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Look, I ’ ll finish up with my lawyer this morning if it means the end of these calls. ” He drops the phone to his side, muffling it against his leg. “ Jesus, woman! ”
    She smiles at the small victory before tempering her next words. “ I didn ’ t count on you when we were married, Jonathon. So you ’ ll have to forgive me for not squealing with delight now. ”
    Tracy ’ s Porsche quickly closes in on an old Cadillac sedan. The round silhouette of the driver is barely visible over the steering wheel. “ This is the fast lane! Get your big ass over! ”
    Jonathon pulls the phone away from his ear, shaking his head at the angry plastic. “ Always so sunny in the mornings. ” How did I ever fall in love with this woman?! He takes another bitter drink of his coffee. North Korean troops march proudly in unison through Pyongyang on his TV. A growing part of him wishes he were there instead.
    As the awkward silence lengthens, he decides to change the subject and bypass another bickering foray. “ Have you heard from Chris? ”
    “ Last night. His team got knocked out early, but he did alright. He said the scouts noticed. Isabel ’ s meeting him at the airport. ”
    “ Good, ” he says. Jonathon shifts impatiently on the leather couch, realizing he has absolutely nothing left to say to her. The crackling noise coming through the phone line stretches on uncomfortably in their stubborn duel. He looks at his watch again. 7:10. “ Look, I gotta go. It ’ s … ”
    “ I expect you to get this taken care of, Jonathon, ” Tracy interrupts. She always had to get the last word in. “ I ’ ve moved on, and this needs to be finalized. Now. I don ’ t like these calls any more than you do. ”
    “ Somehow I doubt that. ” Jonathon violently digs his finger into the remote ’ s power button and storms out of the living room. “ You ’ ve already proven how good you are at moving on . What was his name again, Tracy? ”
    The adulterous act should have made her feel guiltier, but it didn ’ t. She had never felt more alive. It was the blame that somehow this was all her fault that lit her like a fuse. “ Don ’ t you dare. You had your little fling at work a long time before my eyes wandered. That cute little Asian thing with fake boobs? Don ’ t think for a second I didn ’ t know. ”
    Memories flicker through his mind. His navy blue eyes soften. “ I … ”
    “ You know? I don ’ t want to do this again, Jonathon. ” Traffic is heavy on northbound I-5. Cars and trucks create draft lines of arcing water that splash wave after wave onto Tracy ’ s windshield. She turns the wipers up, wishing they could somehow wash it all away. “ If I don ’ t see those papers this afternoon, I will subpoena your ass and we can do this little song and dance in front of a judge. ”
    “ I said I ’ d take care of it. ”
    “ Fantastic. Gotta go. ” She taps her cellphone screen and tosses it onto the passenger seat, swerving to pass yet another impedance to her life.
     

Chapter 2
     
     
    7:05 A.M. - SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
    The sky above Seattle continues to let loose. Long streaks of rain flow like splintered tears down the windows of the Space Needle. The giant skyscraper reaches resolutely up into the clouds, its metal spire devoured by the fog. A breeze catches the flags of foreign nations hanging limply in front of Seattle ’ s World Trade building. The busy sidewalk beside its vaulted glass entryway pulses with purpose and life. Just above, the dull roar of a distant airplane traces across the sky, peeking in and out from behind pockets of thick gray.
    “ … Secretary of Defense Bryan Rose was in the Middle East speaking with troops at the time and was unable to attend the summit. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. released a harsh statement earlier today criticizing the process, saying, quote, ‘ I have severe doubts about the future of the U.N. and have come to expect very little from its decision-making