For a fraction of a second, Clyde stiffened, but he recovered quickly. “So you’re Annabelle Larkin ofGood Housekeepingfame. You don’t look at all like I expected.” He didn’t bother to mask an amused snort of laughter.
They still had ten minutes until the meeting convened, and Clyde put that time to good use, prodding for insight into their unexpected presence. When he discovered the Larkins were farmers, he asked polite questions about the nature of their farm, but all the while he kept glancing nervously at Gray.
“Are you here for the military contract hearing?” he asked Gray. “It’s going to be a triumph. Our biggest ever. Of course, you’ll probably be disappointed. It’s mostly baked beans and chipped beef. They contain no hidden ingredients or chemicals you can pretend are dangerous, so there’s no follow-up story in it forGood Housekeepingin a lame attempt to tarnish our reputation.”
“I’m actually relieved to hear it,” Gray responded. His goal wasn’t to ruin the Magruders, it was make them print an accurate list of ingredients on every can of food they sold.
“I’ll just bet you are,” Clyde drawled. “By the way, how’s your brother doing in prison? Any news?”
Gray flushed but said nothing. Thinking about Luke during this meeting had the potential to throw his concentration, and he couldn’t afford it.
Clyde leaped into the uncomfortable silence as he turned to the Larkins. “You heard about his brother, right? Spy forthe Cubans? Due to stand trial for treason next year? All very shocking.”
Given the way Maude and Roy shifted in discomfort, this was the first they’d heard of it. Roy nervously glanced at Annabelle, who gave the tiniest nod to confirm the story.
“That’s a real shame,” Roy said uncomfortably. “A real shame.”
The Washington Posthad printed a retraction of Dickie Shuster’s original story, claiming Luke Delacroix was in Cuba to trade in cigars and no charges for treasonous activities had been filed against him, which was all true. Those charges were surely coming, but for now the retraction would protect Caroline’s job at the White House.
“So what brings you to a military contract negotiation?” Clyde asked Roy, his gaze flitting to the older man’s suspenders and work boots. “The deal is for eight hundred tons of baked beans and six hundred tons of chipped beef. Not exactly something of interest to a man with a hundred-acre wheat farm.”
Roy kept rotating his hat in his hands. “Oh ... I’m very interested,” he stammered.
Clyde laughed and clapped Roy on the shoulder. “I like your initiative.” He grinned. “Hold on to that positive attitude, and you might go far.”
Annabelle looked ready to combust, and Gray put his hand on her shoulder to calm her. It was time to leave for the meeting, and letting Clyde feel like he had the upper hand was fine. He’d learn otherwise soon enough.
A conference table dominated the center of the meeting room, while rows of additional seating circled the room. Gray led the Larkins to the first row of seats that had been reserved for the public. Annabelle looked nervous, Maude sour, and Roy craned his neck in every direction to gape at the gilded decorations on the coffered ceiling.
Soon journalists and other members of the public filled inthe rest of the seats, while government officials took their places at the table. Lawyers, accountants, secretaries, an auditor, a stenographer, and representatives from both the army and the navy added up to twenty people. This was precisely the sort of government bloat Gray resented.
Clyde and old Jedediah Magruder took a seat at the end of the table. Clyde carried only a slim folder, and they hadn’t brought a lawyer. They were obviously confident of their position.
Finally, the officer in charge of army procurement arrived to start the meeting. Major Gilligan had a scowl on his face and a brusque demeanor as he took a seat at the head of the table and flipped open his file.
“Let’s get started, gentlemen. What are we buying today? Let’s see, baked beans and Magruder chipped beef.” His face was instantly transformed. “IloveMagruder’s creamed chipped beef! To this day, one of my favorite meals. When I was growing up in a dirt-poor mill town, Magruder’s creamed chipped beef was the best thing I’d ever tasted. We only got it on Friday as a special treat. Well done, sir!”
Jedidiah Magruder pushed himself to his feet and took a little bow. Clyde looked at Gray and smirked.
“To continue,” Major Gilligan said, settling back into business, “a draft of the contract for the beef and canned beans has already been distributed. Prices agreed on. Why are we even here?”
“The public has a right to be informed and respond with any concerns,” one of the lawyers said. Paper copies of the contract were distributed by a junior officer, and Gray snatched two, handing one to Roy and skimming the other quickly.
“Gentlemen?” Major Gilligan asked after a few minutes. “Any comments for the good of the nation and mankind?”
“We’ve reviewed the contract and had it approved by the accountants,” the lawyer for the army said. “We are prepared to proceed.”
“Anyone else?” the major asked. Silence lengthened as no one around the table had anything to add.
This was it, his chance to insist on a list of ingredients. Gray raised his hand, and the major acknowledged him and gestured him forward. Gray introduced himself, and the government stenographer captured every word.
“I’d like for the contract to require that all canned foods purchased by the army contain a complete list of ingredients on the label.”
Instead of outrage from the Magruders, Clyde appeared to be enjoying himself. “Already done. Paragraph two, line three of the addendum.”
Gray flipped to the appropriate page. It was the same draft Caroline had supplied to him five days ago, but he still pretended surprise. He assumed a properly abashed stance and gave a brief nod. “Excellent.”
He sat, and Maude Larkin stood.
