Fast and Loose

59

Stone entered the White House through the West Wing, was escorted upstairs to the family quarters by a Secret Service agent and installed in the Lincoln Bedroom. He freshened up, shook the wrinkles out of his blue blazer, and presented himself in the living room, where Kate and Will Lee and Holly were already on their first drink. A little boy was playing in front of the fireplace, and a glass of ice and a bottle of Knob Creek bourbon sat on the coffee table. All the domestic comforts.

Will shook his hand, and Kate and Holly offered warm hugs and kisses, then Will poured his drink. “Good God,” he said, “is that your tiny baby?”

“Bill is three and a half now,” Kate said.

Stone had never picked up a child, so he just tousled his hair. “Hello, Bill,” he said. Bill ignored him.

“What have you been up to, Stone?” Kate asked.

“It would take me at least an hour to explain that,” Stone said, “so I’ll spare you.”

“I assume you’ve heard about Holly’s new job to come,” she said.

“I heard a very interesting rumor,” Stone replied.

“Well, it’s true, but not for spreading around just yet. Even though we’re ahead by double digits everywhere that matters, I don’t want to appear overconfident by making new cabinet appointments before the election.”

“I understand perfectly,” he said.

Will spoke up. “Before we get any drunker,” he said, “there’s something we want to talk to you about.”

“Please do.”

“The next four years are going to bring some important changes in our lives — in fact, they’ve already started. To begin with, our personal attorney, Kerwin Smith, is retiring, and his firm is merging with another, and we’re not really going to know the people there anymore. Kate and I would be very pleased if you would become our personal attorney.”

“Why, thank you, Will, I’d be delighted. You don’t feel the need of a Washington lawyer?”

“In the long run, we won’t be spending a lot of time in Washington after Kate’s second term. We’ll be making some big changes.”

“What sort of changes?”

“To begin with, my mother died a few months ago.”

“I saw the obituary, and I was sorry to hear it.”

“Thank you for your kind note. As a result, we’ve sold about five hundred acres of her land and her herd of cattle, along with the mail-order steak business. We’re auctioning her bulls, not wishing to stay in the bull semen business, and they’re bringing big prices on the market. We’re keeping the house and about a hundred acres, and mine and Kate’s presidential libraries will be built there. I’ve also sold Dad’s and my law practice in Delano to our other partner.”

“Where are you going to live when you’re free people again?”

“We’ve got the apartment at the Carlyle in New York, and we’ll probably sell that and buy something on Fifth Avenue, with a view of the park. Also, we want to buy a house in Santa Fe and spend a lot of time there.”

“As you say, lots of changes.”

“Kate’s son, Peter Rule, has moved back from London and he’s working for New York’s Senator Saltonstall as his chief of staff. He’s thinking of running for the other Senate seat at the midterm elections, as Senator Slade will be retiring.”

“Great idea.”

“I think he wants to be the new Ted Kennedy,” Kate said.

“What will you do with the Georgetown house?” Stone asked.

“Peter seems to think it’s too much house for him, so, unless he changes his mind, we’ll sell it, I guess.”

“May I make a recommendation?”

“Of course.”

“Why don’t you rent it to Holly, with an option to buy. We can’t have a secretary of state living over an antiques shop on Pennsylvania Avenue.”

“What a good idea!” Kate enthused.

“I like that, too,” Will said.

“Is anybody going to ask me?” Holly said.

They ignored her.

“Maybe later,” Stone said, “if Peter doesn’t want to live there, I’ll buy it and give it to the State Department as a permanent home for the secretary of state.”

“I love it!” Kate said. “Actually, Peter already has a Georgetown house. When his father, Simon, died, he inherited that and everything else handed down by Simon’s family, including a New York apartment and a place in the Hamptons and a pot of money.”

“Lucky boy.”

“Smart, too.”

“Something else,” Stone said, “as you know, I bought a house in Santa Fe a few months ago, and I think I went a house too far, since I can’t spend much time there. It might suit your purposes very well. It has a nice master suite, a study, and a library, where you and Will can work on your memoirs, plus four guest bedrooms, two of them in a guesthouse, all on about two acres. And I heard yesterday that the property next door, which is about three acres, with a small house on it, is for sale. It might make a good headquarters for your Secret Service detail.”

“Well,” Kate said, “we’re going to be in Santa Fe next week for a fund-raiser. Why don’t we take a look at it?”

“Better yet,” Stone said, “why don’t you stay at the house? Ed Eagle can arrange for you to discreetly see the property next door.”

“Perhaps,” Will said, “we could do some sort of property swap — your Santa Fe place for our Georgetown house.”

“That’s an interesting idea,” Stone said. “I know your house, of course, but after you’ve been to Santa Fe we can talk more about that. Also, a client of mine, Laurence Hayward, bought a magnificent penthouse on Park Avenue, with Central Park views, and I think he’s bitten off more than he can chew. He has houses in Santa Fe, Palm Beach, and in England. Perhaps you could take a look at his penthouse.”

“Why not?” Will said, and Kate was nodding furiously.

“Something else you can do for us,” Will said, reaching into a pocket and retrieving a loop-shaped piece of metal with a USB plug on one end. He handed it to Stone.

“What’s this?” Stone asked.

“It’s a thumb drive containing volume one of my memoirs, which runs from my birth in Georgia to Kate’s election as President. I’ve been working on it for three years, and I’d like you to find me a publisher and make a deal.”

“I’ll look forward to reading it,” Stone said, slipping the device into his pocket. “We could make the deal even more attractive if we include Kate’s memoirs.”

“What a good idea!” Kate said.

“And, of course, I could also offer Holly’s book.”

Holly looked startled. “What book?”

“Your memoirs, dummy,” Kate said.

“I’m writing my memoirs?”

“Trust me,” Stone said, “it will be a great read.”

Holly shrugged. “Okay, I’m in.”

“Suddenly, I’m a literary agent,” Stone said.

“You’ll be a great one,” Will replied.

“I’ll bring in my team at Woodman & Weld to handle your legal matters,” Stone said. “I already have sort of a firm within the firm that handles a couple of other clients’ accounts.”

A butler appeared and called them to dinner.

“This is wonderful,” Kate said. “All our problems solved before dinner!”

“We do what we can,” Stone said.