The Reluctant First Lady (32 page)

Robert added, “Before I let you go, Mr. Carruthers called your office several times asking for you. Your secretaries covered for you and told him you were in meetings. Finally, they referred him to me. He was calling to let you know how much was raised in donations from the open house.”

“How much?”

“Almost two million dollars. Not bad for a night’s work.”

“No, not bad, but I’d appreciate it if you’d handle everything involving Geoffrey from now on. Would you let him know that his association with me has been terminated—naturally, after the money has been transferred into the museum’s account? Oh, and find a better word than ‘terminated.’ That sounds so ominous. Still, the bottom line is I won’t be dealing with him anymore.”

“Did something happen between you two?”

“Yes. He’s a user. He doesn’t do anything unless there’s something in it for him.”

“Sounds like your opinion of Geoffrey has hit the skids; however, now that you’re going to be dividing your time between the New York and Washington museums, you can easily hand off your dealings with him to Max.”

“I’m counting on that. I need to call Mavis now. I’ll be in touch later to discuss the specifics regarding a timeline. Thanks for giving me the latitude to make this change. I think it will be beneficial to Ted and for me.”

“Shoot, Ashley, if you recall, your working at the Washington museum was my idea in the first place. Call me after you talk to your husband.”

Ashley called Mavis next. “Hi. I’m back.”

“Great. Leave us all hanging and wondering how you are, and then just call and act as though you’ve just stepped out of the office for a moment. Where are you?”

“I’m on my way to Washington. Michael’s acting all ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane’ on me. I’ll be gone tomorrow for sure although I expect to be back in the office the day after that. I’ll let you know what’s going on after I see Michael; he’s almost foaming at the mouth, he’s so mad.”

“Can you blame him after the stunt you pulled?”

“Thanks. It’s nice to know one of my closest friends is in my corner. Been consorting with the enemy, have you?”

“Ashley, your husband has been half crazy worrying about your safety. If you had talked to him, you’d feel sorry for him too.”

“You have compassion for Michael. What about me? Remember, I didn’t take off on a whim. There were some pretty heady issues I needed to think through. I’ve made some decisions, and I’m anxious to talk to you and Kathy about them. I need to go for now, but I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

“You’re not just going to leave me hanging?” Mavis protested in disbelief.

“Just for another day; I promise. I’ll talk to you soon.”

45

As she and the agents raced toward Washington, DC, Ashley reflected on her conversation with Robert. She finally felt she was making progress in finding a working solution for the situation she and Michael were in. Sure, it was only temporary—a year, hopefully, at the most—but it would give her a chance to see how she liked the Washington museum and, more importantly, whether or not she could stomach living in the White House and being so close to the center of politics without giving up her job in New York and her autonomy.

Her next phone call was to Georgia, Michael’s secretary. “Hey, Georgia, it’s Ashley. Would you let Michael know I’ll be arriving at the White House around dinnertime? If he doesn’t have any plans for this evening, maybe we could have dinner together.”

Georgia said she would pass along the message, but she thought the president already had dinner plans.

Matt and Dave were still stonewalling her, but they couldn’t have been happier than to be delivering their charge to the White House. When they arrived at the private entrance to the family residence, they opened the car door for her and picked up her backpack.

“You don’t have to go any further. I can manage from here,” Ashley said.

“Thank you for your consideration. We’ll see you to the door of the residence. The other agents can take over from there,” Matt replied.

“For goodness’ sake, you’d think I was a criminal. I’m not going to try to escape. Now you’re just being silly.”

“All the same,” David answered, “we’ll see that you make it all the way to your destination.”

Matt and Dave dropped her off at the entrance to the family residence. Other agents were close by, so they evidently felt they could leave her without her bolting again. It was going to take a lot of time trying to re-establish some sort of a relationship with the two of them. Who was she kidding? They would never completely trust her again, and in all truth they probably never had.

When Ashley walked into the second floor residence, she stood completely still and listened. The apartment was silent. Could she honestly make this place her home? What choice did she have?

