Diplomacy

eye-poppingly gorgeous tonight. You’ll knock ‘em dead out there.” Maria just smiled her knowing smile. She was more than aware of the heads she would turn this evening.
    One of the Secret Service men stuck his head inside the room. “Mr.
    Christensen, Ma’am, POTUS is ready to go inside.” They both knew the jargon. POTUS was the name used for the President of the United States. They would need to be by his side as he walked in.
    While Maria straightened his tie one more time, he leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the mouth.
    “Oh, Jack.” She ran her finger over his lip to erase the tiniest red mark her lipstick had left. Jack could see the worry lines on her forehead.
    “Just smile, Maire, you look much nicer when you smile.” This was their little ritual before these occasions; their own way of getting ready to face their guests. Maria loved it when Jack called her by her nickname, which was the Irish version of her Christian name. Her father had called her that and after his death, Jack had adopted the practice. It would inevitably make her relax, a shy but warm smile appearing on her face.
    Jack took her hand as they headed towards the next room where they would join their President.

    D i p l o m a c y | 3

    Preliminary
    Negotiations

    4 | Z a h r a O w e n s

    D i p l o m a c y | 5

Chapter One
    AS Ambassador, Jack Christensen was the representative of his Head of State in the country he was assigned to. That didn’t mean he always agreed with the man, it just meant he had to pretend he did. So he was not exactly a member of the current President’s fan club. In fact, he had always been a fairly eloquent Democrat, so he was quite surprised when he was appointed to replace the Ambassador to Belgium who was retiring.
    Even though a large part of his job was to translate his President’s policies for that country, the assignment excited him. This was a small country indeed, but a well trusted one. Not to mention it was interesting diplomatically, since its capital housed not only the Headquarters of NATO, but also the seat of the European Commission, and was considered the de facto capital of the European Union. The north of Belgium also housed a major international seaport that was often used by the United States for military transport, making it an ally to be pampered.
    On the other hand, Belgium was known to be a headstrong country that did not follow the pack blindly. On more than one occasion, the former Ambassador had needed to smooth out wrinkles in the transatlantic relationship, so Jack knew he had his work cut out for him.
    Tonight had been his baptism of fire. He hadn’t even had the occasion to officially present his credentials to King Albert II yet, as was the custom for new ambassadors, and now his President was visiting and he had a house full of government officials and Secret Service personnel.

    6 | Z a h r a O w e n s

    The visit would last three days, and Jack knew that with all the receptions and banquets it was going to be the longest three days of his life.
    The banquet went by perfectly, even though the United Kingdom’s Ambassador went home early with a bad case of the flu. At least that would be the official explanation. Just after the main course, Maria had noticed he was rather inebriated, and after she alerted Jack to this, he was discretely removed and sent home in his chauffeur driven car.

    Since the President and First Lady were guests at the Embassy, Jack and Maria were required to stay in the private quarters of the Embassy instead of going to their home just outside the city.
    “Tonight was perfect.” Jack was in his pajama bottoms, leaning against the doorway watching Maria take off her make-up. He knew she would understand that as ‘thank you for a great job’.
    She rolled her eyes. “We came close to a small diplomatic incident, though. Luckily, our Brit didn’t object too much to being sent home.” Jack moved behind her and rested his hands on her slender hips.
    “Judging from his reaction, his assistant wasn’t surprised.” He was watching her elegant figure in the large bathroom mirror.
    As they had greeted their guests before the banquet he had seen quite a few men’s eyes travel across his wife’s body. Some of them had even looked at her lustfully, not bothering to hide it while he was talking to them. So why had she never conjured up those feelings in him? He loved her, of course. She was beautiful, that he could see too, but he had