The Candidate ✓ (Book Two)

Chapter Four

As I push the door open, I savor the moment. Something that would usually take two seconds takes ten, and walking down the hallway that leads to my office- even longer. The Secretary flips me off- our usual greeting, and I still do, but with less energy. Right now, I'm not even that tired. My head is- from the amount of thinking I've done the past few days.

"Whoah- Lauren, are you okay?" She asks, concerned. I give her the look- the one question I've asked people to never ask me is if I'm okay or not, because I got so damn sick of it after that incident that every time I heard those words I wanted to rip the persons head off. She puts her hands up in defense, and I imagine her saying "Sue me for caring about you".

"I'm fine." I roll my eyes. "Really- I just.. made a decision that... I had to make to do the things I want to do for this country."

She sits back, her chin resting on her fingers. "Does this ... decision involve.. your resignation? 'Cause damnit, you're the best boss I've ever had."

I look away. "You'll see in a few days."

I might as well have said yes. Her and I know each other well enough by now to know what we mean when we use vague wording. I went to her sick daughter's birthday once before she died, for fucks sake. She was dying of pancreatic cancer. Her doctors said they'd never seen somebody as young as her in their forty years of experience with it- she was just seven when she died, after all. It breaks me that- with the ability to get pretty much anything in the world she wanted through the make a wish foundation, she wanted to meet me.

The fact that my speeches and activism inspired a child so much that I was their dying wish kills me- but it's also motivated me to never stop trying. It also reminds me- every time I think about that little girl, that today- in 2030, there are still little girls and women around the world who can't leave their houses without a man. Can't make their own medical decisions. Can't marry who they want to marry- and need their fathers permission before doing so. It kills me that even now- hate crimes still happen. So my decision was not just for me- or even just for that little girl. It's for every little girl watching her tv screen or reading the news who thinks that she'll never amount to anything more than a wife.

Still- to this day, there's only been one female Vice President- and one female president. Marisol filled both of those positions. Nothing against Marisol- but she wasn't elected to either of those positions. I would be the first elected female Vice President.

And I have no intention of attempting to take away from the historical aspect of her presidential and Vice Presidential terms- but an elected female Vice President would change things everywhere.

I'm also not naive. No matter which ticket wins this time around- there will be a female Vice President, making the election itself a historical one. She was an amazing Vice President, but if I'm being one hundred percent honest- she was a horrible president during those few months she held the office. She spoke on social justice issues plenty- but not as frequently as she should have, being in the most powerful political office in the world.

So I'm running against her because I want to inspire even bigger change. "You... might want to put in a note to start transferring the evidence in my case locker to whoever's directly behind me in the line of succession now."

The Secretary nods. I scan my finger chip, giving me access to the room I've called my work-office for years. I know I'm supposed to be in the situation room by now, but I have no idea how many times I'm going to see this place again between now and my official resignation. On one of the walls and the floor, there's an FBI emblem. Files are piled high on my desk- one pile being paperwork I still need to sign, the other being really old ones I should probably just throw away.