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White House Rhapsody – Season 7, Episode 8

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 was in a much better frame of mind the next morning. It looked like the final pieces of the state dinner with the Argentinian president were falling into place. President Oscar Carrasco and his wife would arrive late that afternoon. She would go out to the airfield with Mark to greet the guests, then the Argentinian party would go to their embassy to rest.

The Advisory Board meeting had been re-scheduled to that Thursday since all day Friday would be taken up with talks over trade policy and other issues. Sharon waited through the other reports, as she only had a few minor issues besides the state dinner and the visit from President Carrasco.

“Do you have all the security clearances on the guests?” Al Eddington interrupted.

“Of course,” Sharon said. “We—“

“Have you verified the Argentinians yourself?” Al snapped.

“Yes. Security is completely happy with the arrangements.”

“You didn’t check them, did you?” Al’s voice rose. “You just don’t understand security! You have to double and triple check. You can’t just rely on other people to do it!”

“I…” Sharon gaped, looking at the others for help.

“Al! Stand down!” Eli Weatherall, the environmental advisor on the panel, was on his feet.

Short, tanned and wizened from years outside, Eli, like Al, was in his early 70s. But age was all the two seemed to have in common. Al was tall and commanding. Eli rarely spoke above a hush. Which was why the rest of the board gaped at him and Al shut up.

“Mr. President, I think Dr. Eddington and I need to speak privately,” Eli said, his voice back to its normal soft volume.

“I think that’s an excellent idea.” Mark stood and the others rose with him. “In fact, why don’t we call this meeting adjourned? Wheaties, if you’ve got any additional comments, you can fill me in at lunch.”

The board members left quickly, leaving Al and Eli behind.

Sharon gasped slightly in the hallway as Karen gave her a quick hug.

“It’ll be all right.” Karen glanced back at the conference room. “It’s like we thought last summer when Caroline was going through chemo. It’s going to take another White guy to get through to Al. And Al does respect Eli.”

Sharon ate lunch with Mark in the Oval Office, finalizing her briefing on the state visit. Mark remained distracted and obviously worried about Al. Finished eating and briefing, Sharon got up to go, but Mark stopped her.

“Do you know what’s going on with Al?” he asked her.

She looked down at her feet. “Probably.”

“And…?”

“He’s in bad enough shape.” Sharon took a deep breath. “I don’t want to make it worse.”

“This isn’t about keeping confidences,” Mark said. “He needs help.”

“I know. Let’s just hope that Eli can push him in that direction. Neither of us can do it. We’re both too young and I’m not a guy.”

“But why is he dumping on you specifically?”

Sharon looked away. “I may have caught him in a vulnerable moment.”

Mark cursed. “We do not need this. You’re dealing with enough crap as it is.”

“Well, it’s what we’ve got.” Sharon shrugged. “Part of playing in the big leagues, right?”

“Yeah, but not the fun part.”

“I know, and it isn’t. I’m a big girl. I’ll handle it one way or another.”

“Okay.” He reached over and held her. “But keep talking to me, will you? I said I’d be there for you, and I mean it.”

“I know.” She smiled and kissed him, then left.

She was just getting settled in her own office when Julie buzzed her, asking if she could see Dr. Eddington. Sharon shuddered, but agreed. Al entered the narrow room, ramrod straight as always, although his eyes were downcast.

Al cleared his throat. “You know, our boss has a real knack for finding the right kind of people to work with him.”

“I’ve noticed.” Sharon got up, but stayed behind her desk.

“That Eli…” Al coughed. “You know I did tours in Vietnam and later in Iraq. Saw plenty of action.” He paused and swallowed. “You don’t survive a battlefield by showing your weak side.”

“I wouldn’t know, but I’m not surprised you do,” she said softly.

“That is one of the boss’s weaknesses. He’s never been military.” Al looked at her, then away. “I, uh, sometimes forget that the rules aren’t the same in civilian life. Eli made a point of reminding me of that today.” Al cleared his throat again. “I need to apologize.” He paused. “And I apologize. I’ve been awfully rough on you, and you don’t deserve any of it. You’re one of the smartest, most effective people in that room. And that’s saying something.”

“I’m honored you think so.” She smiled, watching him carefully. “And I accept your apology.”

“Now, don’t give me any of that ‘It takes a big man’ crap.” Al glared her down.

“Okay.” Sharon chuckled. “It does, but I won’t. Tell you what. The boss won’t need me after we get President Carrasco off to his embassy. Why don’t we get some dinner?”

“That sounds good. Meet me at my office at six.” Al turned to go.

“Yes, sir!” Sharon waved a half-salute.

Al stopped and sighed. Sharon grinned.

“Civilian life,” he snorted, then left.

