Page 103 of The First Gentleman

“I just got off the phone with the new British PM. He thinks both situations could escalate. But we’ll see.” A pause. “How are you?”

“Holding up.”

“I saw some of the trial replay. Looks like Tess is doing a good job. You two getting along?”

“Better now,” says Cole.

“I’m sorry I’m not there at the inn with you.”

“Don’t be. Room service is terrible.”

“I’m serious. I miss you. And I want to support you. But I can’t run things from up there. Burton made me realize that.”

“Maddy, I understand.”

“I want you to know that we’re working on the announcement of the Grand Bargain.”

“I thought that was on the back burner.”

“We can’t hold this coalition together much longer, Cole. And if it collapses, we’ll lose the whole thing—forever.”

Cole grimaces. “I hate being a sideshow. I’m the reason things are being held up.”

“Not your fault. We’re planning to announce the day after you’re found not guilty. A one-two punch to set us up for the next term.”

“But what if—”

“No what-ifs. That’s how it’s going to be. You win. We win. The country wins.” Maddy shifts into a comical British accent. “Defeat? I do not know the meaning of the word.”

Cole laughs. “Winston Churchill?”

“Close. Margaret Thatcher.”

“Burton says you and the Iron Lady had a lot in common.”

“Right. Except she got eleven years in office, and I only get eight, tops.”

Cole sighs. “I’m just hoping I won’t get twenty years to life.”

“Stop it! That’s not funny. You’re an innocent man and the jury will see that.”

“I hope you’re right, Maddy. I really do.” Cole hears the voice of an aide whispering urgently.

When Maddy comes back on the line, she says, “I have to take a call. So sorry.”

“Go ahead—save the world.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too.”

She hangs up.

In the silence, the worry he’s been keeping at bay until now floods in. Cole knows that he’s got the most powerful person in the world on his side.

But she’s not sitting on the jury.

CHAPTER

---