Across the Room

Chapter 2

"You must wear this ear piece at all times when in this vicinity, and do not let anybody get a hold of your access card, as obviously that will be a matter of presidential emergency." I had arrived at the White House less than an hour ago, done extensive security checks before being greeted by a girl called Chloe, and I was surprised to see she couldn't have been a little older than me. She had deep red hair scooped into a sleek ponytail, and she wore an immaculate navy blue suit, the many piercings in her ears giving away just a little of her true personality.

"There are no second chances at the White House, you must remember that." she said, handing me a clipboard with a few administrative forms on.

"I understand." I said.

"You will be shadowing me for at least your first month, however then it will be up to the higher powers to determine where you will go." she explained, opening a door into a small cubicle type office with two desks and two chairs, a computer and file organiser on each.

"This is our humble abode." she joked, "no seriously, I practically live here. I have a change of clothes in the drawer and some deodorant. That really nice apartment you think they've set you up with? You'll be there for a maximum of eight hours per day, trust me." I sat down at the empty desk, looking down at the forms I had. She rustled around in one of her drawers and handed me a clear plastic baggie with an enamel pin inside, a brightly coloured USA flag that most politicians and White House members of staff wear.

"Put it on, we all wear it." she informed me, tapping on her computer, "on the forms you will see your computer login, try it out so we can let IT know if there are any issues."

I got logged onto the computer straight away, and Chloe showed me the basics of the White House's system, as well as getting hold of my formal schedule. Our schedules were identical due to us having the same job role, with every morning at 10 am blocked off. She showed me my 'in' work desk and how to submit finished files to the shared system, and also the classified files section that we could get limited access to if needed.

Suddenly, she checked her watch and stood up.

"It's almost ten am, we now go and sit it on the daily briefing in the Oval." she informed me, grabbing her laptop. I mimicked her actions and tried to calm my beating heart, following her quickly in my heels. On the way she pointed out different rooms and areas that may be of use to me, and I tried to remember them all so as not to ever have to ask again.

We approached the door to the Oval office, the security nodding us through as we showed our ID badges. Outside was a man I had often seen on the news, Marcus Brown, the President's Chief of Staff. He was around sixty years old with a kind face, but strong work ethic.

"Chloe, good to see you." he greeted with a nod, "and you must be the new intern?"

"Isabella Romero." I said confidently, extending my hand out. One thing I had learnt was to act confident even if you didn't feel it, because then you could fool anybody.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Marcus Brown." he smiled widely at me, "you're in good hands with Chloe, I look forward to seeing more of you."

"So we wait here until he calls us in, and then we go in and sit down. Marcus leads the meeting, and we take notes for the minutes, before typing them up formally and submitting them for filing. Don't ask questions, and do not speak unless spoken to, understood? We are here to learn, and hopefully get a job at the end of it." Chloe explained quickly and quietly, and there was just enough time for a nod before Marcus was opening the door, and we were following him in along with a few other officials who were attending the briefing.

The Oval office was bigger than what I imagined from TV, and surprisingly there wasn't a big red button on the desk to immediately send out huge bombs. There was the main seating area, and then a few chairs laid back where we designated to sit, relegated to the back due to our status. I kept my head down and opened my laptop, quickly glancing at Chloe to see that she was doing the same thing.

Finally I found the courage to look up, and all the air was knocked out of me as my eyes locked onto the most powerful man in the world looking back at me. I tried to remember how to breathe as I took in his features, the TV screen not doing this man justice whatsoever. His longer black hair streaked very lightly with grey was pushed back almost effortlessly, his tailored navy suit hugging the contours of his body perfectly. His chiseled jaw was lightly covered in stubble, and his dark green eyes stared deeply into his various aides that were passing him various papers. This was Ryan Hayes, the President of the United States, and he had no idea who I was.

Marcus cleared his throat and Ryan's eyes settled automatically onto the brief that had been placed on his desk, putting his attention on to Marcus to begin the meeting. I was all too aware any time his gaze came close to me, and I was kicking myself for feeling like this on my first day. Was I seriously swooning for the most powerful man in the world? I had to keep it together to make a good impression. There was too much on the line for this. As the briefing continued, his eyes roamed around the room as he listened carefully to his trusted advisers, and then time seemed to stop. His eyes naturally glanced over me, but they suddenly snapped back and caught my eye, his gaze becoming curious. I tried to look anywhere but at him, but I found it difficult to actually move my gaze away; I was fixated. Someone near to him cleared his throat, and the longest 5 second eye contact was over... what on Earth had just happened?

The briefing only lasted around thirty minutes, and we all stood up to leave, quiet chatter amongst us.

"Wasn't too bad, huh?" Chloe asked me with a smile, leading me out of the room and down the corridor. She hadn't seemed to notice the moment between the President and I. Then it occurred to me that I was probably thinking far too much into it. I mentally rolled my eyes at myself and opened my mouth to respond to her, but I was interrupted by someone calling my name.

"Miss Romero!" I spun on my heel and saw that Marcus was at the door to the Oval office, beckoning me back. Without waiting a second longer, I walked back down towards him, trying to control my shaking legs.

"Yes, Mr Brown?" I asked tentatively.

"Mr President would like to see you."