it.”
Sally laughed. “Tess will love you for that.”
“I told her I told Maura about it.”
“Oh God. You did not?”
“Hell yeah.”
“When you have kids she will get you back.”
“Kids? Did you say something about kids?” Mac asked with raised eyebrows.
“A conversation for another time,” Sally demurred. “Let’s get back to Tess. She had to be hot with you.”
“Oh yeah, she went off on me something fierce. I said pot meet kettle. It was hilarious.” He reached for the bottle. “More wine?”
“Please,” Sally replied happily and Mac filled her glass with more of the pinot noir. He emptied the rest of the bottle into his glass.
“I could get another,” he offered. The wine fridge was five feet away.
She waved him off, “I’ve had plenty and I do, after all, have to work tomorrow.”
“You work every day,” Mac replied.
“Such is life at the White House,” she replied with enthusiasm, raising her glass in a mock toast. Mac figured at some point the euphoria of working in that building would wear off and it would become more of a job, with the usual grumbling and the like, but seven months in, she was still like a kid in the candy store.
“Man, did you and the Judge work me today,” Mac said.
“A little,” Sally replied, taking a sip of her wine, “but I didn’t have to work you
that
hard, Mac. You wanted in on this.”
Mac shrugged. It was the truth; he did.
“And that’s okay,” she added. “It’s what you do, Mac. You’re gifted at it. I figured something like this would happen eventually and I think the Judge did too, and you just needed a little
teeny tiny
push.”
“I was just a little surprised you were so gung ho for me to do it.”
Sally shook her head, “I’m not necessarily. I was happy when you turned down the FBI job and I’m happy you’re safe and I don’t have to worry so much. But I didn’t want you chained to the radiator with nothing to do either.”
“You know I didn’t turn down the FBI job for safety reasons.” They’d never discussed his reasons. Sally always assumed he did it for her. She got after him pretty good after the election case, the danger of the case, the risks he took. There were some long conversations about it and she expressed her fears and worries that she was scared she would lose him. The fierceness of her worries put him back on his heels, she could tell. She’d always felt a little guilty about it.
“Then why did you turn it down?”
“There were a couple of reasons. I wasn’t sure I’d have the same edge for the job after the election case. It’s pretty hard to ever imagine having a bigger case than that, Sal. That was like the Mount Everest of investigations. I mean, think about it. What could top it? Would I bring the kind of effort and motivation to the run of the mill case anymore? I wasn’t … I just wasn’t sure I could or would.”
“What’s the second reason?”
“I like being the lead dog, being the one at the head of the pack, not one of the dogs in the middle. In the job the director offered, as attractive and generous as it was, I wouldn’t be the lead dog. I would just be one of the dogs. So I passed. Now, if I wasn’t sitting on this pile of money, my decision might have been entirely different, but I didn’t have to take the job. I don’t have to take any job.”
“The money helps,” she suggested, looking down, digging for more spaghetti.
“You know what the money
really
does, babe?”
“What?” she asked, looking up.
“It lets me live life on
my
terms. It let me move here with you without even having to think about it. It gives me the freedom to do what I want. Whether that’s rehabilitating this townhouse, writing this book or taking on a case if it interests me. Like the robbery case in St. Paul? That interested me. I made a difference there. I cracked that thing open. This case definitely interests me. Maybe I can make a difference here. And I get to be the lead
Sally laughed. “Tess will love you for that.”
“I told her I told Maura about it.”
“Oh God. You did not?”
“Hell yeah.”
“When you have kids she will get you back.”
“Kids? Did you say something about kids?” Mac asked with raised eyebrows.
“A conversation for another time,” Sally demurred. “Let’s get back to Tess. She had to be hot with you.”
“Oh yeah, she went off on me something fierce. I said pot meet kettle. It was hilarious.” He reached for the bottle. “More wine?”
“Please,” Sally replied happily and Mac filled her glass with more of the pinot noir. He emptied the rest of the bottle into his glass.
“I could get another,” he offered. The wine fridge was five feet away.
She waved him off, “I’ve had plenty and I do, after all, have to work tomorrow.”
“You work every day,” Mac replied.
“Such is life at the White House,” she replied with enthusiasm, raising her glass in a mock toast. Mac figured at some point the euphoria of working in that building would wear off and it would become more of a job, with the usual grumbling and the like, but seven months in, she was still like a kid in the candy store.
“Man, did you and the Judge work me today,” Mac said.
“A little,” Sally replied, taking a sip of her wine, “but I didn’t have to work you
that
hard, Mac. You wanted in on this.”
Mac shrugged. It was the truth; he did.
“And that’s okay,” she added. “It’s what you do, Mac. You’re gifted at it. I figured something like this would happen eventually and I think the Judge did too, and you just needed a little
teeny tiny
push.”
“I was just a little surprised you were so gung ho for me to do it.”
Sally shook her head, “I’m not necessarily. I was happy when you turned down the FBI job and I’m happy you’re safe and I don’t have to worry so much. But I didn’t want you chained to the radiator with nothing to do either.”
“You know I didn’t turn down the FBI job for safety reasons.” They’d never discussed his reasons. Sally always assumed he did it for her. She got after him pretty good after the election case, the danger of the case, the risks he took. There were some long conversations about it and she expressed her fears and worries that she was scared she would lose him. The fierceness of her worries put him back on his heels, she could tell. She’d always felt a little guilty about it.
“Then why did you turn it down?”
“There were a couple of reasons. I wasn’t sure I’d have the same edge for the job after the election case. It’s pretty hard to ever imagine having a bigger case than that, Sal. That was like the Mount Everest of investigations. I mean, think about it. What could top it? Would I bring the kind of effort and motivation to the run of the mill case anymore? I wasn’t … I just wasn’t sure I could or would.”
“What’s the second reason?”
“I like being the lead dog, being the one at the head of the pack, not one of the dogs in the middle. In the job the director offered, as attractive and generous as it was, I wouldn’t be the lead dog. I would just be one of the dogs. So I passed. Now, if I wasn’t sitting on this pile of money, my decision might have been entirely different, but I didn’t have to take the job. I don’t have to take any job.”
“The money helps,” she suggested, looking down, digging for more spaghetti.
“You know what the money
really
does, babe?”
“What?” she asked, looking up.
“It lets me live life on
my
terms. It let me move here with you without even having to think about it. It gives me the freedom to do what I want. Whether that’s rehabilitating this townhouse, writing this book or taking on a case if it interests me. Like the robbery case in St. Paul? That interested me. I made a difference there. I cracked that thing open. This case definitely interests me. Maybe I can make a difference here. And I get to be the lead
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