Chapter 7

William shook his head in amazement while going through the stack of papers Barbara had handed him. She had all of their expenditures typed up for the accountant complete with receipts. The confirmations for chartered jets were in a neat little stack. The agenda for the meetings had been typed up with copies for everyone. Looking up at Barbara, he said, "You are amazing. I don't know how you keep up with everything."

Upon hearing more praise from William, Barbara squirmed in her chair. It seemed to her like every time she turned around he was praising her. It would be one thing if it was just words, but he meant them. He really did appreciate everything she did for him. Fighting to keep control of her voice, she said, "It is not that difficult."

"Maybe not for you, but I don't think anyone else could handle all of these details. You've got our reservations made, flights booked, and an itinerary laid out even while you're traveling around the country babysitting my Dad and me," William said looking her in the eye. He looked at her and thought she looked a little tired. He decided that she deserved a little break.

"I'm just doing my job," Barbara said. A week of preparing for the trip and then ten days on the road with William praising her the entire time was doing a number on her libido. He talked to her and not to her breasts. He complimented her on her ideas and not her looks.

She watched him go through the stack of papers. When he tossed a couple of them on the table she wished that he'd take a moment to throw her on the table and have his way with her. He said, "Excuse me for a minute."

"Sure," Barbara said thankful for the minor reprieve. She felt that if he had stayed one minute longer she was going to lose control.

William left the room and returned five minutes later. Sitting down at the table, he said, "I called down to the hotel spa and arranged for you to get a massage. They'll be ready for you in about thirty minutes."

"You didn't need to do that," Barbara said while thinking that if he wanted her to have a massage he could give her one.

"I'm sure that traveling with us has been very stressful. You need a chance to relax and get your mind off of your work," William said smiling over at her.

"Okay," Barbara said resigned to the inevitable.

She didn't seem all that excited about a massage. Wondering if she would like some help, William asked, "We keep running into women who want to be helpful. Are you sure that you don't want to give one or two of them a call?"

"You're hopeless," Barbara said shaking her head in amazement. Laughing, she left to change her clothes for the visit to the spa.

When Barbara left for her massage, William paced around the room for a few minutes wishing that Lucy was there. After a few rounds around the room, he decided to call Lucy to see how she was doing. He pulled out his cell phone and pushed the buttons that would connect him to her. As soon as Lucy answered the phone, he said, "I miss you."

"I miss you, too," Lucy said putting down the pad with the equations she had been examining. It always took a couple of seconds to pull out of that world of mathematics in which she occasionally swam. It took more than that to return to the world once she was interrupted.

"What are you doing?" William asked.

"I'm working," Lucy said glancing over at the pad. Another relationship among the parameters popped out at her. She circled them on the pad to remember it before turning her attention back to the call.

"What are you working on?" William asked. She had stayed behind to work on better understanding the equations that William had generated. They were amazingly complicated and she had found herself getting drawn into them for days at a time. He hadn't wanted to drag her away from her work.

"The sensitivity analysis," Lucy answered wiping her eyes. She hadn't had any sleep for two days.

"That sounds like fun," William said. He wasn't being sarcastic, he actually meant it.

She yawned and then said, "I always thought that society was relatively stable, but it is extremely sensitive to some factors. It is kind of frightening to think of how unstable it is with respect to a handful of parameters. I'm really surprised."

"I'm not surprised," William said.

"You're not?" Lucy asked.

Sitting down in a chair and getting comfortable for a long conversation, William said, "Just think about how many countries go along appearing very stable. Then one day there is some event that destabilizes the government and within a year it falls."

"I hadn't thought about that," Lucy said. She looked over the array of equations trying to become one with them. They were just too complicated to understand in their totality. It amazed her that William had been able to generate them.

"We have to find the stable areas," William said.

"I'm working on it," Lucy said.

"I wish I was there. I love watching you work."

Lucy laughed at the comment. Although she knew it was true, she never understood what he found so interesting about her when she was working. She twitched her nose and twirled her hair thinking about the math with half her mind. She said, "I miss you, particularly at night."

"Same here. It is so lonely at night without you by my side," William said.

"I hope that Barbara is taking good care of you," Lucy said.

