Free Game Over by Fern Michaels Page A

aren’t you sleeping, anyway?”
    â€œBecause I don’t want to miss anything. Do you have anything?”
    â€œOf course I have something. I do not run a Mickey Mouse operation. You know that. I hope you didn’t call me just to chitchat.”
    â€œWell, what do you have?”
    â€œStuff. I have stuff. I am not giving it to you in dribs and drabs, because it won’t make sense, and that’s not how I work. You know that, Maggie.”
    â€œThat Porsche is starting to look like a Kia, Mr. Tookus.”
    â€œYou win some. You lose some. Go to sleep.”
    â€œI can’t sleep. That’s why I’m calling you. This is important, Abby, and I’m only as good as my sources, who, I might add, rob me blind.” When there was no response, she said, “Okay, okay, I’m going to sleep, but if you get anything, shout. I’m a light sleeper, and I’ll hear you.”
    Maggie reached up and turned off the light. Then she turned it back on. She pulled out her other phone from under the pillow and called Ted. When she heard his groggy voice, she said, “Did you remember to get the cat food?” She thought she heard Ted mumble something; then she heard him snoring. She looked over at the little digital clock on the nightstand—3:20. She realized she was hungry. She didn’t think Lizzie would mind if she went down to the kitchen to raid the refrigerator. If she spent thirty minutes eating, another twenty taking a shower, she could call her driver and be at the paper before it got light out. She shook her head as she pulled on her clothes. She’d never been able to sleep in a strange bed, no matter how comfortable it was.
    She crept quietly down the stairs and headed for Lizzie’s cozy kitchen. She blinked when she saw Lizzie sitting at the table, coffee cup in front of her. Maggie backed up and was about to leave to go upstairs so as not to invade Lizzie’s private time when Lizzie motioned for her to sit down.
    â€œI couldn’t sleep,” Maggie said. “Guess you couldn’t either, huh?”
    â€œI doubt I’ll ever be able to sleep again, Maggie. I have never in my life been in such a turmoil.”
    â€œDo you want to talk about it?” Maggie asked as she poured the last of the coffee into a cup.
    â€œNo offense, but no. I was just sitting here thinking about how Cosmo and I made a promise not to keep secrets from one another. Now he has one, and so do I. I don’t know how it’s going to be once I show up at the White House. The game plan has now changed, with what you told me. Even though no one is supposed to know, I’m not sure I believe that. You and I both know there are no secrets in this town. The White House leaks like a sieve. I’m still getting my feet wet at Sixteen Hundred Pennsylvania Avenue.”
    â€œLizzie, you took three cases all the way to the Supreme Court, argued them, and won all three. That tells me you can handle this. Is there something in particular worrying you?” Maggie asked as she sipped at the coffee in her cup.
    â€œNo, Maggie. It’s just such a shock. I need time to…to, you know, think about it, let it sink in. I’ll be fine. Like I said, once I get on with my day and the shock wears off, I’ll come down to earth.”
    Maggie smiled. “Why would you want to come down to earth? You should be soaring with the eagles and enjoying every second of it. This is like winning one of those big lotteries where the odds are a kazillion to one. Lizzie, look at me. Stop worrying about everyone else, and enjoy this moment in your life. Don’t blow it. Don’t take the edge off it, either. Enjoy every single nanosecond of it. Promise me.”
    Lizzie sat bolt upright in her chair. She laughed then, the tinkling, melodious sound she was known for, as both her clenched fists shot upward. “You’re absolutely right, Maggie. Thanks for bringing me