Welcome to romantic fiction serial White House Rhapsody. Love in the White House? Who would have thought. Join us as President Mark Jerguessen and his aide World Affairs Advisor Sharon Wheatly try to navigate a relationship. Click here to read a synopsis of the whole story that’s been blogged so far.
Sharon’s right ankle was broken, but not so seriously that the doctor had to perform surgery to set it. Instead, she was put into a cast that almost reached her knee with red, white and blue stretch tape on it. The doctor told her to stay completely off her foot for the next week, perhaps longer. Mark approved while Sharon gave him the Evil Eye and went along with it. She was also given pain medication, crutches and a three-wheeled cart called a knee roller, on which she could kneel and support her broken ankle while scooting along.

Sharon was released by six o’clock, which put the president’s party way behind. However, the Marine One helicopter was already on the rooftop of the hospital. That saved some time, plus made a somewhat more discreet departure. Once on Air Force One, they found that Coop had convinced the rest of the party to settle Sharon in Mark’s office on the plane.
“It’s a zoo,” she told Mark as the plane took off. “There isn’t a social media platform that isn’t bursting with all the speculation about your outburst.”
“I know.” Mark glared at his phone. “I’ve been getting all the texts from Tanks and Jean.”
“But what about the story we want to tell?” Sharon rolled her eyes.
Mark chuckled softly. “It will be alright. Frankly, I think Jean’s got the right spin on it. We both know I would have been just as upset if any of the others had gotten left behind. Besides, I am proud of what you did today, as I am of Coop. What you two did was damned gutsy. And that’s what I had Jean release.”
“Okay.” Sharon winced.
“We can’t change how things fell out, and there’s only so much we can do to control the story. We’ll be fine.” Mark bundled Sharon up into his arms. “Oh, and before I forget. How much did the ring sizing cost?”
Sharon laid her head on his shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. I covered it.”
“I know. But I was the one who sent you to that jeweler, and I know she’s pretty expensive. It doesn’t seem fair when the ring was my gift to make you cough up so that you can wear it.”
Sharon snorted. “I wouldn’t have done it if I thought it was too pricey.”
“I’d also like to do something nice for you. It’s a little hard for me to go out and buy you chocolates or something. You’ve had a rough day.” He squeezed her.
Sharon rolled her eyes. “Enough with the arm twisting.”
“Great. I’ll leave you a check under your desk blotter. Now, how much was it?”
“Oh, dear.” Sharon frowned. “About a hundred bucks? I don’t really remember.”
Mark squeezed her again. “I’ll take care of it.”
Sharon hoped he wouldn’t, but he probably would.
When they got to Washington, Mark helped get Sharon settled at the townhouse, but left quickly. Sharon spent the rest of the week working from home, staying downstairs in the living room to avoid as many stairs as possible. Carla, who was also working from home, offered to fetch and carry for Sharon and got her to the doctor’s office for the follow up visit. Mark visited as often as possible and spent most of the weekend with her.
The following Monday morning, Sharon scooted into the West Wing with her knee roller and cast. Sharon tried not to be too embarrassed as her staff teased her about how colorful her red, white, and blue cast was. At least, they’d had the good sense not to make too much of her heroism. Better yet, they hadn’t heard that the Secret Service had driven Sharon to work that day.
Jean Bouyer tried to get Sharon to do a press conference, but Sharon didn’t want to and Carlynn Dobbs thought it was better to skip the conference, as well. Sharon’s reticence made her look becomingly humble.
Tuesday, however, started with a lot of teasing from the rest of the Advisory Board. Sharon brushed it off, but then Karen Tanaka shared her bad news.
“It’s gotten out that the Secret Service is chauffeuring Sharon to and from work,” Karen said slowly. “And there’s a rumor getting a little bit of traction on social media that the ride is courtesy of some fun and games on Sharon’s part.”
Mark glanced at Sharon, who winced. “Unfortunately, there’s a perfectly legitimate reason for the ride. Security protocol.”
“What?” asked Gus Guerrero, the media specialist on the board.
“There’s been a credible threat made against Wheaties,” Al Eddington grumbled. Al, or Warmonger, had multiple contacts within the CIA.
“I’m afraid so.” Mark shifted in his chair.
“And coming from a source we have to take more seriously than usual,” Al continued.
Sharon squirmed. When Mark had told her about the threats on Sunday, she hadn’t been surprised. Everyone got threats and most of the time, there wasn’t anything to worry about. Besides, thanks to the hotel fire Sharon had recently gotten a fair amount of attention, which made threats more likely.
