The Oval Office ✓ (Book One)

Chapter One

Here's a playlist to listen to while you read for the vibes if you want:

   https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvsu5FcHhkX48vErCbEQZovJtAwrcDw2x

"Being related to the President is more dangerous than the presidency itself."
-Anonymous

Three years. We've lived in the white house for three years and i still wake up every morning waiting on all of this to be a dream. The odds certainly were not in my husbands favor, after all. He was the first openly bisexual presidential candidate, an independent, supporter of strict gun control and advocate for reproductive rights when the previous president had made abortion illegal. In the three years he's been in office, he's restored the unity that america once had before the last monster that was in office. Most mornings he's up before I am, off at some security briefing or meetings with congress or world leaders, but today is a special day. A clear schedule, which is almost never the case. I think it's happened only once before, and it probably won't happen again.

  I watch him sleep for about ten minutes- since I hardly ever see that happen. He might be able to for five  hours on a good day if  he's lucky, and by then I'm already asleep. I'd be lying if I didn't say that his presidency put a strain on our relationship, but we've been together since we were fifteen- that's twenty three years. We may not get to spend as much time together nowadays, but that makes every moment more precious. His eyes flutter open, stunned for a moment because I am two inches from his face, and then he smiles. "Good morning."

"Good Morning Beautiful." He kisses my forehead, pulling me towards him. For once, our morning will not be hectic- at least I hope it won't.

"Did you speak to prince Ahmad again yesterday? He was pretty insistent." I say.

———-16 hours ago————

After my speech on women's rights overseas, I can almost feel the glaring eyes of the male world leaders in the room. America is one of the most progressive when it comes to women's rights. I'm not familiar with how it is in every single country, but here, in 2023, we are truly equal. Can't say the same for every country. I've used my position as First Lady to advocate for those types of things: LGBTQ rights, women's rights, the Black Lives Matter movement. All equally important, but of course, most reporters from less progressive countries disagree. I pay no attention to them- what matters to me is  equality for the world as a whole. America may have achieved it, but the rest of the world is still several steps behind.

I tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear, and meet James, my main secret service agent in the hallway outside of the preparations room. "Where to?" He asks.

"Pool." I say. "I've got a couple hours to kill." He murmurs something into his walkie talkie, and his expression falls.

  "Prince Ahmad's there. I know you two don't exactly get along- I can have him kicked out if you want." James informs me.

  "No-" I shake my head. "He's here on a diplomatic trip. He's welcome to use the amenities at any time  regardless of our disagreements." He nods, walking alongside me to the residence. Once we're there, he stops outside to give me some privacy.

  I peel off the uncomfortable pantsuit I'm wearing, which has become embarrassingly drenched with sweat in the armpit area- probably shouldn't have had that speech outside.  I throw on a bathing suit- a two piece. In the past it would've been considered inappropriate for the First Lady to wear a bathing suit, which I find incredibly dumb. I scrub the layers of makeup off of my face that the new artist used, instantly feeling better. I've always hated the feeling of makeup. I brush through my hair and order a veggie burger from the kitchen, which I eat in a couple of bites. When I finally rejoin James outside, it's been about an hour. I look at the time- 4:57. My husband'll be meeting with the house speaker around now to discuss new legislation that would allow people to seek asylum with no questions asked. Of course, there are those opposed to the bill, saying it is a gateway for terrorism, but in the past three years? Terrorism has gone down 731% , mostly due to the amped up investigations into finding the worlds most wanted terrorists.  Without leaders, terrorism groups cannot exist, and currently, the United States is holding 32 out of 39 major terrorist group leaders in custody.