Chapter 4
Jed stirred as the phone rang. Rolling over, he glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it was already 8:30.
"Yeah?" as he picked up the phone.
"Sir, you have a meeting in half an hour. And you're late for your security briefing."
Jed struggled to rise. "Sorry. Sleeping late Leo. I'll be down shortly."
"Yes, sir."
Jed hung up the phone and turned to look at his sleeping wife, her bare chest rising and falling with her even breathing. Even then he felt desire stirring again in his body. "NO! I've got to get up."
Abbey stirred at his words and opened her eyes. As she realized who was looking at her, she smiled. "I'm sorry."
Jed returned the smile. "Yeah. You showed me how sorry you were. You can apologize like that any time you want." Jed watched as Abbey stretched, throwing the sheet off and exposing the rest of her. "Damn woman! I'm already late. Don't do that to me."
Abbey only smiled as she watched her husband get his own naked body out of bed and head toward the bathroom.
'Thirty five years and he still wants me. Not bad.' she thought to herself.
She continued to lay there as she heard him puttering in the bathroom. Then she realized what had started the lovemaking. Her necklace. Jumping from the bed, she walked into the bathroom, watching him quickly run the electric shaver over his face. Coming up behind him she put her arms around his chest and placed her head on his back. "I still want to see my necklace."
"Abbey, as I told you, you will have to wait. Now I have to go." He turned around, gave a quick peck on her cheek and was gone.
"Damn." Abbey turned to step into the shower.
Even though it was Sunday, Abbey knew there were papers waiting for her in the office. She had been on several out of town trips recently and the paperwork had just piled up.
After getting dressed in some causal slacks and a loose shirt, she made her way to the East Wing to tackle some of that paper.
One of the papers caught her eye immediately. It was Jed's private schedule. Looking down the list for anything she didn't already know about, the listing "National Security Trip" caught her eye.
In the many years of his Presidency that had been only a few times that his schedule had contained that listing. She had the highest security clearance but there were a few things that even that clearance prevented her from knowing.
But this one was a little different. On these trips, Jed was usually gone at least three days and this time only 36 hours were blocked out. And that wasn't the only thing that was different. On this entry the block where the people accompanying him was usually listed, the only name listed this time was Leo. Usually the President had at least ten people accompanying him, people like the National Security Advisor, one of the Joint Chiefs or the Secretary of State. But this time only Leo was listed.
Abbey made a mental note to ask Jed about the difference this time. She couldn't be told where he might be going on such a short trip but she could know why Leo was the only person that was going.
