Page 9 of The Devil Goes to Washington

“They ventured to a store I believe is called the BudgetShopper.”

“BudgetShopper? What would they be doing there?” He was familiar with the place for its business acumen and his constituents' preference for the store, but he couldn’t remember ever having stepped into one.

“It appears that Mrs. Harding ‘splurged.’ Her words, as overheard by Tilly.”

“Ah-ha! So it begins. I would have expected something higher-end, but this is a creative way to begin. And you have an itemized list of the expedition?“

“Yes, sir. One child’s footie pajamas, one pack of boy’s underwear, and one pack of boy’s white socks. All generic store brands. And one toy car.”

“That sounds interesting. Is it rechargeable or solar-powered?” Michael envisioned a gleaming battery-powered vehicle some children had instead of bicycles.

“Neither. It is manually driven.”

“I guess it’s good exercise but not much of a spending spree. How much was it? Five hundred?”

“A dollar ninety-nine in the clearance basket. It is approximately three inches in length.”

“That’s all they bought? Certainly an interesting way to begin. I imagine it will ramp up over the weeks to more items at more expensive stores. What else was on their agenda, besides meals?” Evelyn was proving more crafty than he had anticipated, but time would win out.

“They went to a playground in town.”

“By themselves?”

“They were seen talking to a large group of people, mostly women, and children, until they were chased off by the paparazzi.”

“Meghan reported that she met with that woman and went dress shopping for next week.”

“Yes, sir. That is my understanding from what Tilly observed.”

“What else did Tilly say about the interaction?”

“That Ms. Meghan was very scary as usual and she worried for Ms. Evelyn.”

“Excellent. Ok, Banner, I have to take this call. Keep up the good work.” He answered the phone once he heard the door click shut behind Banner. “Sabrina. Tell me something good.”

“Ethan and Blake are on the line too.”

“Have you seen the email I sent to you?” Ethan asked.

“Not yet, I’ve been in meetings all day. What am I looking for?”

“You have a copy of the press release that went out this morning. It was approved by Blake and Heath. Make sure you review it. You’re going to get asked questions.” Ethan reiterated the importance of reading the document, since Michael had obviously proven unreliable on that front with the Evelyn arrangement.

“Nobody cares about this.” He scoffed. “It’s a blip.”

“Is that why the media tracked down your wife and kid and took pictures until they ran off?” Sabrina demanded.

“Banner just said something about that. So they’re curious. They’ll find someone new to obsess about tomorrow.” Michael had dealt with the press enough to know how fickle they could be.

“Do you hear yourself? The paps just chased off your wife and kid. Then they published the pictures,” Sabrina, the serene one in any crisis, scolded him.

“Were the pictures anything bad or embarrassing? She wasn’t in a secret rendezvous was she?” Based on their reactions, he was sure there was a scandal coming his way.

“Jesus, man! She was with her baby’s playgroup. She looks beautiful with the sun glistening on her hair. She was laughing and having a great time until she was scared away.” Blake, sounding poetic in his description of Evelyn, was clearly biased.

“As long as she’s not breaking the contract already.” He had assumed that leading separate lives was one of the perks of the arrangement. The fact that she was the former love of his life didn’t change his perspective.

“Fucking heartless, man! You know what? If anyone from the media asks you absolutely anything, reply ‘no comment’.” Ethan had never been so critical, but they couldn’t understand that he had to stay out of her business for the sake of his sanity.