But I raise my hand to silence them.
"However," I say, "Since you've made this personal, I'd like to take the time to make a very personal announcement."
Now the crowd is hushed, a silence unlike anything I've witnessed falls across the room, like a silk blanket draped across everyone's head.
I clear my throat and say, "I'd like to introduce you to my fiancée, Ashley Draper."
Now cameras are snapping and reporters are practically falling out of their fucking chairs. Never in their wildest imaginations did they expect me to make an announcement like this. In their minds, I'm a playboy-not a family man.
But they're eating it up. Their scowls are now smiles.
I watch as Ashley approaches the podium, and joins me. She's wearing a classy white dress with smooth lines and figure hugging curves-curves that I can't help but stare at. She looks dignified, and dare I say angelic.
She's good at this, a real professional. If I didn't know any better, I'd believe she was my fiancée too.
The press is now clapping. One reporter is even yelling out, "Congratulations Mr. President!"
This is going just as I intended.
They're eating out of my hand.
I'm not even sure I need this fake fiancée, but God do I want to fuck her. I take another glance at her perfectly round tits and picture them both in my mouth and in my hands. My eyes travel further down to her ass, which sways with each seductive step she takes. I can picture bending her over my desk, hiking up that white dress and-
"When is the wedding?" a reporter asks, breaking my train of thought.
"We'll make that announcement soon," I reply, "But for now, I just want to reiterate the fact that I would never risk my relationship, or the reputation of the country. My priorities are on this great Nation, and on the future Mrs. Bain," I say.
Ashley walks up to me, joining me at the podium, and she laces her arm in mine, giving me a soft peck on the cheek.
"Ashley, how did you meet Mr. Bain?" one reporter yells.
Another one asks, "Are children in your foreseeable future?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Ashley smiles, fielding the last question. "One step at a time. I think we have our hands full enough just planning a wedding, let alone future children."
The press reporters love her comeback. They laugh and nod in agreement.
"How do you respond to the fact that the President has had sex with numerous women before you?" a reporter calls out.
I close my eyes and cringe.
I mean, I barely know Ashley and already I feel bad for her having to deal with this.
And what kind of asshole is this, asking that kind of question.
In a heartbeat the cringe is over and I'm about to fucking address this myself when Ashley steps in.
"Well, we just recently decided to get back together again, so I can understand that the President had to go through a number of different options until he realized that I was the best choice," Ashley says with poise and grace. "We're not all perfect like me, after all."
Again laughter.
Jesus Christ. She's good.
"Any plans on the wedding?" someone asks. Softball question.
"Just me and Austin and 300 million of our closest friends," she says with a smile and the room laughs again.
They fucking love her.
It quickly becomes apparent that they love Ashley. I feel a tinge of jealously settle in my mind.
It's as if the press likes Ashley more than they've ever liked me. I decide to jump in.
"I know this is exciting news," I say, "but I'd like to bring this press conference back on track. It's my intention to keep our country's best interests in mind and work hard to boost our economy by facilitating important international trade agreements-such as the one with South Korea."
This time, there are no questions about Jia Park. Instead, my comment is greeted with a full round of applause.
Arm in arm, Ashley and I exit the stage, along with Tracy and my office staff. We walk into an office, away from the prying eyes and ears of reporters, and when it's just Ashley, Tracy, and I alone in the room, I turn to Ashley and say, "You're supposed to be too shy for the spotlight."
"You're jealous, aren't you?" she smiles.
I laugh. "You can't be serious," I lie.
"Look, the press loved me, and that's good for you."
"What are you? A professional liar?" I ask. "How is that good for me?"
"The professional liar is you, Austin," she grins. "Don't kid yourself."
There's something about Ashley that I don't trust, but one thing's for certain, she's sexy as hell when she stands up to me. Most women don't.
"Let me remind you that I'm the President," I say.
"Well, I didn't vote for you," she laughs.
I stare at her, mouth agape.
She looks at Tracy and then toward me. "I have some business of my own to attend to this evening. I have to go."
"That's fine," I reply. No sense keeping her around the White House anymore today.
And with that, she turns on her heels and leaves. I silently watch her saunter out of the room, her perfect ass swaying as if it were waving goodbye.
Once she's gone, I turn to Tracy. "Do you think Ashley's really the right woman for the job?" At this point, it feels like I have more questions than I do answers. There are so many unknowns.
Tracy smiles, "Ashley is perfect."
8
Washington Beat
Hitched!
From the desk of Margie Preston – our intrepid and slightly kooky political reporter.
Holy cow! Did you just catch the news the other day? Or are you one of those people who relies on my column for news? In which case, I'm sorry!
But in all seriousness, unless you live underneath a rock or have been living without access to newspapers, television, radio, Internet, or word of mouth, then you will have seen that the President of the United States is now engaged!
That's right. The world's most eligible bachelor is off the market, ladies. And a million pairs of panties probably came back on.
It's not so much that President Player seems to have cleaned up his act, it's almost as if his latest stunts were enough to get his head back on towards being the stable and solid Commander-In-Chief that the United States is used to.
For those people wondering if the President has been cheating on his fiancée while they were dating, the White House Press Secretary was quick to clear up any misconceptions.
"The President and Ms. Draper have had a casual relationship for much of the time that they have known each other, despite the fact that both of them cared about each other deeply," Cheryl Maddox, the President's Press Secretary was quoted as saying. "When it became clear that President Bain was not happy in his life, he and Ms. Draper rekindled their romance, and it was rather whirlwind, culminating in an engagement."
So at least President Player isn't a Cheater-In-Chief. Even if he is settling down. And what a sad day for the country, ladies, when our beloved President settles down. At least when he was out sowing his wild oats, I used to think that if I managed to score tickets to the right party or the right meeting wearing a particularly low cut dress that had slits that ran high enough I'd somehow manage to attract the attention of President Playboy. That he would take me in his Presidential limo and make me his Chief of Staff. And oh, how I would worship that Staff of his. With my mouth and with my hands. Until it came forth his special "Executive Orders" all over me.
But that day may not come now. Because the President of the United States is engaged to be married. I don't know whether to wear black or not that day. But I will say know one thing. That this handsome President with his bedroom eyes and 8-pack abs that we've all seen on camera can't simply belong to one woman. I refuse to accept that such a national treasure can be hoarded by one woman. And by Ashley Draper? We don't really know much about her anyways.
If that's one thing official Washington has been wondering it's who exactly is Ashley Draper. We all know what we've been told. That she's a close friend of the President that he met through mutual friends. But what does she do? Who did she do before the President? These are all questions that need to be answered.
Maybe it'll be a fun summer after all.
9
Ashley
I've never had a baby, but I imagine this is how it feels to place your own child in the care of strangers.
"Yeah, Kayla. That's how it's going to be for the next year," I say, placing my phone on speaker as I bring a bottle of Pinot Noir and a glass to the living room. I sit down on the couch and pour myself a glass as Kayla replies.
"Are you sure? We never run things without you … " she says, and I notice the apprehension in her voice.
"I trust you. You'll do fine," I reply, although I feel my heart tightening inside my chest. My company has been my baby for so long, and it hurts to let go of it. Still, there's no way around. It needs to be done and, besides, I'm leaving my most experienced operative in charge.