A waiter materialized. “May I get anyone a drink? We have most liquors, plus wines and champagne.”
Everybody ordered something. Then Ann walked into the room, followed by Molly, Kate’s secretary, two Secret Service agents, and Kate herself. “Good evening, everybody,” she said. “In case you are wondering why I’m here, I’m not. Candidates are not supposed to visit the convention tonight, but I couldn’t resist. But the press can’t find me here. And neither can my husband.”
“What a nice surprise,” Stone said, kissing her on the cheek. “What can we get you?”
“I think a mimosa is about my speed,” Kate said. She accepted a Baccarat flute and walked over to the big window. “It’s like the world’s largest flat-screen TV,” she said. “Stone, you’ve certainly made yourself comfortable here,” she said. “How did you do it?”
“Peter and Ben are responsible. In case you were wondering, none of the furnishings and fittings are real. They’re right out of the prop room at Centurion Studios. The electronics are rented. Only the food and drink are genuine.”
A doorbell rang, surprising Stone. He went to the door and opened it to find the governor of California standing there with his wife and a plainclothes police officer. “Come in, Governor,” he said, shaking hands.
“This is my wife, Cara,” Dick Collins said. “Cara, Stone Barrington.”
Stone took them into the big room and introduced them to the Eagles and the Bacchettis. The Collinses greeted Kate warmly, then accepted a drink from the waiter.
Stone hung back, in case they wanted to exchange confidences, but Kate waved him into the little group. “I suppose you’ve seen the overnight poll,” she said to the governor.
“I have, but I never get excited about overnight polls. After all, opinions can change overnight, can’t they?”
“I certainly hope so,” Kate said.
“White males of a certain age react to sexual escapades somewhat differently from the rest of the human race,” Cara Collins said.
“Never discount testosterone,” Kate replied. “When are you speaking, Dick?”
“In about an hour,” Collins said, checking his watch. He handed the waiter his glass, still mostly full. “I don’t need that if I want to be coherent later. Just wetting the whistle.” He turned back to Kate and Stone. “I had a word with Marty this afternoon. He is disinclined to accept an appointment to the Senate.”
Oh, shit, Stone thought. So much for that idea.
“But that’s tonight,” Collins said. “Who knows what he might think tomorrow night after a fresher overnight poll comes out.”
“Marty has a tendency to go where the wind blows him,” Kate said.
Collins laughed. “Tell me, Kate, is there a message you’d like me to deliver?”
Kate looked at him for a moment, puzzled, then she laughed. “I have nothing to offer Marty,” she said, “unless Stone can come up with another movie star.”
“I don’t believe I can,” Stone said.
“Then I don’t suppose you know a likely porn queen?”
“I do not.”
“It’s just as well,” Kate said. “Otherwise, we’d be awash in the testosterone of American white males over thirty-five.”
Ann joined the group. “Governor, I’m hearing rumors of unrest in your delegation.”
“Never believe rumors, Ann,” he replied smoothly.
Everyone chatted for a while, occasionally listening to a speaker drone on.
Governor Collins stood up. “I’m afraid I must be going or they’ll start getting nervous backstage.”
Kate walked him to the door and, before he left, he whispered something in her ear. Kate closed the door behind him and came back into the room.
“Come on, Kate,” Ann said. “What did the governor have to say?”
Kate smiled. “He said that he told Marty Stanton that his offer of the Senate seat will expire five minutes after the end of the first ballot.”
Then the door opened again and the president of the United States entered the suite.
16
Everybody stood, and Will Lee shook every hand before sitting down.
“We weren’t expecting you,” Kate said to her husband.
“I wasn’t coming,” Will replied, “then I thought to myself, why should my wife have all the fun?” He ordered a bourbon and sat down, facing the convention floor. “I hope this is better than the football game on TV,” he said.
“You must have had the press all over you downstairs,” Ann said.
“No, I left the motorcade a couple of blocks up the street and arrived downstairs in a single SUV. Nobody twigged.”
“Look,” Ed Eagle said, pointing at a TV on the wall. They all turned and saw a shot of a single black SUV turning into the Staples Center underground parking lot. Ed switched on the sound as Chris Matthews was saying, “We’re told that was a shot of the president arriving at the convention. But there was no motorcade, and he hasn’t been seen on the floor or backstage. I’m betting he’s watching from a skybox.” Ed switched off the sound.
“So much for my security arrangements,” Will said. “If anybody calls, tell ’em I’m in some other skybox.”
Mike Freeman entered the suite, shook hands with the president, and asked for a glass of orange juice.
“Have you made your rounds, Mike?” Stone asked.
“I have and all is well. Anyway, nobody would want to kill anybody who’s spoken so far. I did hear a rumor that a couple of VIPs sneaked past the press into a skybox.”
“Don’t believe a word of it,” Will said. He found the remote control and turned on the sound from the floor, plus a TV.
A documentary film began, honoring the recently deceased Senator Eleanor Stockman, and the crowd listened respectfully for five minutes, then applauded warmly.
“Here comes Dick Collins and his speech,” Will said.
“And here comes the young governor of California,” Chris Matthews was saying. “Eight years from now, he’ll be a likely candidate for president. His first two years in office have been a spectacular success.”
Dick and Cara Collins spent a couple of minutes waving at the crowd and making eye contact here and there, then finally Cara kissed him and left the platform. Then the podium and the glass shield rose from the floor.
“It worked!” Mike said. “As late as this morning we weren’t sure it would.”
“This is something new at a convention,” Matthews was saying. “That wall of non-glare glass is said to protect against bullets, bombs, and maybe even Republicans. Also, a little inside info: you can’t see it from the audience but the teleprompter is projected onto the inside of the glass wall so the speaker will appear to be speaking without reading it.”
Collins began to speak. “Good evening, and welcome to the great state of California!” The crowd went suitably wild, then calmed down. “Word has reached me that a Californian is seeking your nomination.” Big laugh. “I have not come here to endorse him.” He waited a beat. “Nor to bury him.” Another laugh. Then Collins got serious and began to speak of the challenges facing the country. He finished ten minutes later with a few short sentences. “I’m told that the current president of the United States is watching tonight. On television, of course. I want to say that this country is in the best shape it has been in for many years. Probably since World War Two. And Will Lee is the man we can thank for that!” The crowd went nuts, the band played, and Cara Collins appeared, took the governor by the hand, and led him off the stage.
“Well, that was mercifully short,” Will said. “I think we can thank Bill Clinton for the brevity. And what he said about me was nice.”