Cyrus’ mood wasn’t improved by the sight of the First Lady hovering in the outer office, obviously waiting for a chance to see her husband in private. He almost felt sorry for the president in that moment. Their marriage was little more than a political front, had been from the very beginning, but they had the majority of America fooled.
“Mrs. Grant.” he said politely.
“Cyrus.” she returned his greeting with a gracious nod that didn’t fool him. They were never the best of friends on a good day. And right now, today was not a good day for him.
“How is my husband today?” she asked brightly, the very picture of wifely concern. Her laugh was perfect in pitch, the kind meant to project warmth and sincerity.
But Cyrus was one of a very few who knew how very false it truly was. He shrugged in response. “He’s busy being the president.”
“Well, I’m here to see if I can get him to abdicate the throne - for a few minutes, anyway. I have a surprise for him.”
Cyrus narrowed his gaze as he looked at her, trying to fathom the meaning behind her words. Surprises from Mellie were not necessarily a good thing.
“May I speak with you a moment, Mrs. Grant?” His words weren’t really a true question, underscored by the fact that Cyrus took her by the arm before she could answer and guided her out into the hallway. Luckily, it was momentarily cleared of staff, leaving them in a pocket of privacy.
“Just what kind of surprise did you have in mind?” he asked.
Mellie pulled free of his grip and glared at him, dropping any pretense of friendliness. “Nothing that’s any of your business, Cyrus.”
“Anything you do concerning the president is my business, in case you’ve forgotten.” he reminded her. “Do I need to ask you again?”
“In case you’ve forgotten, these days, you’re a little outside Fitz’s inner circle.” Mellie hissed, careful to keep her voice down. “What decisions I make are none of your affair.”
No matter how quiet her voice might be, there was no mistaking the malicious pleasure in her words. “I’m in - and you’re out. If my husband - the president - decides to inform you of our plans after the fact, then he’ll do so. But considering his behavior towards you of late, I doubt that he will - am I right? I think so.”
Studying the satisfaction that was written all over her, Cyrus realized that she’d waited for far too long for a situation like this to come along. All the while as the president had become withdrawn from his inner circle - and they had all more or less attributed that to the assassination attempt and its aftermath - Mellie had been quick to start weaving a web around him, one meant to isolate him and grant her access to the president’s power and influence without interference.
And now she thought she had it.
Just let her be herself and sooner rather than later, Mellie will hang herself. She’s her own worst enemy and she doesn’t even know it.
Remembering the advice Olivia had once given him concerning Mellie, Cyrus smiled at her - a shark’s grin, toothy, devoid of humor and razor sharp around the edges. He waved his hand upwards.
“Oh, we both know he’s not too happy with anyone at the moment.”
“Fitz is happy enough with me right now.” Mellie said smugly.
“Right now.” Cyrus laughed at her words and then went on as though she hadn’t spoken. “Pay attention, Madame First Lady, because here is what’s happening - true enough, it’s a momentary tiff we’re having, Fitz and I. And right now, you think your star is finally rising and you’re about to get every thing you’ve ever wanted.
“I get it - you’re thrilled about the situation the way that things stand right now. But take this as advice if you’re smart, or fact if you’d rather ignore my advice - the relationship between the president and his chief of staff isn’t over. Like any long term relationship, there will always be bumps in the road and this is one of them.
“But the time will come when we’ll be in sync again soon enough and then together we’ll be better than ever. Unfortunately, you can’t say the same. Your romance with Fitz was over long ago - if it ever existed at all. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that anything has changed on that score. Otherwise, you’re in for a rude awakening.”
“So, take my advice and you have a good day.” He turned and walked away before she could reply. Cyrus smiled to himself. The rest of the day suddenly felt like it might get a little better before it was done.
//***//
Mellie seethed behind Cyrus Beene’s back, but there was nothing she could do, short of running behind him to do what - argue? Create a scene? That would do damage to her image. And Millicent Grant, First Lady of the United States, would never do anything to damage that image.
Instead, she smoothed the rage out of her face and put a more pleasant expression on before turning back to the outer office of the Oval.
Another smile and a little pressure and his secretary informed her that the president had nothing scheduled for at least another twenty minutes. Perfect - it fit in just perfect with her own plans. Hopefully, she could do something with that.