THEIR LAWYER FRIEND Andy Simone and his colleague Kurt Hager were waiting for her in the lobby. Sam shook hands with them.
“Did Forrester give you any hint of which way he was leaning?” Kurt asked as they headed for the elevators.
“No, but Nick did.” She explained about Nick’s request for a heads-up that hadn’t come.
“Well, that’s good news,” Andy said, visibly relieved.
“No kidding,” Sam said. “We’ve got enough headlines with our names in them without adding to them.”
Kurt held the elevator door for her and Andy.
Even though Sam felt confident about the outcome of this meeting, it still made her nervous to be summoned by the U.S. Attorney on a matter that involved her personally. She wasn’t proud of how she’d let Ramsey get to her or of punching him, but she’d probably do it again under the same circumstances.
Forrester’s admin gave Sam a VIP welcome, just like the last time she’d been there when Forrester told her he was taking her case to the grand jury. When they were offered beverages, the lawyers asked for coffee while Sam chose ice water.
The had finished their drinks by the time they were shown into Forrester’s spacious office. The U.S. Attorney came around the desk to greet them with handshakes. Tall with silver hair and sharp blue eyes, he spoke with a thick New York accent. When they were settled in the conversation area next to a big window, he said, “I appreciate your patience while the grand jury considered your case. After careful deliberation, the people have declined to recommend charges.”
Sam tried to conceal the euphoria that erupted inside her. What a relief!
“I want you to understand that your actions constitute felony assault. While I appreciate that neither you nor the vice president asked for any special favors, you are in fact catching a lucky break here.”
“I understand.”
“I don’t want to see you here again under circumstances such as this.”
“You won’t.”
“You should also know that we’ve notified Sergeant Ramsey of the grand jury’s decision, and needless to say, he is less than pleased. He mentioned his intent to file civil charges against you.”
“Okay.”
“Well, unless you have any other questions, that concludes this matter as far as my office is concerned.”
“Will you issue a public statement?” Kurt asked.
“We will not. If you wish to, that’s at your discretion.”
Sam stood and reached out to shake his hand. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She led the lawyers from the room and nodded to the admin on her way by. None of them said anything until they were in the elevator.
“Thank God that’s over,” Andy said, breaking the silence.
“It’s over with from a criminal standpoint,” Kurt said, “but I’d expect Ramsey to follow through with his threat to file a civil suit.”
Sam shrugged. “Let him. I don’t care.” With the threat of prosecution off her shoulders, anything else seemed minor in comparison.
“Let us know if you require representation in a civil matter,” Kurt said. “We’ve got some good people who could handle that for you.”
“I will.” Sam shook hands with them. “Thank you both for your help with this. I appreciate it.”
“We didn’t do anything,” Andy said.
“Your presence at the meetings with Forrester was a big help. Make sure you bill me for your time.”
“Nah, it’s on the house,” Andy said. “Anything for you and Nick.”
“Thanks again,” she said with a smile for him.
“You need a ride?” Andy asked.
“No, thanks. I’m going to walk back to work. It’s only a couple of blocks.”
“All right. Talk soon.”
“See you later.” As she walked the short distance to HQ, she placed a call to Nick, who answered on the third ring.
“What’d he say?”
“Well, hello to you too.”
“Come on, Sam. I’ve been waiting for you to call.”
“As you already know, no charges will be forthcoming.”
She heard his deep sigh of relief. “That’s great news.”
“Yes, it is. However, when Forrester told Ramsey there’d be no criminal charges, he mentioned his plans to pursue the matter civilly.”
“Okay.”
“That’s what I said too. Let him sue me. Who cares?”
“We don’t, that’s for sure.”
“Forrester said they have no plans to make a public statement about the outcome of the grand jury proceeding, but there’s nothing stopping me from doing it. I was thinking about giving Darren an exclusive to keep him on my good side. What do you think?”
“Go for it.”
“It’ll resurrect the story of me punching one of my fellow officers.”
“So? He had it coming.”
Sam laughed. “This is one of many reasons why I love you so much. Most politicians would have hives at the thought of their wife being back in the news for punching a colleague.”
“I’m not most politicians, and you’re not most wives.”
“Don’t you ever wish you were married to a nice sweet girl who hosted teas and fundraisers for her husband like a good political wife?”
“Hell no. I’ve never wanted to be married to anyone but you, as you well know.”
