What's Next?

Chapter 1

One month after inauguration 2021
My phone chirps, pulling me out of a deep sleep and quite a lovely dirty dream. I ignore it to the best of my abilities.

Then my pager starts to chirp.

And my phone starts ringing.

I groan. "You have to be kidding me."

I reach for my phone and slide the answer button. "You have a lot of nerve calling me on my day off, Adrienne. Is the president dead?"

"Nope just hospitalised for exhaustion." She replies.

"What?!"

"Yeah you need to come in."

At that point I'm up and rushing out the door in fuzzy bunny slippers and with my ID in hand. The drive to Pennsylvania Avenue takes longer than it needed too. I knew shouldn't have taken today off but when you get ordered by the President of the United States to take a break, literally ordered, you listen. And now he's in hospital. Fucking great.

I enter the White House with stares coming from every direction but I couldn't care less.

"Nice bunny slippers." Scott chuckles.

"What happened?" I ask as I show the security guard my ID.

Scott and I walk into the bullpen of the west wing. "The dudes been burning the midnight oil. There's a lot we have to fix."

"Has he been getting any sleep?"

"Nope. Just trade agreements and setting the country right."

I sigh. "Well, hows Alex and Carrie handling this? Have we issued a statement?"

"Alex is out there now." Scott gestures to the screen above me.

"Thank you that's all." Alex walks out of the press room and joins us.

"Jesus Christ what a bunch of Jackals. I swear to god I'm gonna lose it one day. " She groans, "Nice slippers."

"Hey at least you didn't say we have a secret plan to fight inflation." I smile.

She snorts out a laugh and a familiar head of brown hair comes into vision.

"Everybody, my office now."

Alex, Adrienne, Scott, Jason and I follow our fearless Chief of Staff into her office.

"Right we need to focus on controlling the narrative. Alex?" Carrie begins.

"We've told them that after one too many all nighters he collapsed due to exhaustion and that after consultation with the White House doctors, he has reluctantly agreed to recuperate in the residence."

"We are sure it's exhaustion and not something else?" Scott asks.

Adrienne, the President's personal secretary, confirms the exhaustion.

"Wait I thought he went to GW?" I say.

Carrie sighs. "He was supposed to but he refused. Stubborn asshole."

Ooh is he gonna get it. I take a few deep breaths. "Ladies and gentlemen, please excuse me."

I march out the door of Carrie's office as Carrie calls after me,

"Don't bother I already yelled at him."

"Well as the deputy Chief of Staff, I feel it's my duty to offer my point of view to the president."

Carrie sighs once more. "Fine go ahead."

I continue out Carrie's office and head to the presidential residence.