Much to the surprise of Zola Montgomery, the president has invited her to a meeting about a job offer. Job offer? She has no intention of leaving her present position, but one could not refuse a presidential request…
At the meeting, the president reveals his plans for Earth to send a spaceship and a special team he dubbed SET, Stardust Emergency Taskforce, to deal with emergencies that crop up on other planets. She is chosen to head the medical trauma team—a team she has to pull together on very short notice. The offer was too tempting to refuse.
Never in her wildest dreams could she have guessed her reactions to meeting Clarke Johnson—a mysterious surgeon she had selected for her team. A man she has trouble resisting even if he is a strange individual…
What should a person wear when meeting with the president? Zola stood in front of her closet, gazing at her clothes. Most of it was bodysuits in various colors. She never went out and didn’t spend money on clothing or things she considered frivolous. She wasn’t a Scrooge, but why buy stuff she didn’t need?
She did own several pairs of dressier slacks and sweaters. With a sigh, she took out black dress pants and a yellow sweater. It would have to do. There was no way she’d run out and buy a new outfit for this ridiculous meeting. Job offer? No way was she quitting her job at the hospital. She didn’t want to go to the meeting. But one couldn’t say no to the president.
It was a good thing she hadn’t started a fire and that the chief had said something. She would have looked like a fool going to work only to discover that her slate had been wiped clean for the day. She probably would have gone to see the chief to find out what was going on, and he would have set her straight and sent her home. Then she would have always wondered what the job offer had been about…
Shortly after she dressed and braided her hair, she saw a black air SUV pulling up in front of her building. Without waiting for the buzzer to ring, she grabbed her purse, shrugged on her coat, and headed to the elevator.
“Miss Montgomery?” A tall man, wearing a grey suit, looking to be in his mid-forties, asked when she stepped outside.
“Yes. Good morning.”
“I am Bruce Holden, Chief of Staff to the president. Please come with me?” He offered her his arm at the top of the steps.
“Nice to meet you.” She ignored the arm.
“Careful. The steps haven’t been salted.”
“I know. I’m used to it. Can you tell me what this is all about?” Zola asked as the man held the car door open for her.
“Sorry, miss. The information is classified. I was only to fetch you and bring you to The White House to meet with President Wilson.”
Zola sighed. If only she knew what to expect. She hated mysteries.
It took a while. Traffic was a bitch. As always. Her heart sped up when they finally drove through the gates and approached the big white mansion.
Zola looked at her watch as she followed Bruce through The White House. It was just before ten. Where would the meeting take place? In the Oval Office?
She didn’t have to wonder long. Double doors opened to a conference room. Some people were already seated at a long table. She wasn’t the only one meeting with the president, and again she wondered what this was all about. She counted eight, six men, and two women.
When President Wilson came into the room, followed by the vice president, they all stood until he indicated they should take their seats with a wave of his hand. “Please, sit. I believe everyone is here. Bruce?”
“Yes, Mr. President. They’re all here.”
“Then let me begin by introducing Commander Morgan Haveland and his first officer Trent Muskat of the spaceship Retriever One. Now, the rest of you, would each of you introduce yourself?”
