All the chairs at the table held a body except for the one to the right of the President’s chair. As much as the people seated at the table tried not to look at the empty chair, their eyes kept going to it.

The chair that Lincoln Moss always sat in. While it was a nice chair, softly padded with shiny wood armrests, it now looked like some ugly thing that didn’t belong. No one said a word when the President’s leg shot out from under the table, giving the chair, which was on wheels, a fierce kick and sending it rolling back to the wall, where it bounced, then slid farther down the room out of sight. The gesture was enough to inform the others that Lincoln Moss would not be attending this particular meeting.

The President took his time as he looked at the people, good people, loyal people in the eye, and said, “I want to apologize to all of you. Just because I’m the President of the United States doesn’t mean I don’t make mistakes. I’m here today to tell you I’ve made some serious ones, but I recognize that now, and I’m not too proud to admit them and to ask for your help. Starting today, things are going to be different around here. Better late than never.

“Now listen up, people, this is how we’re going to start running this administration. We’ve got two more years to do things the way they should be done. For starters, we’re going to settle this Venezuela and Iran business, then I’m going to tell you how from here on in this White House is going to run. One last thing, I hope all of you here today will change your minds about turning in your resignations. Yes, yes, I’ve heard all about it. You should know there are no secrets in this town. All I’m asking is for you to help me out here, so we can get back on track and run this country the way it should be run. From this point on, we do not look back. It’s full steam ahead.”

The look of relief on everyone’s face was all President Knight needed to shoot his fist in the air.