LITMIR.BIZ

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our Ms. Ashley, Nick? She came charging out of the lounge area with fire in her eyes. I made the mistake of asking her how she was enjoying the performance so far and she almost took my head off.”

      Nick glanced at his partner with an innocent expression. “What makes you think I had anything to do with her reaction? She may be hating the show tonight.”

      “Because she kept looking over her shoulder as though all the hounds of hell were after her, and when she spotted you, she muttered something about you spoiling the entire evening for her.”

      “Surely the lady exaggerates—I did not ruin the entire evening. I’d have to call that an overreaction on her part. After all, the night is young.”

      “overreaction or not, I bet her father will hear her views on the subject before the night is over.”

      Nick stuck his hands in his pockets and continued to scan the milling group of people. “Fine with me. Maybe they’ll fire me and I’ll get my vacation time, after all.”

      “You wish. Come on, those blinking lights must mean the thing is starting up again.”

      His resigned tone almost made Nick smile, almost being the operative word. At the moment he was far from being in a smiling mood. By the time everyone was seated and the lights were dimmed, Nick felt certain he detected steam coming from Ashley’s ears. What he had done hadn’t been all that bad. So maybe he’d been a little overzealous, but it had been an honest mistake.

      He sat there and watched her as she slowly relaxed and became caught up in the music and the story unfolding on stage.

      Todd reached over and took her hand, and she turned so that Nick had a view of her profile. She’d worn her hair up tonight, with little tendrils falling around her ears and on her neck. Her cheeks were flushed, no doubt from temper. She had the longest eyelashes he’d ever seen on a person…the longest and the thickest. Funny he should notice such a silly thing.

      Washington, D.C.

       Sunday, December 27

      Almost a week later Nick arrived for work at the White House. Upon signing in, he was told to report immediately to the Oval Office. The summons came as something of a relief. The tension whenever he was around Ashley was obvious to any observer. His mere presence appeared to irritate her. He did his best to stay out of her line of vision. When she was forced to interact with him, her icy politeness made her opinion of him abundantly clear.

      He’d already admitted to his supervisor that he’d bungled the diplomatic part of his job with his charge. He’d spoken to Chambers a few days after the theater outing about the possibility of switching his assignment. He’d been turned down. Nick had attempted to explain Ashley’s animosity toward him but was cut off in midsentence. He was informed that he could make amends or not. It was his choice. It wasn’t necessary for the person he protected to like him.

      With this summons, however, Nick knew that Ashley’s feelings were very important to her father. Since she’d let several days go by, he had begun to think she had kept the theater incident to herself. Obviously he’d been wrong.

      As soon as he walked into the anteroom of the Oval Office, one of the aides announced his presence to President Sullivan. Nick was invited to enter. He fought the impulse to straighten his tie and smooth down his hair before he nodded and walked into the Oval Office for the first time in his life.

      His first surprise was to find Ron there, casually visiting with the president.

      His second surprise was the warm smile of welcome on President Sullivan’s face. Before Nick could think of anything to say, James Sullivan walked over to him and held out his hand.

      President Sullivan was an imposing, charismatic figure. Tall and lean, he looked as though he would be at home riding the range on the back of a horse. Since he’d been born in, and served two terms as governor of, the state of Colorado, James Sullivan could easily be descended from pioneer stock who had settled the West generations ago.

      He was a young president, barely in his fifties into his second term of office. Not only was he known as a tough negotiator and a fierce warrior when it came time to fight for legislation he backed, Sullivan was also widely recognized as a staunch family man.

      Nick had assumed that anyone his daughter didn’t like would get an automatic veto from the president. Therefore, his friendly demeanor caught Nick by surprise.

      “I’m very pleased to meet you, Logan. I’ve been hearing good things about you. I also want you to know how much we appreciate your willingness to cancel your vacation plans in order to fill the unexpected gap in ranks here.”

      The man certainly didn’t miss much.

      “I’m pleased to be here, Mr. President,” Nick said, surprising himself that he actually meant it. Other than Ashley’s obvious negative reaction to him, Nick had found working the White House detail pleasant enough. He’d quickly adjusted to the new surroundings and considered himself fortunate to be working with Ron.

      He glanced at Ron, who now stood behind the president, and was startled to see his partner flash him an almost imperceptible wink.

      What is going on here?

      President Sullivan continued to speak. “I understand your plans were to head out West for a couple of weeks of skiing in the Colorado Rockies.”

      Since his vacation plans hadn’t been a state secret, Nick wasn’t as surprised that the president knew about them as he was surprised that Sullivan mentioned them.

      “Plans have a way of changing in this business, sir,” Nick replied.

      “Why don’t you and Stevenson have a seat and let’s talk about the possibility of getting some skiing into your schedule, after all.”

      Sullivan returned to his desk while Nick and Ron sat down in the chairs arranged in front of it.

      With a rueful smile Ron said, “I’ve already explained to President Sullivan that I’ve never seen a pair of snow skis in my life, much less been on any. I grew up in Florida.”

      Nick didn’t know of any agency requirement that called for an ability to ski. Since he’d spent his early years in Wyoming, learning to ski had been a natural part of growing up for him. He waited for more information.

      Sullivan sighed and shook his head. “You know, gentlemen, children can be the greatest joy and the biggest headache a person can experience.”

      Uh-oh. Now he was leading up to the subject of his daughter.

      “So I understand, sir.”

      “Ashley has made it quite clear that she does not wish to participate in the family’s idea of a winter vacation this year. Ray Clarke has invited our family to spend a few days with him on his yacht doing some deep-sea fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.”

      Nick knew that Raymond Clarke and James Sullivan had been college roommates who had remained close friends in the intervening years. Clarke had made a name for himself in New York real estate. Nick wasn’t surprised to hear that the Sullivans had been invited to spend their vacation time with him.

      The president continued, “Jamie and Matt are counting the days until time to leave. Ashley, on the other hand, swears she becomes nauseated watching the waves rush the beach. All she’s been able to talk about since she returned home from college is going skiing with a group of her friends.”

      Nick gave Ron a quick glance, but Ron’s full attention was on the president.

      Sullivan shook his head ruefully and said, “I’m not certain how she did it, but somehow Ashley managed to get me to agree to her going to Colorado over the holidays. Not only that, she also got me to agree not to have a round-the-clock surveillance team accompany her.”

      He put up his hand as though to silence any remark that either man might make. “I know all the arguments against such an idea, believe me. I know and I fully understand. However, I also understand the limits that can be safely set for

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