“What are you so happy about?” she asked him.
“You’re getting an award for your work on the Tony Clark story, for outstanding reporting, and your cooperation with government agencies.” Felix looked at her proudly. “A special Edward R. Murrow award.” It was the most distinguished award in TV news.
“How do they figure that when he wound up in Saudi Arabia?” she asked modestly, surprised by everything he had said.
“That wasn’t your fault. You still did an outstanding job, and you deserve the award. There’s a dinner in your honor in two weeks. We’re announcing it on the six o’clock news tonight.”
“Thank you,” she said shyly. She didn’t feel right getting an award when he hadn’t been brought to justice and never would be. It seemed like a botched affair to her. But it had been a piece of incredibly complicated and convoluted investigative reporting, and at least he was no longer Vice President. She had contributed to that.
“And I think we’re sending you to London this weekend for an event at Buckingham Palace to honor the queen. You’re getting pretty fancy. Don’t wear your combat boots to that one.”
“I’ll remember not to.” She laughed.
“Everything okay with you?” he asked her with a fatherly expression.
“Better than that.” She smiled at him. She looked happier than he’d ever seen her, and had for several months.
“You and Chapman doing all right?”
“Yes, we’re happy,” she confirmed.
“Good. Keep it that way. I’ll let you know about London tomorrow. And congratulations for the award. It’s a big deal, you know.”
“Thanks, Felix.” She smiled at him as he left her office, and then she sat thinking about Tony Clark again, and what a strange, stressful time it had been, putting all the puzzle pieces together until the last one fell into place. And wherever he was, she hoped he was paying for his sins, and not enjoying the good life. It wouldn’t have been fair, although sometimes life wasn’t.
And then she picked up her cellphone and called Ben again, to tell him about the award. Other than Faye, he was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She felt lucky and grateful for her life, with work she loved, a man she loved, and a terrific kid. It didn’t get better than that.
—
Tony Clark woke in the morning as he did every day, with his lungs straining in the crushing heat, and his skin so dry it felt as though it was going to split open. He got up and put his djellabah on with nothing under it, and walked from his bedroom onto the terrace where they served his breakfast. He had learned to speak a few words of Arabic by then. Two male waiters brought him his first meal of the day, and steaming tea. He had lain in bed listening to the call for prayers that he heard five times a day. It would be time for the midday prayers soon. He had come to hate the sound of them, they were a constant reminder of where he was now, and everything that had happened. And then the day would drone on. He would have liked to read a newspaper, a real one, like The Washington Post or The Wall Street Journal, but they wouldn’t let him have them here, and he couldn’t read Arabic, so he couldn’t read the local paper. But what did it matter now? The news didn’t matter here. Nothing did. He wasn’t part of the world anymore. He had ceased to exist when he came here.
They didn’t let him have his computer, but he had seen CNN a few times since he’d been there. He had seen the new Vice President sworn in, which made him feel sick, and the statement the President had made about him. They were fools, all of them.
He lived in the small house they had given him, which was part of the arrangement he had made with them. He had expected it to be bigger, but they had lied to him. He was of no use to them anymore. He lived in purgatory now, or in limbo, waiting for something to change, or something to happen, and knowing that it never would again. He was a man who had lost his life, his dreams, his world, and everything he had once built, and now he existed here in the heat, as it seared his lungs, watching time pass, listening to the call to prayers, and counting the moments like grains of sand, until his life would finally be over one day. He could hardly wait for that day to come. And if they tired of him, it might be soon. Whatever he had paid them in the past, they could always change their minds and kill him. He was well aware of that and in some ways, it might be a relief.
In the meantime, all he could do now was remember how his life had once been and would never be again. He never thought of the people he had hurt, but only what he would do to them if they let him come back one day. The hope of revenge kept him alive. There was no doubt in his tortured mind, it was their fault that he was there and that everything had turned out so badly. Even Olympia had betrayed him by not marrying him, and clinging to the memory of Bill.
