Chapter Two

The entire thing with Samuel was far in the past now, but as Darrow took his steps towards the powerful men in the Square Room, he was suddenly reminded of him again.

Samuel, Samuel. He was up and coming, a real talented writer at Brevity Press, but alas, he was a fool. A fool for thinking about crossing someone like him. Darrow considered himself like most men - a normal human with imperfections. But the one thing that stood out about him was how driven he could be when he set his mind to something. He had set his sights on presidency, and there was nothing that would stand in his way.

The men smiled proudly at him as they stood around him. One of them held a Bible up to the level of his hand and inched it towards him. Darrow placed a hand on the Bible and put on his most solemn look.

"Repeat after me, Darrow," the man with the Bible said.

"I will."

"I solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute to my greatest ability the office of President of Newsia."

Darrow repeated what he said, word for word.

"And I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Newsia."

Darrow inhaled. "And I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Newsia."

"I will uphold every moral standard, and protect the rights of every citizen."

Darrow repeated after him.

The man shifted on his feet. "And I will bring the country to as much prosperity as I can."

"And I will bring..." Darrow said, his words echoing the man's.

"Most of all, I vow to ensure the sanctity of all life," the man said finally. It was the last vow he was supposed to utter.

Well, it was the only one he had already broken.

And frankly was fine with breaking again.

"Most of all," Darrow said with a small smile. "I vow to ensure the sanctity of all life."

The men in the room erupted into clapping and several men slapped him on the back or patted him on the arm. Their eyes shone with trust in him and he relished in the power that was now handed to him.

"Darrow," the man said. "You are now the President of Newsia!"

❃❃❃

Darrow stood in the room next to the one where the press conference was to be held. He was about to address the country for the first time, introducing himself as the next President and though he never expected himself to feel this way, he was much too nervous for it all. He pictured this very event several times but now, he felt like a deer about to leap in front of a vehicle.

He tugged on his suit as multiple people talked over one another to him, instructing him to say this or do that, patching up his face with more powder or telling him unnecessary words of comfort as if that would help. As time passed, however, the people began to understand from his expression that he wanted to be left alone, and he waited for the people in the next room to signal to him that it was his time to come out.

Out of nowhere, a familiar figure approached him. It was Molly, his secretary. She came up before him with eyes blazing, and her eyes roved his neck, down to his chest and across the rest of his body.

"Darrow…" Molly said.

"It's not a good time," he said to her.

"I know," she said. "I just wanted to say this quickly. Would you listen for a little?"

"Say it then."

"I never thought you would become President! But now that you are, I see you in a new light all of a sudden. You are now my sunshine, the light to my life! I find my heart racing and my legs quivering. I know I'm only your secretary, but I've been watching you for a very long time and I need you to know that I'm in love with you, the President, my bright sunshine, my light!"

The side of Darrow's lip lifted. Well, that was surprising. Molly worked for him for years but not once had she shown any semblance of attraction to him. But after he climbed the ladder and proved himself, he was suddenly a man of interest to her. Women like her, he was starting to realise, were going to be plenty. Several of his female colleagues were already sending heated glances his way and it appeared as if he would have to adjust to this new behaviour from the women in his life.

"President, we're ready for you," a head peeked in to say to him.

Darrow glanced at Molly. "We'll continue afterwards," he said to her and disappeared into the next room.

The moment he entered the room, it threw everyone into an uproar. Lights were flashing everywhere and reporters were screaming his name and hurling questions at him that they wanted him to answer. He emboldened himself and prepared to answer every question, and before long, the press conference was soon over and he was being led to the Limousine One to be sent back to the Red House.

As he sat within the walls of the vehicle, his mind wandered back to Molly. Whisking his phone out, he tapped into their chat window and stared at their recent chat history for a while before he broke out into a smile. With one tap on the button to the record, he inhaled to speak.

"Molly," he said with a laugh. "My secretary. I'd love to preface this by saying that I'm sure you're a wonderful person. We've worked together for years and I'm honestly so honoured that you confessed to me earlier. It came as a surprise, and the more I think about it, the more I feel the need to tell you this."

A chuckle escaped from his lips.

"You're probably wonderful, yes, but how do I say this nicely? All other aspects of you, everything else," he said, pausing for effect. "Simply falls so tragically short of me. You're not smart enough and I can hardly differentiate you from other women. I'm surprised I even remember your name. And while you're beautiful, the words that come out of your mouth always sound like vultures nipping at rotting flesh. I'm your sunshine, your light? What are you, a teenager? Am I starring in some chick flick that I have to be subject to such disgusting words?

"Also, I'd love to also point out one thing to you, one other thing about you that falls so short. You're older than me, Molly. I prize women, but I'm sorry to say that I need a woman who can keep up with me in bed. I'm not exactly looking for women who are able to fit right in at a museum, do you get what I'm saying?

"What I'm saying is that I'm honoured. Really, I am! But it breaks my heart to tell you that the prospect of us happening has absolutely no possibility at all. So if you would please, I want you to move on to a man closer to your league," Darrow said amid hearty laughter as his finger left the screen and the message sent.