Then Mark told her that the reason the threats had to be taken more seriously than usual was that his mother was making them. Not directly in any way that could be proven in court. Nor was Mark sure what it was about his mother that worried the Secret Service so much. But the security detail had been adamant. Sharon was a little unnerved that Mark’s mother seemed to hate her that much. On the other hand, she was grateful that she didn’t have to deal with the city’s Metro system to get to work on her broken ankle.
“Well,” Karen said with a sigh. “As usual, the timing’s not great in terms of the optics. But it is a legitimate concern, especially with Sharon’s injury. And the rumors don’t seem to be getting any traction, so…”
“We probably need to keep Wheaties as far away from the president as possible,” Al said.
“That would be the worst thing we could do,” Gus said. “It would make it look like the rumors are true. Or that we think they could be.”
“I agree with Augie,” Mark said. “We’ll just stay on top of the situation. Things will blow over a lot more quickly than if we ratchet up the noise with a response. If anyone asks about the ride to work, we tell them the truth. Nobody is going to question us taking a security protocol seriously. Or no one should. It’s the reality of life around here. Now, shall we move on? I do believe we’ve got our first state dinner coming up on Friday.”
Given that the protocols for a state dinner were fairly rigid, and that the members of the White House staff most responsible for them were actually the butler’s crew, there was no real reason for Sharon to be as nervous as she was. Or perhaps she was actually more nervous about the press conference that would be scheduled on Sunday for Valentine’s Day.
Either way, Wednesday afternoon, she was focused on yet another list of details to be checked before that Friday’s big dinner, when Paul Marley knocked on her open office door.
“Aunt Sharon?” he asked softly.
Paul was part of the pack of teens that were friends with Mark’s nephew Matt. Because that pack also included Sharon’s niece and potential step-niece, the kids had taken to calling her Aunt Sharon.
“Hey, Paul, what’s up?” Sharon asked looking up from her laptop.
“Gen Forrest had to take off for something this afternoon, so I’m on duty,” Paul answered, leaning his tall, filled-out form in the doorway. “Anyway, the president is calling in an order to K Street Koffee and wants to know if you want anything. I’m going to pick it up in a couple.”
Paul, Matt, and the other teens took turns filling in as personal assistant to the president so that Gen could work on her master’s degree. Sharon smiled, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. Mark frequently sent Gen or one of the teens on such errands, and it was not at all unusual for him to make sure she or one of the other staff members were included.
“He said there was some new Costa Rican that came in,” Paul continued.
“Oh. Right. I saw that.” Sharon looked around. “And I can use some more beans. Um. Please tell him I’d like two pounds, medium roast.”
Paul nodded and hurried off.
Sharon tried to focus on details. Everyone knew that Mark bought little things for his staff as the opportunities came up. Why would anybody care about a couple pounds of coffee? She shook her head and looked at the latest email. It had to be her nerves about the coming Sunday.
Mark showed up in her office with the two bags of coffee beans around six-thirty, at least half an hour after the lights in the West Wing had been dimmed in a not so subtle hint that the employees there should go home. Mark actively discouraged staff from putting in extended hours at their desks, in the belief that people were more productive when they were well-rested. Which according to all the metrics his business admin office had assembled, they were.
Sharon had told her assistants Julie and Dianne that she was only staying for a bit to finish double checking the seating chart for the state dinner. Actually, she was waiting for Mark to let her know it was safe to go upstairs to the private residence. So she was somewhat surprised when he showed in her office doorway.
“Everyone’s gone,” he said, then held up the bags of coffee. “And I thought I’d drop this by since this is where they’ll go.”
“True.”
He walked around the tight space between the front of the desk and the doorway to the credenza next to Sharon, then slid over to her chair and kissed her.
“You seem a little on edge,” he said, leaning back on the side of her desk.
“I am.” Sharon frowned. “There’s the state dinner. But actually, I think it’s more about the rumors and making the announcement on Sunday.”
“Getting cold feet?” Mark smiled gently.
Sharon noticed the slight shiver in him and shook her head.
“Not at all,” she said, her eyes blinking. “If anything, I just want to get it over with.” She reached over to him and touched his arm. “It’s going to be such a huge change in my life. The sooner I can start adapting, the easier it’s going to be. And just having it hanging over me only makes the waiting worse.”
He nodded. “I can imagine.” Then he took a deep breath. “But I’m thinking we’re going to have to postpone the announcement.”
“No!” Sharon let the tears fall. “Why?”
“Those damn rumors that you’re trading sex for favors.”
“They’re ridiculous.”
