9:03 am.

This meeting is supposed to be over. She feels warm, too warm. Her blouse is choking her, and she wishes she could take a minute to step outside and feel the cool breeze, maybe even have a cigarette. She wasn't a smoker, but she socially smoked with an ex in college and could still remember the sense of calm that the nicotine washed over her.

"I'm sorry Mr. President, but we need to wrap this up. The Prime Minister is awaiting your call." She tried to strengthen her voice, especially in front of him. She could feel his eyes on her. It was too much.

"I'll put him through on Line 2 and schedule a meeting with Homeland Security Committee." She forced a smile. It was much easier to pretend when she was focused on work completely. It was focusing that was her problem.

9:15 am.

Task after task. Cross one thing of the list and then quickly move to the next. She doesn't let her mind wander - it's too dangerous, and there's too much to do.

She never dreamed of being in the White House. Everything was going as planned. She had a quiet job that she loved, helping people improve their lives and communities. She had a great boyfriend. He cared about her, bought her flowers, cooked her dinner. If she hadn't come to the White House, she would have said yes to his proposal. It would have been the perfect life.

But she's here now.

She's starts to feel warm again and unbuttons the top button on her blouse. She can't change anything that happened, but she wish she could.

Why didn't she listen to her gut instinct when the president asked her to investigate Aaron? Why didn't she just ask him?

She let her head fall into her hands. For her entire life she's gone to the right school, had the right friends, the right boyfriend, but was it right for her?

10:00 am

Another meeting. Emily smiles at the president as she enters the Oval Office and ushers in various members of the ACLU. It's eye opening. She has everything she needs: food, a home, health insurance, so why does she feel like something is missing?

She takes notes, listens with a kind ear, smiles at the right time, but she really can't wait to get out of there. It's stifling. This used to be where she was the most comfortable, but now she just feels out of place.

12:16 pm.

Finally, she can return to her office. After the two hour meeting with the ACLU and escorting them out of the West Wing, she crumples into her desk chair and lets her smile fall. She grabs a protein bar from her desk drawer and starts typing up talking points for the president's meetings scheduled for tomorrow. She'd be perfectly ok with hiding in her office for the rest of the day.

"Hey, Emily." She inwardly groans as she looks up with a smile plastered on her face. It probably didn't matter if she could hide in her office all day - someone would find her.

"Mr. President," she responds as she stands, "what can I do for you?"

"Oh nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were ok?"

Another inward groan. She just didn't want to deal with people today. "Yes, everything's running smoothly. I'll run those talking points by Seth and have them for you this afternoon."

"No, no. I mean personally. Are you ok, Emily? I'm worried about you. You don't seem like yourself?" Emily felt guilty, but she did her best to put on an unwavering smile.

"I'm fine, sir. Really." She was lying to the man who was responsible for her political career. They'd grown up together in HUD. They'd kept each other honest. They'd fought together on issues that mattered.

She tries to tell herself that their relationship is strictly professional, but it's more than that. She has babysat his daughter, and he has met almost all of her exes.

"Ok, well, let me know if you need anything. If you want to take a couple days off, I'm sure Aaron would step up for a few days." She felt it. She felt her smile falter. It felt like someone punched her in the stomach, all air escaped her, and she couldn't breath for the slightest moment. She could tell the president picked up on it by the smallest tilt of his head.

She cleared her throat and fixed her smile back into place. "Thank you, Mr. President. I'll keep that in mind."