At the Pleasure of the President (The Perfect Gentlemen 5)

That was more like it. “I look forward to that.”

Mad joined his wife and smiled when Zack parked himself beside Liz, bracing his hand on the small of her back. She seemed to relax at his touch and sent him a tenuous smile.

Sidling up to Sara, he kissed her temple. “I might need to consider a new career because I make a pretty damn good cupid.”

His wife laughed and handed him the knife. “You ready to cut the cake, cherub?”

Mad glanced over at the dessert the ladies had managed to acquire for the occasion. It was simple and utterly elegant. “Sure.”

“Hey, did we forget to mention there’s a groom’s cake?” Gabe pulled a domed silver lid off a nearby tray.

The sight his best friend revealed made Mad laugh because it was a large purple penis complete with a metric shit ton of glitter.

At least some things never changed.

Chapter Seventeen

Zack strode down the hall the next morning feeling cautiously optimistic. Four full days had passed since he’d announced his intention to move forward with the pipeline. Things had been surprisingly quiet. He’d spent most of that time in meetings with European leaders answering questions about how they could participate or hearing their vows to never allow it to touch their shores. One country who hadn’t said a damn thing? Russia. The Russian president had released a brief statement that he was looking into the legalities of the project, but not once had he accused the US president of being a fraud.

Of course Zack doubted that was the end of Russian interference in his administration. They hadn’t played this game for forty years to simply give up, but maybe he had finally found a maneuver that put them in a corner for a while. All in all, things were looking up.

He stopped in front of the press office and glanced back at Thomas, who looked somehow uncomfortable whenever he wasn’t in his perfectly pressed suit. Today the agent was ready for a jog in standard gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt.

Zack had decided to take a calculated risk and—gasp—indulge in an outdoor run. The day was beautiful, and he was tired of being cooped up inside. Yes, he knew the risks, but he also knew Secret Service would surround and monitor him and Roman.

Oh, for the days when they’d jogged through Central Park and no one had given a damn.

“Hello, Mr. President. You’re looking very fit.” An attractive young brunette who’d hit on him before gave him a thorough once-over. Vanessa. She’d been around since the campaign. He’d never told Elizabeth that the woman had offered to take care of his personal needs on more than one occasion, but maybe he should.

He ignored her innuendo. “Good morning. Is Ms. Matthews here?”

“She’s around somewhere,” Vanessa offered with a dismissive wave. “But she’s not the only one who can help. I know what goes on here, so I can take care of you, too.”

“I would rather wait for Ms. Matthews. Since she’s the most senior member of this staff, I know she’ll be able to assist me.” He respected the chain of command. And he wanted to talk to his girlfriend.

“I’ve been around almost as long as she has. Have you considered that other longtime staffers would love a chance to help you, sir?” Vanessa smiled in a gesture nothing less than flirty. “You might find new positions…on the issues.”

Thomas cleared his throat, reminding Zack that he could take down petite problems full of hair spray and sass as efficiently as he could an assassin. Luckily he didn’t have to give the order since Elizabeth stepped out of her office a moment later.

As always, his breath caught at the sight of her. Today, she wore a white shirt and slacks that molded to her every curve, her blonde hair loose and flowing past her shoulders. She’d been up and out of bed before him, preparing for what was sure to be a long press briefing, which he’d promised not to show up for.

Zack couldn’t deny that he’d made her job difficult lately. She was having to prove to the press corps that she still had the president’s trust, and he wasn’t sure how to facilitate that. Walking in and taking over the press conference had launched his counterattack against the Russian menace, but he hadn’t thought in advance about how it would affect her credibility. And he’d also found other ways to complicate her job.

She’d had to get up early because he’d kept her from working the night before. He’d made love to her—he hadn’t been able to stop himself—but then he’d talked to her. Really talked to her. Not about Roman’s suspicions or his resulting worries. He couldn’t have that conversation with her yet. Once he had more facts, maybe talked to Paul Harding and hopefully pried some information out of him, he would sit Elizabeth down and explain why some of her actions had raised red flags. It would be an interrogation, but a gentle one.