“I know. It’s been driving Karen nuts. Worse yet, Jean just got asked about the rumors by some of the mainstream media.” Mark sighed. “But as long as they’re getting traction, then we’ve got a major distraction from the story we want to tell. We’re going to have enough trouble dealing with the coercion issues because I’m your boss.”
Sharon rolled her eyes. “You did not coerce me. Not even close.”
“But not everyone will see it that way, and we both know with good reason, culturally speaking.”
“You’ve got a point.” Sniffing, Sharon reached for a handkerchief in her desk drawer. “I just want to be with you, Mark.”
“I know. I want to be with you, too. But it shouldn’t be too much longer. Either the rumors will blow over or we’ll have to address them, and neither of those possibilities will take that long to happen.”
Mark pulled her to her feet, and the necking was lazy and delicious. Sharon cooed happily, then started.
“What?” asked Mark softly.
“I thought I heard something outside the door.” She grabbed her crutches, there being no room for her knee roller behind her desk. “I’d better go check.”
But the office outside was empty. Sharon went back to her office and packed up her laptop, coat and knee roller. She went a roundabout way to the upstairs elevator, while Mark waited just long enough to head out as if he’d been doing something else without her there.
They made dinner together upstairs, quietly bemoaning the nuisance of having to hide their relationship. At least, it was only for a short time more.
Paul Marley came into the apartment he shared with his mother to find her with her suit jacket and shoes off as she paced the living room, her phone in her hand.
“Well, we’re just going to have to start playing rough…” she told the person on the other line. “That measure isn’t going to do a third of what the opposition says it will, but will make a lot of headaches for people who don’t deserve them, and we’ve got the numbers to back that up… I see.” She glanced Paul’s way. She was a medium-sized woman with blond hair cut short. “That’s up to you. But my son just got home from school and I want to spend time with him. I’ll talk to you later.”
She swiped off the phone. Paul walked up and gave her a hug.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hey, my darling.” Janet Marley squeezed her son back, then pulled away. “You okay? You seem a little down.”
Paul shrugged. “No. Just wondering something.”
She watched as he flopped onto the couch.
“About what, sweetie?” She sat down next to him.
“Are you seeing anybody?” Paul felt his face crease. “I’m not bothered if you are. And I know you don’t want people to know about you and Dad being divorced.”
Janet smiled softly. Being a senator from a fairly conservative state, and with a solid commitment to family values, she didn’t like admitting that her own marriage had failed. She would occasionally confess that it was her ex’s lack of commitment to family values, especially in the marital fidelity arena, that caused the divorce.
“I’m not seeing anybody right now,” she said.
“But you have gone out with other men.”
“A few. Why do you ask?”
He bit his lip. “It’s Matt and me. We were wondering about his uncle. Matt thinks he’s seeing somebody, but he doesn’t know who.”
“If his nephew doesn’t know, then there’s probably a good reason for that. And maybe you should just let it be.”
“I would but…” Paul felt his face flush. “It’s just that we thought the president might be seeing you.”
Paul had not been at all certain what reaction he’d get from his mother, but he did not expect the full-throated laugh.
“It’s not that crazy an idea,” Paul said.
“It’s not crazy at all, sweetie. Just not the right timing.”
“Huh?”
Janet put her arms around her son’s shoulders. “This is just between the two of us. You promise?”
“I promise.” Paul’s eyes lit up.
“It was when I first got to the Senate. I was terrified. I thought I’d been swimming with some pretty big fish back home. It was nothing like Washington. And I was newly single.”
“But you’d ditched Dad long before we came here.”
“The divorce wasn’t officially final until about a week before we arrived. And there was part of me that wanted to get back into the dating game. Wondering if I still had it. Then suddenly, after the swearing in, there was Mark Jerguessen asking me if I wanted to go for coffee. He was one of the other brand-new senators, but he’d already served in the House for a couple terms, so he had a better feel for the place than I did. We didn’t get to go that day, but he took me to K Street Koffee within the week. We both decided right off the bat to keep things quiet about us. I don’t know what his reasons were, besides the whole other side of the aisle thing.” Janet made a face as she thought it over. “He’s got something holding him back. I don’t what it is or if it’s why we broke up less than six months later. But thanks to him, I got my dating mojo back. He was there for you when you needed someone who could see the nuances. He’s a good man, Paul. Lousy politics, but a good man.”
“I know. I like him a lot.” Paul frowned and sighed suddenly. “I just wish you and Dad could have stayed together.”
Janet sighed as well. “I wish we could have, too.”
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