ALL IN: Race for the White House by Greg Sandora Read Free Book Online

is the Crown Prince’s cousin. He’s in charge of all the social engagements for the Royal Family.”  
    A friendly voice came on the line, oscillating in high-pitched broken English.
    “Bill, glad to catch you. I wanted to express the most pleasant news - his Royal Highness is expecting your party’s arrival on Thursday the 11th in Dubai. If the date is agreeable, His Majesty will meet with you to discuss matters of mutual concern. Provided all is acceptable, I will arrange transportation and accommodations.”
    I nodded to Bill, it sounded good.
    Bill answered, “I’m sorry, Omar, the 11th won’t work. The Senator has official duties in Washington as head of the Armed Services Committee.” Looking at his blackberry, “Can you make it the 19th, that way he can be back in the United States for Thanksgiving?”  
    The voice on the phone paused, the noise was muffled, but it sounded like several people chattering back and forth…
    “Good call, Bill.” I was so happy to get the okay from the Saudis I’d forgotten my senate obligations. I knew the prince would never send a jet if they didn’t plan to contribute.  
    “Very well, it’s all set. We will send our secretary to your office with the details and itinerary.”
    Bud motioned to Bill, pointing at his watch like they had discussed something earlier.
    Bill said, “Omar, make sure they send the jet in the middle of the night; we don’t want anyone to see it.”  
    The voice lowered, “Very well.”
    Later in the day, an emissary delivered a small token of the Prince’s appreciation for our agreement to visit. The gift was a pair of solid gold bookends, each weighing about a pound apiece. The itinerary was printed on fine parchment, the edges dipped in gold and wrapped in a leather outer cover emblazoned with the Royal Seal. The writing statedthat a Royal Jet would be dispatched to pick us up and transport our party to Dubai. We’d spend the evening enjoying the top floor of the Royal Family’s 6-Star Hotel, and then be taken by armored limousine to the palace in the morning. We were offered to return by the route of our choice. Signed by the Prince, who has many fine palaces he will make available to you, Omar.  
    Bill said, “We’ve got to roll our sleeves up and get to work on this Jatropha thing. We need to get the buzz going so the Saudis believe we could actually get the votes to get it done.”
    I said, “Fine, write something up. We can shop around for some early support on the hill.”  
    Lisa said, “We don’t really want it to go anywhere for now, but we’ll have our people hand deliver it around.”  
    Bill said, “Yeah, so nobody else tries to steal it, get signed receipts to create a record we thought of the whole thing!”  
    Tip added, “After you’re elected, we’ll ram it down the Republicans’ throats.”
    Lisa mentioned, “Our guys will be falling all over themselves to get on the bandwagon once you’re president.”  
    Bill threatened, “Any Dem who goes against us will be run out of town.”
    “Bill, don’t be a hothead. We never want to make enemies with members of our own party. We can always persuade with a private meeting in the Oval; they’ll respond to that,” I advised.
    Bud counseled, “We’ll get enough of em, you’ll see, we’ll have more votes than we need to make this happen. Jack’s right, I’ve only been in the Oval Office a few times, but the air of power in there is like no other place; it’s life changing.”  
    Lisa added, “If there’s a few who want to do their own thing, we’ll let them die on the vine and we won’t campaign for them.”
    Bud said, “Try rot on the vine, no one will screw with us. Bill, concentrate on New Hampshire and the fund-raising for now; we need some serious gold to win up there.”  
    Lisa said, “You aren’t kidding; the ads we have lined up are going to cost us 15 million, for New Hampshire!”
    “That has to be some kind of record,” I