It only took another three weeks and another heavy round of lobbying before Victoria’s bill was able to make it to Tom’s desk to be signed. That day arrived with much fanfare on both sides of the aisle, even if Tom’s side was a little more muted overall. This new bill would put some heavy restrictions on wall street activity, greatly leveling the playing field for the middle class in what was expected to be a groundbreaking law.
The previous night, Tom and Victoria had celebrated with a little party of their own, taking the time to truly blow off some steam after so much work on getting the bill passed. Victoria was practically insatiable that night, and even after five orgasms in an hour, she still wanted more. He left her thoroughly sated (and not to mention a little dehydrated) in the early morning hours, knowing he would see her the next day for the bill-signing ceremony.
Before that ceremony could kick off, Tom took a last-ditch call from Elias Houston, the party chairman, begging him not to put his ink on the bill.
“Tom, I’m not going to sugarcoat this any longer,” warned Elias, losing even the modicum of respect he once had for Tom’s position. “If you sign that bill, you’re going to make things very hard on yourself when it comes to getting re-elected. The party does not, I repeat does not, want to piss off wall street.”
“The party may not, but the people want to see this done,” argued Tom. “And I was elected to be the president of all Americans, not just for wall street.”
“You have no idea how deep this goes, Tom,” said Elias, his voice getting increasingly more desperate. “There are forces that are going to come at you very hard for this, and we won’t be able to stop them.”
“Let them come, Elias. I can handle my own business.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Tom.”
Elias hung up the phone after, letting Tom have a reflective moment to himself. The pressure in the past few weeks had been nothing short of relentless. In addition to Elias’ constant warnings and the pulling of funding from his largest donor, Elliot Cruz, Tom was going to have serious issues with funding his reelection. His hope was that this bill would bring him some grassroots support to shore up the campaign, but so far, that hadn’t materialized like he would have liked.
The truth was that Tom was in desperate need of a big fish donor, and with the other party’s primaries now underway, he would need to find someone quickly.
He put those thoughts to the side as the ceremony kicked off in earnest. Joining him for the opportunity was not only Victoria but also her colleague, Senator Alexa Rodriguez of New Mexico, who had given critical support for the bill. She winked at him when she arrived, bringing Tom back to that night they had shared at Victoria’s house. It wasn’t every senator that he could say he truly knew what their cum face looked like, but he could now picture Alexa’s quite vividly in his mind. He would have to get together with her again sometime soon.
They were soon joined by several other congressmen, including the official House authors of the bill, as well as Victoria, who walked into the room like she owned it. Tom knew this was a big day for her too, something that she’d been working towards for a long time. The fact that it was a truly bipartisan effort made it all the more worthwhile for the both of them.
Victoria greeted him professionally but her eyes held a hint of mischief that reflected their vigorous activity from the previous night. Tom kicked off the ceremony with a small speech before putting his signature to a copy of the bill, giving Victoria the honor of keeping the signing pen.
Just like that, all of their hard work was now put into law.
There was plenty of time for celebration afterward, but now that the ordeal was finally over with, Tom looked forward to getting things back to normal.
It was late in the afternoon the day after the signing, and Tom was once again in the oval office, watching some network coverage of the other party’s primary. The field was narrowing once again, and now there were only four major competitors going after his job. Most of them were unelectable or downright unlikeable. There was really only one that could be formidable in the general election but so far the numbers weren’t skewing in his direction.
There was a knock at the door, and soon Aubrey was let into his office. Like just about every day, she looked exquisite. In fact, it had become the highlight of his day to see Aubrey every morning and how she managed to balance the line between professional and stunningly sexy. Today she wore a dark gray blazer that was only buttoned once in the front. Underneath, she wore a simple white shirt that showed just enough of her cleavage to be incredibly tantalizing. She wore a knee-length black pencil skirt to go with it which showed off her perfectly smooth legs. Finally, she wore a pair of dark gray heels to match.
Once more, she managed to take his breath away. anadolu yakası escort It was a constant struggle to remember that they were supposed to be friends and nothing more, but when she looked as sexy as this, it became incredibly difficult.
