Chapter 8

William rushed into the hotel and looked around the lobby. The elevator door opened and Lucy stepped out looking around the lobby. They met halfway with a hug that was just on the tasteful side of being publicly acceptable. William said, "I've missed you."

"I missed you," Lucy said burying her face into his chest and enjoying his scent. It felt good to feel his arms around her.

"I'm so glad that you could make it here," William said running a hand across her back. It felt so right to have her pressed against him.

"How could I miss the chance to see Tennessee?" Lucy asked with a grin. She had passed up visiting Boston despite William's repeated requests for her to join him there. It had been hard, but she felt that she had to give Barbara a night with William. The poor woman had been at the end of her patience.

"I don't know," William answered with a laugh. He kept taking Lucy to wonderful places like Oklahoma and Tennessee.

"You take me to all the best places," Lucy said teasing him.

"I do my best," William said. It was like she had read his mind.

The pair moved to the elevator walking together like one. As he pressed the up button, William asked, "Are you going to talk math to me?"

"Of course," Lucy answered with a laugh.

Barbara watched the young couple enter the elevator with a sad little smile. She didn't want to think about what they would be doing in a few minutes. She sighed.

Ed watched Barbara. Shaking his head, he said, "You wish that he would pay a little more attention to you."

Barbara looked over at Ed and knew that lying wouldn't be successful. She went with the truth and replied, "Yes."

"He loves her a lot," Ed said. He remembered how William had dreamed most of his life of meeting Lucy. He knew that they were soul mates. No one would ever be able to get between them.

Swallowing heavily, Barbara knew the truth would come out one day. She looked down at the floor and said, "I'm satisfied with the occasional night with him. I'd give a million dollars to spend a night with her."

"Ah, I understand," Ed said. He had years of experience of staff falling in love with the members of the family. Not all of it was directed at individuals of the opposite gender. He asked, "How about the rest of the staff?"

"We don't talk about it. Most of their interactions are with William. I'm pretty sure that Sandra feels the same way," Barbara answered. She had seen Sandra watching Lucy when she thought no one would notice.

He looked over at Barbara feeling sad for her. He said, "I fear that Kelly may have failed to warn Lucy of that possibility."

"She's just so... I don't know how to describe her. She's such a wholesome girl next door type, but she's so much more," Barbara said. There were times when Lucy looked at her with such an innocent expression that she wanted to hug her and protect her from the rest of the world. Other times, Lucy could look at William with such wanton lust that all Barbara wanted to do was ravish her. She just wished that Lucy would look at her with that kind of desire.

"She's brilliant," Ed said knowing that William valued Lucy's mind far beyond her physical beauty.

Barbara said, "I know. She's scary brilliant. That's part of her charm."

"She values your mind as much as William does. You find that kind of appreciation sexually exciting," Ed said looking over at Barbara. He noticed a slight blush form.

"Yes," Barbara said with a sigh. At the moment, all she wanted was to be alone. She looked at the door and said, "I'm going to go for a walk."

"Would you like some company?" Ed asked worried about her.

"No."

Ed watched her walk off knowing that she was telling the truth about wanting to be alone. Ed knew that if Lucy was here, then so were the bodyguards. He made a call to the room. When Colt answered the phone, Ed said, "Barbara is going for a walk. I'd appreciate it if someone watched over her."

"Yes, sir," Colt said. As soon as he hung up, he told Natalie, "Put on your new wig. Follow Barbara and keep her out of trouble."

Ed went over to the bar and ordered a coke. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. After dialing a number, he waited for his wife to answer. He was going to dump this little problem in her lap. He watched a red head run out the door thinking that she looked a lot like Natalie.

William, Lucy, Ed, Barbara, Colt, and Natalie were gathered around a large table at a local restaurant for dinner. The walls were hung with cheesy tourist souvenirs from Mexico that only the most inebriated tourist would even consider buying. It was a fairly decent Mexican Food place, but everyone in the party had gotten used to the Mexican food in Arizona. Baskets of chips with small bowls of Salsa were distributed around the table. The chips weren't as salty as they were used to eating. The Salsa was a bit mild and bland, but it was fresh.

Natalie, Barbara, and Colt were not getting into the spirit of a night out at a restaurant. Natalie was busy keeping Barbara's attention from the rest of the party by talking about other matters. Colt was watching the rest of the room they were in for any threats of danger.

Unaware of the tension at the other end of the table, Lucy grabbed a chip and dunked it into a bowl of salsa. Before popping it into her mouth, she said, "I think I could study those equations for the rest of my life and continue to discover new facets to them."

"I know what you mean. The real world is very complex. We are basically developing a theory of physics for economics," William said.