The final stage of her plan had to do with Michael. He needed to agree to the terms of her arrangement. She hoped he’d be willing to meet her halfway. Otherwise, she wouldn’t follow through with her proposal.

The phone on the end table rang. She hoped it was Michael.

“Hello.”

“Good evening, Mrs. Taylor. The president asked me to call and let you know he already had dinner plans and after that he has another meeting. He said he’ll see you later this evening, probably around ten or ten thirty.”

“Thanks for the call, Georgia. I’ll have something sent up for me to eat.”

“I can do that for you.”

“No, thank you. It’s way past your workday. Go home and unwind. I’ll give the kitchen a call. Thanks for offering, though.”

As soon as Ashley got off the phone, she called the kitchen and asked if she could have a sandwich sent up. While she was waiting for it to be delivered, she unpacked her backpack and took a little tour around the rooms to see what she might do to make it more personal for her. She didn’t like the idea of living in the White House, but at least she didn’t have to work here.

She had long ago accepted that even though she considered Michael and herself equal partners, she was still the one who made the majority of the compromises when necessary. Only after Jeremy and Juliette left for college had she really started holding her ground. She knew what a huge blow it was for Michael when she refused to follow him to the White House. He’d bounced back with a great idea for filling the void despite having hired the hypocritical Paula. If only Michael understood, like many other women who knew Paula, she’d throw Connor down the mine shaft in a hot second if she thought she had a chance with Michael.

Ashley answered the knock on the door. Food. She was hungrier than she thought. She realized now that she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast early this morning. Sitting in the apartment was comparable to sitting in a tomb; she wished Michael were here with her. She was anxious to get their initial meeting over and all of the emotional accusations and repercussions out of the way so they could have a conversation about the solution she thought might work.

While waiting for Michael to return, Ashley decided to call Jeremy and Juliette. She picked up the phone and pressed a button. She asked the person who answered how to make a conference call. She might as well talk to them both at the same time. Otherwise, she’d just be repeating herself.

The person who assisted her was eager to set up the call for her. Ashley knew she should be thankful for how helpful everyone was trying to be, and she was. She realized the entire White House staff wanted to make her feel welcome, but she didn’t want everything done for her. She’d never liked being waited on. Here at the White House, there was a whole staff just waiting to do things for the First Family. That wasn’t a habit she wanted to get used to.

The phone rang, breaking the silence in the room. Ashley scooted quickly into a comfortable chair before she picked up the receiver. “Hello.”

“Hi, Mom. So you decided to turn yourself in?” Jeremy asked.

“Hi to both of you. How are you?”

“Mom,” Juliette said quietly, “why don’t you tell us why you felt the need to take off and how Dad’s doing now that you’re back?”

Whatever made her think she could control a conversation with her kids? “Fair enough. First I needed to get away completely alone for a few days to think through some things regarding your dad and me. I needed some quiet, uninterrupted time. It wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done, so don’t try to follow in my footsteps. I hope you’re listening, Jeremy. The good news is I was able to find a possible solution to the situation between your dad and me.”

She told them all about Ted’s accident and how he was doing.

“While Ted is recovering, I could work at both the New York and the Washington museums. That way I’d be holding Ted’s job open for him to return to, and it would allow me to be in Washington about half of every month. Max and Elise could help run the museums when I’m not in New York or Washington. I’m still not interested in taking over any responsibilities of the First Lady, but at least your dad and I would live together and be in the same town for about half the month.

“I’m sitting here waiting to talk to your father to let him know I think I’ve found a solution for us, at least, temporarily. Unfortunately he’s still in meetings.”

“It sounds like a good solution, Mom. However, the Washington museum can’t be as exciting as the one in New York,” Jeremy commented.

“All museums can be exciting. It’s what you do to promote them that’s important. However, the most important thing to me is our family, and I don’t want to continue being at odds with your dad. Plus, I’m not giving up my career. Be happy for your dad and me. I think I’ve hit on a solution that will make things a lot easier on us.”

