For the Love of Gina: The President's Girlfriend Read online

  “You take care of yourself,” she said as she held him too.

  They kissed, long and lovingly, and then she got out of the SUV.

  But Dutch didn’t allow his drive to move, until she was clean out of his sight.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Cindy, the maid at Hammersmith, rolled her bucket toward the fifth floor elevators to mop up a spill. Jade, along with three others, stood at the elevator doors waiting for them to open.

  Cindy smiled. “Good morning everybody,” she said. Everybody spoke. The spill was just pass the elevators. She looked at Jade as she walked pass. “Excited, Miss Jade?” she asked her.

  “Very,” Jade replied, pressing the already lit button again.

  “This is your second time on furlough, ain’t that right?”

  Jade wanted to roll her eyes. “Like no. This will be my first time away from this place.”

  Cindy smiled. “And you don’t wanna come back, do you?”

  But Jade, who the entire staff at Hammersmith knew could be so moody and unpredictable, looked at her. “Of course I want to come back. Why wouldn’t I? Why would you think otherwise? I love this place.”

  Cindy laughed, knowing Jade had to be kidding, but Jade didn’t so much as crack a smile. She, instead, waited for the doors to slide open, and stepped onto the elevator with the others who had been waiting. When the doors closed, and Jade was gone, the maid stopped laughing and shook her head.

  “Hateful bitch,” she said in a whisper, as she continued to mop up the spill.

  Samantha Redding, Jade’s mother, stood at the window inside the private waiting room and let out an exhaustive exhale. The grounds of Hammersmith were immaculate, with all genus of flowers and plants and trees and magnificent waterfalls in the center, and the patients walked around as if they were just taking their ease at some luxurious retreat.

  But Sam knew better. No matter how much they tried to dress this up, and pretend it was nothing more than a “resting place for the wealthy and well-connected,” she knew it was nothing more than a mental institution. Her daughter was in a psychiatric hospital. The daughter she raised alone and, apparently, raised wrong, was now institutionalized. It had been a long time, but she was still trying to come to terms with that kind of truth.

  The door was opened by one of the staff members, causing Sam to turn toward the sound, and Dutch walked in. Sam had expected to see Dutch. She had expected to see his tall, gorgeous frame come walking through that door any second. Jade had, after all, requested to spend her two-day furlough with her father, so he would undoubtedly fly to California to pick her up. But what she hadn’t expected was her reaction to seeing Dutch again.

  When Jade was carted across the country to this supposedly superior institution, she and Dutch were on friendly terms. She had even made her peace with Gina. But when Dutch went to court to force Jade to remain hospitalized, and all those months of Sam being alone, with Dutch nor Gina so much as picking up the phone to see if she was okay, changed her. Now instead of feeling a sense of warmth toward him when he walked through that door, she felt a sense of anger. He and Gina had it all. She and Jade didn’t have shit. And Sam was beginning to dislike such a reality intensely.

  “Hello, Samantha,” Dutch said with a grand smile as he entered the private waiting room and headed toward her.

  Sam turned on the charm too, although with far less vigor than Dutch. “Welcome to California,” she said. She had moved there, to be close to her daughter, and ended up accepting a teaching job at a local junior college. Now, regardless of what Jade did next, she planned to remain a Californian.

  Dutch kissed her on the cheek as they met and gave her a friendly hug. Sam inwardly cringed when he touched her.

  “So how have you been?” Dutch asked her. She was a beautiful woman, Dutch thought, with her flawless black skin and still one of the prettiest faces he’d ever seen. It was that face of hers, in fact, that made him want her so badly when they were in college all those years ago. Then one night she finally gave in. It was a coupling that led to the birth of Jade. “You’re still looking refreshingly beautiful,” he added.

  He was staring at her with that assessing way of his she hated, where his frosty green eyes seemed to be looking right through her. “I’m good,” she said with a smile. “I’m enjoying the job at Barridge College, which I’m sure you had a hand in helping me to get. I couldn’t be better.”

  Dutch heard her words, but her eyes told a different story.

