Her Secret Service (Jane Roe 1), Jason Letts [story reading .txt] 📗

at the beautiful things around her in this place that were now, at least temporarily, hers.

The presence of those boxes solved the important problem of finding something suitable to wear, and once she’d rummaged around for her usual work attire and splashed some water on her face, took care of her hair, and touched herself up, she was ready to start thinking about whether or not she was supposed to be at over on H Street.

Since she no longer had any real duties with the Secret Service and had been expecting to spend her days sitting around until she was reassigned, checking her phone to see that there wasn’t much in the way of messages was enough to inform her that she had no reason to be at headquarters. The White House premises qualified as being at work pretty much anyway.

She spent a good fifteen minutes aimlessly looking around at the ceramic pieces in a case, the paintings, and the view out the windows before she recalled that she needed to meet with Alex’s chief of staff.

The Secret Service agent in the hallway outside of the Residence was also gone when she stepped out, saving her from another awkward interaction. She promised herself that she wouldn’t be bashful or sheepish about it with anyone again. After all, this was what their agreement entailed, and the only way to do it was with her head held high. Jane was sleeping with President Morrin, and if anyone wanted to give her trouble about it she would give it right back.

That included Chief of Staff Arundhati Singh. Jane walked into her office with all of the confidence and ease of strolling into her own kitchen for breakfast, drawing a slight smile from the middle-aged woman with the long black hair. Singh had been sitting at her desk but immediately got up to close the doors and lock them. This office was usually a thoroughfare of executive aides, lobbyists, and cabinet members, but there was no mistaking Singh’s intent that for the time being no one else would get in.

“Why don’t you have a seat? Alex explained what’s going on between you two,” she said as Jane settled into the cushioned chair on the other side of her desk.

“I wouldn’t mind if he explained it to me again,” Jane said, “because I still can’t quite believe it.”

“I’m an observant person, and I noticed the way you two looked at each other in that very first meeting. I suppose some congratulations are in order.”

Jane chuckled and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face.

“I appreciate that, but I guess we’re just living our lives. It might be best to save the congratulations until some progress is made, because it looks like the current state of things is causing Alex a great deal of concern, and I’m privileged that he feels like I can help,” Jane said cheerfully.

Singh nodded her head slowly and deliberately, her eyes firmly on Jane.

“There is plenty for us to be concerned about that has nothing to do with his poll numbers. That’s why I like this arrangement.”

“What do you mean?” Jane asked, somewhat perturbed by the elder lady’s intensity.

“Everyone’s takeaway from what’s been going on the past few months is that the president is under assault from direr and more devious threats to his life every day. First someone with a security clearance tries to kill him. Now there’s a secretive group plotting to take him out. The American Underground Movement is getting praise from various state lawmakers, some even in our own party. What’s next, a member of the Secret Service turns on the president when they’re alone?”

“No one in the Secret Service would ever do that,” Jane said, getting defensive.

“You say that, but we don’t know where the next serious threat is going to come from, but there will be one…and then another. That’s why everything points to the Secret Service not being enough. Alex needs someone who’ll protect him with each breath she takes. He needs a bodyguard so close that no daylight could pass between them.

“Forget boosting his likability with women who have trouble trusting him because he’s not married. What we need you to do is be the final, most permanent level of defense. You’re the agent who’s always on duty, the one who will sacrifice herself for him without a second’s hesitation.”

Taken aback, Jane stared at Singh, whose seriousness was etched into every fiber on her face. This was a part of the deal she’d never talked about with Alex, but now that she’d heard Arundhati saying it there was no doubt she was right. Jane had told herself she was ready to take a bullet for him when she’d flitted with being on his detail as a rider, but now personally protecting him was going to have to be what she did around the clock.

“I mean,” Jane said, struggling to come up with the right response. “I have the utmost confidence in Alex’s Secret Service detail, but I’m still an employed member of that agency as well and know that keeping him safe takes precedence, not just for them but for me.”

Her answer didn’t seem to satisfy the chief of staff, and it didn’t take long for Jane to recognize what she was really looking for.

“I’ll never let anything happen to him. I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe,” Jane said, correcting herself after her prior statement. A smile broke onto Arundhati’s face that almost made Jane think she’d be happy with the outcome if she ended up dying to save his life.

“Perfect. Of course, I don’t mean to discount the other ways you’ll be able to help us. We’re going to want to get moving introducing you to the public, building up your credibility and your platform, deploying you in ways that would make him more endearing and accessible to different groups. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get started settling you in. Are you ready to visit