Upside Down Read Online Free

business,” Jack said.

Chapter 3
    After meeting with the president, Sparrow didn’t say a word until he was behind the wheel of his rental car. Lizzie Fox, his lawyer, sitting next to him, was humming under her breath. “Say something, Lizzie,” he said as he cleared a dark sedan to pull out of the lot where the Secret Service had told him to park.
    Lizzie waved her index finger around and smiled. She commented on the snow flurries and the ominous dark clouds overhead. Sparrow got the message instantly. Damn, he should have gotten the message before she did. Of course the Secret Service might have bugged the car. Safe conversation only. Like he didn’t know that. Crap, what was wrong with him this morning?
    An adrenaline rush was all he could come up with by way of explanation. It wasn’t every day a lowly civilian got to sit in the Oval Office with the president of the United States. Hell’s bells, never mind every day. Try like never, Sparrow thought to himself, his eyes on the road to see if any of the dark sedans favored by the Secret Service had pulled in behind him.
    Sparrow forced his thoughts in another direction. “I think we have time for me to take you for a quick lunch before we head to the airport. It’s the least I can do. There’s a great chili dive not far from here. When I lived here years ago, I hit it at least twice a week. Gotta tell you, though, you’re going to need a pile of antacid tablets after you eat it. They keep the antacid bottles by the cash register. I think they make as much money selling them as they do from selling their chili. You game, Counselor?”
    Lizzie nodded as she busily tapped away on her cell. “Flight’s on time. My husband Cosmo said he’ll be waiting at the airport. He misses me. Said Little Jack has a sore throat. I need to get home. Kids need their mothers when they get sick.”
    The conversation for the rest of the fifteen-minute ride to Red Hot Chili’s consisted of tales of Little Jack that made Sparrow laugh out loud. He was relieved when he swung into the parking lot and brought the rental to a stop. Always the gentleman, he hopped out and ran around to open the door for Lizzie.
    God, she was beautiful. Lizzie looked like a winter ice princess, with her long silver hair and long white coat. There was nothing lustful in his thoughts. Looking at Lizzie Fox was like looking at a rare, beautiful painting. The word perfection came to mind. He was glad he could count her as his friend as well as his attorney, all thanks to his boss, Bert Navarro. Sparrow gave her a quick hug, and said, “You were great. I don’t think I could have handled it on my own. I hate to admit it, but for the first time in my life, I was intimidated.”
    Lizzie laughed. “You would have done just fine, Jack. Was it the White House or the man himself? You know, President Quintera puts his pants on the same way you do. He brushes and flosses just the way you do. And I happen to know he orders takeout from the very same restaurant we are going to dine in. Martine used to order here, too. She told me she left a note for President Quintera telling him which restaurants were the best in the area for takeout when she left office. As for the building itself, well, you have as much right, possibly more, to roam those halls as he does. You pay his salary the same way I do. Martine Connor, by the way, gave me the very same speech when I first went there to work for her.”
    Sparrow held the door for Lizzie. A warm blast of air from a vent over the door shot downward. He looked around and realized he had his choice of tables. He ushered Lizzie toward the back, so that he would have a clear view of the door, just in case anyone was tracking them. It was a ritual he still practiced from his years of being a Special Agent for the FBI. Lizzie nodded her approval as she allowed Sparrow to help her off with her stunning white cashmere