He still made her heart beat fast when he said things like that, even after all this time. “It takes a special kind of guy to put up with a wife like me, and I’m thankful every day that I found a special kind of guy.”
“I’m the lucky one.”
“Thanks for all the support during this episode. I’ll try harder to think before I punch in the future.”
His laughter made her smile. “If anyone else ever says you deserved what Stahl did to you, you have my permission and encouragement to flatten them.”
“Duly noted. What’s happening in your world? Any news from the hearings?”
“They’re just getting started today with Nelson’s chief of staff testifying. He knew nothing about what Christopher was up to, of course.”
“Of course. When does the president testify?”
“Not until later this week or early next week. That’ll be a three-ring circus.”
“I’m looking forward to that being over too.”
“No kidding. I’ve got to run. Graham is here to say hello, and I have another meeting after that.”
“Okay, I’ll see you at home. Love you.”
“Love you too, babe. Thanks for calling.”
“Pleasure was all mine.” She ended the call to the sound of his laughter. God, he was the best. In her wildest dreams, she never could’ve imagined finding a guy who got her the way he did. His love made it possible for her to cope with all the crap that constantly flew her way and to not let it get to her the way she would have in the past.
* * *
FILLED WITH RELIEF after getting the official word from Sam, Nick put his phone on the desk and gave himself a couple of minutes to regroup before his meeting with Graham O’Connor. Thank God she hadn’t been indicted. That would’ve been another nightmare on top of the one they were already dealing with—and he liked to operate on a one-nightmare-at-a-time policy.
When—not if—Ramsey sued her, that’d make for more salacious headlines, but Nick wasn’t concerned about the civil suit or the headlines. Ramsey had deserved exactly what he’d gotten from Sam, and any rational person would agree. The civil suit would probably be as much of a nonstarter as the criminal case had been, but it bothered him that she’d made another fierce enemy within the department, especially since the last one had nearly killed her.
He tried to shake off his worries about her safety, reminding himself once again that she could more than take care of herself. Exhibit A: Punching Ramsey in the face and sending him flying down a flight of stairs. Recalling her comment about how he should have a nice, sweet wife who served tea to campaign contributors made him smile, and then laugh as he tried to picture Sam presiding over tea parties. She’d probably stab someone with her ever-present rusty steak knife.
Still smiling at the idea of Sam the Stepford Wife, Nick went to the door to greet Graham, who waited for him in the reception area. His mentor, who’d been like an adopted father to him, jumped up and greeted Nick with a big smile and a hug.
“You’re looking well, Mr. Vice President.” Graham’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Tanned and rested.”
Nick ushered him into the office and shut the door. “I’ll give you tanned, but the rest has been a little hard to come by lately.”
“I can only imagine.”
Graham took a seat on one sofa while Nick settled on the other, loosening his tie.
“You want a drink?”
“No, thank you. Laine doesn’t want me drinking at all when I’m driving. Something about my new blood pressure medicine or some such nonsense.”
“I’ll be sure to tell her that you were on your best behavior.”
Graham replied to that with a feisty scowl that made Nick laugh. At eighty-one, the retired senator showed no signs of slowing down.
“Tell me the truth. Have you been sent here on a mission by the DNC?”
“Not officially.”
Nick raised a brow, hoping he’d elaborate.
“They’re concerned about whether you’ll be ready to step up should the need arise.”
“I’m the vice president, Graham. Being ready to step up should the need arise is at the top of the job description.”
“You know what I mean. They want you to vet VP candidates and be ready for whatever might happen.”
“I’m not willing to do that until I have to. If word gets out that I’m vetting VP candidates and putting together an administration, that’ll only add fuel to an already out-of-control fire.”
“I understand why you feel that way, and I agree. But this could happen very quickly. If it does, you’ll need to have your ducks in a row.”
“I’ll give it some thought, but there will be no vetting or anything else. Not yet.”
Graham studied him, his head tilted to the side and his eyes fierce. “You’re one cool customer, Mr. Vice President.”
“Is that how it seems?”
“Indeed. In your shoes, anyone else would be shitting a brick.”
“Sam and I have agreed to take this one step at a time. Spinning ourselves up with thoughts of what if or what might be is counterproductive. The hearings are just getting started and could drag on for weeks. I refuse to spend all that time locked up in speculation. Nelson isn’t going down without a fight, and anyone who thinks he is doesn’t know him very well.”
“There’re many within the party leadership who’d like to see him resign to save us the spectacle of possible impeachment.”
