Cut and Thrust

4

Stone woke the following morning to find Ann in her dressing room, putting her things away. He liked it that she did these things naked.

“Good morning,” he said from the doorway.

She smiled. “And good morning to you.”

“If you’d like anything pressed, just leave it out and tell Manolo.”

“I’ll do that. Oh, by the way, Kate told me to tell you that they accept your invitation to dinner tonight with pleasure.”

“The Secret Service already told me.”

“Who else will be here?”

“My and Dino’s sons and their girlfriends, and a couple who work for Peter in his production company at Centurion Studios, named Billy and Betsy Burnett.”

“Oh, I’m supposed to tell you that Senator Sam Meriwether and his wife, Dorothy, will be coming, too.”

“I’ve met him,” Stone said, “but not her.” Sam Meriwether, a former congressman from Georgia, had been elected to Will Lee’s old seat and was Kate’s campaign manager. His sobriquet in the Senate was “the new Sam Nunn.” “They’re welcome.”

“Technically, he’s my boss, but he’s been working out of D.C., so I haven’t seen a lot of him, just a lot of phone calls.”

“Is he the right guy to run Kate’s campaign?”

“He is. Kate wanted a southerner, preferably a Georgian, and he’s the sort of senator who gets along with people on both sides of the aisle. Kate and I pretty much run the day-to-day operations, and Sam is more of a strategist. He also is good on television and gets along very well with the press.”

“The accent helps, I think,” Stone said.

“It certainly does. It’s an old-fashioned Georgia accent, and it sounds good on him.”

“Does Kate know about the death threat?”

“Sure, and she’s unfazed. She’s used to that sort of thing, and she knows she’s well protected.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I wouldn’t want her to worry unnecessarily. What time do you have to be back with Kate?”

“Not until eight-thirty or so,” she said.

“Then you have time to come back to bed for a little while, don’t you?”

She smiled. “I’ll be right there.”

They had breakfast sent up on trays and ate in bed, watching the morning shows and reading the papers. A BREAKING NEWS title came on the screen.

“We’ve just had news that Senator Eleanor Stockman has taken a turn for the worse,” an anchorwoman said.

Ann put down the papers and listened. “Uh-oh,” she said.

“Senator Stockman went into the hospital after collapsing at her home last week, and was diagnosed with an operable brain tumor. She had the surgery and was said to be recovering well, but in the early hours of this morning she arrested and had to be revived and intubated. She has been on a respirator for several hours now, and a spokesman says that she is in critical condition.”

“That’s so sad,” Ann said. “I saw her in New York a couple of weeks ago, and she looked tired, but healthy. She was scheduled to speak at the convention.”

“It sounds very serious,” Stone said. “Who will they get to replace her?”

“My guess is Governor Richard Collins might appoint himself to the seat. He’s one of our bright younger stars, and it would be a good opportunity for him to become better known nationally.”

“He was the mayor of San Francisco, wasn’t he?”

“That’s right.”

“Would he make a good vice presidential running mate for Kate?”

“Too soon. He’s only thirty-eight, and he hasn’t finished his first term. Pedro ‘Pete’ Otero of New Mexico has had two terms as governor, and — don’t tell anybody this — he’s the favorite for VP in our camp, if he doesn’t beat us for the nomination!” She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to get into a shower and run over to the presidential cottage,” she said, getting up and trotting toward her bathroom.

Stone finished the papers and was just getting up when she left. He showered, shaved, and dressed and got downstairs in time to see Mike Freeman and Dino about to leave.

“We’re off to a security meeting with the convention managers,” Mike said. “Chief Rivera of the LAPD has asked Dino to come along and kibitz.”

“Good for you to get to know your future peers around the country,” Stone said.

“Don’t start,” Dino said.

“We’ll be back in time for a drink before dinner,” Mike said. “Oh, I didn’t make another date for dinner.”

“How did Charlene take your breaking your date?”

“Like an arrow in the chest, I think.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she just showed up,” Stone said.

“You really think she’d do that?”

“She won’t if I alert the Secret Service.”

“Do that, and I’ll never get laid again,” Mike said.

“Don’t worry, Charlene will have you back in the sack in no time,” Stone said.