The White House-2017 Washington RP

[Vaquas]

"I don't intend to let our careers interfere with our marriage, or vice versa." He stated succinctly.

[Prolieum]

January 31, 2017

Roosevelt Room

Cal nodded, and decided to pose a question.

"Would you intend to attempt to improve your working together professionally through your personal connections, or do you think it's better to work together the same as you would with any other member of the Cabinet?"

[Vaquas]

January 31, 2017

Roosevelt Room

Cal nodded, and decided to pose a question.

"Would you intend to attempt to improve your working together professionally through your personal connections, or do you think it's better to work together the same as you would with any other member of the Cabinet?"

Serrano was caught slightly off guard by Reed's question, given his silence before that point, missing the first couple of words and becoming mildly confused. He decided to achieve clarity.

"I apologize Mr. President, come again?"

[Prolieum]

January 31, 2017

Roosevelt Room

Cal rephrased the question.

"With your wife-do you think your relationship is something that the two of you will try to use to work more closely in the cabinet, or do you plan to treat things the same as with any other cabinet member?"

[Vaquas]

"Well... I'd be lying if I said that our careers would be completely and totally divorced from the way our marriage is handled, it isn't that way for anyone I'd say. I think we would work more efficiently together than we might with other cabinet members, I just think that's unavoidable."

Serrano hoped he had answered the President's question, but he wasn't sure that he had.

[Prolieum]

January 31, 2017

Roosevelt Room

Cal simply nodded, letting Denisevich retake control of the interview.

[Prolieum]

January 31, 2017

Roosevelt Room

With things seeming to be settled, and the hour late, Cal elected to close the meeting.

"Thank you for coming by, Mr. Serrano. We'll be sure to keep in touch."

[Vaquas]

Serrano nodded, glancing back to make sure the door was still open for his exit before smiling.

"Of course, it was a pleasure Mr. President."

He proceeded to wheel out of the room, his mind going over the meeting and determining that it had gone well enough. When he got home, he thought, he was going to let Amelia know that he'd done well.

He chuckled to himself as he thought of what could happen next.

[Prolieum]

January 31, 2017

President's Outer Office

It was not long after Serrano had left that Cal leaned over the desk and nodded at the pile of invitations, arrayed on the surface behind which his secretary, small-s secretary, that was, sat.

"You have all the addresses sorted out?"

"Of course, Mr. President. I'll make sure they get where they need to go."

"They'll be showing up tomorrow?"

"Right on time tomorrow."

Cal clapped his hands. "Great. Thanks again, Marcus."

With a nod, the President left the room, passing through the Oval Office into the dining room right next to it.

It was funny, actually. The changes he had to deal with with assuming the Presidency were massive, and cut across nearly every aspect of life-but if someone had pressed him to name the thing that really was the hardest to adjust to-or just that really rubbed him the wrong way more than anything else-the first thing that he would think of would be the whole personal chef bit. It felt, still, uncomfortable, being served like that, and at some point he was going to have to step up and see if there could maybe be a change there, let he and Aubrey handle at least some of the meals, but for now, as he took a seat across from his wife, it was an expertly-crafted spaghetti meal being served to them.

For Marcus, though it was a complicated matter of sorting out the dozens of invitations, but something he was well-qualified to do. The guest list was extensive, partially because Cal had expected at least a handful to be turning down the opportunity: One to every sitting Senator, each of those having lost their seats in 2016, the leadership of the House, the prosecutors of the Winston case, every sitting Governor, and each of his Cabinet nominees, save Fitch. Expansive indeed-but Camp David could handle it. The Presidential mark was on the top of the fine paper, and sometime tomorrow afternoon, those invited would start finding that little something in their mailboxes.

[Prolieum]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

2:40 PM

Cal was glad that the RDD had made it through the day before last, or the news he had gotten would have been a bit worse for his 95/60 blood pressure than the rather mild blip it made, the note from Denisevich somehow both elevating and lessening the strain that brought. This little meeting was going to be a mixed one-two situations to handle, and the discussion he wanted to have with Florrick once she got settled in-and the priorities kept swirling. Now with the Mississippi Supreme Court having found the time to stand up, it was the...indiscretion from yesterday that he planned to handle first and foremost.

White would be there as well, of course, apparently he and Florrick had either known each other before, or gotten to know each other very quickly on coming in. Reed had yet to meet the man, yet the two of them seemed to be working together already. With the disaster of the Fitch appointment, it seemed that White would be acting-Director for at least the immediate future, until someone else was found, if necessary, and Cal would have to do his best to figure him out-a rather more tense proposition after the apparent bamboozling, or whatever it was, that Fitch had pulled on Denisevich.