The first meeting with the Argentinian president on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base went well. President Carrasco made a short speech in perfect English. Mark welcomed him in Spanish. Sharon smiled to herself. Mark’s accent was still pretty atrocious, but it was sounding better than it ever had.

Then everyone got in their cars and the Argentinian party went off to their embassy and the Americans back to the White House. Sharon told Mark about her dinner with Al, then said he could meet her back at the townhouse afterward.

Sharon got her knee roller and met Al. The dinner was pleasant, but marred briefly by a camera flash.

“That’s not good,” Sharon grumbled. “Can’t even eat dinner with a friend.”

Al growled. “I tell you, I’m spitting mad about that rumor nonsense, and have been since it started. You don’t deserve that.”

“Thanks, Al. I appreciate that.” Sharon sighed. “But it’s how it goes.”

“I’m seriously considering making a statement.”

Sharon shook her head. “I’m with Jean on this one. No point in saying anything until we have to. It just draws more attention to it. Besides, what’s that saying? Never fight with a pig. It just gets you dirty and makes the pig happy.”

“I have nothing against getting dirty,” Al snarled, then paused. “But you have a point about not drawing more attention to it.”

The two went back to making fun of old television shows and enjoying their food.

Late that next Friday morning, after the photo op with the two presidents and before lunch, Mark slid up to Sharon.

“You don’t look so good,” he whispered.

“Just getting a little achy,” she said. “The ankle is acting up and standing around on the knee roller has my back out of whack. I’ll be fine. Just waiting for lunch so I can get some aspirin in me.”

Mark nodded and moved away. Earlier that morning, Jean and Karen had texted him, worried that a photo of Sharon and Al Eddington having dinner together was all over social media. They were also worrying about Al’s response that anyone inferring something from two colleagues sharing a meal had a dirtier mind than he did.

Karen later conceded that Al had somehow hit just the right note. Nonetheless, it was a distraction Mark did not need. Relations with the Argentinians were not all that fraught, but that didn’t mean he could get careless during the meetings. And it also looked as though Mark would have to answer the rumors rather than letting them blow over. That was not going to be a fun press conference. During a break, Mark texted Carlynn Dobbs and asked her to talk to Sharon that day at the first opportunity.

When Sharon saw the message from Julie that Carlynn would be waiting for her that afternoon after the last meeting, but before everyone had to get ready for the state dinner, she tried not to burst into tears. Mark had told her Carlynn would be waiting and said that whatever Sharon wanted to share with Carlynn was okay with him.

Sharon resented that the decision to share had been dumped on her. But then, Mark really hadn’t had much of a choice. Things weren’t at crisis point with the rumors, but they could get that way all too quickly. They needed to be ready sooner rather than later.

She thanked God that Leonidas Bertonetti, her South American expert, was also monitoring the day’s activities. She was barely able to concentrate. Then there was Al’s response, which surprised Sharon. Who knew the old stick in the mud had a sense of humor?

Between her various aches and the stress of the meetings, Sharon wanted nothing more than to be left alone when the break time arrived. But Carlynn Dobbs was waiting outside her office.

Sharon scooted inside, traded her knee roller for her crutches so that she could get to her desk and sank into her chair trying not to groan. She waved to a chair on the side of the desk. Carlynn, a tall, heavy-set woman with tightly curled gray hair and cafe-au-lait skin dotted by freckles, sat down gratefully.

“The rumors say you have a bigger office than anyone else,” Carlynn said, looking around the space with light green walls bearing several framed prints and decorated by a painted chair rail.

“Square footage-wise, yeah.” Sharon shrugged and spread out her arms. “It’s plenty wide but not very deep. Makes it really hard to get around in. Plus no window. And you want to know what’s really ridiculous? I’ve had this office since I first got here. There was no time to trade anything to get it, let alone get to know the unnamed person who assigned it to me.”

Carlynn looked down at the legal pad she had in her hands. “Okay. So that one is bogus. But. I am not here to judge. I do not care what you are doing. I do need to know—”

“Nothing!” Sharon snapped, then flushed. “I mean… Oh, shavings.” She felt like putting her head on the desk and sobbing, but somehow didn’t and straightened herself up. “It’s perfectly legit. Only the president and I… Well, can you just keep it quiet for the time being? We’re trying to control the story.”

Carlynn laughed. “That’s usually my job.”

“I know!” Sharon groaned. “I can’t believe I’m acting like such an amateur.”

“Why do you think you are?”

Sharon let the tears fall. “Because I love him so much.”

“The president?” Carlynn’s eyebrows rose into her hairline.

“Mark and I are getting married. We don’t know when. We’re still trying to figure out how to announce it.”

“Hm.” Carlynn tapped her pen on the legal pad. “That is not the spin I was expecting.”