What’s more, they still hadn’t addressed what happened that night when they flew back from Los Angeles. In the early morning hours of the flight, they’d kissed briefly right before she tried to get some sleep on his couch. The next morning, she made no mention of the kiss, and Tom had to wonder if she even remembered doing it. She’d rebuked him so firmly the first time he tried to make a move on her in this very office that he had to think if shedid remember, she would have mentioned it the next day.
Even with the tension from the kiss, their closeness continued to develop. There wasn’t a day that went by when she wasn’t in his office in some function, usually spending downtime with him when he could spare the time. It even got to the point that Tom had to intervene with the intern program director, making sure the woman wouldn’t chastise Aubrey for her frequent visits. Truthfully, he enjoyed every minute spent with her, and that wasn’t just because of her looks. She was thoughtful and intelligent, and her sense of humor closely matched his.
It was a dangerous line to walk, and it was becoming increasingly hard to maintain the fiction that he only had platonic feelings about her.
This morning though, she seemed to be in a melancholy mood as she sat down in the chair next to his desk. He knew her well enough by now to know that something wasn’t quite right.
“What’s wrong?” asked Tom. “You don’t seem like yourself.”
Aubrey put on a brave smile. “I saw my dad last night. It wasn’t the easiest experience.”
Tom started to nod, knowing exactly what she meant by that. Her father had just undergone a cancer diagnosis in recent weeks, and he needed to be put on chemotherapy right away in order to have a fighting chance. It had added some tension to their household, especially given that Aubrey’s relationship with her father wasn’t the best.
“What happened?” asked Tom. “Talk to me.”
Aubrey reached up and wiped a tear from her eye. Her gaze went upward. “It’s just he’s starting to lose his hair now. It’s nearly all gone. He shaved it all off last night so it’s just hard to deal with right now.”
Aubrey sniffled with her tears, causing Tom to offer her a tissue. She took it willingly and blew her nose.
“That’s got to be tough,” said Tom. “How’s he doing with all of this? How’s his spirit?”
The brave smile returned. “He’s doing all right considering what he’s dealing with. I almost didn’t recognize him, Tom. My mom said that he’s been a little out of it lately but you wouldn’t know it to talk to him. He’s making it sound like this whole thing is just a cold.”
“Maybe that’s just his way of dealing with it,” Tom suggested. “Maybe he thinks if he can keep up the positivity and downsize it, it won’t be so bad.”
Aubrey shrugged. “That might help him but it doesn’t do much for the rest of us.”
Tom nodded, not knowing what to say. Sometimes it was better in these situations to not say anything at all. Sometimes all the speaker wanted was someone to listen and understand. Tom knew that better than most. He kept silent as he scooted his chair over and placed an affectionate hand on her back. There was an instant effect on her. She twisted in her chair to put her head against his shoulder. It was an awkward position but one he took a liking to instantly. He could feel the press of her body against his chest and the sweet smell of fruity melon that drifted to his nose.
“I’m sorry, Tom,” she said with a forced laugh. “I’m a mess right now, and I’ve probably got makeup on your shirt.”
Tom smiled. “That’s why we have dry cleaners. Don’t worry about it at all. I’m here to listen if you need to talk.”
She looked like she wanted to say something to that but she didn’t. Her mouth opened but no words came out. Instead, a genuine smile appeared on her face, one that really highlighted just how beautiful she was.
It took Aubrey another minute or two to pull herself back together, all the while she tried to make lighthearted conversation out of potential embarrassment. Tom indulged her on all of these until she turned to one topic that was a persistent occupier of his mind.
“Why are you watching this, Tom?” she asked, gesturing to the primary coverage on the news.
“Why not?” he countered. “I have to know my competition. Right now, I’m sure my reelection team is scrubbing every second of this footage for talking points during the general, but I like to form my own opinions about it before they tell me what I need to say.”
“You don’t really think these guys are competition for you, do you?” Aubrey asked. “They’re all clowns. None of them could beat you.”
