CHAPTER 88

THE PRESIDENT OF the United States sits alone in the Oval Office.

The rain is coming down hard now, streaking and streaming down the French doors behind his desk and chair.

So it’s over.

All over.

He broods, staring at his clean and empty desk, and at the photos of him and Grace that were there to fool visitors into thinking he had a wonderful and traditional marriage.

Now what does he have?

A sudden stab of fear, of acknowledgment.

He has nothing now.

Grace will never take him back.

Parker is gone.

And now Tammy wants nothing more from him.

The overcast sky makes it seem darker and more confined in the Oval Office.

The President of the United States stares at his phone.

He can pick it up and talk to the vice president, currently on a campaign swing through Georgia and Florida.

Or he could call his secretary, Mrs. Young, and have a wonderful gourmet meal delivered to him.

Or he could contact the famed White House switchboard, and in a matter of minutes, he could be talking to the president of Poland, the head of Columbia Pictures, the latest and most famous rap star, or the most beautiful movie star in Hollywood.

All that power, all that possibility, all within his reach.

But for what purpose?

Why?

The President of the United States is alone in his Oval Office.

He continues to stare at his silent phone.