The series of...he didn't even know what to call them, "incidents", to be generous, in his cabinet and administration in less than a two-week period wasn't absent an effect on Reed-tender, he was starting to pull back, curl up somewhat, withdraw towards his closer inner circle. While Cal sat, hands pressed together, deep in thought on the couch, the closest member of that circle was seated behind the Resolute Desk, twirling a strand of her hair on her finger.

In any case, he needed to start immersing himself in this inner process of administrating, and this was a good enough place to get his feet wet. It wasn't really an "arrival" when he was where he was spending much of his time, but this was a twenty-minutes early placing for the 3:00 meeting at least. He briefly took out his phone to check the baby-monitor camera, even with someone on-hand, just in case, as they waited.

[Pantorrum]

Outside the Oval Office

Acting Director White had just arrived, and had been escorted by a White House Staffer to the door entering the Oval. The staffer waited, looking at White who had held his hand up between the young man and the door. He needed a second to breath and straighten his composer. He had never been in the Oval Office before and he had never met the President of the United States. This was a big day for him. He was an extraordinarily proud man, but even he didn't have the confidence to face the leader of the free world without a moment of thought.

Straightening his suit and adjusting his tie, he gave the staffer a nod and he opened the door. Heading in, he had a serious look on his face. No smile, no nod. he got within reaching distance of the president, and extended his hand to shake.

"Mr. President, it's nice to meet you sir." He paused for a moment. "I've been looking forward to this meeting. Mrs. Florrick hasn't arrived yet?"

[Prolieum]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

"I am glad to meet you as well, Acting-Director White." Reed replied, resisting the urge to rub back his hands over his temples one final time as he rose from the couch to shake the man's hand. The man's expression was blank, and he seemed roughly what he would expect from the head spook-a little younger, for certain, but he had that calculating air about him, that stolid demeanor, and he didn't exactly radiate trust to Reed. It was the sort of man that could make someone quite uncomfortable. Shorter than him though, of course, by quite a margin, and as cheap of a thing as that was, physical size was a wonder at giving one a bit of a shield against such things.

"The Secretary hasn't made it here yet, though...." He turned up his right wrist briefly to check his watch. "She does still have a few minutes. Please do take a seat." He gestured to the couch. "Please, take a seat."

Aubrey watched, finger paused, from the desk, brown eyes taking in the scene.

[Pantorrum]

White nodded as the President offered him a seat. He headed toward the couch opposite the one where Reed had been sitting, and slowly took his place on the couch closest to the Resolute Desk. He preferred to sit closest to the center of a room. He didn't like being off on the side, even in a 1 on 1 discussion. Position was vital to him.

"I've scarcely had any discussion with the Attorney General, but she seems like a straight forward woman." He looked over at a picture on the wall for a brief moment, then back at the President. "I don't usually take time to indulge in small talk, but on this account I'd be willing." He smirked briefly, but his face then grew serious again. "I'm sure you've formulated an opinion about Mississippi by now. I was curious, before we get into a solution, about how you feel about Same Sex Marriage."

[Prolieum]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

Cal returned to his own spot, centre cushion on the opposite couch, and pressed his hands together as he had before, before folding them over.

He sat, listening to the lines from the man, keeping his own expression from his face, but he felt what was probably best described as a mixture of surprise and amusement. Apparently I'm being interviewed. Funny, that.

He didn't trust the question. He wasn't sure what the man was angling at, but he didn't want to be a fish, and he doubted it was just 'curiosity'.

"That's the question of the day, isn't it? I'd be interested in hearing your own view."

[Pantorrum]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

Cal returned to his own spot, centre cushion on the opposite couch, and pressed his hands together as he had before, before folding them over.

He sat, listening to the lines from the man, keeping his own expression from his face, but he felt what was probably best described as a mixture of surprise and amusement. Apparently I'm being interviewed. Funny, that.

He didn't trust the question. He wasn't sure what the man was angling at, but he didn't want to be a fish, and he doubted it was just 'curiosity'.

"That's the question of the day, isn't it? I'd be interested in hearing your own view."

White smirked again, matching the Presidents stare.
"My opinion is less important. All that matters is what the law says, I don't care for politics in the least. But again, what I think is less important. Who knows, in a month you may have found your director and I can go back to my real job." He laughed softly.

