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“Enough, Bob.” The president’s voice brooked no disagreement. The conversation was over. He straightened his jacket. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some governing to do.” As the president started to walk, the whole group of men moved en masse down the hallway. Soon they were gone.
Elizabeth remained frozen in the alcove, plastered against the wall. She probably should have bolted for the exit, but her muscles felt loose and unattached as though she might fall to pieces if she tried to move.
Finally, Lydia grabbed her arm, pulled her through the ladies’ room door, and pushed her up toward the sinks. “OMG! You just got dissed by the president!” she laughed.
Maria viewed Elizabeth with a kind of awe. “Presidential dissing. Executive dissing. Wow.”
Elizabeth fell onto the padded bench and drew her knees up to her chest despite the tightness of her dress. “Can’t we just forget it—?”
Eyes glued to her smartphone screen, Lydia interrupted. “Nah. It’s too good. I already texted Amy about this. She’ll scream.”
“Please don’t!” Elizabeth pleaded.
Lydia regarded her sardonically. “Yeah, uh, that’s not going to happen.”
Shit.
“She’s not that pretty.” Maria imitated the president’s precise tones perfectly.
Lydia giggled. “I’ve got to send it to Jordan, too!”
Maria nodded vigorously. “Ooh, ooh! And Olga! It’ll crack her up.”
First the closet, now her father, and then this… Was it possible to induce a heart attack through accumulated mortification? Her chest ached, and she couldn’t catch her breath. “What did I do to deserve that?” she wondered aloud.
Frantically texting away, Lydia snorted. “Some people get presidential pardons. You get presidential shade.” Her phone buzzed. “Ryan thinks you should get a picture with him. Then we could add speech bubbles and…”
Great. The group of people in the know included Ryan, whoever he was. “Maybe we should go back to the East Room. Dinner will be ready soon,” Elizabeth said.
Perhaps she should slip discreetly out the back door, but that seemed cowardly like she was allowing his rudeness to chase her away. Instead, I should stay and show the president I’m not vapid and unattractive. Even if he doesn’t know I overheard him. As revenges went, it was rather feeble, but it was all she had.
“Ooh! I wonder who I’m sitting with!” Maria exclaimed in a too-loud voice. “I bet they’ll think it’s hilarious.”
“By all means, tell everyone you can find,” Elizabeth remarked dryly.
Lydia gave her an ironic salute. “I’ll do my best.”
As they opened the bathroom door, Elizabeth scanned the corridor, but it was empty. “You don’t really mind if we tell everyone, do you?” Lydia asked breathlessly as they hurried toward the East Room.
Elizabeth’s feelings were moot at this point, so she bit back an angry retort. Being a good sport would give her family less fodder for future teasing. “Nah. It’s kind of funny,” Elizabeth said through gritted teeth. “It’s not like he knows me.”
“Yeah,” Maria agreed absently as she thumbed another message into her phone. “I mean, you’re not as pretty as I am, but you wouldn’t make someone lose their lunch or anything.”
“I feel better already,” Elizabeth mumbled.
“I’m glad you’re being so mature about this,” Lydia said in all seriousness as they reached the entrance to the East Room. “’Cause I already posted it on Twitter, and it’s been retweeted 168 times already.”
“Twitter—!” Elizabeth sputtered. But Lydia and Maria had already disappeared into the crowd, no doubt in search of a greater audience for the tale of Elizabeth’s humiliation.
Elizabeth ambled around the edges of the room, avoiding eye contact and seeking a dark corner. It’s not like I ever thought of myself as a great beauty, so that part shouldn’t rankle. He doesn’t know the first thing about my intelligence or conversational abilities. He’s just making assumptions. Most people would get tongue-tied when caught in a White House broom closet. Arrogant jerk.
Of course, most people wouldn’t get caught in a White House broom closet. Maybe that did say something about her….
No. It would be stupid to get upset.
Just stupid.
Chapter Four
