Стюарт Вудс - Indecent Exposure

“No, he just heard about it somewhere. We’re dropping him off in Georgia. Aunt Bee will stay with him. He always gets excited about the cows and horses, and he wants to visit his pony.”

“You never got me a pony,” he said reprovingly.

“You were an urban child — you couldn’t have a pony in Georgetown.”

“I suppose you’re right, but I still resent it.”

“If that’s all you resent, then I must have been a very good mother.”

“You were a very good mother because you were too busy to interfere very much in my life. I liked making my own decisions.”

“That’s true, you always have. That’s a character trait that will stand you in good stead in politics.”

“All I have to do is imitate you and Will.”

“Oh, thank you for that!”

“Listen, don’t you have a country to run?”

“Oops, forgot about that. I’m out of here.” They both hung up.

Peter ran over the list of calls on his desk and found the most important one missing. He called the office of the senior senator from New York and asked for his chief of staff, Dick Porter. “Tell him it’s the putative junior senator from New York.”

“Porter.”

“Hey, Dick.”

“How you doing?”

“I’m hungry. Let’s have lunch.”

“See you in an hour.”

They met in the Senate dining room, in which their staff status allowed them to lunch, and Peter wangled a corner table.

“Congrats,” Dick said. He was fifteen years older than Peter, and shorter.

“Thanks, Dick.”

They ordered quickly out of habit and had iced tea instead of wine.

“What’s happening?” Dick asked.

“It has come to my attention that you are going to become unemployed next year.”

“So kind of you to mention it.”

“It’s best to inject a little anxiety into a conversation like this one.”

“What kind of conversation is this?”

“One where I ease your fears of unemployment.”

“Ease away, pal.”

“Dick, you have the reputation of being the best chief of staff on the Hill.”

Dick grinned. “I’ve heard that, and I can’t bring myself to disagree.”

“Do you like the work?”

“The only thing I’d like better is my senator’s job, but I’m ill-suited for that by temperament and intellect.”

“You mean, you’re smarter than your boss.”

“Ah, you know how I feel.”

“How’d you like to keep your job for, say, another two terms, maybe three?”

“You mean my guy is going to stand for reelection?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then who in the world is going to replace him who would keep me on the payroll?”

“It ain’t going to be Benton Blake,” Peter said.

“Ah, then it must be you.”

“Right, and I’d like you to come work for me.”

“After Election Day?”

“Today, if you like.”

“And walk out on my senator?”

“You’ve never liked him all that much. It’s hard working for someone dumber than you, so working for me should be a refreshing change.”

“Where’s my office going to be, if I walk out on my man?”

“In my house in Georgetown, with a direct line to my desk here, until I’m running full-time. And you can spend the summer at my place in the Hamptons, if you like. The phones work between here and there, so it wouldn’t be much different than having you in Georgetown.”

“My wife would like that.”

“Is she pregnant yet?”

“No, and her doctor says that’s not really in the cards.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’d make a lousy father.”

“I’ll pay you half again what you’re making now, and double what you’re making when the campaign starts. After I’m in office, I’ll supplement your government salary handsomely.”

“You say all the right words, Peter.”

“How about these words — start the day after New Year’s Day, that will give you time to break the news gently to your boss.”

“Not a problem. I’ve been grooming my deputy for a couple of years — she can take over.”

Peter held out his hand. “Welcome aboard.”

Dick shook and held it. “You know, I think I’d make a great White House chief of staff.”

“All in good time,” Peter said.

Stone Barrington got out of the Bentley at Bergdorf’s and began to tour the shops on the way downtown. He found a lovely cashmere dressing gown for Holly, and a sweater for Joan at Saks. He strolled over to Rockefeller Center and had a close-up look at the big tree.

He was standing in front of a shoe store, examining their display, as if he needed more shoes, when he caught a glimpse of the reflection of a familiar figure in the plate-glass window, but before he could turn around, the crowd of tourists surged, and the figure disappeared. What the hell, he thought, he’d lived in this city his whole life, and it would be unusual not to run into someone he knew, even if he couldn’t figure out who.

Alphonse Teppi took a tweed hat from his coat pocket and pulled it on, then donned his glasses. He thought Barrington had spotted him, but he seemed safe now.

Benton Blake and Gloria Parsons strolled along a pink beach in Bermuda, hand in hand. The sand made squeaking sounds as they walked. Benton was wearing a Panama hat and sunglasses; he didn’t want to be recognized and photographed with a woman at an intimate resort so soon after his divorce.

“Listen,” Gloria said, “if you’re not going to run for anything, what the hell do you care if you’re seen with me?”

“I’m still a politician,” Benton said, “and we think about those things. I’ve had years of being cautious about where I’m seen and with whom, and it doesn’t go away immediately after a divorce decree. It’s a reflex. It’s one thing to be seen together at a party or the theater, another to get caught shacking up in Bermuda.”

“Okay, I get it,” Gloria said. Her phone rang. “Excuse me a minute. Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Al.”

“Hey.”

“I’m on Barrington, like you asked, but it’s really boring.”

“Gee, I’m sorry about that. You didn’t ask for boredom money. What’s he doing?”

“He’s walking around Rockefeller Center, gawking at the tree and the skaters like somebody from Wichita, or something.”

“Most people are boring most of the time, Al.”

“Oh, all right, I’ll stay on him.” He hung up.

“What was that about?” Benton asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing, just an acquaintance who was bored and wanted to talk to somebody.”

“In New York?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the weather like there?”

“Cold and sunny, according to the forecast on TV this morning.”

“I’m glad to hear it, otherwise, why come to Bermuda?”

Stone went into a wine shop and found a very expensive bottle of vintage cognac for Dino, then he went into the Diamond Center and found a lovely broach for Viv. He couldn’t find anybody following him, but neither could he shake the feeling that somebody was out there.

Teppi got Danny Blaine on the phone. “What time do you get off work?”

“At five, like everybody else, unless I work late.”

“I’ll need you to spell me shortly after five. I didn’t dress for the weather, and I’m freezing my ass off.”

“So, you want me to freeze my ass off, is that it?”

“You’ve got a sheepskin coat, darling, and you’re young and hardy, unlike me.”

“All right, where do you want me to meet you?”

“Right now he’s in the Diamond Center, on Fifth at Forty-seventh Street, and he seems to generally be heading downtown.” He looked at his watch. “It’s four-thirty now, so he ought to be in your neighborhood around five, if he keeps this slow pace.”