Nick’s stomach knotted at the thought of the president resigning. “Is it only talk?”
“For now, but if the hearings start to go south, it’ll be more than talk.”
“I can’t imagine any scenario that has him resigning. He’s been steadfast in his denials that he had anything to do with Christopher’s scheme.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s true.”
“Granted, but I’m going to let the hearings play out and see what happens. Please pass along the message that no amount of pressure will change my mind about how I plan to handle this situation. If I’m required to step up, I’ll do it when the time comes. But I’m not interested in talking about what-if scenarios in the meantime.”
After a long pause, Graham said, “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything you want.”
“Do you aspire to be president at some point in the future?”
And there was the one question he couldn’t avoid for much longer. “I don’t know if I do.”
Graham’s face went slack with shock. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“I would never joke about something so important.”
“But you’re the heir apparent, the presumptive nominee, the great hope of the party. You have to know that.”
“I do.”
“And you don’t want it?”
“I have no burning desire to be president, especially after having lived under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service for the last ten months. You can’t begin to know how restrictive it is to be stuck inside the gilded cage until you’re in there looking out at the rest of the world.”
“I...I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything—to anyone—for now. If Nelson manages to hang on, we won’t need to have this conversation again for another year. By then I may feel differently. But if I had to decide right now, today? There’s no way I’d run.”
“I’m truly shocked to hear this—and the party would be too.”
“I understand the expectations, and I appreciate their faith in me, but if I’m going to put myself and my family through a lengthy campaign and all the crap that goes with it, I’d have to have the fire in the belly, and I’m not feeling the burn.”
Graham continued to stare at him before clearing his throat. “I think maybe I’ll have that drink now.”
Nick got up and went to the credenza where he kept a bottle of bourbon and a couple of glasses. He poured a drink for each of them and delivered Graham’s to him without comment about his wife’s instructions.
Graham took a sip and set the glass on the table. “Listen to me. I know you still have some misguided idea that you’re only where you are because my son was murdered and you were tapped to take his place in the Senate. But that’s total bullshit. You’re where you are because you’re one of the most naturally gifted politicians of this or any other generation. People connect to you. They like you. If you want the job, it would be yours to lose, and you’re too smart to lose. Do you know how many people would sell their souls to the devil to be in the position you’re in with sky-high approval ratings and the kind of popularity we rarely see any more in this town?”
“I know. I get it. But that doesn’t mean I want it.”
“I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”
Nick laughed at Graham’s unusual befuddlement. “I’m sorry to shock and distress you.”
“You’ve done both those things.”
“Come on, Graham. It can’t come as a total surprise to you, knowing how much I dislike being VP and dealing with the Secret Service and everything else that comes with it.”
“You dislike the job because Nelson is so threatened by your popularity he refuses to give you any opportunities to shine.”
“It’s not that so much as the increased attention on me and my family, the confines of being surrounded by Secret Service agents and losing the freedom to do what I want when I want, not to mention everyone in the world knows who my wife is and what she does for a living—without Secret Service protection. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t be having this conversation for another year or more, so it’s nothing anyone needs to worry about right now. If Nelson is forced out, I’m prepared to step up. That’s all you need to tell the DNC. I really don’t want them all over me about the next election cycle. Not now.”
“I understand. Well, I don’t really but I’ll respect your wishes.”
“I’m sorry if this is hard for you to understand, but try to see it from my point of view. I’m doing my thing as chief of staff to a senator and then, overnight, I’m the senator, and then less than a year later I’m the vice president. Some days I feel like I’ve been swept up in a riptide, and I don’t recognize my own life.”
“It’s been a fast, wild ride. I’d never deny that, but it sort of feels like destiny in a way, doesn’t it?”
“I suppose, but I want to be intentional about my decisions going forward and not so caught up in the current that I don’t take a minute to breathe.”
“I hear you.”
“I hope you know how much I appreciate your support. It’s meant everything to me, from the first day we met, through everything that’s happened since. I couldn’t have done any of this without you in my corner.”
“Aw, hell, that’s not true.”
“Yes, it is, Graham. I never would’ve considered this career without your encouragement. I certainly wouldn’t be vice president without you.”
“If you want to believe that, I won’t argue with you.”
“That’s a first,” Nick said with a laugh.
Graham laughed with him, and then got up to leave. “No matter what you do or don’t do, I’ll always be proud of you.”
Nick stood to shake his hand. “That means everything to me.”