THE SCHLOSSBERG DOCTRINE | J.S.

He moved closer, his knee brushing hers in the confined space. "I'm not sleeping. I can't think straight. I'm surrounded by people, and I've never felt more alone. I need you, Vivian. I need your clarity. I need... you."

She tried to summon the cold, hard logic that had sustained her for the past two weeks. "This isn't about clarity, and you know it," she said, her voice trembling. "This is about what happened in Austin. And it can't happen again. Don't you see what this does to me? I'm not just an intern anymore. I'm the girl the President is obsessed with. Elias is watching me like a hawk. Every move I make is scrutinized. My entire life, my entire future, is now defined by you."

"Then let it be," he said, his voice a low, urgent plea. "Let it be defined by me. By us."

"There is no 'us'!" she cried, the words a painful lie. "There's you, the President of the United States, and there's me, a twenty-four-year-old intern who made a catastrophic mistake. In what world do you think this ends well for me?"