  She folded her arms, wishing he’d stop that darn staring. “How’s Gina and Walter?” she asked him.

  “They’re doing well, thank-you. Thank-you for asking.”

  “They’re ready for Jade’s visit?”

  “It would appear,” Dutch said, which seemed like an odd response to Sam. But then the waiting room door opened again and Jade, along with Dr. Luther Forbes, the head of the hospital, hurried in. Dutch turned and saw his hazel-eyed beauty of a daughter, and smiled.

  “Daddy!” Jade yelled and ran into his arms. Dutch held her tightly.

  Sam felt a rush of jealousy, as Jade did not even acknowledge her presence. She looked at Forbes. “Hello, doctor,” she said.

  “Nice to see you again, Mrs. Redding. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “I’m here to be with my daughter and see her and her father off.”

  “Yes, of course. You have been most supportive. That’s always wonderful for the patients. You’ve gone above and beyond.”

  When Jade and Dutch stopped embracing, Jade quickly kissed him on the lips and held onto him again, which caused him to flinch. Part of her sickness had been her unhealthy obsession with her father, and on all of Dutch’s previous visits it appeared as if she was over such feelings. But now, the way she kissed him, the way she held him, gave him pause again. As if, to his alarm, she was regressing?

  He’d been assured by the Hammersmith staff countless times that she was fine, and no longer had such an obsession. And he knew it could be the excitement of getting out for a couple of days that was driving her affection. But he took no chances. He gently removed her arms from around his waist. “Your mother’s here too,” he said. “I’m sure she wants some of that love herself.”

  “But I see Mom all the time,” Jade rebelled. Dutch could see the disappointment in her eyes after he released her. “She’s always here. All the time.”

  Sam smiled, although she was aching inside. “You make me sound like a worn out old shoe. Hello, daughter.”

  Jade realized her error and immediately put on an unnaturally grand smile and ran into her mother’s arms. “Oh, mom, you know I love seeing you each and every time!”

  Sam returned her embrace. Dutch was staring at both of them.

  Luther Forbes went over to Dutch and extended his hand. “Mr. President,” he asked, “how are you?”

  “I’m very well, doctor, thank-you,” Dutch said, shaking his hand. “I see you’ve been taking very good care of my daughter.”

  Before Forbes could speak, Jade stopped hugging her mother as if she was casting her aside. “Wonderful care,” she said, chiming in. She understood the importance of getting this right. “I am so grateful to you, Daddy, for putting me in a facility like this. The staff have been, what can I say? The best. Nothing but the best.”

  Dutch considered her. “You feel ready then?”

  “Totally. I couldn’t be more ready. And to be going home with you? That makes it all the more great for me.”

  Dutch looked at Forbes. “Is it arranged?”

  “Yes, sir. He’s on his way as we speak.”

  Jade looked at her father. This had to go off without a hitch. She had to be so perfect that he wouldn’t see a need for her to even come back to this awful place. “Who’s on his way?” she asked him.

  “Dr. Golan,” Forbes answered her. “Your father has requested a meeting with the psychiatrist in charge of your care.”

  Jade’s heart pounded against her chest. “But why?
”

  Dutch didn’t answer her. Realizing her error again, she quickly changed the subject. “I’m just so anxious to be with my father and his family that I don’t want anything to delay us,” she said to Forbes. “But I’ve waited this long to get out. I’m sure I can wait a little longer.”

  Forbes smiled. “That’s the spirit.” Then he offered seats. Have a seat everyone, please,” he said. And they all settled down on the sofa and chairs in the room.

  Dutch sat beside Sam, and Jade sat beside Dutch.

  Reyza Golan’s heart was pounding when he finally walked into the waiting room. To see the former President of the United States sitting there, along with the woman who pleasured him almost every day over the last month, made him terrified of what this meeting was about. Had she told on him? Did she claim he initiated the behavior all those times? Or was she claiming that he manipulated her? Or, even worse, forced her? His heart could not stop hammering.

  “You wanted to see me, Dr. Forbes?”

  “Yes, Reyza,” Forbes said, rising to his feet, “come on in, please.”

