“Well, I suppose there’s a weird kind of logic to that idea,” Kate said. “Of course, when delegates start to jump, many might go to Otero. And as strange as it may seem to you, Senator, many of them might even go to me.”

“Kate, would the vice presidency appeal to you?”

“Senator, is that an offer?”

“I’m just curious.”

“Satisfying your curiosity is not very appealing to me, Senator.”

“All right, if you’ll nominate me tonight, the vice presidency is yours.”

“Senator, the vice presidency is not yet your gift to give.”

“You know what I mean—you’ll have the number two spot on the ticket with me.”

“Shall I be frank with you, Senator?”

“By all means.”

“I don’t think California can crack enough to give you the nomination. I don’t think that enough ship jumpers would go to you, either. In fact, if suddenly Marty dropped out of the race, I don’t think you’d get the nomination.”

A flash of anger passed across the senator’s face and he stood up. “I’ll take that as a no,” he said.

“That’s very perceptive of you,” Kate replied.

“Good day.” He stalked across the room and out the door.

Ann came into the room. “He looked very angry, Director. Did you tell him to go fuck himself?”

“Pretty much,” Kate replied.

Chapter 21

Stone hosted Kate and Ann for lunch on his poolside patio. Ann had billed it as a strategy session.

“Whew!” Kate said, blowing upward to clear her forehead of a strand of hair.

“Is Ann working you too hard?” Stone asked.

“When Will was running I met a lot of people, but that was nothing compared to now. I’m having to soak my hand in ice water to keep the swelling down.”

“How do you feel about the way things are going?” Stone asked.

“If all I needed was the goodwill of the delegates I’ve met, I’d feel very confident,” she said. “Unfortunately, I’m not the only one seeking their votes and most of them are already committed, barring a second ballot.”

“If you had it to do over, would you start earlier and enter the primaries?”

Kate thought about it. “No, I don’t think so. I think I’ve done the right thing almost by accident.”

“How by accident?”

“I had thought about doing it last year and going through the whole process and decided against it. Then, months later, over dinner, Will said something to me about it not being too late. I had been thinking about life after the White House. And if Will hadn’t said that at that moment, it wouldn’t have occurred to me that I might have a chance if I got in late.”

“What did he say?”