Jason stood silent and still by the door and tried not to squint at the throbbing pain behind his eyes. The women were all theoretically adults but they giggled and squealed like children. These American princesses just up from Cuba apparently thought their new guard didn't understand Spanish and were chattering away as if they were speaking in a secret code. His grandmother may have come to the mainland from Puerto Rico when she was barely old enough to marry, but she wasn't going to let her grandson grow up without speaking the language of his homeland regardless of whether or not he'd ever seen the place. Jason didn't catch every word they said now, but he'd gathered that they thought he was cute and were plotting to have him included in the guard who'd escort them to the beach party tonight. His mother would be pleased he'd managed to get so close to the president's daughter so quickly.
He saw Cat Barlett's smile slip for a moment and silently cheered. He'd seen enough of the first daughter to know she had some of his mother's habits. She'd wrap this up soon if she couldn't hold the facade anymore. She met his eyes, and he swallowed hard. The others had surveyed his body and proclaimed him fit and fine. She wasn't so easily distracted. She turned to her friends and broadened her smile before proclaiming in Spanish that everyone needed to go take naps because tonight was going to run late and be epic and they needed to meet back here in four hours so they could all make an entrance together and blah, blah, blah. He noted that the girls followed her lead and that he'd be working almost twenty hours straight if her time predictions were correct.
Cat began hugging her friends and tossed over a shoulder to him, "Abrir la puerta." He already had a hand on the doorknob before he remembered that he was pretending he didn't know Spanish. Damn.
She met his eyes again, this time with a smile, and continued in Spanish, ordering him to make sure all six of her guests made it out the front door. She laid a hand on his arm, letting her exiting guests get a few steps ahead of him before quietly telling him that she wouldn't let the girls drag out his workday and that when he returned he could take up a post outside of her door rather than back in the room.
So much for getting close to the President's daughter.