“We are happy for you, Mom. All the same, aren’t you worried that you’ll get dragged into the whole political thing by just living there?” Juliette asked.

“I won’t allow anyone to drag me anywhere. Nothing is going to change except my work routine. Trust me; I have no intentions of doing anything political.”

“Then we wish you luck,” Juliette said.

“Yeah, we do, but we hope you aren’t going to need any. Do you feel like you’ve got the situation under control?” Jeremy wanted to know.

“I’d like to think so. I’ve talked to Robert, and he’s completely supportive. About the only thing I still need to do is see your dad for the first time since I took off. I’m not exactly looking forward to that, but I’ll deal with it. I just wanted to touch base with both of you to let you know I’m back, why I took off, and of course, the decision I’ve made. I really need to go. I’m expecting your dad before long, and I don’t think it would be healthy for you to hear your father trying to murder your mother over the phone. It would be bad for your development. I’ll call again soon. I love you.”

“We love you, too, Mom,” they responded in unison.

She missed her kids the minute she got off the phone. It was getting harder and harder to keep up with everything going on in their lives. They were both living on their own, and even though that was the natural order of things, she didn’t have to like it. Letting go and trusting that you’d taught your children everything they needed to know to live safe, happy, healthy, and productive lives was one of the hardest things a parent had to do.

Ashley moved into the bedroom. She changed into her nightgown and grabbed the book she was currently reading. She must’ve dozed off because she heard a steely, calm voice say, “Ashley, wake up.” Her heart was pounding, and all she wanted to do was get out of the room where the cold, emotionless voice spoke to her.

She sat up and turned on the light next to the bed. She saw Michael immediately. He was sitting in a chair right across from her, watching her as if she were some oddity to be figured out, and he looked as though he were contemplating murder. She needed to get the upper hand, fast.

“Michael, you’re finally here. I’m so glad.”

“Don’t act as if nothing is wrong. You’re not stupid, and you have an excellent ability to assess people and their moods. So I’m guessing you’ve assessed mine and think the best thing to do is act nonchalant. That would definitely be the wrong approach.”

Ashley got out of bed and headed to the closet for a robe. Before she reached the closet, she felt her arm caught in a viselike grip. “You’re not going anywhere. Sit down.”

“I don’t like the way you’re talking to me.”

“No? Too bad. I didn’t like the way you took off leaving me to wonder if you were all right or if you’d been kidnapped or if you were dead. Sit down.”

“Watch it, Michael. You’re overplaying the angry husband role and beginning to make me mad.”

“Am I really? Well I’m just worried sick about that. Sit down.”

“You’re behaving like a barbarian, and after I’ve come here to tell you about a solution I think I’ve found that will help us be together more. Don’t create more of a problem than there is.”

“My biggest problem is you, and don’t think you can manipulate me into forgetting about your most recent escapade by trying to throw me off with another subject. You’re going to tell me exactly when you cooked up your little scheme to ditch your agents and why the hell you thought it was necessary. I’d like to know how your mind works and under what conditions you thought it might be okay to put yourself in danger. And, yes, I’ve heard all about the man who attacked you at the cabin.”

Ashley looked down. “I wouldn’t call it an attack exactly. It was more of a surprise really. Let go of my arm and sit down like the reasonable man the people of this country think they elected, or I’ll scream down this whole damn place.”

Michael never cared for threats, and most specifically, he didn’t care for this one. He had no intention of letting Ashley get away with her show of defiance. Her domineering attitude threw many people off, but he knew her and she wasn’t going to dissuade him from getting the answers to every one of his questions.

“Nice try. I’ll let go when I’m damned good and ready. Start talking.”

“Then, perhaps tomorrow I’ll wear a sleeveless blouse to highlight the lovely bruises I’ll be sporting from your death grip.”

He didn’t realize how tightly he’d been holding her arm. He loosened his grip and led her over to the chair he’d been sitting in and sat her down. “Don’t you dare think about moving from that spot.”