[Prolieum]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

"Is being a Deputy Director that much different from Acting-Director?" The President inquired.

[Pantorrum]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

"Is being a Deputy Director that much different from Acting-Director?" The President inquired.

White nodded, but softly. "There's a lot more responsibility. When you are the Director, or Acting Director, you have to make the final decision. As Deputy Director, you get a huge amount of input, but ultimately you answer to the Director. But besides that, the jobs are mostly the same." He looked at the President again. "So, what made you pick Fitch?"

[The Galactic Triumvirate]

Oval Office, The White House

Florrick paced the halls of the White House nervously, following the staffer that would take her to meet the President. She had been informed that Deputy Director White had already arrived, checking her watch, she was astounded that she was a couple of minutes late. Florrick mentally scolded herself, late for her first meeting with the President.

Arriving at the Oval Office door, Alicia straightened her suit before entering the Office.
She greeted the Director, shaking his and and then turned to the President to offer the same greeting before taking a seat next to White.

[Prolieum]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

"Ah, welcome, Madame Secretary." Reed greeted Florrick on her arrival. White's question would have to be set aside for the moment. "I'm glad you could make it safely.

He briefly looked at the both of them. "Are we ready to begin?"

[Pantorrum]

White nodded after shaking Florricks hand, and looked back at her after the President asked his question. Her timely arrival had spared the President from answering Whites question. A shame, White thought. But either way, the time for small talk was over. His subtle assessment of the President has yielded no valuable information on him or his agenda, but hopefully they could come to an amicable agreement. White was unsure as to their course of action now, since the Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled. The issue may have resolved itself. But that was a decision for the Attorney General to make.

“I believe I am, Mr. President.” He looked at Florrick again, expecting her to lay out what their original plan was. Hopefully she had come up with a revised version, since the court ruling changed everything in Mississippi.

[The Galactic Triumvirate]

Alicia opened her folder, and begun to lay out her plan to the President.

''Yes, Mr President I believe we are, upon by confirmation I decided to hold preliminary meetings with acting Director White about the situation in Mississippi. Both the Deputy Director and I were concerned about the illegal actions taken by the Governor. Upon weighing up the different options, we both agreed that deploying Federal Agents to Mississippi to observe the issuing of Marriage Licences in according to the law would be the best option and intervening if the Governor threatened to stop the enforcement.''

She paused before continuing: 'However, then came the Mississippi Court ruling, striking down the Governors executive order. Which effectively solves our problem. That said I still feel that sending a team of Agents is still warranted, just to ensure that the State is in fact complying with the Supreme Court order legalising Same Sex Marriage and to observe the transition that would need to occur after the Mississippi Court ruling.''

[Prolieum]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

"I believe that the jurisdiction for that would be in Mississippi." the President noted. "It being the decision of their Court on the actions of their Governor. A violation would be contempt of court at the state level, and enforced there."

[The Galactic Triumvirate]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

"I believe that the jurisdiction for that would be in Mississippi." the President noted. "It being the decision of their Court on the actions of their Governor. A violation would be contempt of court at the state level, and enforced there."

''I understand that the ruling would be enforced at a state level, I'm just wondering if we should send a small team to the field office, just to observe for a couple of days. Make sure the situation doesn't get worse. Just so were ready if the Governor tries something else, I wouldn't put it past Williams to try something stupid.''

[Prolieum]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

"I think putting in federal agents is more likely to provoke Williams to do something stupid than prevent him." Reed mused. "Right now, it looks like his strategy is trying to amend the state Constitution. That's going to take months, minimum, and it's something that requires a lot of focus. If his attention is kept on that, then things should go on smoothly, at least for that long, and it might give the Court some more time to rule on the whole situation."

[The Galactic Triumvirate]

February 2, 2017

Oval Office

"I think putting in federal agents is more likely to provoke Williams to do something stupid than prevent him." Reed mused. "Right now, it looks like his strategy is trying to amend the state Constitution. That's going to take months, minimum, and it's something that requires a lot of focus. If his attention is kept on that, then things should go on smoothly, at least for that long, and it might give the Court some more time to rule on the whole situation."

Alicia nodded ''Yes that does look to be what he's going for, nevertheless, I'm going to set up a small working group, just to monitor the situation from the Department. I don't want us to be blind-sighted like the Wilson administration was, we will be ready for any actions taken by Williams. And after all, Alicia added sarcastically, he did 'declare war on us'.''