“It’s not so much about what they say but who’s ataşehir escort funding them,” said Tom as he got up from his desk and approached the middle of the room. “Half of the policies they espouse would be a legitimate disaster for the country but as long as they have financing for commercials, ads, polls, and the like, they can keep their names front and center during the process. Generally speaking, the candidate that spends the most money during the campaign is the one that gets elected.”
Aubrey crossed her arms in front of her chest. “It really shouldn’t be like that. I mean, I know it is like that, but it shouldn’t be. There shouldn’t be any room for money in politics.”
Tom smiled. “Spoken like a true American. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone that didn’t agree with you on that point, but unfortunately, that’s not the way things work. You need money to finance the campaign. I don’t think many people realize just how expensive it is to run for president. If you don’t have a few major donors in your back pocket, you’ll never get close.”
“That didn’t seem to stop you when you ran,” replied Aubrey. “You were a relative unknown and you still managed to take the presidency when no one expected you to get anywhere close. You proved that you don’t need money to win the White House.”
Tom pursed his lips. “I still had donors back then. Big ones. Big fish players who saw a chance to put a political rookie in the White House so they could push through whatever pet projects they wanted without any kickbacks. Granted, I knew that was going to be the case from the start. It’s like making a deal with the devil to run for president. Your donors’ causes become your causes, even if they run contrary to what you promise the public.”
Aubrey frowned. “Sounds pretty sordid to me.”
He nodded. “It is. I agree with you but that’s the way it works. And it did work because I’m standing here, but if I keep bleeding donors, I’m not going to win in November. My funding is about as dry as it gets right now. I knew getting involved with Senator Blumanthall would ruffle a few feathers but I didn’t anticipate it would rock the boat this much.”
“How many donors have you lost?” she asked.
Tom grimaced. “My big three are gone. I have others but they are much smaller. So if you happen to find a billion dollars the next time you’re walking around, will you let me know?”
Tom’s joke went over her head as Aubrey sat down on the couch. He could tell her brain was already kicking into gear, and she was trying to think of a solution.
“Is there any chance of the donors coming back?” she asked. “Can you throw them a bone? Offer them anything? Do something crazy like let them off the hook on taxes for the next five years?”
Tom started to chuckle. “You think those guys pay taxes? Not a chance. But my team has been trying to make overtures to them, myself included.” Tom hung his head. “Not a single callback. It really says a lot when not even the President of the United States can get a callback from someone.”
“It seems like those bridges are really burned then,” agreed Aubrey. “Okay, so what’s plan B then?”
“I could always not run and save myself the embarrassment of losing,” said Tom with disgust.
Aubrey shook her head firmly. “The whole country is better off with you in the office instead of outside of it. You were a pretty unorthodox candidate but the vast majority of people like you, Tom. Not to mention, you’ve just showed the whole country that you’re willing to sacrifice your political career just to do right by regular people. You don’t see that too often these days. No, there’s got to be another solution here.”
“I’m all ears when you think of one,” said Tom, sitting down beside her on the couch and stretching his legs out.
Aubrey took a moment to think before she suddenly snapped her fingers and turned towards him. “I got it! What if we just get you another donor to replace the ones you’ve lost?”
“There aren’t that many people in the country capable of throwing around the kind of money that I need,” said Tom. “And most of them divide up pretty evenly along party lines. No one from the other party will talk to me. Believe me, we’ve tried. The traditional donors from my own party are the ones that have shunned me. Unless you know of someone with a billion dollar trust fund, there’s not too many options here.”
“Or maybe we just have to convince someone who isn’t a big donor right now to start thinking more politically,” said Aubrey. “There are plenty of people in this country with big bucks, Tom. Maybe we’re just not looking at the right people.”
She had a point there, and Tom mulled over that idea in silence for a few moments. Just because someone wasn’t a big donor today didn’t mean they couldn’t be convinced to join the cause. It would take a lot of work, and it would require them finding the right person to do it which didn’t exactly make it any easier. He needed that ümraniye escort campaign money right now, not months in the future. By that point, he might be buried in the polls once the other party selected their candidate for the general election.
