Holly put down her fork. “I’d better call her and break the news.” She went to Stone’s desk, picked up the phone, and dialed a number. “The President, please. It’s Holly Barker calling.” She listened for a moment, and her face fell. She hung up. “The White House operator has orders from the President not to put any of my calls through. I can’t believe she would do such a thing.”

Stone laughed. “Now you’re officially on vacation. And I’m not going to let you watch the news, either!”

48

STONE EXPERTLY TIED his black bow tie, slipped into his dinner jacket, and stuffed a white silk pocket square into the breast pocket, then he stepped out of his dressing room and found Holly, all five feet ten inches of her, sans heels, in an emerald silk dress that set off her red hair and skin color.

“You’re actually ready?”

“I don’t believe in futzing around for an hour while the gent taps his foot and looks at his watch.”

“Bless you. Let’s get out of here.” They took the elevator to the ground floor and exited the front door to find Fred waiting beside the Bentley. A moment later they were under way.

“Damn it,” Stone muttered under his breath, “I forgot to arm the security system.”

“Don’t worry, sir,” Fred said, “I’ll do it when I return to the house.”

“Thank you, Fred.”

They were set down at the garage entrance to the Fairleigh and took the elevator to the top floor. A uniformed butler let them into the penthouse apartment, and Laurence came over to greet them.

Stone introduced Holly. “I see you’ve hired a butler.”

“Mike Freeman provided him, just for the evening. Come, I want you to meet my mother and stepfather. They arrived yesterday from England.” He took them to an elegant-looking couple who were occupying a sofa before the fireplace.

“Stone, these are Derek Fallowfield and my mother, Dorothy. Stone Barrington and his law firm are my principal advisors.”

Hands were shaken.

“I hope you had a good flight,” Stone said.

“We’re still a little jet-lagged, but Laurence has made us very comfortable in the flat downstairs,” Dorothy said.

“Yes, I had that done up for them,” Laurence said. “Excuse me, I have other guests to greet.”

While Dorothy and Holly chatted, Derek pulled Stone aside. “Look here, Barrington,” he said quietly, “I’m very concerned about all the money Laurence is spending. My calculations put his recent spending at more than a hundred million dollars. Did he really win enough to be all right for that?”

“He’s quite able to handle it,” Stone said. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“I’m relieved to hear it,” Derek said, snagging another glass of champagne from a passing waiter. “This really is quite an establishment, isn’t it?”