Page 184 of Never
‘I believe we do,’ he said. ‘You ordered an omelette and a salad, and I’m sure we have more eggs and more lettuce.’
‘Good. Open a bottle of white wine for Mr Blake.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
They moved into the dining room and sat opposite one another at the round table. Pauline said: ‘We can put out a low-key statement early tomorrow clarifying the Shanghai Data stake.’
‘I’ll speak to Sandip.’
‘Whatever he says should be cleared with McBride.’
‘Okay.’
‘This will blow over quickly.’
‘True, but then he’ll come up with something else. What we need is a strategy for presenting you as the smart problem solver who understands the issues, by contrast with the blowhard who just says what he thinks people want to hear.’
‘That’s a good way to put it.’
They brainstormed over dinner, then moved to the East Sitting Hall. Cyrus brought the coffee and said: ‘The domestic staff will retire now, Madam President, if that’s all right with you.’
‘Of course, Cy, thank you.’
‘If you should need anything later, you only have to call me.’
‘I appreciate that.’
When Cy had gone, Gus sat next to Pauline on the couch.
They were alone. The staff would not return unless summoned. On the floor below were the Secret Service detail and the army captain with the nuclear briefcase they called the atomic football. Those people would not come upstairs unless there was an emergency.
The mad thought occurred to her that she could take him to her bed now and no one would know.
It’s a good thing that will never happen, she thought.
He looked at her face, frowned, and said: ‘What?’
She said: ‘Gus—’
Her phone rang.
Gus said: ‘Don’t answer.’
‘The president has to answer.’
‘Of course. Forgive me.’
She turned away from him and answered the call. It was Gerry.
She wrenched herself out of her mood and said: ‘Hi, how’s the trip going?’ She stood up, turned her back on Gus and walked a few steps away.
Gerry said: ‘Pretty good. No one hospitalized, no one arrested, no one kidnapped – we’re batting three for three.’
‘I’m so glad. Is Pippa enjoying it?’
‘She’s having a great time.’
Gerry sounded ebullient. He was having a great time too, Pauline guessed. ‘Did she like Harvard or MIT best?’
