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“Which is what we’ve been telling them,” Roni said.
“What’s the latest with her? Have you heard?” Sam asked.
“Just that she’s awaiting arraignment,” Lilia said.
“I love that she spent the night in jail,” Sam said. “Does that make me a bad person?”
“In light of the president’s history with her, I would say that makes you human,” Lilia said.
“Agreed,” Roni said. “Whatever happens now, she deserves it.”
“How crazy is the thing with the Joint Chiefs?” Sam asked tentatively.
“It’s big,” Lilia said. “And unprecedented. The West Wing is on fire. The primary goal today is to assure the rest of the world that the Cappuano government is intact and that the perpetrators of this scheme will be punished.”
Sam grimaced. “I can’t believe this happened.”
“It’s disgusting,” Lilia said. “I hope they all go to prison for the rest of their lives.”
“That’d be good,” Sam said, “but will it happen?”
“People are saying it should,” Roni said.
“On both sides of the aisle?”
“Surprisingly, yes,” Roni said. “The Constitution is very clear on presidential succession. Your husband was confirmed by the Senate to be the vice president. It’s that simple.”
“And that complicated when the president died,” Sam said, “and the unelected vice president became president.”
“Yes,” Lilia said, “but there’s no question of who the president is or who the president should be. They had no right to do what they did.”
“Won’t it make people wonder, though?” That concern had been on her mind since she first heard about the Joint Chiefs’ scheme. “When the nation’s top military officers basically have no confidence in the administration, why should regular people?”
“It’s apt to have a bit of a ripple effect at first,” Lilia conceded, “but his polling numbers are exceptional since the State of the Union, and with both sides deriding the actions of the Joint Chiefs, he should be fine.”
Should be finewasn’t enough for Sam. “This kind of thing was why I was so glad when he decided not to run.” She could trust these women with her true thoughts. “I hate that people are gunning for him when all he’s doing is the best he can in an enormously difficult situation.”
“He’s doing great,” Roni said, “and regular people see that. What the Joint Chiefs did is a betrayal of their oaths to defend the Constitution. Trevor, Christina and the communications department are doing an excellent job of keeping the focus where it belongs—on them and what they did.”
“That’s good. It’s just so stressful. Everything is so stressful.” Sam looked up in time to see them exchange glances. “Don’t do that. I’m fine. I swear. It’s just a lot.”
“Yes, it certainly is,” Lilia said with an empathetic expression.
Sam spent the next hour discussing pending commitments, social media posts and other first lady details, including the upcoming National Association of Police Organization’s TOP COPS keynote speech they were writing for her to deliver in May.
“Did you get the email I forwarded about you officially being nominated for a TOP COPS Award?” Lilia asked.
“I saw something about that. I still wish they’d pick someone else.”
“It’s a huge and very well-deserved honor,” Roni said.
“If you say so,” Sam said, already embarrassed about the attention that would come with the award.
“We say so,” Lilia said with a smile.
“I appreciate all you guys do for me.”
“It’s our pleasure to support you,” Lilia said.
