Tom talked to backed away when he told them it was Mr. Bell who had arranged the adoption.”
“Who is the surrogate mother?”
“Her name is Donna Davis.”
Nancy ran to the kitchen, refilled Rachel’s coffee cup, and took the filled cup back to Rachel, then walked down the hall to an empty office and called her aunt Maddy. Midway into the conversation, she said, “I don’t know what to do with her, Maddy. Nothing like this has ever come up before. I’ll be honest. I don’t think any of our lawyers here at the firm will agree to go up against someone like Baron Bell in what could become a high-profile case like this one. Talk to me, Maddy.”
Nancy listened. She reached for a pad and pencil and scribbled furiously. “Maddy, are you going to do what I think you’re going to do?”
“Can you think of anyone better?”
Nancy smiled. “Actually, I can’t. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if…Rachel could get her babies back for Christmas?”
“It’s the time for miracles. I’ll do what I can. Keep me in the loop, honey.”
“Will do, Maddy.”
Back in her office, Nancy sat down and reached for a small pad. As she wrote down Lizzie Fox’s name, address, and phone number on a slip of paper, Rachel Dawson kept on talking. “I think this is some kind of baby ring. Tom says I’m out of my mind, but on my really bad days I would go to the park and just sit. I talked to a lot of nannies and young mothers. One of the mothers looked at me when I told her what had happened, and told me about someone else the same thing had happened to. I have her name right here in my purse. I even went to talk to the adoptive parents, and they’re in the same position Tom and I are in. They used Baron Bell, too. Their surrogate is a student at Georgetown. Is there any way, any way at all, we can get our babies back for Christmas? We had such plans. Our first family Christmas.” Rachel burst into tears.
“Rachel, I can’t answer that, but the person I want you to go see is just the right lawyer for you. Trust me when I tell you she could take on Baron Bell with her hands tied behind her back and blindfolded. If anyone can help you, it’s Lizzie Fox.”
Rachel Dawson bolted upright. Her tears stopped in midflow. “She’s the lawyer that…She was…the vigilantes’ attorney.”
Nancy stared across the table, her gaze steady and direct. “Yes,” she said softly.
“Oh! Oh! When should I go to see her?”
Nancy’s phone rang. She picked it up and listened. All she said was, “Thanks, Maddy.” She turned to Rachel. “Right now. You can walk to Lizzie’s office from here.” Nancy was out of her chair and around the desk. She put her arms around the woman’s thin shoulders. “Just tell Lizzie everything you told me. Be sure to give her the other surrogate’s name. By the way, is your surrogate still living wherever she was living before the birth of the twins?”
“She is. I…I would park down the street, hoping to get a glimpse of the twins. They never seem to leave the apartment. I guess she has a babysitter while she goes to class. I was so obsessed. I don’t know how to thank you. Will Ms. Fox work out a payment plan for us? Do you know?”
“You’ll work something out. I wouldn’t worry about that right now. Just go and talk to her, and I wish you all the luck in the world.”
Nancy waited until Rachel Dawson was through the door and out of sight before she walked back to her office. She called her aunt, and they talked for ten long minutes. Nancy was smiling when she hung up the phone. Then she laughed out loud. “Rachel, honey, you are in such good hands,” she murmured under her breath.
Chapter 1
The most famous address in the world—
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Trailing behind the Secret Service agent escorting her to President Connor’s private quarters in the East Wing, Lizzie tried her best not to gawk at the magnificent Christmas decorations. She was not, she had to remind herself, a starstruck tourist. She was there for lunch and so much more.
The president herself opened the door and literally dragged Lizzie inside with a whispered, “I’ll take it from here, Agent Goodwin.” She smiled warmly at her friend. “God, Lizzie, I am so glad to see you! I mean I’m really glad!”
“Me too, Madam President.” And she was glad. She and President Connor had a history. Then they wrapped their arms around each other in a bone-crushing hug, strange for two such elegant women.
President Connor laughed. “Stop with that ‘Madam President’ stuff. In here we’re Lizzie and Marti. I need you to call me by my name, Lizzie. I don’t want to forget who I really am. Can we do that?” She sounded so anxious, Lizzie nodded.
Lizzie looked around. “Pretty fancy digs, Marti. This is my first time in the White House. I’m impressed. The Christmas decorations are beautiful.”
“If you have the time, I’ll give you the tour after lunch. Right now I want you all to myself. I can’t thank you enough for accepting my invitation. You look so happy, Lizzie.”
Lizzie smiled as she was shown to a deep off-white chair that would have held both her and Cosmo. She watched as the president sat down across from her and kicked off her shoes. Lizzie did the same thing, and they giggled like two schoolgirls.
“There are no words to tell you how happy I am, Marti. I wish I could say the same for you. You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
Martine Connor forced a smile she was far from feeling. “I do have the weight of the world on my shoulders. See how bowed they are. And before you can ask, the world slowed down for some reason this week to allow me time for this luncheon.”
“You want to talk about it, or is it all NTK? Your approval ratings are in the seventy percent range, so you must be doing something right.”
Martine shrugged. “I had a hard time getting used to having every second of my time budgeted. Sometimes bathroom breaks are a luxury. There’s always a crisis that has to be dealt with brewing somewhere. You know me. I’m cool under fire. It’s when I get up here that I lose it.”
Lizzie blinked. “This was what you wanted, Marti.”
Martine brushed at the soft bangs falling over her forehead. “Yes, and if it weren’t for you…and…your friends, I wouldn’t be here. I know that, Lizzie. It’s with me every second of every day. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? That’s why you accepted my job offer, right? You’re here to spell it out to me. Again.”
Lizzie stared at her old friend. She gave a slight nod. “Six months. Pro bono. I walk away unless the job proves to be something beyond my expectations. I have to admit, I was surprised you agreed to my terms.”
Martine burst out laughing. “Oh, Lizzie, I wish you could have seen the expressions on all their faces when I listed your demands. I thought the lot of them would choke to death. Nine to five! Every weekend off. Pro bono. I realize one hundred sixty-eight thousand dollars is a lot of money, and yet it isn’t much to live on here in the District, what with rent, travel back to one’s home state, taxes, everyday expenses, and maintaining two residences. It’s hard to
