Power Play

Natalie nodded.

Perry said, “I hope you didn’t tell him to go easy on Arliss, Mom. After the lengths she went to destroy you, I hope she does go to prison. Do you think she will, Dillon?”

“Your mother can answer that better than I can, Perry.”

Natalie said, “I think the president will want to remove her quietly, with the classic excuse of family obligations as the reason for her resignation, and if that’s so, then the Justice Department will go along. A trial and possible jail time? I strongly doubt it.”

“But still, look what she did, Mom—” Perry began.

Natalie took her hand. “She’s lost everything she ever wanted, Perry, everything she had, except your father, and she never had him. Her position, her future, her reputation, and now she might lose her son. Have you spoken with Day, Perry?”

“I caught him on the phone this morning at the airport. He’s in Colorado today with his dad’s family, trying to explain what happened, trying to support his stepmother. He said she and his half-sisters really need him. I asked Day what his father had told him when he saw him at the Hoover Building yesterday. He told me all his father said was that he loved him, and he’d have blown up the White House to keep him from being hurt. Hurt? Day said he laughed when his father said that. He still doesn’t understand why they didn’t tell him, but his father didn’t explain. I agree with him. Day’s a grown man, for heaven’s sake.

“As for his mother, Day thinks it had more to do with her career and her reputation than with protecting him. I know he’ll always be there for his father, and I think that’s very good, for both of them.”

Natalie said, “I wonder how Day’s life, how all of our lives, would have been different if we’d known Brundage was his father. I hope that if I’d been told, I would have come to see Day was another part of Brundage, just as you are, Perry, and I think I would have come to love him as my husband’s son.

“I called Day yesterday as well. He didn’t want to speak to me. It wasn’t that he was mad at me, nothing like that. It was just that he sounded so very hurt, like if he didn’t talk about it then it wouldn’t be true. It will take him a while to come to grips with it. Day doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to call him every day.”

Perry said, “Do you want to know something? I couldn’t imagine finding out you’re not my mother.”

Natalie laughed. “Not much chance of that, sweetie.” She looked over at Davis, who was smiling at her as he chewed on a slice of pepperoni. “It’s been a week and a half, and our lives have changed so much. Particularly yours, Perry.”

“Mom, I like the thought of having Day as my half-brother, don’t ever worry about that, but I wouldn’t have married him. You know that.”

Natalie laughed again. “I wasn’t talking about Day, Perry. I was talking about Special Agent Davis Sullivan. It’s amazing, isn’t it? Neither of us would have met him if it hadn’t been for that drug addict Jitterbug who wanted to steal my new Beemer.” She raised her glass. “Davis, here’s to your weakness for Starbucks coffee and all the good things that came out of it.”

There was another round of toasts. Natalie said, “Perry, I was thinking you and Davis might enjoy visiting London together, maybe even come back with me next week. It’s time I returned to the best job in the world. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. I always loved the sound of that.”

Perry studied her black leather boots before she looked up and grinned at Davis. “Actually, Mr. Hot Shot, Mom and I already talked about this. So what do you say?”

“I don’t know,” Davis said. “I mean, I’ve heard all you can do is talk football, ride a Hog, wear black biker boots that send a man’s heart into overdrive, make the best guacamole inside the Beltway—”

Perry burst out laughing. “I don’t know about the overdrive business.”

Sherlock said, “Sounds to me like she’s a guy’s dream come to life, Davis.”

Savich said easily, “It’s all right with me, Davis. You’re due a week, I’d say.”

Natalie said, “It’s March, so of course the days will be rainy and chilly, lots of wind, but if you’re lucky, there’ll be a couple of days of gorgeous sunshine tossed in. There’s a lot to show you, Davis, like the London Eye, and Perry would love to be your tour guide. I have lots of room, as Perry knows.”

Sherlock was looking down at Astro, wagging his tail fast as a metronome set on high. She tossed him a bit of pepperoni as she heard the toilet flush upstairs. Sean was up. She knew he’d hear the conversation and creep down the stairs to see what was happening. She rose. “I’m going to get Sean, and you can tell him about this humongous Ferris wheel in London.”