From the Shadows (Alex King Book 8) by A P BATEMAN
Author:A P BATEMAN [BATEMAN, A P]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rockhopper Publishing
Published: 2019-07-09T22:00:00+00:00
27
Washington DC
âTry the quail.â
âThanks, but the ribeye sounds good.â
âThe quail is exceptional,â he said, snapping the menu closed. The waiter was hovering to take the order and Standing said, âTwo quail, dauphinoise potatoes and broccoli.â
The waiter ignored Johnson and wrote down the orders in a leather-bound notebook. They didnât go in for iPads at the Congressmanâs Club. It was old school, a place where time seemed to have stood still since the likes of Lincoln had founded it with political cohorts of the time. Since then, most congressmen would have entered its hallowed halls, eaten the very best food, drank the very best wine and spirits and marvelled at the fact that Presidents knew what it was like, but could never again enter once they had taken office. The clue was in the title and only congressmen could enter. The board was still in gridlock as to whether congresswomen would one day be permitted entry, but that would have to be for another day.
âYou donât mind me ordering, do you,â Willard Standing said, rather than asked.
âWell, youâre picking up the tab,â Johnson replied curtly.
âThereâs no tab,â he said. âThis place has been funded by donation since Abraham Lincolnâs day. There are a few rules, though. One may be permitted to bring a guest, just so long as itâs not a woman. And itâs frowned upon to bring more than two guests a month. On designated gambling nights, each attending member is expected to put up a stake of a minimum of one thousand dollars and if they lose, then to do so gracefully. You can order off the menu, but if you request something else, then you will be expected to pay comparable top restaurant prices.â
âAnd you can order anything?â
âThereâs nothing they havenât got, canât get or wonât prepare. Some members have tried to outdo the kitchen, but all theyâve done is lose money. Iâm not saying you can order spit-roasted giraffe, but if itâs a mainstream item, cooked any way, then they can do it.â
Johnson sipped some of his bourbon and reflected that his ribeye would be going to somebody else. And that it would have probably been very good indeed. But he knew the deal. Men like Congressman Standing needed to assert their power. It was all about control. He was taking the manâs money; he could go without his steak.
âThere is a reason I brought you here,â Standing said. He moved his shoulder aside for the waiter who then served bread rolls. Another waiter, a more senior member of the staff wearing a tie and jacket, placed a chilled bottle of water in the middle of the table. He asked whether the congressman would like to order from the wine list. âI will leave it to your judgement, Joseph. Whatever you recommend with the quailâ¦â The waiter nodded and Standing looked back at Johnson. âUnless Iâm caught inside my mistress, or someone hands me a sack full of money live on CNN, I am going to be the next President of the United States of America.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Unforgiving Savage by Dave Edlund(480)
The Doomsday Spiral by Jon Land(476)
The Coworker: An Addictive Psychological Thriller by Freida McFadden(476)
3rd Degree - v4 by James Patterson(397)
The Secret Hours by Mick Herron(395)
Scroll (Relic Hunters Taskforce Book 1) by Ruth Hartzler(385)
Tom Clancy Flash Point by Don Bentley(385)
The Devil's Ransom by Brad Taylor(381)
Colleen Hoover Ebook Boxed Set Hopeless Series by Colleen Hoover(380)
The Perfect Assassin by James Patterson(367)
Doelwit by Chris Ryan(353)
SCORCHED EARTH by Ryan L.T. & Pearce Biba(345)
The Bad Parents by S.L. Harker(289)
De Huurling by Andy McNab(287)
Day of the Long Knives: The Ruslan Shanidza Novels, #3 by Paul Clark(281)
Dead Fall by Brad Thor(280)
All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay(279)
The Guardians of Lost Time by Preston William Child(274)
Eagle Trap by Geoffrey Archer(274)