Стюарт Вудс - Indecent Exposure

“Good morning,” Blake said, managing a bit of a smile. “I have served New York State as your governor, always with profound gratitude for the support that the citizens and elected officials of this state have given me. Now the time has come to for me to move on. I am resigning as governor, effective immediately, and Lieutenant Governor Pio Rinaldi will be sworn in as your new governor in this office in just a few minutes. Pio and I have worked hand in hand for the past years, and I know he will be a governor that you can be proud of.

“I am leaving on a brief vacation, and as soon as I’m back, I will be returning to the private practice of law, with the New York firm of Woodman & Weld. A note to the press and the media — I have already conducted my last press conference as governor, and as a private citizen, I will have nothing further to say.

“I thank everyone who has contributed to the success of my administration and all those around the state who have given me their support. Goodbye and good luck to all of you.”

The screen went dark, then returned to Morning Joe .

“I have it on good authority,” Joe Scarborough said, “that Governor Blake’s divorce became final on Friday, and that has freed him to make a new start in life. We wish him well.”

Stone’s bedside phone rang, and he answered it.

“Stone, it’s Eliot Saltonstall.”

“Good morning, Eliot,” he replied, glancing at the clock. “I didn’t know you were up and about at this hour.”

“Did you see Benton’s announcement?”

“I did.”

“I hear he’s off to Bermuda with his new girlfriend. I wasn’t able to come up with her name.”

“I’ve heard that it’s Gloria Parsons, formerly a writer at Just Folks magazine.”

“Ah! You always know everything, Stone.”

“Just something borne in on the Southern breeze.”

“Do you think he’ll announce for the Senate when he gets back?”

“You just heard him say he’ll be joining Woodman & Weld on his return. I don’t think Bill Eggers would consider that a good time to make a political announcement.”

“Do you think he’ll run eventually?”

“I imagine he’ll be licking his wounds for some time, after watching Peter’s performance on Friday.”

“He was good, wasn’t he?”

“He certainly was.”

“Oh, I received your check for the PAC. I’m very grateful to you, and so is Peter. I expect you’ll be hearing from him personally quite soon. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to my office.”

“So do I,” Stone replied, and they both hung up.

When Stone got to his desk he found a hand-delivered note from Peter Rule, thanking him for his support and promising his friendship forever. “Forever is a couple of weeks in politics,” Stone said aloud to himself.

Joan buzzed him. “Bob Cantor to see you.”

“Send him in.”

Bob came in, was greeted by the other Bob, and took a seat. “I expect you’ll want to shut down the wire at Gloria Parsons’s place, given Blake’s announcement this morning.”

“I expect so,” Stone said.

“I thought you might like to hear what I’ve got up to today.” Bob set the recorder on the desk and pressed a button.

Stone listened to the recording in full; it was voice-activated, so a few days’ conversation was shrunk to a few minutes. “Thank you, Bob,” he said. “Give Joan your bill, and we’ll wait to see what, if anything, develops when they return from Bermuda.”

“I was sort of hoping you’d ask me to follow them there,” Bob said.

“Fat chance.” The two men shook hands, and Cantor left.

Stone thought about it for a moment, then called Eliot Saltonstall.

“Yes, Stone?”

“I thought you’d like to know — I just spoke to someone who knows Benton Blake well, and I was told that he found Peter’s declaration so dispiriting that he has put aside all thought of running for the Senate at midterm.”

“That’s wonderful news, Stone.”

“Apparently Benton said that, instead, he would just wait around for you to have a stroke or something, then run for your seat.”

“That’s not funny, Stone.”

“I thought it was in very poor taste, myself, even if he did say it only privately.”

“Well, I had my annual physical last week, and my doctor said I’m fit for at least two more terms.”

“I’m sure you are, Eliot, and I’ll look forward to voting for you.”

“Thank you, Stone.”

They hung up.

Gloria Parsons closed her suitcase, had a look out the window for the limo, then made a phone call to Alphonse Teppi.

“How are you, Gloria? It’s been a while.”

“I’ve been busy, Al.”

“Lunch today?”

“Sorry, I’m going away for a week or so.”

“Oh? Where?”

“That’s classified. I want you to do something for me while I’m gone.”

“Sure thing.”

“I want you to put somebody on Stone Barrington. I want to know where he goes and what he does while I’m gone.”

“That could get expensive, Gloria.”

“I’ve already told my accountant to send you a nice check. I’ll take care of any necessary travel expenses, too.”

“Will I be able to reach you?”

“You can text me, and I’ll get it — but only if something important comes up.”

“I’ll get right on it, then. Have a good trip.”

“Thank you, Al. I’ll call you when I get back.”

Her bell rang, and she buzzed the downstairs door open. A minute later there was a knock on the door and a man in a black suit stood there. “May I take your bags, Ms. Parsons?” he asked.

“Right there,” she said, pointing at the stack.

Three minutes later she was in the back of the limo, headed for Teterboro and a chartered jet. She snuggled up to Blake. “We’re going to make you forget all about politics,” she whispered in his ear.

“I’ll look forward to forgetting,” he said.

Stone picked up the New York Times and read a front-page story to the effect that Benton and Vanessa Blake had amicably agreed to a divorce and that a property settlement fair to both had been reached. Essentially, Vanessa had gotten $15,000,000, plus a house or apartment still to be found, with a value of $5,000,000. Benton had also agreed to a lifetime of child support and school and university fees and support up to and including the Ph.D. level, for their daughter. He then turned on morning TV and found the story featured, but briefly, on every show. The whole thing had been conducted in a businesslike manner, with neither party criticized for his/her actions and attitudes. Step one was over.

Later, Stone encountered a front-page story in the Times to the effect that Benton Blake had resigned from the office of governor of New York State, with immediate effect, and that the lieutenant governor, one Pio Rinaldi, heretofore only rarely heard of, had been sworn in as governor.

Five days after that a story ran on the front page of the business section of the Times , with a similar story in the Wall Street Journal , that Benton Blake had joined the prestigious law firm of Woodman & Weld as a senior partner with responsibility for governmental relations with both Albany and Washington, D.C.

Two days after that a photograph appeared on the front page of the Arts section of the New York Times showing the former governor of New York attending a special benefit performance of the musical Hamilton , with his companion, Gloria Parsons, the well-known magazine journalist. In the days following, the couple appeared in the collection of tiny photographs taken at three big-time society functions, in a regular Times feature that Stone had always thought should have been entitled Parties That You Weren’t Invited To.