"No, I think your work is the equivalent of introducing Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity into physics. Too bad that you'll never get credit for it," Lucy said. There was no way that they could publish his work. Her analysis of the past few weeks had pointed out exactly how they could destabilize the world. It was far more difficult to stabilize the world in a state where the economy could continue to grow and personal liberties could remain.

"I have my service and that is reward enough," William said dismissively. He didn't care about fame. He didn't need to receive public recognition for his work. Leaving behind a better world was all that he needed to feel good about his life's work.

"So how is the campaign to save followership going?" Lucy asked while reaching for another chip. She loved Mexican food, but had been spoiled after eating at Maria's Cantina back in Arizona. That was the best Mexican food she had ever tasted.

"It is going well. We've convinced seven of our proposed candidates to pursue higher office. We've found three candidates for the Senate and four candidates for the House. We'll have a much more moderate congress at this point. With another six people for the House of Representatives, the political balance in Washington will change for the better," William said reaching for his iced tea. He tossed the straw to the center of the table where everyone else had thrown their straws. Iced tea was supposed to be sipped, not sucked through a straw.

"That's good," Lucy said. She had helped William put together the list of potential candidates.

"A lot of very powerful men are getting ready to fight this," William said. Listening to the news he had seen signs that some politically active radicals were reacting to his efforts.

Lucy grinned at the idea of them trying to fight William. She knew that they stood a better chance of trying to hold back the tide. She said, "They are going to be surprised."

"Yes, they are," William said with a wink.

Frowning, Ed wondered what they knew that he didn't. He asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Do you remember when we talked about candidates who ran on a single hot button issue?" William asked.

"Yes," Ed answered. He clearly remembered that conversation, but didn't recall anything that would have led to such an easy confidence on William's part.

"The candidates that we've identified have the same stance as their opponent on that single issue," William said with a grin. He took a sip of his iced tea and then added, "They just haven't been as vocal or rabid about it."

"So you're forcing the other issues to the forefront," Ed said breaking out in laughter. He could imagine what would happen when the campaigns kicked into high gear. There could be nothing worse than finding your opponent agreeing on everything you said on the one issue that was supposed to win the campaign.

"That's right," William replied.

"That's mean," Ed said laughing.

Lucy winked at Ed and said, "That's politics."

It was late and Lucy couldn't sleep. Call it woman's intuition or attribute it to heartburn, Lucy had a feeling that something was wrong. She looked over at William and decided not to wake him. Slipping out of bed, she didn't bother to dress. With one last glance at William, she slipped out the door and entered the common area of the suite.

William shifted in bed and watched her leave the darkened bedroom. The light of the common room illuminated a distant wall when she opened the door. He thought about following her to find out what the matter was that prevented her from sleeping, but decided to give her a little space.

It took Lucy a moment for her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the common room. She noticed Barbara sitting on a chair staring out the window. Coming up behind the beautiful woman, Lucy asked, "Can't sleep?"

"No," Barbara answered with a long sigh. She wished that Lucy would leave her alone, but didn't give voice to that desire.

"What's the matter?" Lucy asked concerned for the other woman.

"I don't want to talk about it," Barbara said. She looked out the window, but could see Lucy's reflection in the glass.

Lucy wondered if traveling with William was overly taxing Barbara. She sat down on a chair facing Barbara and said, "I really appreciate the way you've been watching over William. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Barbara turned to look at Lucy. The young woman, sitting casually on the chair, was completely nude. The expression on her face was one of concern. Her face, framed by long brown hair, drew attention to her worried eyes. Such compassion and care tore at Barbara's heart. Tears came unbidden and she covered her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Lucy asked wanting to help.

"I really can't talk about it," Barbara said.

Lucy rose to sit beside Barbara and hold her. Despite her good intentions, it was exactly the wrong move. Barbara stood and fled to her room leaving a very puzzled Lucy behind. The slam of the door echoed through the quiet suite. Lucy stared at the door wondering what she had done.

Having heard the noise, William stepped out of the bedroom and looked around the room. Going over to Lucy, he asked, "I heard a door slam. Is everything okay?"

"Barbara is very upset," Lucy answered. She asked, "Did you say or do anything to upset her?"

"I don't think so. Maybe she's upset about me asking her to sleep with me in Boston," William answered with a frown. That didn't seem right to him. She had seemed pretty happy the next day.

"That's not it," Lucy said staring at Barbara's bedroom door with concern.

"Should I go apologize to her?" William asked looking over at the door. His ability to see the future was flawed. He was blind to his family, his wife, and himself. The feelings of love that he held for the staff made him blind to their futures as well. With very few exceptions, he couldn't see his future or the future of those he loved unless it affected others.

"What would you apologize for?" Lucy asked looking over at him.

William shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know. If anyone has upset her, it must be me."