“It’s not spin!”

Carlynn held her hand up. “No. No. You’re legit. I can see that.” She frowned. “We just need to work this one through. I’m getting the feeling that the president was using those other women as cover for grooming you.”

Sharon winced. “Well, yeah, but not. Given all the fat shaming that Lady Beverly was getting, he figured it would be a great idea to help all the rest of us.”

“All right.” Carlynn looked at her. “But now we have the rumors. What’s the story you want to tell about yourself?”

“That we’re in love.”

“That’s for later. What story do we tell to let people know the rumors aren’t true?”

Feeling calmer, Sharon sat back in her chair and thought. “That I’m an intelligent, strong woman who doesn’t need to trade sex to get what she wants.”

Carlynn sighed. “That’s what’s behind the rumors, you know.”

“What?”

“Keeping you in your place. Making you out to be a weak, grasping prostitute who has no other alternative.”

“But that’s not me.” Sharon flushed as her voice squeaked.

“Of course it’s not.” Carlynn smiled reassuringly. “So how do we tell people that? What makes you a nice person?”

Sharon frowned. “I don’t know. I don’t kick puppies?”

Carlynn’s eyes fell on Sharon’s crutches. “You did stay in a smoke-filled room, helping to keep people calm so that they could be evacuated safely.”

“No!” Sharon gasped. “You can’t play on that. They’ll just say I was trying to make myself look good! The worst kind of grasping.”

“You’re right.” Carlynn smiled. “You can’t play on that. But I can.”

“No. Please don’t. That would be just too horrible. That’s not why I stayed. It was just human decency to. Making myself look good has nothing to do with why I stayed. Please don’t.”

Carlynn fixed her eyes on Sharon. “Trust me, honey. I know how to do this. It’s not about manipulation. It’s about telling the truth of who you are. I promise. You can trust me.”

Sharon swallowed, not at all sure she could, but knowing she had little option not to.

The state dinner went well. The Argentinians were pleased and the press focused on that to everyone’s relief, at least among those in the White House. Two days later, on Monday, President Carrasco left.

Wednesday morning, Sharon arrived in her office to find both Mark and Carlynn Dobbs there.

“What’s going on?” she asked, hobbling to her desk.

“Hard Town Saturday Night,” Mark said, his voice grim. “The video is all over social media, referencing you as the young prostitute in it.”

Sharon sank into the chair, her face growing hot. “Oh, no. Not that.”

“Sharon…” Mark reached for her, but she looked at Carlynn and shrunk back.

“It’s my worst nightmare,” she whispered.

“I don’t understand,” Carlynn said.

“My brother, Michael Wheatly,” Sharon said. “He’s the rock star. When he was nineteen, he had a recording contract with a major company for his first album. I don’t remember what all was involved. Either a change of executives or Michael got someone mad at him. But whoever took over Michael’s album was trying to kill it, and couldn’t because of the contract. Michael got next to no money for the video. What the record company person didn’t realize is that Michael is really good at making friends, and he got some of his buddies from Italy to do the shoot for next to nothing. And he asked me to play the prostitute and my sister Susan to dance for it. I was only fourteen, but I thought it would be fun. And it was. Anyway, Maman and Dad had moved us back to the States to help with Michael’s career.” She looked over at Carlynn. “I grew up all over Europe and we’d been living in Italy, where Michael got started. He’d been doing pretty good in Europe, but here’s where the big money is. So, we moved to the States, and I started sophomore year at my high school in Orange County, in California. And the video goes totally viral. It’s this massive hit. Except that I was going to school with a bunch of teen boys who didn’t get the concept of playing a role. Or didn’t want to, the jerks. They made my life hell.” Sharon shuddered at the memory. “It got so bad that Dad took a job in Prague, called in a couple favors and got me and Susan enrolled at an all-girls boarding school in Switzerland. There were enough kids of celebrities, royalty, and ultra-rich people that they couldn’t have cared less who I was related to. As for the video, a lot of the kids were actors, too, so they didn’t care about what I’d done in it. I was anonymous. And I loved it.”

Mark sighed deeply. Sharon looked at him, her face anxious.

“It’s okay!” she gasped, then swallowed. “I’m not fifteen anymore. I have to remember that.”

Mark looked over at Carlynn. “We have to answer the rumors.”

“You mean announce about us?” Sharon looked at him hopefully.

“I don’t think you should do that,” Carlynn said. “If you can at all avoid it. But you do need address the rumors. I think a little righteous indignation would work wonderfully about now.”

“Especially since a critical member of my staff has been hamstrung by this completely unjust nonsense.” Mark nodded. “Will tomorrow afternoon give you enough time to get Sharon ready?”

“Plenty of time.”

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