Protecting the Presidents' Daughter

Gwendolyn Titus nervously sat in her car outside of the overcrowded driveway of her childhood 'home' waiting for her younger sisters' pale figure to appear from the side of the house with her one request. She had spent the entire day working on a sculpture of something she wasn't sure was going to work out. Through all her frustration she hadn't realized that the seven-o clock deadline that she had was quickly approaching causing her to rush through city traffic already causing her to be late. But at least she had made it. Peering around, Gwen was shocked by the amount of men huddled in the center of the circular driveway of the massive home. They were in suits, but they seemed a lot less casual than the other male guests. Each man's face gruff and calculating. The sound of her passenger door opening pulled her from her assessment of the group, her sister Evelyn climbing into the passenger and following her eldest sisters gaze. "I know, right?" Evelyn said with a goofy grin on her face, the same as her mothers. Gwen rolled her eyes at her sister, grabbing the garment bag from her hands and scoffing. "They're thirty." Gwendolyn said to her sister who was far from thirty. "Not for me, I have Mat." Mat was Evelyn's long-time high school sweetheart. They had been best friends since they were children and had dated since they were fifteen and they are now two years strong. "I mean for you." It was Gwen's turn to laugh. There was no way she would be interested in anything they had to offer her. Over the past year she had lived a blissful men free life and had no interest in stepping her toes back into those waters. "Not interested." Gwen said while slipping her leggings she had worn over to the house off her legs. "Really?" Evelyn questioned, "What about that one?" Gwen pulled her shirt over her head before looking over to one of the taller fellows in the group. He had a deep tan as if he wasn't from the gloomy side of the east coast, dark brown hair that was curly and unkept and a pretty decent smile from what Gwen could see. Just as she was assessing the man his eyes moved over to her and Gwen gave him a small smile before realizing she was half dressed and probably looked a mess. Evelyn laughed at the embarrassment of her sister as Gwen quickly slipped the dress over her head and pulled it down. The dress was a normal A line black dress that stopped just above her knee, she had already brought black heels to match. Gwen had stopped going to her family functions long ago since every time she and her father were in the same room an argument would break out. From the day that she was born she and her father had always disagreed. As a child she defied everything that he asked. The plans her father had gave to her were for her to become the family lawyer who would handle all the legal while Eric, her twin brother would handle the company itself. Those plans changed as Gwendolyn's mother encouraged her to explore her creativity to flourish more and more. By the time she was in high school she desired the creative path and after an explosive argument, Gwen decided to take the creative route. The result of which required in her father cutting her off and her moving from upstate into the city. That was four years ago, and ever since Gwen tried to limit the amount of occasion she showed up to just as her father reduced how often he had invited her. The only reason why she was here at tonight's family dinner is because the Sheffield's were going to be attending and Gwen had spent the past four months trying to get into one of their events to speak with them, but it had never worked out.  When she heard they would be there she knew she would have to attend. "I'm not looking." Gwen says. "You should, you're not getting younger. You and Heath have been broken up for forever." Evelyn says with a raised brow. "Get out of the car." Gwen said quippy while rolling her eyes at her sister. The both girls climbed out of the car before making their way up the sidewalk that led to the large grand stairs connected to the porch. Gwen had always been close to Evelyn despite them being so far in age and having two different mothers. Originally, their father, Donovan, was married to their mother, Hope. They had gotten married fresh out of school and had Gwendolyn and Eric six years later. It was four years after that when the pair divorced and her father got remarried to someone who was considerably a lot younger at the time and ended up having two daughters with her, Evelyn and Heather. While the family tree was complicated, they all remained close, the only people on the outskirts being Gwen and her mother, who was notably not invited. The doors opened, inviting Gwen and Evelyn into the home. The tall twelve-foot ceilings made the house feel less of a safe place and more of a building. The staff that was hired for the night gave a large welcoming smile as the girls walked in, making their way swiftly to the dining hall. The marvel and stone along with the drapery and gold had made the home look ridiculously ostentatious. Once they arrived Gwen could see her father in the center of a gathering the sounds of celebration caught her off guard. Quietly, Gwen sat down where her name was on the table, noting it was next to her brother. Evelyn went over to the end of the table as the entire group of people made their way towards their seats. Gwen looked over to Eric who had just sat down. Eric waived his hand over to a server who had a plate of drinks in his hand and the man came over immediately handing Eric one and offering one to Gwen, who accepted. "You always manage to miss out on all of the fun." Eric says coolly, giving his sister a smile. "What could I have possibly missed? It is only thirty-minutes in." Gwen said. Eric shrugged his shoulders at her question as her father began to grab everyone's attention, standing at the end of the table with a champagne flute in his hand. Next to him on his left was his wife, Melany, and to his right his long-term investment partner, Bill. The seats at the table were filled with all the people who ran New York behind the scenes. All millionaires and billionaires, but they lacked the publicity her father has garnished over time. "Thank you, thank you." Her father, Donovan said, his importance and confidence was incredible as he stood above everyone at the table. It took everything in Gwen to not roll her eyes, knowing the attention was all going straight to his head. "It has been yet another successful year here working with you all. This quarter alone we have managed to pull in 4.9 billion dollars of sales and distribution. We have kept over one-hundred thousand American's employed in the industry all over the country. And in just two months' time we will be partnering with one of the largest trading companies in the world, Big Tech International. They have sites around the world that is sure to make quite a few of us here at this table a lot richer." There was as soft murmur of laughter that went out through the room. "Despite this, I do have some terrible news to share with you all." Donovan said, his tone suddenly somber. "I will be placing the company on the back burner." Gasps of shock rang out in the room, no one would have expected that. "Oh no, no. Please don't do that. There is no need to do all of that. I am leaving my company in good hands. In fact, I created them myself twenty-six years ago. My pride and joy, Eric Titus." Everyone at the table gave a large applause, their eyes shooting to the opposite end of the table to Eric who was giving everyone a tight smile and a raised glass. Gwen could tell something was bothering him deeply, but it was something only she would be able to tell in moments like this. Gwen gave a soft applause as she looked around at the shock on everyone's faces. "Thank you, everyone." Eric said. "And thank you son," Donovan took the attention back to himself, "Thank you for supporting me into taking the leap into the next part of my life. I was always born to be a leader and there is no way that I would step down from this pedestal of mine and being any lesser than what I was before. What I want to do next will be my greatest challenge, but it will be trumped." At this point, everyone was hanging onto his every word. "I have been on this planet for sixty-years. In that time, I have watched many things change. In the time period I have seen the value of family tarnished, I have seen more and more corruption than I have ever seen in my life. The true core values that this country stood for have been ran into the grown by immigration, a president who can't control its economy. A country who can't control its citizens and the men in control are all about numbers and keeping the peace that they're not doing what they are supposed to." "So, it is with my honor and my pride to let you all know that for the 2020 election, I will be running for president." The sound of cheers irrupted in the dining hall, the most emotion shown in the hall in years. Gwen sat with her mouth dropped open in shock, it seemed like everyone else in the room knew about the announcement before Gwen or she was completely in the dark about the happenings of her parents and that would not shock her whatsoever. Either way, she knew it would be a long night.