  Dutch stood up also as Reyza walked over.

  “You know the president?” Forbes asked rhetorically.

  “Yes, of course,” Reyza said, extending his hand. “So nice to see you again, sir.”

  Jade knew they met every time Dutch visited her, but it was still jarring to hear them acknowledge it.

  “Have a seat, Reyza.” Forbes offered his own chair as Reyza sat down and Dutch followed suit.

  “The president would like to get a final report on his daughter’s progress,” Forbes said, as he continued to stand, “before they leave for New Jersey.”

  “A report? Yes, of course,” Reyza said, inwardly relieved. “Well, sir, I can only give an excellent report actually.”

  “Excellent?” Dutch asked.

  “Excellent,” Reyza said to Jade’s delight. “She has met all of her challenges head-on and, I dare say, she’s conquered them all.”

  Reyza continued talking and did as he knew he must and painted a superior picture of Jade Redding-Harber. He went on and on. Dutch sat back and listened. Jade was “cured,” let the doctor tell it, as he had not a false word to say about her. His presentation was flawless. Jade was described as the perfect young lady.

  Too perfect for Dutch.

  Dutch stood up. “Thank-you, Doctor, that’ll be all,” he said abruptly.

  Reyza, shocked by the fact that the president had just cut him off, stood up too. “Sir?”

  “That’ll be all. Thank-you.”

  Reyza was obviously confused. “Yes, sir,” he said and glanced at Forbes, who motioned for him to leave. And Reyza did, but not before glancing at Jade. She was not pleased.

  “Well,” Forbes said, rubbing his hands together and attempting to remain upbeat. “Perhaps the doctor painted too rosy a scenario for your daughter, but his point, I think, is that she’s ready to get back on with her life.”

  Dutch remained standing. “Yes,” he said, as if he was in deep thought. “That appears to have been his point.”

  Jade, extremely nervous now, stood up too. Had Reyza’s overdramatic endorsement just blown it for her? “What is it, Daddy?” she asked him.

  Dutch looked at Forbes. “May I see you privately?” Although Dutch had politely asked the question, he was already heading for the exit.

  “Yes, of course,” Forbes replied, and hurried behind him.

  “Daddy, where are you going?” Jade asked him anxiously.

  Dutch glanced back at Jade and Sam, although he didn’t break his stride. “Excuse us for a moment,” he said, and walked out of the door.

  Forbes glanced back at them too, just as confused as they were, but he swiftly followed Dutch out.

  Sam stared at Jade so intensely that Jade had to ask if she had a problem. Sam did. “What the hell is going on here?” she asked her daughter.

  Jade gave her a sidelong look. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re fucking him, aren’t you?”

  Jade smiled. “You’re sick,” she said.

  Sam grabbed her daughter and shook her. “You’re fucking that fool?” Sam could hardly believe it. “Aren’t you? Aren’t you, Jade?”

  Jade snatched away from her mother with a bitter snatch. “Leave me alone!” she said so harshly that Sam knew it was true. She knew it like she knew her name.

  She exhaled and shook her head. Jade getting better was about as possible as Jade getting a heart. Neither, Sam concluded, were ever going to happen in her lifetime.

  Or anybody else’s.

  Once Dutch and Forbes were out in the hall, Dutch hesitated, as if he was in deep thought, as his hand still rested on the doorknob.

  “What’s wrong, sir?” Forbes asked him.

  Dutch didn’t respond. He just stood there, dressed immaculately as usual, Forbes thought, and Forbes suddenly felt as if he was being treated disrespectfully. He was the director of Hammersmith, one of the best psychiatric facilities in the country. Dutch Harber, he felt, could at least give him an explanation.

  “What’s wrong, sir?” Forbes finally asked again.

  It was only then did Dutch look at him. “I heard the official version,” he said. “Now I need to hear the unofficial one.”

  But Forbes was confused. “I don’t quite follow you, sir.”

  “How does your staff break down? Are there assignments based on patient room numbers, or full floor assignments, or what?”

