Major Ethan McCormick paced across his Pentagon office, needlessly adjusting the gold oak leaf on the impeccably pressed epaulet of his khaki shirt. He attacked the imaginary speck of lint on his sky-blue slacks next. Nervousness was a whole new experience for him. He’d graduated at the top of his class from Annapolis. He’d traveled the globe and protected presidents and prime ministers and ambassadors. He’d trained the finest troops in the world. He’d even foiled an attempted embassy takeover by a local terrorist faction. But his newest assignment left him flustered. He crossed to his desk and picked up the memo from General Craddock again. Damn. He hadn’t misread the message. He tossed the paper onto the desk and sank down into his chair, tapping his fist against his chin and striking a thoughtful pose. “The general wants to use tomorrow’s Cherry Blossom Embassy Ball as an opportunity to meet my wife or significant other.” “Um, I know I’m not the smart one of the family, but, I see a slight problem here.”
