Presidents, Spies, and Boys, Oh My!

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Garret threw me against the wall next to the conference room door, slamming the door shut behind him. I bit my lip as my foot bounced nervously. When Garret's upset, it's not fun for anyone. His dark eyes didn't meet mine as he ran his hands nervously through his short hair, making it stand up like Albert Einstein. I tried not to giggle at how ridiculous it looked. It wasn't hard to do.

"Ember, would you care to explain?" he eventually asked, straining to keep his cool.

I sighed before meeting his gaze. He watched me intently with a mixture of emotions in his eyes. Anger, confusion, disappointment, curiosity. I swallowed nervously and willed myself not to stutter.

"Dad, I've been meaning to tell you but I haven't gotten around to it." a true statement, "I....I'm dating Joshua McGallen."

Garret's eyes, as if they couldn't go any wider, went wide as saucers. He swore, loudly, and I was sure even China could hear him as he slipped into Spanish, then Japanese, then Farsi, then back to English again as he had started. Oh God, what did I do? Garret slipping into other languages isn't a good sign at all. 

"You're dating the son of the President who also happens to be your assignment? Ember, are you out of your goddamn mind?!"

Garret closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and visibly relaxed a tad bit. I felt like a little kid who had been caught drawing on the walls in crayon. He opened his eyes and met my gaze again, glaring down at me from his tall height. 

"I mean...they covered this in your training. You know it's not a good idea to date your assignments. You've been a spy long enough to know that!"

I nodded, suddenly fascinated in my shoes. Garret stood next to me, hands on his hips, eyes glaring daggers into me. When I didn't answer, he took another deep breath and lowered his voice back to normal volume. 

"Sweetheart, look at me. Please. Look at your daddy." he said in a tone he used to use when I was a child.

Oh hell no! He did the same thing when I was a kid! Whenever he wanted me to listen to him after an argument, he's say the deadly term, "look at daddy." I always fell for it. I haven't heard him use it since I was seven. My eyes remained down at the floor and my shoes. He sighed, placing a finger under my chin and dragging my head up. I didn't resist. He looked down at me, much calmer, and wrapped me in a tight hug. I hugged him back despite my brain screaming to push him away. I told it to shut up. 

"Ember, I'm sorry. I just...I don't want to see you get hurt. How long have you been dating Joshua?"

I tried to remember. It felt like ten years ago when we had kissed in the White House gardens near the pool. We practically haven't started dating yet, mainly because he hasn't asked me out on a first date, but getting half naked with him must qualify as being boyfriend-girlfriend. I buried my face in his chest, inhaling his familiar scent of cologne and gunpowder. 

"Not too long. Maybe only two weeks at most." I said, muffled by his chest.

He grunted, pulling away slightly to look me in the face again. The anger in his eyes was gone, replaced by love. I forced a small smile that came out more as an awkward twitch of my lips. Oh well.

"So you haven't..." he trailed off but I got the message loud and clear.

"No! Dad, we're not that close." I blurted, immediately feeling awkward as I pulled out of the hug completely.

Garret smiled, amused, and ruffled my hair. I gave him a mock glare and fixed it. 

"I thought so. Just, please, do your old man a favor and wait until you're married. Okay?" 

I nodded. Garret nodded too, kissing the top of my head before we went back into the conference room. William and Leland were talking as if nothing had happened. We sat back down and started going over the suspects again. Same old thing. Same old mission briefing. Some things never change.