Sea of Shadows eBook - Navy Thriller.com

WASHINGTON, DC
THURSDAY; 10 MAY
7:22 PM EDT
CHAPTER 10
On the state floor of the White House, sandwiched between the
enormous East Room and the sumptuously appointed oval Blue Room,
was the Green Room. Once the dining room of Thomas Jefferson, the
Green Room was now a parlor, usually devoted to small receptions. It was
a soothing place; the green watered-silk wall coverings and striped silk
damask draperies seemed to invite introspection. President Chandler liked
the Green Room a lot. He often went there to relax, and he nearly always
left the little parlor with a smile on his face.
He was not smiling this evening, as his chief of staff opened the door
for him and stepped back to let him in. Through the open doorway came
the background murmur from the East Room: numerous voices mingled
with the muted tones of light orchestral music.
Perched delicately on a nineteenth-century Duncan Phyfe settee,
Gregory Brenthoven rose quickly to his feet.
The president waved him back. “Sit,” he said. He nodded over his left
shoulder toward the East Room. “I’ve got fourteen South American
diplomats out there, and at least half of them are trying to pinch Jenny’s
bottom. So let’s try to make this quick, before my lovely wife dislocates
someone’s jaw and causes an international incident.”
Veronica Doyle followed her boss into the room and closed the door
behind her. “The first lady is looking especially attractive tonight.”
The president tugged at his bow tie, loosening it a fraction. “She is,
indeed. But I still think it’s rude of our esteemed guests to leave their
fingerprints on her anatomy.” He sighed and looked at Gregory
Brenthoven. “What have you got, Greg?”
“Germany,” the national security advisor said.
“All right,” the president said. “We’ll get to that in a minute. First,
what’s going on with the British Embassy?”
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