Cut and Thrust Read Free Page B

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.

T he kids arrived a little early for the dinner party, and they sat out by the pool, waiting for the other guests.
    “Tell me about these houses you’ve bought,” Stone said to Peter. “You’ve been pretty quiet about it.”
    “Ben and I bought two adjacent properties in Brentwood,” Peter said. “We’ve taken down the fencing between them and combined the landscaping, so that it seems like one larger property with two houses. We have nearly four acres, altogether. Hattie and Tessa have done the decorating, and we’re ready for what amounts to a double housewarming tomorrow evening.”
    “I can’t wait to see the place,” Stone said.
    “Neither can I,” Dino said. “Are you sure you can afford this, Ben?”
    “Dad, I’m a successful movie producer,” Ben replied. “You’d be surprised at what I can afford.”
    Billy and Betsy Burnett arrived, Billy introduced Betsy to the grown-ups. It suddenly occurred to Stone that having the former Teddy Fay at a dinner with the first lady and the president who had secretly pardoned him could make for some discomfort. He was about to take Billy aside and talk with him about it when the presidential party arrived.
    Introductions were made, and Stone watched Kate carefully. Will Lee had never seen Teddy Fay, but Kate would have when she was at the CIA. The moment passed without incident, and Stone breathed a little easier.
    Stone found himself sitting between Senator Sam Meriwether and Kate Lee.
    “You heard about Senator Eleanor Stockman’s illness?” Kate asked.
    “Yes, this morning on TV.”
    “I spoke with her son a few minutes ago. Eleanor is showing no sign of brain activity, and the family are discussing now whether—or rather when—to take her off the respirator.”
    “That’s very sad,” Stone said. “I had to face something like that with my mother. She died before we could bring ourselves to turn off the machine.”
    Kate nodded. “So many families have to face that.”
    Sam Meriwether spoke up. “This means we’re going to have to face another event,” he said. “When Eleanor dies, her Senate seat comes available, and Governor Dick Collins will appoint someone to replace her. She was reelected two years ago, so there’s a four-year term before the appointee would have to face reelection.”
    “You see where this is going, Stone?” Kate asked.
    Stone took a sip of his drink. “Might Martin Stanton be a candidate to fill her seat?”
    “That’s astute of you,” she said. “We have to make some suppositions here, and without as much information as we’d like before doing so.”
    “You think Stanton would accept if it’s offered?” Stone asked.
    “No, I don’t—at least, not before the convention.”
    “What if his support begins to crumble in the California delegation?”
    “That would certainly point him in the right direction, but we don’t see that happening, at this point.”
    “The thing is,” Meriwether said, “if Marty knows there’s a safe Senate seat waiting for him if he isn’t nominated, he may not fight quite so hard to get the nomination.”
    “Is there someone you’d like me to speak to?” Stone asked, cognizant of his conversation with Kate on the flight out.
    “Do you know Dick Collins?” Kate asked.
    “I met him at a cocktail party in San Francisco five or six years ago when he was still mayor. I don’t know if he’ll remember, but we had a nice conversation for a few minutes.”
    “He’ll remember,” Kate said. “He has a phenomenal memory for names and faces.”
    Peter was