The one he intended to have with Paul Harding this afternoon would be less so.

Zack didn’t want to sully Joy’s memory, but there were too many question marks about her behavior. Once he spoke to his father-in-law and assured him that he didn’t intend to smear Joy’s name through the press, maybe Paul would be forthcoming about the reasons his daughter had insisted on those last few appearances in the Midwest. And why she’d considered partnering with Tavia’s organization. After all, Joy had done very little without her father’s direction, even take a husband. And if Paul was willing to chat about his visits with his father, as well as Frank’s lucidity or lack thereof, that would be a bonus.

“Hey.” Elizabeth strode over, looking him up and down. “Going to hit the gym?”

“Going for a jog,” he corrected. “I need some fresh air.”

Her eyes widened and her voice dropped. “Outside? That’s not a good idea.”

He’d known she wouldn’t approve. She seemed terrified about him leaving the White House now, but he couldn’t serve the rest of his presidency inside these four walls and he refused to live in fear.

Zack pulled her to a quieter corner of the bustling press office. “Roman is coming with me, and we’re only going to the south lawn. I’ll be surrounded by Secret Service agents. It’s been quiet. Connor hasn’t heard a whisper on the Dark Web.”

Since the pipeline announcement, the former CIA agent had been monitoring all the nasty corners of the web for any talk about professionals offing a high-profile figure.

She’d paled. “I know it’s been quiet, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s only been a few days. Don’t be reckless.”

He smiled because he didn’t want to fuel office gossip and he wasn’t arguing with her about this. “Stop worrying. We’ll be fine. I’ll see you at six. We need to talk then because the staff is definitely gossiping about us. It’s only a matter of time before someone tips the press off and they run with the story. We need to set up a date and go public so we can control the narrative.”

She nodded, but he saw the worry in her eyes. “Be careful.”

“You ready or are we going to let ourselves go now that we’ve hit old age?” Roman joked from the doorway, wearing running shorts, a Yale T-shirt, and athletic shoes instead of his usual loafers. “Maybe you’re giving up, but I’m getting married soon. I have to fit into the tux Gus picked out or she might change her mind.”

Zack gave Liz one last glance. He wished he could kiss her. Hell, he wished he didn’t have to care that eyes were on them all the time. First, he needed to ask her those few delicate questions so she could hopefully lay all the suspicions to rest before they went public. For now, he simply nodded her way, then turned and left. If all went well tonight, he would kiss her all he liked in the very near future.

“Do you realize that brunette was making doe eyes at you?” Roman asked as they strode down the hall toward the south lawn and the bright morning sun.

“You mean Vanessa?” Sometimes Zack thought his best friend had been born without a single polite gene. Roman sucked at remembering people he’d decided didn’t matter. “She’s worked with Elizabeth for the last three plus years, and you can’t remember her name?”

?

??I know her name. I just don’t like the way she looks at you,” Roman admitted. “Does Liz know that woman is giving you fangirl eyes?”

“What the hell are fangirl eyes?”

They reached the exit and Roman pushed his way outside. “Aren’t you up on the latest lingo? Come on, Thomas. You’ve got two kids. Surely you know all the fresh, hip stuff.”

“I don’t believe there is anything hip or fresh about fangirl. Been around a long time.” Thomas’s face never changed expression as he slid a pair of mirrored aviators over his eyes. “But what I believe Mr. Calder is trying to say is, girl got it bad for you, sir. However, I also think girl likes to cause trouble.”

Zack pointed the observant agent’s way. “Exactly. Vanessa has hit on me a couple of times, even when I was married. That makes her a mean girl, too. See, I know some of the new lingo.”

“Not even close, sir.” Thomas kept pace beside them, constantly assessing their surroundings.