One of the serving boys brought him another cup of the perfumed tea, which he hated with every ounce of his being. And now his existence was a living hell he felt certain he didn’t deserve. And cruelest of all, they had forgotten him. He was a ghost, just like Bill. It was Bill’s fault. If he hadn’t threatened him, none of this would have happened. It could have been so simple, and almost was. Thinking about it, as he did constantly, Tony concluded that Bill had deserved to die. They all did. And then he took another sip of the tea he detested, and closed his eyes in the breathtaking heat and wished, as he did every moment of every day, that he were dead too. Bill was the lucky one, and had won in the end. It wasn’t fair. Tony knew that he had deserved so much more than all of them. Bill with his unrealistic lofty ideals, as though he were a saint of some kind. Olympia with her weakness and willingness to let him control her. The President, who had betrayed him and exposed him. The lobbyists he had paid well. They had made a mockery of him. It was all so wrong, in his mind. He knew he was the better man, and he cursed and hated them all, even the Saudis who would probably kill him one day. But the joke was on all of them, because he no longer cared. He laughed in the deadly heat as the call to the midday prayers began. And to think, he had paid them for this, to be a dead man.
To my wonderful children,
Beatie, Trevor, Todd, Sam,
Victoria, Vanessa, Maxx, and Zara,
May those you trust never disappoint you or destroy you,
Live in honor, love honestly,
Be true to yourself, and be kind to each other.
I love you, always,
Mommy/DS
By Danielle Steel
DANGEROUS GAMES • THE MISTRESS • THE AWARD • RUSHING WATERS • MAGIC • THE APARTMENT • PROPERTY OF A NOBLEWOMAN • BLUE • PRECIOUS GIFTS • UNDERCOVER • COUNTRY • PRODIGAL SON • PEGASUS • A PERFECT LIFE • POWER PLAY • WINNERS • FIRST SIGHT • UNTIL THE END OF TIME • THE SINS OF THE MOTHER • FRIENDS FOREVER • BETRAYAL • HOTEL VENDÔME • HAPPY BIRTHDAY • 44 CHARLES STREET • LEGACY • FAMILY TIES • BIG GIRL • SOUTHERN LIGHTS • MATTERS OF THE HEART • ONE DAY AT A TIME • A GOOD WOMAN • ROGUE • HONOR THYSELF • AMAZING GRACE • BUNGALOW 2 • SISTERS • H.R.H. • COMING OUT • THE HOUSE • TOXIC BACHELORS • MIRACLE • IMPOSSIBLE • ECHOES • SECOND CHANCE • RANSOM • SAFE HARBOUR • JOHNNY ANGEL • DATING GAME • ANSWERED PRAYERS • SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ • THE COTTAGE • THE KISS • LEAP OF FAITH • LONE EAGLE • JOURNEY • THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET • THE WEDDING • IRRESISTIBLE FORCES • GRANNY DAN • BITTERSWEET • MIRROR IMAGE • THE KLONE AND I • THE LONG ROAD HOME • THE GHOST • SPECIAL DELIVERY • THE RANCH • SILENT HONOR • MALICE • FIVE DAYS IN PARIS • LIGHTNING • WINGS • THE GIFT • ACCIDENT • VANISHED • MIXED BLESSINGS • JEWELS • NO GREATER LOVE • HEARTBEAT • MESSAGE FROM NAM • DADDY • STAR • ZOYA • KALEIDOSCOPE • FINE THINGS • WANDERLUST • SECRETS • FAMILY ALBUM • FULL CIRCLE • CHANGES • THURSTON HOUSE • CROSSINGS • ONCE IN A LIFETIME • A PERFECT STRANGER • REMEMBRANCE • PALOMINO • LOVE: POEMS • THE RING • LOVING • TO LOVE AGAIN • SUMMER’S END • SEASON OF PASSION • THE PROMISE • NOW AND FOREVER • PASSION’S PROMISE • GOING HOME
Nonfiction
PURE JOY: The Dogs We Love
A GIFT OF HOPE: Helping the Homeless
HIS BRIGHT LIGHT: The Story of Nick Traina
For Children
PRETTY MINNIE IN PARIS
PRETTY MINNIE IN HOLLYWOOD
About the Author
DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors, with over 650 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include The Mistress, The Award, Rushing Waters, Magic, Property of a Noblewoman, The Apartment, Blue, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children’s books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.
daniellesteel.com
Facebook.com/DanielleSteelOfficial
@daniellesteel
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