Kim Baldwin - The Gemini Deception

“So you’re finally back,” the president said loudly through the door and then laughed. “Did you have a nice time with that someone you had to see?” Thomas sounded different, somehow.

“Elizabeth, are you all right?”

The knob turned, and a moment later, the president stood looking at her curiously from the other side, dressed only in a pale-blue nightgown that ended mid-thigh. It was made of silk, with spaghetti straps and a lace-trimmed bodice. She had Shield’s bottle of wine in one hand and a half-full goblet in the other. “Care for a glass?” Thomas asked.

“What are you doing?” Shield asked quietly, trying to control her anger.

“You’ve been holding out on the good stuff.”

“All my wine is good, but that’s beside the point.”

“Hmm.” Thomas lifted the bottle and eyed it. “This one here says Special Collection. You can’t tell me it’s not better.”

“You were in my room.”

“You’re sharp.”

“You have no right.”

“And you shouldn’t be drinking on the job,” the president said, and chuckled to herself.

“I didn’t…don’t. It was a keepsake I like to have with me whenever possible.” Shield’s heart sank when she realized the bottle was more than half-empty. “It was a special bottle. The only one of its kind.”

“Settle down.” Thomas waved the bottle in the air. “I’ll get you another one.”

“You can’t.”

“I’m the president. I can do anything.” Thomas laughed.

“Why were you in my room?”

“Like I said, I’m the president. I can do anything.”

President or not, Shield was close to losing what little patience she had left. No one invaded her personal space or touched her things. The loss of her beloved bottle was particularly upsetting. “Look, Madam President,” Shield said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm from her voice. “I don’t know what you’re going through, but you have no right to be in my room unless you need me because of an emergency.”

“Maybe it was an emergency,” Thomas replied, “but then again, you wouldn’t know because you weren’t here.”

“If that’s the case, you had a guard with you all day.”

“And if they were competent to begin with, they wouldn’t have hired you.” Thomas hiccupped. “Am I right, or am I right?”

“What was the emergency?” Kennedy crossed her arms over her chest, not believing a word of it. Had anything happened, she would have been informed immediately.

“I wanted to talk to you.” Thomas entered Shield’s room on unsteady feet and leaned against the dresser.

Kennedy followed her with her gaze and turned to face her. “So I heard. I was about to come to you when you knocked on my door. What do you want to see me about?”

“I um…I…”

“You’re drunk, Madam President.”

“I’m tipsy, and stop calling me that. Call me Elizabeth like I asked you to. Or better yet, call me Lizzy.”

“I can’t do that. Maybe you need to sit down.” Shield walked over to Thomas and slowly took the bottle and then the glass from her hands. She placed them on the dresser and put an arm around Thomas’s waist.

“This feels nice. Maybe we should go for a walk. It’s a lovely evening,” Thomas said as Shield led her to the armchair.

“I don’t think you should be going anywhere.” Shield helped her sit.

“Party killer.”

“How much have you had to drink?”

“A glass…or three.”

“You really are a lightweight.” Shield took a seat on the armchair across from her.

“So, how was your day, Kennedy?”

“I had to fly to Maine for business.”

“To see someone.”

“Yes.”

“Who’s in Maine?”

“Your late husband’s golf club.”

“My who?” Thomas looked confused.

“Mr. Thomas.”

The president blinked several times. “Oh, yeah. Him.”

Shield was certain Moore was involved in the death of Thomas’s husband Jeffrey. But Thomas herself, under the influence of alcohol and unconstrained by lucid emotions and responses, seemed to be showing absolutely no emotion for her late husband. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad situation after all. It seemed a perfect opportunity to get more information from the president about what was going on. “How was your relationship with Mr. Thomas?”

“Just fine.”

“Did you love him?”

“Sure, he was my husband,” she said flippantly.

“And Moore?”

Thomas grimaced like she’d just licked a lemon. “What about him? I sure as hell don’t love him.”

At least she finally admits to disliking that bastard. “Did he and your late husband get along?”

The president shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess.”

Shield wasn’t about to remind Thomas of her previous statement, avowing how much Moore cared for her and her husband. “You must have been pretty scared during the attack.”

“That was something, all right.” Thomas’s voice and demeanor were devoid of any grief or melancholy. Anyone in her position would at least show discomfort at the mere mention of such a dramatic memory.

“What happened in there?”

“I can’t talk about that.” Thomas looked away. “But hey…I get to live.”

“It might help you cope if you share,” Shield said. “You need to talk to someone, Elizabeth. You can’t do it all on your own.”

“I can’t talk to anyone, especially not you.”

“Why not? You can trust me.”

“Funny you say that.” Thomas smiled. “Because I do, more so than anyone else I know. Which is also funny, since I hardly know you.”

“You know me well enough to understand I want to keep you safe. I’d never harm you, Elizabeth.”

“I also know you like to manipulate and humiliate.”

“I…”

“You acted like you wanted to kiss me.”

“I did that to make a point, not to hurt you.”

“Same thing,” the president said quietly. “And you did…hurt me.”

“Elizabeth, did your husband know you…like women?”

“No.”

“And Moore?”

“How could they? I’m not gay.”

“You do realize I’m a woman, right?”

“Of course, but I’m not gay, and I’ve never wanted to kiss a woman before.”

“Do you think it’s a shock reaction to your attack?”

“Who knows what it is?” Thomas raised her hands, exasperated. “All I know is that you made me feel stupid for feeling attractive.”

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention.”

Shield wasn’t getting the answers to the questions she wanted, and Thomas seemed to be sobering up pretty fast.

“Am I not your type?” the president asked.

“You’re a very attractive woman.”

Thomas blushed and probably didn’t even know it. She looked so soft and vulnerable at that moment, her cheeks flushed, that Shield found it hard not to stare. “But?”

“You’re the president, and I’m security.”

“What if I wasn’t?”

“Then I wouldn’t be here,” Shield answered diplomatically.

Thomas looked almost defeated. “Because I would be some plain Jane and not the president.”

Shield didn’t know how to respond to that. Truth was, she would have wanted to kiss Thomas no matter who she was, and it had taken all her restraint to walk away from that beautiful mouth. Having her just out of arm’s reach now, dressed so provocatively, was a true test of her professionalism.

“What’s your story, Kennedy? Why aren’t you capable of wanting someone who’s not all that powerful…like a plain florist, for example? Why does it take someone like a friggin’ president to get your rocks off?”

A florist? Where did that come from? “I never said that.”