It was still an option though, even if it wasn’t very probable.
“Well, do you know where we can start?” asked Tom with a small smile. “Do you have any rich relatives that might want to have a friend in the White House?”
“Let me take some time to think this over, and we’ll see what I can come up with,” said Aubrey with a determined look. “There’s got to be someone out there that can help us. There just has to be!”
She looked more confident about that statement than Tom felt about it, but he was thankful that she was willing to get involved to help him. Not many interns would willingly get involved in the deep bones of a campaign like she would.
“Thank you,” said Tom quietly. “I know it’s a long shot but it means a lot to me that you’re willing to help. It feels like all I’ve done recently is let down those people around me.”
Aubrey smiled. She leaned against him, bumping her shoulder against his. “Yeah, well, I think it’s time that someone started looking out for you. All you’ve done lately is look out for everyone else. Maybe it’s time someone returned the favor?”
Tom chuckled. “That’s going to be you then, I take it?”
She giggled and nodded. “Yeah. Got any problems with that?”
“None that I can think of.”
“Good.”
She looked exceptionally pleased with herself, and Tom couldn’t help but feel it too. He was a little disappointed when she claimed the need to get back to work, but thankfully, she stopped right before she walked out the door.
“Hey, what are you doing later tonight?” she asked. “Any plans, dinners, or foreign leaders you have to rub shoulders with?”
Tom chuckled and shook his head. “Not tonight. My schedule is relatively free.”
Aubrey smiled and nodded. “Good. Want to hang out? I’ll be wrapped up by six but maybe afterwards, I could swing by and spend some time with you?”
Tom raised his eyebrow. “You want to spend some time with me? In the White House?”
“Yeah, is that all right?” she asked. “I’ll even bring the wine.”
The bit about the wine had become a private joke to them ever since that night in the hotel back in Los Angeles.
“Of course,” said Tom finally. “That sounds really great.”
Aubrey let out another genuine smile. She didn’t turn toward the door, but instead, she walked over to where he was still sitting on the couch. She pressed in and placed a kiss against his cheek. When she pulled away, she paused, locking eyes on him. It only happened for a split second, but it felt like an eternity.
“See you then,” she whispered.
Tom was speechless as he watched her walk out of the room, her perfect ass swaying back and forth with just the right amount of motion. If they weren’t friends, he would have sworn she was doing it on purpose.
All of it begged another question as well. Just where was this relationship with Aubrey going? Were her kisses ever going to become passionate?
Or was she going to continue to tease him?
*****
Over the next two weeks, Tom hung out after hours with Aubrey no less than six different times. Each time started the same way, where Aubrey would come spend time with him in his personal quarters in the White House. Most of the time, they would watch some kind of movie or sometimes even the political coverage since she enjoyed that type of thing. Afterward, they would always talk, and this was how Tom came to find out all about her personal life.
He heard all about her life growing up, including who all of her best friends were throughout the years, how she fell off the monkey bars in the fourth grade and had to gets stitches on her chin, and even her relationship with her long-deceased dog. Tom heard about all of her college stories, which were really quite mild for how attractive she was.
He even got the lowdown on her romantic history, hearing about several boyfriends throughout the years. Thankfully, there was no one in the picture now, something that he found himself more happy about than he cared to admit.
Of course, he reciprocated those stories with ones of his own, telling her about his days in radio and how normal his life had been before he decided to run for president. Throughout all of these stories, Tom could feel his bond with Aubrey growing. Even if they would only ever be friends, he was at least thankful that he had someone with whom he could talk about almost anything with.
When he wasn’t with Aubrey, the rest of his time played out as it should. At the current moment, Tom was listening to another national security briefing by his NSA, Ryan Douglas. The subject of the briefing was once again the search for Mohammad Kurzon, and today’s briefing had the promise of new intel.
“We were informed by our partners in the Turkish government that Kurzon’s courier, whom we captured last month, died after his last interrogation,” said Ryan, but not before he brought up a picture of the courier in better days. “It would see he lost his mind toward the end, but then again, the Turks can be a little overzealous in their methods.”