Page 27 of Lessons in Power

That wasn’t just a bombshell. That was nuclear.

Adam murmured something to the valet and then came around to my side of the car. He offered me his arm.

We’re really doing this, I thought as I took his arm.Coming here, pretending everything is fine.

Neither Adam nor Ivy had said anything to confirm what I suspected. That Daniela Nicolae was pregnant—and that someone had leaked a photo geared at publicizing that fact—was undeniable. But the idea that the baby might be Walker Nolan’s?

That was nothing but conjecture on my part. A worst-case scenario.

Anything bad that can happen will.That was Murphy’s Law. I was beginning to suspect that in Ivy’s line of business, it was fact.

“Deep breath,” Adam advised me. A moment later, we walked up a marble staircase and through a set of double doors.

Rows of circular tables stretched the length of the ballroom. Marble columns lined the walls. Massive red velvet curtains were gathered and tied back at each corner. Adam said something about the building being a renovated opera house.

I barely heard a word.

Anything bad that can happen will.

“Tess, my dear, you look lovely.” William Keyes zeroed in on Adam and me with military precision. He pressed a kiss to my cheek, then turned to Adam. “It’s good to see you, son.”

“I’m not here for you.” My uncle’s voice was as terse as I’d ever heard it. When Ivy had been held hostage, Adam had asked his father for help. William Keyes had refused. If I hadn’t revealed myself as his granddaughter, if I hadn’t made the kingmaker a deal, Ivy might have died—and William Keyes wouldn’t have lifted a hand to stop it.

Adam would never forgive him for that.

“You’re here for your brother,” Keyes acknowledged, putting a hand on Adam’s shoulder, then one on mine. “We all are.”

Adam remained stiff under his father’s touch.

And I thought Ivy and I had issues.

Keyes let his hand drop from Adam’s shoulder but kept his grip on mine. “Come, Tess,” he said. “There are some people I’d like to introduce you to.”

Adam stepped closer to Keyes, lowering his voice. “I didn’t bring her here for you to parade her around and show off the newest Keyes.”

He’d brought me here to honor my father. The last thing Adam wanted for me was a life lived under the kingmaker’s thumb.

“It’s fine,” I told my uncle. I would have rather had my toenails torn out with rusty pliers than have Keyes parade me through this crowd, but I had also noticed a familiar pair of figures embedded in the crowd.

The president and First Lady.Ivy had said that she’d briefed the president on Walker’s relationship with Daniela Nicolae. There was no doubt in my mind that President Nolan would have been informed about the leaked photos immediately, but he and Georgia gave no visible sign that their reign was on the verge of ruin.

I allowed Keyes to escort me from one set of DC society players to the next, my eyes on the prize the whole time. Adam never allowed me out of his sight.

“I know what you’re doing,” he murmured as we got closer to my target.

“Who?” I murmured back. “Me?”

“William.” The president of the United States had a powerful voice and a smile you could trust. He shook my grandfather’s hand. “Good to see you.”

President Nolan was an excellent liar.

William Keyes was a better one. “Always a pleasure,” the kingmaker replied, a matching smile on his face and a glint in his eyes. “I understand you’ve met my granddaughter?”

Hisgranddaughter. I couldn’t have been the only one who detected the trace of possessiveness in the kingmaker’s tone. The president had met me before William Keyes even knew I existed. The president was unquestionably on better terms with Ivy.

But I had the kingmaker’s blood.

“Tess.” The First Lady stepped forward and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek. “You look wonderful, darling.”