"She's doing a wonderful job. She's handling all of the travel details even though they change almost daily. I went over the receipts for the trip with her before she sent them back for Juanita. I tell you, that woman is a wonder," William said.

"I didn't mean that way," Lucy said chuckling. She was pretty convinced that Barbara was about to explode from frustration. The more William praised her, the hornier Barbara got. Lucy expected to get a call soon to hear about how Barbara had gone to bed with William refusing to take no for an answer.

"What way did you mean?" William asked. He rolled his eyes when he realized what Lucy was suggesting and, before she had a chance to answer, said, "I don't want to impose on her like that."

"Impose?" Lucy asked thinking that definitely wasn't the word that Barbara would use to describe it.

"Right," William said.

Lucy deep a deep sigh and said, "Promise me that you'll impose on her tonight."

"She's tense and needs to relax," William said.

"That's all the better reason for you invite her to your bed," Lucy explained.

He said, "I sent her down for a massage, but she didn't seem all that excited."

"Sleep with her," Lucy said rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure?" William asked. He never understood why Lucy was always pushing him to sleep with the staff. He felt that they had to be tired of his attentions.

"Yes, I'm sure," Lucy answered.

"I love you," William said.

Lucy said, "I love you. So does Barbara."

With reservations made by Marguerite, William, Ed, and Barbara arrived at the finest restaurant in Boston. They were comfortably riding in a stretch limousine. Barbara sat beside William touching him on the arm. William and Ed did not realize that Barbara had reserved the car. They thought it had been provided by the hotel in which they were staying. They would have been happy with a standard taxi.

Knowing what restaurant they would be dining at, Barbara was dressed to kill. She wore a black evening dress that was tailored to show her cleavage to best advantage. The low cut back of her gown showed a broad expanse of perfect skin. Her hair was up highlighting her neck and face. Her high heels were the perfect height for accentuating her shapely calves. A simple emerald necklace completed the outfit.

Absolute silence reigned when she walked into the restaurant. Every head, male and female, watched her walk through the room to the private dining area the Chef had set up for them. Nobody seemed to notice that Ed and William were dressed in blue jeans, work shirts, and cowboy boots. All eyes were on Barbara.

As was often the case when Ed or William ate in one of the better establishments, the Chef went all out. As Ed raved about the Lobster Bisque, William quietly ate his soup. While Ed enjoyed the Tuna Steak, William ate his main course without a comment. Ed looked across the table at William and said, "What's the matter? You don't like the food?"

"The food is good," William answered.

"So what's the matter?" Ed asked.

"Somehow, eating doesn't seem to give me the pleasure that it gives you," William answered. He looked at his father and asked, "Don't you ever get tired of eating this kind of food?"

"No, I don't," Ed answered. He leaned forward and said, "I like the fast food just as much as the other person. The problem I have with it is that it is mass produced. There's no art to it. It is soulless.

"Now, this meal is very different. The Chef went out and selected the finest ingredients by hand. He blended the ingredients together to bring out the flavors in the hope of achieving an esthetic balance for my pleasure. It is a work of art and every dish is slightly different. I not only appreciate the flavor and the presentation of the dish, I also appreciate the time and effort put into its creation. I appreciate the hard work that it took to cultivate the kind of talent necessary to make such a dish."

William nodded his head and said, "You do have a point, but I still like a good Burger Burner burger."

Ed laughed at the comment and said, "I tease Marguerite unmercifully about how she's trying to poison me, but you have to admit that she works harder at her art than anyone else that you know. I respect her for that kind of dedication even though only a handful of people ever get to see the result of that hard work."

"I know," William said.

Barbara had followed the conversation although the majority of her attention was on the food. It was one of the best meals that she had ever eaten. She almost missed when William stared off into space for a minute and then frowned. She had come to recognize that as a sign that something rather unpleasant was about to happen.

Without looking, William said, "Senator, I know why you are here. I'm sorry, but your time in office must come to an end. Nothing that you can say on that matter will change my mind."

"I heard that you came here to talk to my opponent in the upcoming campaign. I thought you might want to talk to me to see if we can't come to some kind of understanding," the Senator from Massachusetts said. He glanced over at Barbara and nearly lost his train of thought. He wished that he was a younger man who could thoroughly enjoy such an attractive woman.