  “Not at all. Well, let me back up. Only for the housekeeping staff do we have assignments based on patient rooms. But as for counselors, it’s based on their diagnoses and whether or not---”

  “Take me to the men and women responsible for Jade’s section. In Housekeeping.”

  Forbes was dumbstruck now. “Housekeeping, sir?”

  Dutch nodded. “Housekeeping.”

  Forbes still didn’t understand, but it wasn’t as if he had a say in the matter. “Right this way, sir,” he said.

  Dutch followed Forbes as he took him downstairs, to Housekeeping, and requested that the maids and janitors responsible for the fifth floor immediately stop what they were doing and report downstairs. Dutch and Forbes sat in the housekeeping supervisor’s tiny office, and waited. Within minutes the staff, two women and one man, all black, arrived. Including Cindy, the fifth floor maid in charge.

  “You wanted to see us, sir?” she asked Forbes.

  “Yes,” Forbes said. “And you are?”

  “Cindy, sir. And that’s Richard. And that’s Maggie.”

  “Very good. Close the door, please.”

  Richard quickly closed the door. All three stood there, with their hands behind their backs, looking as if they were in some kind of trouble. Especially when they saw Dutch sitting there. They were used to wealthy people around them. The patients all came from wealth. But a former president was an entirely different level, even at Hammersmith.

  “I’m sure you all know President Harber.”

  They all acknowledged that they did.

  “He wants to ask you a question or two,” Forbes said, and then turned it over to Dutch.

  Dutch, who was sitting on the front edge of the desk, crossed his legs at the ankle. “My daughter, Jade, has a room on the floor you service. Correct?”

  “Yes, sir,” Cindy said for all three.

  “Were all three of you were working on the fifth floor when my daughter first arrived here?”

  They all nodded. “Yes, sir,” Cindy said.

  “I want a straight answer from each of you, please,” Dutch requested. “I want to know if any of you think my daughter has changed since her arrival at Hammersmith.”

  At first, they all just stood there.

  “Changed, sir?” Cindy asked.

  “Yes. Has she improved, in your estimation. And I know you’re not doctors. I don’t mean that kind of technical improvement. But all three of you are observant human beings. I need your honest opinions. And trust me,
” Dutch added, “your jobs will remain secure. Won’t they, Dr. Forbes?”

  “Oh, absolutely,” Forbes said honestly. “There will be no retribution. We value opinions. They know it.”

  “Good,” Dutch said. “So will each of you answer my question? Do you, Cindy, feel that my daughter has changed for the better since she arrived at Hammersmith?”

  Cindy hesitated, but then spoke the truth. “No, sir,” she said.

  Dutch’s heart sank. “You don’t feel she’s changed?”

  “She act like she has. When she’s around the counselors and Dr. Forbes and them, she act like a little princess. But she’s as mean and hateful as she was when she first got here. When nobody’s around, she treats us worse than mangy dogs.”

  This inwardly saddened Dutch, but he continued to listen.

  Then Richard, the only male of the three workers, spoke up too. “I wouldn’t say she hasn’t changed at all,” he said. “I remember when she first got here. She’s not as crazy as she was when she first got here, begging your pardon, sir. But she sure is meaner.”

  “She’s so mean,” Maggie chimed in, “that it makes you wonder where that’s coming from. There’s something got to be wrong with her to be that mean and hateful. And the way she smiles and act all innocent when the counselors come around.”

  “Yeah,” Richard agreed. “It’s like she’s playing a game. And Maggie’s right. To be that mean and hateful, there has to be something wrong with her. It has to be.”

  “So you don’t think she’s ready to leave this place?”

  “I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her, sir,” Cindy said bluntly. “There’s something bad inside of that child. I’m sorry, but it is.”

  After the other two agreed with Cindy, Dutch let out an exhale. Then he looked at them. “Thank-you for your honesty,” he said. “I really appreciate it.”

  “We appreciate you, sir, and your presidency,” Cindy said. “You did a lot of good for poor folks and working folks like us.”

  “Thank-you,” Dutch said.

  “And, sir,” Richard chimed in, “please tell your wife we said hello.”