Halloway remained frozen for a moment, his gaze moving from Victoria to his bodyguards who had stayed back near the entrance, before slowly standing up, an uncontrolled stiffness hardening every one of his movements.
"Madame Graves," he said, barely bowing, his voice tight.
"Sit back down," Victoria said, a slight satisfied smile appearing on her lips.
He sat, immediately plunging his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulling out a crumpled envelope that he threw onto the table between them.
"What does this mean?" he spat, his voice trembling with contained rage. "You send me this by EMAIL?"
Victoria lowered her eyes to the envelope without even touching it, deliberately letting the silence stretch a second too long before answering.
"Oh, this? I consider it a true work of art," she finally said, her voice detached, one finger absently tapping the rim of her cup. "I called it 'Senator Halloway on Vacation'."
