Page 41 of The Senator's Wife

She made a note to send Jim and his wife tickets to the symphony. So, Athena was nowhere near Rosemary’s house in McLean that night. She suddenly felt foolish for thinking that Athena could have done something so violent and horrible. Poor Rosemary. Maybe somethingwaswrong with her. She hoped it wasn’t dementia. Sighing, she turned her attention to the file she’d asked Athena to bring home from the foundation. It was one of her pet projects and near completion. The domestic violence shelters accounted for most of the foundation’s work, but Sloane had come to realize that as vital as they were, they were only the first step in helping individuals get back on their feet. Their newest initiative combined temporary living accommodations with skills training, résumé preparation, and career planning, as well as assistance in securing long-term living arrangements. The first of such facilities was near completion in Richmond, Virginia. The ribbon cutting would be in sixty days, and Sloane was determined to get better and be there to do it herself. Whit had taken a special interest in the project and suggested there might be some synergy between the new program and HUD housing projects and Section 8apartments that he and his political allies had supported with legislation increasing their funding. She would pursue that further, once she was feeling good again.

Her door opened, and Athena came in with a tray.

“I brought you some chicken noodle soup. Hungry?”

She wasn’t, but she knew she should at least try to eat something. She put the folder down on the bed and nodded. She was going to suggest she go over to the love seat, but suddenly felt drained. “You can set the tray here, thanks.”

Athena picked up the folder and put it on the nightstand. “How’s everything going with the project?”

“Looks like it’s all on schedule. I’m very excited about it.”

“Everyone at the foundation is. It’s such a terrific program. You must feel so gratified to be helping so many families.”

“I am. Robert and I both always felt it was our calling. He would have been thrilled with this.”

“It must feel good to be able to continue to honor him.”

Sloane felt the familiar anger return. “It does. He should still be here, though. Peg was always troubled, but I had no idea how out of touch with reality she’d become—that she would actually try to kill Whit, and that Robert would be caught in the crossfire. I’ll never understand it.”

“Peg and Robert were cousins, weren’t they?”

“Yes. Robert was very protective of her.” Sloane looked past Athena. “Too protective.”

“Were you close with Peg too?”

“Not really. I tried, but she was hard to know. The only person she truly opened up to was Robert. I think that’s why she took her life. She couldn’t live with what she’d done. She told me that she and Whit were having problems, but I was used to Peg making mountains out of molehills. I wish I’d taken her more seriously now.”

“What kind of problems? Do you think he was unhappy with her?”

Sloane was taken aback by Athena’s brashness, then berated herself for opening the door to the subject. “It’s inappropriate for us to discuss this. I shouldn’t have told you all that.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

Sloane closed her eyes. “I think I’ll rest a little now.”

She heard Athena quietly leaving the room. She took a minute to gather her thoughts, then had a few spoonsful of the soup, even though she wasn’t really hungry. She needed her nutrition, so she made herself finish half the bowl. Putting the spoon down, she picked up the tumbler with the pumpkin spiced iced coffee she’d asked Whit to pick up on his way home last night and hadn’t yet drunk.

She missed Emmy, sad that her daughter now lived so far away. She missed her friends too, and working, and being with people. Sloane was lonely, but it had been foolish to pour her heart out to Athena as if she were a friend. She’d allowed her to become too familiar, and now the woman was asking questions that were probing and too personal. They were employer and employee, and as such, should have defined boundaries. Sloane would talk to Whit about it as well. The casual interaction she’d witnessed between him and Athena disturbed her. Why did they have dinner together every night lately? Why didn’t he bring his own dinner up with Sloane’s and have dinner with her? Did he prefer Athena’s company to hers?

She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and tapped in Brianna’s number.

“Sloane, hi. How are you?” Brianna’s voice came over the line.

“I’m okay, Bri. Can you do something for me?”

“Of course. Anything.”

“Will you lock my office door, and keep the key in your office?”

“Sure. No problem. Do you want me to give Athena a key?”

“No. I don’t want her using my office anymore. I want you to give her any files she needs to bring home, and if she has any workto do there, she can use one of the intern offices. No one goes into my office unless you’re with them, understand?”

“I do. I’m glad to hear that. I was going to call you, but you beat me to it.”

“What do you mean?”

“The other day when she was here working in your office, it seemed to me like she was snooping around. The picture in front of your safe was crooked. She must have looked behind it. Maybe tried to open it.”

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