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

Oh, well. When his time in office was done, maybe he would learn some slang. Or maybe he would continue his old-man ways and let his kids make fun of him.

His kids. The thought almost stopped him where he stood.

When it seemed Joy couldn’t have children, he’d let that particular hope go. But lately, he’d been thinking again about procreating. He didn’t have a biological clock, per se, but he felt the pressure of time just the same. Mad was about to have a kid, and the rest of his friends wouldn’t be far behind. If he wanted a player in that crazy group, he and Elizabeth needed to get moving.

“You ready for this afternoon?” Roman asked, starting down the jogging path.

Was anyone ever truly ready to confront their father-in-law about a deeply uncomfortable topic? “As ready as I can be.”

“Connor is down in PEOC, preparing a room right now,” Roman advised as they started to run.

“Will that send the wrong message to Paul? It’s supposed to be a friendly chat.”

“We’ll couch it as a place where we can have the utmost privacy. So he can air his grievances as loudly as he’d like.” Roman rolled his eyes. “And neither of you will have to deal with quite so many prying eyes and wagging tongues. It’ll work.”

“If you say so.”

His chief of staff nodded. “Thomas will clear out all unneeded personnel and Freddy will observe behind two-way glass. He’s pushing for that lie detector—the one he’s souped up—but I told him no. I’ll be there, too, to make sure everything is done in a purely above-board fashion and that Freddy doesn’t get out of hand. But you should know, if Paul says anything incriminating, we can’t hold him without bringing in the Justice Department.”

“Jesus, you think everyone is guilty of something. I’m shocked you don’t suspect me.”

“Should I?” Roman returned, deadpan.

“I’m only going to ask Paul a few questions, see where it leads.” Zack was aware he’d put this off for too long. Now he needed whatever answers he could get.

“Did you know Liz has been talking to him?” Roman asked.

Zack focused on the green lawn ahead, his heart rate starting to tick up. “She’s been trying to soothe his ruffled feathers about the public rumors of your relationship with Joy so I don’t have to deal with him. He thinks we’re dragging her name through the mud posthumously. If someone hadn’t talked to him, he would have gone to the press. We don’t need that.”

A pair of Secret Service agents jogged in front of them, giving him and Roman both some space and protection. Two more kept pace behind them while Thomas and Mike, another long-term agent, flanked them. He was never alone—except at night when he finally got to wrap himself around Elizabeth.

Zack picked up the pace, and Roman matched him. He wished he could sprint for a nice long distance without having to turn around, but he was stuck here on the lawn, especially until the Russian threat was over.

“If he doesn’t give us anything to look into, we’ll have to let him go,” Roman said. “Then I worry he’ll talk to Liz. I’d rather leave her out of these discussions until we have something firmer.”

In other words, he didn’t want to bring Liz in until he could prove everything he accused her of.

“Roman, I’m telling her everything tonight. I know what you’re going to say because I’ve already heard it. But that’s the end of the conversation.” It was time to change the subject. “Have you heard from Connor this morning? He told me he had an update and that he’d fill me in soon.”

The good news about taking a stand while they worked out was Roman’s inability to pin him with that steely, disapproving stare of his. “He told me his Russian connection found some information we might find interesting. He didn’t sound like it was a bad thing.”

That was all they could say around the others. Connor was looking for any hospital records—footprints, blood type, other test results—anything that might tell them whether Zack was the baby Natalia had given birth to.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to slow down with Liz.” Roman didn’t seem to think talking about his personal life fell under the same protocols as the case.

“I haven’t sped up.” They were right where they’d been since he’d first touched her at Camp David. He was wary, and she was confused. If she was acting, she was damn good. More and more he suspected he was missing some big picture that was right in front of his face.

“You’re talking about going out on a date and revealing your relationship to the press. I think that’s a bad idea at this stage.”

“Well, I’ll tell you something worse.” The idea had been pinging around Zack’s brain a lot lately. “I think I’m going to marry her in the next week or so and present the whole thing as a fait accompli. Then there’s not much anyone can do about it.”

And he couldn’t be forced to testify against his wife if it came to that.

Not that Zack would ever allow a case against her to go that far.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Roman stopped in the middle of the lawn. “You can’t.”

Zack sighed and stopped, too, forcing all the agents to change course. “I can. I have very good reasons, including the fact that it could deflect a lot of the scrutiny that’s on you right now.”

“I’ll handle the story about Joy without you resorting to such drastic measures.”

Zack dismissed him and started running again. They were not having this out right now. If Roman wanted to debate, they would do it alone, back in the White House. But his chief of staff would find him an immovable mountain on this topic. He was tired of keeping Elizabeth at arm’s length, based on little more than circumstantial evidence, innuendo, and Roman’s suspicions.

Determined not to let Roman get to him, Zack turned his thoughts to whatever Connor’s contact had found. God, he hoped it would help put an end to all the torture about his true identity. Not knowing was a bitch. Or he hoped they’d found solid proof of the conspirators’ names and locations. Then he could breathe a sigh of relief and turn everything over to the Justice Department.

If he could trust them…

Paranoia was insidious. It threatened to choke him until he couldn’t breathe. If he wanted to survive, he had to let it go. When he got Elizabeth in his arms tonight, he would tell her everything. He would ask for explanations and try to put his faith in her.

“Seriously, don’t do this. It’s not a problem you have to handle alone,” Roman said, falling in beside him again. “I’m here.”

“You’re not the one who’s got trust issues with the woman you love.”

Zack wondered if he was looking at this all wrong. Maybe believing really was as easy as Mad suggested. Perhaps all he had to do was decide that the world would go his way and not give in until he got what he wanted.

“Down, now!”

Zack heard Thomas’s shout an instant before someone tackled him from behind. He hit the ground hard, heart pounding. For a moment he couldn’t breathe. Then he heard a crack-bo

om across the lawn and chaos reigned.

* * * *

“I’ve got a list of the questions the reporter will be allowed to ask.” Liz set down a thick stack of papers, the end product of hours of negotiations with the network Roman and Gus would grant their exclusive interview to. “If she deviates from the list, don’t comment. But I think she’ll comply with the rules of engagement. She’s ambitious but fair.”

Zack intended to talk to her, too, explain his relationship with his wife briefly and swear publicly that no bad blood brewed between him and his chief of staff. Liz had advised him against the move, but he’d insisted.

Foolish man. He was being as reckless with this interview as he was with this morning’s run. Worrying about him was starting to become her second job. She hated the fact that he’d chosen to put himself at risk. The Secret Service couldn’t possibly check every surrounding tree and building.

On the other hand, she understood that he couldn’t remain inside the White House every day for the rest of his presidency.

“You okay?” Gus ignored the papers and stood. “You look a little pale. Did you have breakfast this morning?”

She hadn’t been eating anything but dinner for the last couple of days, and only then because Zack nagged her about it. Something had to give and soon. The tension was killing her. She couldn’t sleep because every time she closed her eyes, she was back in her apartment with Krylov. Zack walked in, and the Russian pulled a gun and shot him. “I had some coffee.”

The last couple of days she’d been running on caffeine and willpower.

“Is Zack still being an asshole?”

“No. He’s been wonderful since the wedding. I think whatever Mad said to him that night helped, but the cabin fever is getting to all of us. When Everly finds out Zack and Roman are outside jogging and she’s not even allowed a simple trip to Neiman’s, she’s going to flip.”

Gus waved the worry off. “Hey, if Everly wants to jog around the grounds, I’ll find a detail to go with her. We’re all welcome to do that as long as we take a bodyguard with us.”