David Baldacci - The Innocent

“You fast walked over?”

“How’d you know?” she gasped.

“You wouldn’t ride your bike with heels on, and you’re pretty breathless for a short walk followed by an elevator ride.”

She laughed. “Good deductions. Yeah, I left my bike at work and ran over. I got caught up in something right at five to eight. Had to get it done. And I did.”

“Then that deserves a reward.”

Robie waved the waiter over and Lambert ordered a vodka tonic. The waiter brought it back, along with a bowl of nuts and pretzels, and set it down between them.

Robie bit into a nut and took a swallow of his drink. Lambert sipped her cocktail and snagged a handful of the snack mix and gobbled it down.

“Hungry?”

“No time for lunch today,” she explained. “Or breakfast either, actually.”

“You want to order off the menu?”

She ordered a cheeseburger and fries while he went with some spring rolls.

“My diet is not the healthiest in the world,” she said. “Sort of an occupational hazard.”

Robie settled farther back in his chair and prepared himself to engage in small talk. He had wanted to have a drink with Lambert. But now that he was here with her, it seemed crazy given all that he was confronting right now.

I can’t be normal, no matter how much I want to be.

“I can understand that. You do much traveling in your job?” he said, trying to sound excited to hear her answer.

“No. I’m not officially high enough in the pecking order to ever be considered for a ride on Air Force One or even in any of the secondary planes. But I’m working hard and making a name for myself, and maybe one day, who knows, right?”

“Right. So you enjoy politics?”

“I enjoy policy,” she replied. “I don’t really get into the campaigning or election stuff. Energy is my specialty and I do white papers and briefing documents and I help write speeches for the administration in those areas.”

“So energy is your background?”

“My undergraduate degree is in engineering. I have a Ph. D. in biochemistry with an emphasis on renewable energy resources. And we are running out of the fossil fuel stuff. Not to mention wreaking great harm through climate change.”

Robie grinned.

“What?” she asked.

“Now you sound like a politician.”

She laughed. “I guess the place rubs off on you.”

“I guess it does.”

Their food came and she bit eagerly into her burger and followed that up with several fries awash in ketchup.

Robie put duck sauce on one of his spring rolls and bit into it.

“So what about you?” asked Lambert. “You said investments and that you worked on your own.”

“Actually, right now I’m doing as little as possible.”

“You don’t strike me as that sort. You seem way too intense to just sit around.”

“I don’t just sit around. I’ve traveled quite a bit, done some interesting work, made enough to take some time off, and that’s what I’m doing now. As little as possible. But at some point that will end. You’re right, I am too intense.”

“Sounds nice, though. Just enjoying life.”

“It can be. Or it can be really boring.”

“I wouldn’t mind trying it at some point.”

“I hope you can.”

She said, “How’d you end up in D.C.? Or are you from here?”

“I haven’t met many people who are from D.C. I came from the Midwest. How about you?”

“Connecticut. My parents were from England. I’m actually adopted. Only child.”

“You don’t have an accent.”

“I only lived in England until I was five. Now the only accent I have is a New England one, and not much of that, actually. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“No, just me. Wouldn’t have minded some siblings.”

“But kids don’t really have any say in the matter.”

“You sound like you wanted some brothers and sisters too,” said Robie. He glanced over her shoulder after he heard a siren.

She looked at him resignedly. “It feels like we’re just going through the motions, doesn’t it?”

Robie didn’t process this right away. When he finally did he looked at her. “What?” he said.

“Look, I know you said you wanted to get out more, and it was nice to have a drink together. But I’m not sure you’re really here. If you know what I mean.” She bit into a fry and looked down. She continued, “I mean, I’m just a policy geek. I’ll never make much money. I’ll spend my life at a desk writing well-researched papers that no one will ever read. And even if they do they’ll spin them in ways I never intended. You’ve made a lot of money, probably traveled the world. I must seem pretty boring to you.” She nervously picked up another fry but didn’t eat it. She just stared at it like she wasn’t sure what it was.

Robie hunched forward, coming out of his protective shell in more ways than one. He took the fry from her and bit it in half.

“I wanted to have a drink with you. If I didn’t want to I wouldn’t. And if I was going through the motions I apologize. I really do. I don’t find you boring.”

She smiled. “Did you like the fry?”

“Yeah. You want some of my spring roll?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

As they ate from each other’s plates she said, “You probably don’t usually eat fatty foods. I’ve seen you work out, of course. Do you run too?”

“Only when someone is chasing me.”

She laughed. “My metabolism must be really high. I eat crap and never gain an ounce.”

“A lot of people would like to have that problem.”

“I know. Some of the women I work with say that too.” She held out her burger. “Would you like a bite? It’s really good.”

He took a bite of the sandwich and wiped his mouth with his napkin. When he finished chewing he said, “I guess being at the White House is long hours, little exercise, eat when you can, and crazy schedules.”

“Did you ever work there? Because you’ve summed it up pretty well.”

“I don’t think I’m White House material. Best and the brightest, you know.”

“At least half the country would disagree with you on that.”

Robie smiled and watched her munch away on her fries. He took in the view of the city.

Lambert followed his gaze and said, “Even though I work there it’s still weird to see the snipers on the roof of the White House.”

“Countersnipers,” said Robie automatically and then regretted the slip. He smiled. “I watch a lot of NCIS. That’s where I learned that word.”

“I DVR it,” said Lambert. “Great show.”

They lapsed into silence again.

Robie finally broke it. “I’m sorry I’m not a good conversationalist. Has nothing to do with intent. Just tends to ebb and flow.”

“Neither am I, so maybe we’re very compatible.”

“Maybe we are,” said Robie. But now he found himself really wanting to talk. He looked out again, toward Arlington Cemetery on the Virginia side, up a hill. “When the Union took over Robert E. Lee’s land and turned it into a military burial ground, they said General Lee could have his property back if he paid the back taxes. But the catch was he had to pay them in person. He understandably never took Lincoln up on his offer.”

“I never heard that one.”

“Don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s a good story.”

“And you just disproved your point. You are a good conversationalist.”

“I guess I have my moments.”

“Do you like the investment business?”

“I used to,” he answered. “But after a while simply making money doesn’t seem like enough. More to life, you know.”

“There’s always more to life than money, Will,” she said. “Money is just a means to an end. It shouldn’t be the goal.”