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Blake coughed to cover the snide remark he made. To Angela, it sounded like he said, “bullshit,” but she wasn’t sure. She rolled her eyes.
“Fine.”
Penny’s phone dinged. She read a message. “Madam Preside, they are ready for you.”
Angela stood and smoothed her skirt. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”
Alistair stood and walked to the door. Blake stood and walked to her side. With his clenched jaw and tense posture, he was obviously upset at her for something.
“Oh, you’re coming with us?” she asked him.
Without looking at her, he said, “I am still your bodyguard. Where you go, I go.”
Angela rode the elevator with Alistair on one side and Blake on the other. The tension in that small box was stifling.
When the door opened, she confronted Alistair. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, Ma’am, why wouldn’t it be?”
“You’ve seemed a little more formal lately, maybe even a little cold, and you weren’t exactly friendly earlier.”
The corner of his lip twitched. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I’ve continued to work at the same high level of quality as I always have. I want to ensure that a high level of decorum is always maintained. Letting your bodyguard sit at your table may not set the right expectation for the other guards.”
The door opened, and she stepped forward but decided to tell him something first. She had had too much testosterone for one morning. “Just to be clear, you help me run the business as it pertains to my presidential duties. You don’t run my personal business. Do you understand that?”
Blake snickered but cleared his throat when Angela gave him a dirty look.
Alistair nodded. “I understand what you’re saying, but with all due respect, Ma’am, as the President of the United States, your personal business is presidential business.”
She didn’t even bother with a response. Some small part of her knew that to be true, and she hated it.
They followed her out of the elevator and to the press room. Penny followed behind them.
Blake took a bigger-than-normal step to reach for the door before Alistair. Alistair was faster. He opened the press room door. Angela walked through and stepped onto the stage. Blake and Alistair moved to the back of the room. Alistair’s gaze never left her. It was the same creepy look about him he had the night of the explosion. A shudder went through her body, and she pushed back the odd, nefarious thought that entered her mind. Alistair had served presidents for a long time. Her idea was preposterous.
He wouldn’t have done anything to cause her harm. Right?
She stood behind the podium and told the room full of reporters that they could be seated. She thanked her press secretary for starting the conference for her.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” Angela began. “I’d like first to thank the Millers-” she pointed to a couple sitting in the front row “-for finding me. I owe them a lot. I’m sure by now, everyone has heard all about what happened. You don’t need me to repeat it. So, let’s start with questions.”
The Millers played their part like seasoned actors. No one could figure out that they were agents playing a role in covering up what happened. The world did not need to know she was safe and sound with Blake’s family.
Several reporters jumped up and bombarded her with questions. She chose one of her favorite reporters. “Stephanie, let’s start with you.”
“Thank you, Madam President. First, we are very grateful that you are as well as you are. I know my family prayed for you all the time.”
“Thank you.” Angela smiled. “I appreciate that.”
“I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the latest reports, but a new video has surfaced. Our team has been able to enhance the video and discovered that shows a man with wings flying away from the explosion. We can only assume that is how you survived such a horrific incident.” Stephanie looked around the room and pointed to Blake. “We were able to see a face, and it looked very much like the man standing over there. Can you confirm if new technology now allows people to fly with wings?” The reporter winked at Angela. “Or is it as they say, and you have a guardian angel?”
Several reporters snickered, and Stephanie preened.
She stared at Blake, unsure of what to do. All the reporters turned to him and began throwing out questions, not giving him time to respond. Cameras flashed in his eyes. He covered his face and walked out a side door. Everyone turned back to her.
Angela had no idea what to do next, but her job just got a thousand times harder.
Chapter Two
