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

“We didn’t know if we could trust you.”

And they still didn’t. “Then fire me. I believe during this process I offered to step down about ten times. I meant it. I was ready to quit. I still am.”

“I would have happily accepted your resignation. I thought it was a good idea, in fact.”

“Oh, I see. Zack wanted to torture me. He decided it would be more fun if he put me through the wringer before he tossed me aside. Tell me something, Mr. Calder, were we ever friends? I’ve worked beside you for years. I’ve sweated blood for this administration. I’ve acted as the First Lady without ever expecting a thing from either one of you, and you couldn’t be troubled to ask me a few simple questions or give me the benefit of the doubt?”

“I’ve told you my reasons.”

“Then tell me something else, and you really think before answering me. If you’d had even a hint that Joy was guilty all those years ago, would you have done this to her? Would you have allowed your best friend to use her sexually, to debase her with no thought to her feelings, so you could keep her close while you figured out if she’s evil? Or would you have gone to her? Would you have asked the questions because Joy was kind and sweet, and if she was doing something she shouldn’t, there must have been a good reason?”

Roman sat back, the color leaving his face. “He didn’t use you.”

“I assure you I feel very much used. Answer the question.”

“I didn’t…” He shook his head and sighed. “Damn it, yes. I would have asked her.”

She’d known that. And he hadn’t given her the same courtesy. “Because she was soft and compliant and never once challenged you. That was how she got you. She played the damsel in distress, and you always rode in to save her day. I never played you. I have always fought for what I believed in. I’ve crusaded beside you and Zack for what you two believed in. Trust me, I knew exactly how to play you, Calder, and I never did. So fuck you. If you had treated me with any kind of respect, I would have solved this by now because there are really only two people who have access to my office. Your future wife and Vanessa Jones. Without even talking to Gus, I have no trouble believing she’s completely innocent. Vanessa, not so much. See, I just solved your damn mystery in two seconds. Now unless you’re arresting me, I quit.”

Mad shook his head as though trying to process something. “Vanessa Jones? Wait. I know that name. Why do I know that name?”

“Liz, please sit down. We aren’t finished,” Roman said, but he sounded far less certain than he had before.

She glared at him. “Oh, we are. I gave that man my everything and this is how y’all treat me. Arrest me or let me go because I’m not playing games with you anymore.”

Roman slammed his fist on the table, making it shake. “It’s not a fucking game. It’s real, and Zack could have died today. Hell, I could have. I felt that bullet hit the Secret Service agent who covered me. I had to change clothes because mine were covered in blood. So I fully understand this is not a game.”

Her stomach turned at his words, but she couldn’t back down now. “I get that you’re scared. I am, too. And I understand that I was the only person Zack told where you two planned to run, but Vanessa was standing two feet away. She could easily have heard our conversation. Or the sniper could have been lying in wait because you and Zack have long-standing habits and it was only a matter of time before you returned to them.”

“When did Vanessa join the staff? How old is she?” Mad’s questions cut into the tension.

Roman frowned. “She was a volunteer during the campaign if I remember correctly. She’s fairly young.”

“She’s in her mid-twenties now.” Liz took a deep breath, trying to banish the rage burning through her as everything hit her like a ton of bricks. But she had to keep herself together. They had a conspiracy to uncover and it was deadly as hell. “Look, I’m angry with Zack right now. So angry. But I would never want him dead.”

But that had almost happened today. Someone had taken a shot at him and barely missed.

Liz teared up again.

“Are you okay?” Roman’s eyes were hooded as he looked at her.

“No, but it doesn’t matter.” She was furious and heartsick and nauseous. Her whole world had been obliterated by Roman Calder, but she still needed to find a way to make him understand. She turned back to Mad and answered his question. “Like Roman said, Vanessa came on during the campaign. She was a technical writer fresh out of Brown. She’s now in charge of proofing everything that runs through the press office and yes, that means she’s had access to my computer at times. I don’t know if you realize this, but my job can get chaotic. I don’t always have time to properly e-mail a statement and wait for someone to proofread and e-mail it back to me.”

On a hard news day she sometimes barely had time to breathe.

“Who hired her?” Mad asked. “Can I see a picture of her? She’s got a social media account, right?”

“I hired her, but she came highly recommended,” Liz replied, then sighed as she remembered. “Well, of course. Joy vouched for her.”

Roman turned his phone Maddox’s way. “This is Vanessa.”

Mad looked at the device and gasped. “I’ve seen her face… Hang on.”

“She hits on Zack a lot,” Roman said.

“She does what?” Liz felt her ire rise again.

Roman’s lips turned up slightly. “When you’re not watching, yes.”

“Well, she’s the person you should be questioning because she’s the only one besides Gus who could have used my computer without anyone questioning her. She must be one of the Russian insiders.”

“Um, yeah.” Mad nodded enthusiastically. “I know where I’ve seen her now. She was at Zack and Joy’s wedding.”

“No, she wasn’t,” Roman insisted. “I never saw her there.”

“I didn’t remember her, either. We were kinda busy… But she was definitely there. She signed the guest book. I found a picture of that day. I’ve been studying it, and I couldn’t figure out why it was bugging me… Let me make a call with your phone.”

Roman scowled but punched in his code to unlock his device. Seconds later, Mad had Sara on the line. “Hey, can you text Roman that picture you and I have been staring at? Yeah, the one where those three chicks are straightening Joy’s veil. Thanks, baby. Love you.” Then he hung up and looked at Roman with an expression that said I told you so. “Give her just a minute.”

“If Vanessa is a Russian asset, there may be more. Joy hired a bunch of people,” Liz pointed out. “Why don’t you look at them?”

“Liz, it’s not that easy. We have other evidence against you,” Roman said quietly. “The ‘secret meeting’ I told you Zack intended to have with the energy director the Friday following our trip to Camp David? It wasn’t real. It was a test of your loyalty. And you failed. Shorn came storming into the Oval, demanding to know why he hadn’t been informed or invited.”

She gaped. “I didn’t tell anyone about that. Not. A. Soul. The only thing I did was make a note about it in my phone after the fact to follow up and ask how the meeting went. If Vanessa is smart enough to route an e-mail through our network to make something that originated from my office look like it came from the Oval, then I’d say she’s smart enough to dupe my phone.”

“But you can’t prove that?”

“Can you prove she didn’t?”

Roman’s jaw tightened. “Can you tell me how it’s possible that Krylov was ever in your building and yet no one was able to find any proof of that? He would have been forced to check in unless you gave him the code to get inside.”

“Didn’t Gabe say there was a back way in that wasn’t covered by security cameras?” Mad was still staring at the phone, waiting for Sara’s text, but he continued to play the part of her advocate. “Krylov could have snuck in and out with a little help.”

“Exactly. Vanessa could have given him the code since she also lives in my building, along with

three other members of the press office. I could have told you that had you given me the courtesy of treating me like a friend, rather than an enemy combatant.”