the opportunity to figure out a plan for her before it’s made public that she intends to keep her job.”

“I’m concerned about potential conflicts of interest,” Cox said, “with your wife serving as a law enforcement officer while you’re president.”

“Since she works for the District of Columbia and not the federal government, I can’t see where we have a problem.”

“The FBI is currently investigating the Metropolitan Police Department, with the lieutenant playing a central role in the investigation.”

“As I understand it, she’s already been interviewed and fulfilled her obligations to the investigation.”

Nick was thankful when Cox didn’t engage any further, but the AG had raised valid concerns. Add them to the growing list of issues he’d need to address. “If there’s nothing further, I want to thank you all again for coming in today. Terry and I look forward to hearing from each of you as to whether you intend to continue in your current role.”

“Thank you, Mr. President,” each of them said.

When he stood, everyone else did too. He left the room and walked with Terry back to the Oval Office.

“That went pretty well,” Terry said.

“Do you think so? I detected an undercurrent of hostility.”