smell her perfume when she drew near. The fragrance was a trigger for an explosive desire that had been building in him for some time. Impulsively, he took her in his arms and he kissed her. She didn’t resist.
“That was nice,” he whispered against her lips.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, it was.” Very gently, she removed herself from his embrace. “And that’s all there will be.” She took a half-step back. “Clay, you’re the president, and I’m your adviser for domestic affairs. I don’t want that to be an ironic title. I know you’re feeling alone right now, but this isn’t the answer.” She put her hand on his cheek. “I’m not saying it’s not tempting. It’s just not right, and you know it. Talk to Kate. Work things out. I know you can.”
The phone rang and startled them both. Reluctantly, Dixon answered it. He listened a moment and then said, “Thank you.” He looked at Lorna Channing. “Kate’s here. She’s on her way up.”
“You see? Didn’t I tell you?” She smiled. As she left the suite, she paused long enough to give the president a kiss on his cheek. “Good luck.”
He didn’t have much time to settle himself before Kate arrived. He was undoing his tie when she entered the room. She wore a lovely dress, black and sheer, and she looked wonderful in it.
“I was under the impression you wouldn’t be here tonight,” he said.
“I wanted to apologize for my behavior this afternoon. It’s been a difficult time for me.”
“I’m sure it has.”
She lingered near the door, as if not entirely certain she should be there with him. “Clay, we all make mistakes. Horrible mistakes, sometimes. And there’s nothing to be done about it except to hope we’re forgiven.”
“Is that why you’re here? You’re going to offer me forgiveness. Kate, I don’t need-”
“I need to know that I can trust you.”
“You can.”
“I’ve watched you change, Clay. I’m not sure what you believe anymore. Sometimes I’m not even sure who you are.”
“I am who I’ve always been. A not-at-all perfect man. But one who loves you.”
She stared at her hands and seemed concerned that they held nothing. “We haven’t been happy for a long time.”
“We can find a way again.”
“I wish I could believe that.”
“Then do, Kate. Believe it. Believe me. Trust is a leap of faith, isn’t it? Take that leap. Take it, and I swear I won’t let you fall.”
She considered him a long time. Finally he moved to her, crossed the room slowly, put his arms around her, and held her tightly. He could feel her soft and yielding in his embrace. Then she went rigid.
“Chanel,” she said.
“What?”
“You reek of it.” She pushed away from him.
“Kate-”
“I ran into Lorna Channing at the elevator. She bathes in Chanel.”
“She was here, of course. She’s one of my advisers,” he explained calmly.
She looked closely at his face, and her own face frosted over. “And what exactly was she advising you on? There’s lipstick smeared all over you.”
“Kate, I swear nothing happened.”
“Only because of my bad timing.”
“Kate,” he said, and he reached for her.
“Stay away, Clay. I don’t want you near me.”
The door of the suite shook as she slammed it behind her.
Clay Dixon’s legs were shaky. He sat down. He felt as if he’d taken a long fall, and the wind had been knocked from him. He stared dumbly at the door, at the place where his wife had walked out on him. He understood quite well that at the moment, not only the fate of his marriage, but also of his reelection, perhaps even of his place in history, rested in her angry hands.
chapter
twenty-six
Clay Dixon sat at his desk in the Oval Office, scanning a State Department memo that dealt with the upcoming Pan-American summit meeting. Beyond the window at his back lay a dripping sky. A storm front had moved through in the dark of early morning bringing with it a steady rain. Dixon’s whole body ached. Whenever a front moved through, it was a curse, and the old football injuries rose up inside him, working some kind of painful voodoo on his joints and bones.
There was a knock at the open door. The president’s chief of staff, John Llewellyn, stepped in. Senator William Dixon stood just behind him.
“Mr. President, may we have a few minutes of your time?” Llewellyn asked.
The president put aside the memo. “In five minutes, we have a meeting to discuss the Pan-American summit, but until then I’m all yours, John.”
Leaning on his cane, Senator Dixon entered the Oval Office with Llewellyn and sat down.
The president sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You look like a delegation. What’s up?”
“So she’s left you.” The senator’s words were rife with both satisfaction and disapproval.
“I beg your pardon?”
“No use denying it. Kate’s left you.”
The president looked at his watch. “You have exactly three minutes, Dad.”
“This won’t take long.” The senior senator from Colorado folded his hands atop his cane. They were huge hands. Although blemished by age spots, they still had a powerful, crushing look. “Was she worth it?”
A sick feeling began to knot his stomach, but Clay Dixon tried not to let his face show anything.
“Ms. Channing,” the senator clarified. “Was she worth throwing away the presidency?”
“There’s absolutely nothing between Lorna and me except friendship and the work of this administration.”
“If you say so.”
“And the presidency is secure.”
“Is it? What do you imagine Wayne White would do if he knew your wife had left you? He’d gut you like a fish, Clayboy.”
Llewellyn stood behind the senator’s chair. He said, “Why didn’t you tell me, Mr. President?”
“Because there’s nothing to tell, John. It’s a misunderstanding between Kate and me, and it’s under control.”
The senator said, “Is the First Lady coming back?”
“As soon as her father has recovered.”
The senator smiled smugly. “My information is that she’s through with you, had all she can stomach.”
“Kate’s angry right now, but she’s not stupid. She’ll calm down in a few days and we’ll talk things through. We’re handling it.”
“We?” Llewellyn said. “You mean Bob Lee.”
“Yes, John. I asked Bobby to help me on this one.”
“I’ve got to tell you, Mr. President, I feel so far out of the loop I might as well be on the moon.”
“This situation is personal not political.”
Senator Dixon said, “In your position, there’s no separation. Don’t you understand that? What if she decides to tell the press the things she knows? Your presidency is hanging by a thread, son. And that wife of yours, she’s a sharp pair of scissors poised to snip.” He shook his head and offered his son a look dripping with sympathy. “You
